The Just Security Podcast

Veteran journalist Carol Rosenberg joins co-hosts Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman to discuss her reporting on the upcoming trials at Guantanamo. Related Articles: The USS Cole Case Edges Toward Trial (Sept. 18, 2026)Military Judge Orders Last Minute Sanity Board in USS Cole Bombing Case (Sept. 22, 2026)Guantanamo Dispatches: Prosecutors Turn to Remote Testimony For First-Ever Capital Trial at Guantanamo (Sept. 24, 2026)Innocent or Guilty, Accused USS Cole Bomber May Never Go Free (Sept....

Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Huq discuss the powers and authorities that state and local governments can use to fight back against authoritarianism and serve as a check against federal overreach. Related Articles: “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series, Sept. 21, 2026Erwin Chemerinsky and Aziz Z. Huq, Introduction to “Fight Back: How States Can Counter Authoritarianism” Series (Aug. 20, 2026)Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Commandeering, Coercion, and Executive Power (Aug. 21, 2026)...

Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima of the International Crisis Group join host Viola Gienger to discuss the most important developments from the 2026 United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week. Related Articles: As Leaders Gather at the U.N. General Assembly, Competition May Outdo Cooperation by Richard Gowan, Daniel Forti and Mariea Sekijima, Sept. 17, 2026Reading the Signals of China’s U.N. Security Council Role in the Afghanistan Mission Renewal by Richard Gowan and Daniel Forti, July...

Host David Aaron joins Adam Hickey to discuss an unusual announcement from the Department of Justice on the Foreign Agents Registration Act and Section 951. Show Note: Office of Public Affairs | Liability for Unregistered Foreign Agents | United States Department of Justice

Co-hosts Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman are joined by Daniel Fried and Nicholas Rasmussen to discuss how the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the United States’ responses to it have shaped U.S. national security, foreign policy, and alliances. Show Note (related articles): 9/11 Then and Now: How it Shapes Us 25 Years On A Quarter Century After 9/11: Lessons Learned and Lost The Looming Terrorist Threats to America

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by Tom Dannenbaum, Margaret Donovan, and Todd Huntley to discuss whether the United States has violated the law of armed conflict in its conduct of the Iran war. They discuss what evidence would be required to make that determination and what to watch for as the war continues. Show Notes: Collection: Iran, Israel and the United States at War (2025-2026 Operations) (continually updated)Mark Nevitt, Five “Blockades” and One Legal Problem: Naval Enforcement in t...

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to discuss how the Trump administration’s campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has escalated and evolved in the year since the strikes began. The conversation examines the administration’s legal justifications for the strikes, the potential for escalation to targets on land, and what the creation of Joint Task Force - Western Hemisphere c...

Host Dani Schulkin is joined by Steve Vladeck and Jess Dawgert to discuss the first-ever case before the Alien Terrorist Removal Court. They explain what the court is, why it sat unused for thirty years, and what its first case means for due process and the immigration system. Show Note (related articles and links): https://www.justsecurity.org/148285/the-alien-terrorist-removal-courts-first-case/ https://www.justsecurity.org/149897/alien-terrorist-removal-court-immigration/https:/...

Host Ryan Goodman is joined by guests Rebecca Hamilton and Alex Whiting, experts with deep experience in the practice and study of international criminal law, to discuss the recent vote by states to remove Karim Khan as Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, effective immediately, for sexual misconduct against a junior staff member. They discuss what this investigation – and its defense – has meant for the ICC as an institution and for its ongoing cases, and what comes next for the I...

A free and independent press has long been understood as a core element of healthy and secure democracies. Particularly in the realm of national security and foreign policy, news reporting and investigations are an integral source of information that enables the American public to evaluate the decisions of their elected officials. Yet today the press is facing new or newly acute challenges arising from the executive branch, Congress, and even the media industry itself—all unfolding against th...

Over the past year, U.S. anti-corruption policy has undergone significant shifts — from changes in FCPA enforcement to sanctions rollbacks and institutional drawdowns — raising questions about America’s global role. At the same time, anti-corruption movements are gaining momentum worldwide. Dani Schulkin speaks with Richard Nephew and Bruce Swartz about what these trends mean for enforcement, international cooperation, and the future of the anti-corruption agenda. Show Note: Three Less...

Co-Hosts Tess Bridgeman and Rachel Goldbrenner are joined by Rebecca Ingber and Brian Finucane to examine the escalating U.S. campaign of killings of suspected drug traffickers at sea under “Operation Southern Spear” following the January 2026 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The conversation explores the U.S. military operations in Venezuela and the intensifying campaign of lethal strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, unpacks the Trump administration’s legal justificat...

