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
President Biden’s nominees for attorney general and CIA director mostly sail through their confirmation hearings. The administration kickstarts policy on Iran, with an eye towards salvaging a nuclear deal. And the Supreme Court rules that a New York grand jury can see Donald Trump’s tax returns.
It's our 300th episode! The Senate acquits Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial. Rolling blackouts in Texas offer a glimpse of climate insecurity to come. And the Pentagon delayed promoting two female generals to four-star commands over fears of Trump’s reaction.
President Trump’s impeachment trial begins in the Senate as a prosecutor in Georgia investigates efforts to overturn the election. President Biden sets out to “revitalize” national security and foreign policy in his administration. And the U.S. is (cautiously) rejoining world bodies it left under Donald Trump.
The Senate prepares to try former President Trump on charges of inciting a riot at the Capitol. A military coup in Myanmar deals a potentially crushing blow to democracy. And how do you solve a problem like Marjorie Taylor Greene?
The storming of the Capitol on January 6 has exposed the long-simmering threat of domestic extremism in the United States. How will the Biden administration combat it? Protests break out across Russia as a prominent dissident returns home. And can we just skip impeachment and get to the 14th Amendment?
Joe Biden takes the oath of office to become the 46th President of the United States. We’ll look at how Donald Trump spent his last day in office and how Biden is spending his first.
The House impeaches President Trump—again—for his role in stoking an attack on the Capitol. President-elect Biden announces more national security appointments, including his nominee to lead the CIA. And Mike Pompeo breaks some diplomatic furniture on the way out the door.
A normally procedural session of Congress dissolves as protestors descend on Washington and occupy the Capitol. A new crackdown on pro-democracy forces in Hong Kong will complicate the incoming Biden administration’s approach to China. And how will a (barely) Democrat-controlled Senate affect Biden’s national security agenda?
President Trump issues another round of pardons, raising expectations that his family members and maybe Trump himself will be next. As 2020 comes to a merciful close, we’ll take a look back at the big national security stories that didn’t get enough attention. And we’ll talk about what we’ve got our eyes on for 2021, besides a triumphant return to the actual Jungle Studio.
Attorney General Bill Barr exits the stage. Did he leave before Trump could fire him? A massive computer hack attributed to Russian intelligence may have exposed dozens of companies and government agencies. And in the face of that and other Russian threats, how is a Biden administration likely to change U.S. policy towards Moscow?