Rational Security is a weekly roundtable podcast featuring Shane Harris of the Washington Post and Susan Hennessey, Tamara Cofman Wittes and Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution. It’s a lively and irreverent discussion of news, ideas, foreign policy, and law. There’s always a laugh. Sometimes there’s even scotch. You can subscribe here or on iTunes.
Latest in Rational Security
The disappearance of a Washington Post journalist becomes a foreign policy crisis for the Trump administration. U.S. and European intelligence officials say Iran may be planning attacks in Europe. And the U.S. embraces a major expansion in foreign aid to counter China’s growing influence.
A prominent journalist and critic of the Saudi regime goes missing in Istanbul. Nikki Haley says she’s resigning as the U.N. ambassador. And tech companies push back against a story about a massive hardware hack.
The Trump administration accuses China of a massive propaganda campaign in the United States. Facebook suffers a serious hack that exposes 50 million users. And, all laughing aside, what do we make of the administration's performance at the U.N. General Assembly?
Will Rod Rosenstein remain as the deputy attorney general, and what does that mean for the Russia probe he oversees? Tensions hit a fever pitch with China amid an escalating trade war. And the president addresses the U.N. General Assembly.
Paul Manafort pleads guilty and agrees to cooperate in the Russia investigation, and Mike Flynn gets a sentencing date. The Justice Department tells two Chinese media companies to register as foreign agents. And Trump declassifies more material about the surveillance of one of his campaign advisers.
John Bolton comes out swinging in his first major speech as national security adviser. Is Russia behind a mysterious string of illnesses at U.S. diplomatic facilities? And Trump administration officials met with coup plotters in Venezuela.
A bombshell new book shows the Trump presidency on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The US pulls funding for a Palestinian relief agency. And the president lashed out again at the attorney general and the Justice Department.
A former NSA contractor receives a stiff prison sentence for giving classified information to journalists. Nuclear disarmament talks with North Korea hit big roadblocks. And the administration backs off its plan to cut billions of dollars in foreign aid.
The gang breaks down one helluva day. Michael Cohen, Paul Manafort, and what it means for the president.
This week, we talk about what Paul Manafort's fraud trial tells us, and doesn't tell us, about l'Affaire Russe; the tussle between executive and legislative authority in the new National Defense Authorization Act; and the end of Peter Strzok's FBI career.