Should the FBI be allowed to access the content of Americans’ communications–emails, texts and phone calls–without obtaining a judicial warrant? That’s a key question facing Congress, with a looming deadline of April 30th. The question is wrapped up in the reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, which will sunset at the end of this month. I had the opportunity to interview Andrew Weissmann, who served as FBI General Counsel in addition to other positio...

Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary election brought a major political shift. After 16 years in power, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party lost to opposition leader Peter Magyar, whose coalition now holds a strong parliamentary majority. The result marks a new chapter in Hungary’s politics after years of debate about democratic accountability, media independence, and relations within the European Union. In this episode, Szuzanna Vegh joins Viola Gienger to explore how the opposition achie...

The North African country of Sudan marks a grim anniversary this week: the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been fighting a civil war for three years, creating the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 14 million people have been forced to flee the fighting, often multiple times, and 4.4 million have fled to other countries, mostly to Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, but also some to Europe. Today, one in four Sudanese is displaced. The U.N.’s Food and Agricultural...

Trump's threats to forcibly take control of Greenland brought to the headlines the alarming notion of the United States seeking new territories, from a European ally. But the United States already faces pressing issues of territorial control and governance. In this podcast, we share the perspectives of two leaders who work on democracy, equity, and self-determination issues in current U.S. territories. Why does the United States hold territories? How are they governed? And what does the contr...

Prior to the U.S. attacks that dislodged president Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela, American forces have for weeks been blockading U.S.-sanctioned ships carrying Venezuelan oil. In mid-December, the United States began boarding, and seizing, tankers in the so‑called “shadow fleet” that move sanctioned oil across the globe, starting with stateless vessels. In a dramatic turn, this week the U.S. Coast Guard, with U.S. and allied military support, intercepted and boarded two Russian-flagged oil tank...

The Combating Global Corruption Act marks a new chapter in how the U.S. approaches corruption abroad. For the first time, the State Department must publicly rank foreign governments based on their anti-corruption efforts–evaluations that may carry real consequences for foreign aid, diplomacy, and sanctions. Yet the rollout comes at a moment of contradiction. As the United States positions itself to evaluate corruption abroad, it is facing an erosion of accountability mechanisms at home. In th...

The Trump administration has continued its campaign of lethal strikes against suspected drug traffickers at sea. To date, 83 people have reportedly been killed in 21 strikes. The strikes have met increasing scrutiny both inside the United States and abroad, with some close U.S. allies reportedly suspending intelligence sharing over concerns of the illegality of the campaign, and recently surfaced reporting of the deliberate killing of two strike survivors receiving rare bipartisan attention f...

Across the world, we’re witnessing a transformation in how corruption operates. It’s not just about individual bribery or isolated misconduct. In many places, powerful actors are reshaping state institutions themselves— weakening oversight, insulating allies from consequences, and redirecting public power toward private gain. This deeper structural transformation is often called state capture, and it has altered political systems from South Africa to Guatemala to Sri Lanka. What is this...

On Nov. 13, the Trump administration took the unprecedented step of adding four groups in Europe to the U.S. government’s list of specially designated global terrorists (SDGTs). The administration also stated its intent to add each of these entities to the State Department’s list of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), claiming that all four are affiliated with “Antifa.” The development marks an escalation in the administration’s efforts to recast anti-fascist activism as a matt...

International law professors Chiara Giorgetti, Milena Sterio, and Rebecca Hamilton join Just Security’s Managing Editor, Megan Corrarino, to discuss takeaways from the American Branch of the International Law Association (ABILA)’s Oct. 23-25 International Law Weekend. In this special episode co-produced with ABILA’s International Law Chats podcast, which Giorgetti and Sterio co-host along with Alison Macdonald KC, the guests — each of whom also participated in International Law Weekend ...

Since early September, President Donald Trump has ordered a series of U.S. military strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea the administration claims are linked to drug trafficking groups, leaving 32 people dead. One recent strike left two survivors, briefly detained by the U.S. military, and now reportedly repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador. The latest strike was reported by the Trump administration to have targeted suspected drug traffickers affiliated with a Colombian rebel group. The Whi...

Since early September, President Trump has ordered the U.S. military to conduct multiple lethal strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of drug trafficking, resulting in at least 21 deaths. What do we actually know about the people killed and the vessels targeted? What legal justification is the administration putting forward for the killings— and is it viable? Is there anything to stop the President from making further “terrorist” designations, of citizens or non-citizens, and...

