Deep State Radio

Former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was praised in a multitude of articles and broadcasts marking the 10th anniversary of the elimination of Osama Bin Laden earlier this month. But in an hour long interview with Jeff Stein, he described a major failing of US intelligence during his watch. Listen to it here.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

CIA clandestine services veteran and longtime Middle East hand Marc Polymeropoulos tells Jeff Stein that the CIA no longer prizes regional expertise, instead opting for spy corps “generalists” who can be shifted from region to region. In this Special Edition of the SpyTalk podcast, Polymeropoulos laments the passing of Charlie Seidel, who he calls the CIA’s “last great Arabist.” Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Biden Administration is working hard to maintain a fairly traditional front for US-Israel relations during the current crisis. Which is to say they are essentially following the playbook the Obama Administration would have followed (Trump's bromance with Bibi was an outlier). But times are changing, the views of Democrats are changing, the generational outlook is changing, and don't forget Bibi's bromance with Trump which did not help matters. We discuss what could trigger a change with former top Israeli diplomat and foreign policy specialist Alon Pinkas, the American Enterprise Institute's Kori Schake and Rosa Brooks of Georgetown Law School. Don't miss it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis who popularized the phrase "states are laboratories of democracy." That has never been clearer than at this moment when some of the most important innovation in governing is coming from states...and some folks, notably on the right, are working on experiments that may end up crippling democracy or even killing it. To get a sense of what is going on at the state level in US politics, we take a look at one bellwether state, Virginia, through the eyes of one of its most promising political leaders, current gubernatorial candidate State Senator Jennifer McClellan. Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution and formerly of the Obama White House and host David Rothkopf discuss with Senator McClellan some of the key issues in US politics today from voting rights to justice reform to child care and education. Don't miss it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the fourth edition of the SpyTalk podcast, former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen talks with co-host Jeanne Meserve about combatting “psychological warfare” disinformation attacks from Russia, China, Iran and even Venezuela, and former top CIA analyst Mathew Burrows tells her that US intelligence is so busy coping with immediate threats they “can’t see the forest for the trees.” Leading off the show, Jeff Stein talks with Janis Shinwari, an Afghan interpreter for US intelligence units, who says thousands of his comrades are terrified about being left behind and murdered by the Taliban when US forces leave in September.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this special episode of Deep State Radio, we discuss the Covid-19 crisis in India with Washington Post Global Opinion Columnist, Rana Ayyub, who is covering the crisis from the front lines from her home in Mumbai and describes unimaginable suffering, both personally and across her country. Rana is joined by Edward Luce of the Financial Times and practicing physician and former Obama health advisor, Dr. Kavita Patel. This episode is available in its entirety exclusively to our members. For more information about becoming a member, please visit thedsrnetwork.com/membership-levels. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The US could be back in the Iran nuclear accord by the end of the month. There are plenty of hurdles to that, of course, but it is not impossible. And if not by then, then perhaps it will happen by Fall. We discuss why that is likely to be a good thing with the Quincy Institute's Joe Cirincione, the American Enterprise Institute's Kori Schake, and Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University Law School. We also discuss violence in Israel, the challenges the situation there poses for the Biden team and...the future of the Italian monarchy. Which is how we got to the Instagram discussion in the first place. Don't miss it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ronald Reagan would not have been president nor would he have enjoyed the successes he had as a politician without the active role played by his wife, Nancy. Often underestimated, sometimes the subject of gossipy slights, this woman was really one of the principle architects of a watershed presidency, among the very top advisors in an era in which some of the others including Washington titans like James Baker and George Bush. Washington Post columnist Karen Tumulty has written what is already being hailed as the definitive biography of the former first lady, "The Triumph of Nancy Reagan." The book itself is a triumph and offers a vital insight into a watershed moment in modern American history. It also is rich with color including from the golden age of Hollywood. We discuss all that in a special one-on-one conversation with the author that you won't want to miss. Join us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In an important ruling this week, Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote a scathing assessment of the Barr Department of Justice's efforts to rationalize their handling of the serial obstruction of justice within the Trump Administration. This may have been another significant step toward getting some accountability for the last administration's serial abuses. The decision came in a case brought by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). We are joined by CREW president Noah Bookbinder and our regulars, NYU Law Professor and co-editor of Just Security Ryan Goodman and former senior Obama White House official and former Senate staffer Dr. Kavita Patel to discuss how, if ever, we might get from where we are toward bringing Trump and his associates to true justice. It's an important discussion that you won't want to miss. Join us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeanne Meserve looks into the mysterious directed-energy attacks on officials in Washington with Mark Zaid, lawyer for CIA and State Department victims. Then Ronen Bergman, author of a groundbreaking book on Israeli assassination operations, talks with Jeff Stein about the effect of Mossad’s hits on Iran’s nuclear scientists and uranium facilities. Last but hardly least, Jeanne talks at length with technology venture capitalist Gilman Louie about his work with the CIA and the perils of losing the race on artificial intelligence to America’s adversaries. