Fault Lines, the National Security Institute’s flagship podcast, gets you quickly up to speed, three-times-a-week, on the national security and foreign policy debates shaking up America. Our regular cast of foreign policy experts includes NSI Founder and Executive Director Jamil N. Jaffer, NSI Advisory Board Member Lester Munson, and NSI Senior Fellows Morgan Viña, and Jessica Jones. Tune in to learn more about the issues dominating headlines and the news stories you may have missed. Hosted on…
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Today, John, Les, and Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, co-lead of the Air and Missile Defense Program and Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, take stock of where the U.S.-Iran conflict stands after weeks of strikes, counterstrikes, and an ambiguous MOU that collapsed into a battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.…
Today, Les and John sit down with Tibor Nagy, former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former Ambassador to Ethiopia and Guinea, to examine a fundamental shift in how Washington is approaching Sub-Saharan Africa. The Trump administration has broken from decades of aid-and-democracy-driven policy, positioning trade, investment, and strategic partnerships at the center of its…
Today, Les, John, and special guest Carlos Ruiz-Hernandez—former Panamanian Deputy Secretary of State—assess the Trump administration's renewed push for dominance in the Western Hemisphere and what it means for a region already in political upheaval. The so-called "Donroe Doctrine" has reactivated a hemispheric hierarchy dormant since the Cold War, with Washington deploying military pressure,…
Today, John, Les, and Special Guest Peter Harrell—former Senior Director for International Economics at the NEC & NSC—trace the arc of U.S. trade and economic policy toward China from the engagement era of the late 1990s through future administrations. For decades, Washington operated on the theory that integrating China into the global economy through the WTO would create market opportunities and…
Today, John, Les, and Special Guest Dinny McMahon—Head of China Markets Research at Trivium—trace the rise and slow-motion collapse of China's old economic model, and the technology and export-led manufacturing behemoth replacing it. For decades, China's economy ran on a simple engine: a high-debt construction and investment boom with real estate at the core and as the primary store of…
Today, Les, John, and special guest Richard Goldberg assess where the Iran conflict stands and where it is headed. The Strait of Hormuz is once again a flashpoint, with U.S. naval forces blockading traffic while escorting commercial shipping — a posture that has helped push down gas prices but left Tehran cut off from economic relief. Iran's missile manufacturing capacity has taken serious damage,…
Today, Les, John, and special guest Retired General Doug Lute, assess the NATO summit held this week in Ankara, where 32 allied leaders gathered against a backdrop of persistent tensions over burden-sharing, Greenland, and the future of the transatlantic relationship. The summit's communiqué delivered a strong, direct reaffirmation of collective defense, and allied progress on defense spending…
Today, Jess, Les, John, and Andrew cover a busy news cycle spanning the skies over Moscow to the streets of America. Ukrainian drones — produced domestically and flying hundreds of miles — are hammering Russian energy infrastructure and forcing Putin to publicly acknowledge fuel shortages across the country for the first time, as air defenses are redeployed from Crimea to protect the capital. Can…
Today, Les, John, Andrew, and Andy examine the devastating earthquake that has killed more than 1,500 people in Venezuela, a number expected to climb, and what the U.S. response reveals about American humanitarian leadership in the Trump era. Washington has committed $150 million in aid flowing through UN agencies and NGOs, with DART teams and fire and rescue units from across the country,…
Today, Jess, Algene, John, and Andrew discuss reports that the Trump administration is considering major defense sales to Turkey, despite bipartisan opposition in Congress. Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing Russia's S-400 air defense system, but as alliance leaders gather in Turkey next month for the NATO Summit, supporters cite its strategic importance to the…
Today, Jess, Les, Algene, and John dig into two closely contested elections that could reshape Latin American politics. In Colombia, right-wing candidate Abelardo De La Espriella holds a narrow lead in the presidential runoff, and in Peru, Keiko Fujimori also maintains a razor-thin advantage over leftist Roberto Sánchez as electoral authorities continue reviewing disputed ballots. The team…