Leading scholar on domestic violent extremism and prevention strategies, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, joins Just Security Senior Fellow Tom Joscelyn to discuss her new book, Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism. They explore the intersection of gender, radicalization, and violence. Show Note: Man Up: The New Misogyny and the Rise of Violent Extremism (Princeton University Press) by Cynthia Miller-IdrissJust Security’s Domestic Violent Extremism archive

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 is set to expire at the end of this month on September 30, 2025. The Act removes barriers to companies sharing information about cyber threats, addressing privacy concerns and requires the federal government to share threat information. Many consider CISA one of the foundations of U.S. cybersecurity efforts. As Congress considers whether or not to reauthorize CISA, former Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI cyber division,...

Last week, Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) unveiled a new “national security war plan,” centered on reviving the middle class, winning the global tech race, and rethinking how Americans are protected in an era of shifting threats and changing geopolitical realities. Senator Slotkin joins Just Security’s editors-in-chief Ryan Goodman and Tess Bridgeman to discuss the relationship between economic security and national security, the tools Congress should use to defend against threats to our...

Last week, the United States carried out an unprecedented strike against a vessel suspected of narcotics trafficking in the Caribbean, destroying the vessel and reportedly killing 11 people on board. This action raises highly concerning questions about the process followed within the U.S. government: how and by whom was the strike authorized? Why was it carried out by U.S. armed forces? And what kind of accountability or pushback might we see from Congress, in courts, or within the gove...

David Aaron is joined by Mary McCord and Zachary Myers to discuss last week’s search of the office and residence of former National Security Advisor John Bolton. The experts unpack what the execution of these warrants means, and what we should expect next in this unfolding investigation. Show Notes: Letter from Adm. Michael S. Rogers, Director, NSA submitted in United States v. Pho, 1:17-cr-00631 (GLR), ECF 20-1 (Sept. 18, 2018)Willfulness and the Harm of Unlawful Retention of Nat...

The Trump administration’s unprecedented federalization of policing in Washington, D.C. raises significant legal and policy questions about the Executive Branch’s power over the Metropolitan Police Department and the use of National Guard forces from D.C. and other states, among other pressing topics. To break down the latest developments, host David Aaron is joined by Brian Netter, Legal Director at Democracy Forward and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice, ...

This week, the Trump administration took over command of the D.C. police department, and surged federal law enforcement officers and National Guard units into the city. While the United States has a long tradition of leaving most policing to state and local agencies, federal law enforcement has specific powers, and there are well-established limits on the use of military forces for domestic law enforcement, but the rules for DC are particular. In this episode, host David Aaron is joined by Ca...

Ukraine’s response to the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion has been defined by extraordinary civilian mobilization. As millions of Ukrainians face the devastation of their homes, schools, and communities, volunteers—especially women—have stepped up in unprecedented ways to support the nation’s survival. In this episode, host Viola Gienger is joined by Lauren Van Metre, President and CEO of Women in International Security (WIIS) and a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s ...

Yesterday, the White House released its long-awaited AI Action Plan and signed three executive orders on AI, laying out the Trump administration’s strategy to secure what it calls “unquestioned and unchallenged” U.S. dominance across the entire AI tech stack. Framing AI as a global race for technological supremacy, the Plan envisions nothing short of an industrial revolution, an information revolution—and even a renaissance—all driven by AI. To achieve that vision, the Plan is centere...

The massive budget bill that passed this month allocates tens of billions of dollars to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI). The influx of funding of that scope and size will significantly expand the role DHS and immigration enforcement agencies play in American life. What are the the institutional constraints on the FBI and law enforcement agencies compared to those on DHS and immigration enforce...

President Donald Trump this week put weapons behind his growing irritation with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intransigence on negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Meeting at the White House with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, President Trump announced that the United States will work with European allies in NATO to send advanced weapon systems, including Patriot missile batteries, to Ukraine. He also threatened tariffs and additional sanctions against Russia and countries that do...

In a picturesque valley in the mountains of eastern Bosnia, thousands of white gravestones bear witness to a mass atrocity that still struggles for a place in Europe’s conscience. Nearly 8,400 names are etched into a stone memorial, a stark reminder of the Srebrenica Genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 – 30 years ago this year. And yet, too many political leaders and others continue denying the scale and scope of the travesty that unfolded there. Wha...

Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its highly anticipated judgement in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia–a watershed moment in international human rights law. In this episode, Just Security Executive Editor and professor at American University Washington College of Law Rebecca Hamilton, and Just Security editorial board member and professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Tom Dannenbaum join Just Security co-edit...

Iran’s nuclear program has long been a source of international tension. Early in U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, hopes for a diplomatic resolution resurfaced—until June, when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites. Days later, the United States joined the conflict, bombing three sites within Iran. Iran retaliated with missile attacks in Israel and a U.S. base in Qatar, and suspended cooperation with nuclear inspectors. With both Washington and Tehran signalin...

The leaders of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, just finished their annual Summit in The Hague in The Netherlands, as Ukraine continues its existential fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion that began more than three years ago. That invasion, preceded six years earlier by the capture of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine, set off the biggest war in Europe since World War II. How do Ukrainian leaders see the outcome of the NATO Summit? What are the prospects for negotiatio...

Over the past several days, the Trump administration has taken increasingly drastic steps in response to protest activity and unrest in Los Angeles — including federalizing 4,000 National Guard troops and sending hundreds of Marines, against the objections of California’s state and local leadership. As events unfold on the ground in LA, and in the lead-up to further anticipated protests this weekend, Just Security and the Reiss Center on Law and Security hosted a YouTube Live event to e...

In recent years, the United States has sustained some of the most severe cyber threats in recent history– from the Russian-government directed hack SolarWinds to China’s prepositioning in U.S. critical infrastructure for future sabotage attacks through groups like Volt Typhoon. The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is responsible for responding to, and protecting against these attacks. How do leaders steer through cyber crises, build trust, and chart a path forward?&n...

For nearly 70 years, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division led efforts to protect voting rights and fight racial discrimination at the polls. But in January 2025, DOJ political appointees froze all new civil rights cases and dismissed every major pending voting rights lawsuit—prompting most career attorneys to leave the Division. With federal challenges to restrictive voting laws now dropped in several states, the fight for voting rights falls to individual voters and advocacy groups, raising...

The State Department has released a reorganization plan that would usher in significant changes to the way the United States conducts its diplomacy and foreign assistance, at a time of considerable geopolitical change. Proposals by the Trump administration include eliminating or restructuring a number of the Department’s longstanding functions, dissolving and/or folding USAID into State, and imposing large budget and staffing cuts. Debates over how to structure and optimize the State De...

As the Supreme Court holds oral arguments on Thursday, May 15, Kristin A. Collins, Gerald Neuman and Rachel E. Rosenbloom argue that Executive Order 14160, which denies birthright citizenship to any child born in the United States who does not have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, clearly violates the birthright citizenship federal statute. They note the statute has not received as much public attention, as they discuss the 1940s and 1950s legislat...

Now in its third year, the Russo-Ukraine War has upended the post-Cold War security landscape, exposing deep fractures in the global balance of power. As western unity frays and U.S. diplomacy shifts under President Trump, the war has become a flashpoint for competing visions of the international order. This week, the European Union gave Russia an ultimatum: accept a proposed ceasefire or face expanded sanctions—just days ahead of a potential round of direct peace talks in Istanbu...

On Friday, May 9, senior White House official Stephen Miller said: "The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended at a time of invasion. So I would say that’s an action we’re actively looking at." CNN later reported that President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions in the administration over potentially suspending habeas. In this episode of the podcast, Ryan Goodman discuss...

An audio of Ilya Somin's Just Security article, which has become more topical by the day. The title: "What Just Happened: The Invasion Executive Order and Its Dangerous Implications." Somin is a Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, and author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom (Oxford University Press).

May 3rd marks World Press Freedom Day. This year especially, press freedom is under threat in the United States from a range of directions: from hostile official rhetoric and actions to self-censorship and systemic appeasement, to just basic information overload. As the Trump administration continues to “flood the zone,” how can we assess individual developments to discern broader trends that might help us better understand what’s happening, its impact and what we can do about it? Just...

In early April 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two major policies on Federal Agency Use of AI and Federal Procurement of AI - OMB memos M-25-21 and M-25-22, respectively. These memos were revised at the direction of President Trump’s January 2025 executive order, “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” and replaced the Biden-era guidance. Under the direction of the same executive order, the Department of Energy (DOE) also put ...

The North African country of Sudan marks two years of war this week. The fighting between rival military factions – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – has killed an estimated 150,000 people and forced more than 15 million people from their homes. Almost 25 million people face acute hunger, according to United Nations agencies. It’s the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. How did Sudan get to this point? What’s the current state of play in Sudan, and where does ...