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe Biden is doing a remarkable job. Public support for Biden's bold economic initiatives is exceptionally high. But there are warning signs about what may be around the next bend in American politics. The GOP is punishing those in its ranks who dared to speak the truth. The most extreme actors on the right seem to have the best prospects. Republicans are posed to do well in the 2022 mid-terms. And if that happens, will this moment be seen as a momentary return to sanity before we continue the Trumpian slide to neo-fascism? Do threats to democracy elsewhere in the world, such as India, forebode ill as well? We discuss with Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University, Max Boot of the Washington Post and Ed Luce of the Financial Times. Pour yourself a stiff drink and tune in. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We are in the middle of an economic sea-change in the United States. The prevailing views of the past 40 years--call them Reaganomics or neo-liberalism or the Washington Consensus--are being pushed aside. The inequality they left in their wake are being addressed by new policies that focus on investing in the middle class and the most vulnerable. The leader of this revolution is not some young firebrand but a seasoned figure of the Washington establishment, President Joe Biden. We discuss his bold economic vision and its potential consequences with Ed Luce and Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times. It's a great, provocative discussion. Don' miss it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe Biden spoke to a joint session of Congress and outlined an economic plan that exceeds in scope anything we have seen nearly a century. It was specific, doable, and would be paid for simply by restoring taxes to levels they were at past periods of American prosperity and growth. He framed it as not just urgent from a domestic perspective but critical to "winning the 21st Century", to our competition with China. Is it realistic? How will it become law? How will the GOP respond? What are the political consequences? (And what are the consequences of this weeks' raid on Rudy Giuliani's Upper East Side of Manhattan apartment?). We discuss with Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution and Ryan Goodman of NYU Law School and "Just Security." Don't miss it. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week’s edition of the SpyTalk podcast, Jeff Stein goes deep on the CIA’s looming eviction from Afghanistan with Lisa Curtis, a longtime former CIA, State Department and White House National Security Council expert on the region. And then co-host Jeanne Meserve conducts a lively interview with a former senior CIA and NSA analyst, Alma Katsu, about her new, post-government-service thriller, Red Widow, which features a gutsy female spy heroine. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Going from Donald Trump to Joe Biden has been as striking a political shift as most Americans have encountered in their lifetimes. But the shift has sent shockwaves around the world. America's allies are cautiously optimistic. Autocrats not so much. We discuss the first 100 days of Biden foreign and national security policy and their implications with Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute, David Sanger of the New York Times and Ed Luce of the Financial Times. Join us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the wake of the Derek Chauvin verdict, while there was a consensus that a degree of justice was achieved, that a massive job of work remained to end the long history of systemic racism in US law enforcement and throughout society. The question is how do we get there from here? Will government have the courage to stand up to special interests and produce the kind of real structural change that is necessary? Or will this issue be punted and produce further tragedies, abuses and social division? We discuss with former US attorney and host of the "Talking Feds" podcast Harry Litman and Dr. Kavita Patel, former senior official in the Obama White House. Join us. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, in the debut edition of the SpyTalk podcast, co-host Jeff Stein talks to the Washington Post’s Joby Warrick about an extraordinary CIA operation in Syria, as told in his new book, Red Line. Jeff and co-host Jeanne Meserve also discuss the Biden administration’s recent expulsion of suspected Russian spies, then Jeanne talks with former NSA Director and Cyber Command chief Admiral Mike Rogers about Chinese, Russian and other hackers’ infiltration of U.S. computer networks. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week, President Biden announced the US would be pulling our last troops out of Afghanistan by September 11 of this year. At the same time, leaders in the Intelligence Community met with Congress to discuss emerging threats--from China to tech war. Our experts discuss these developments as well as new developments concerning Russia, a bilateral meeting with Japan and an outbreak of diplomacy in the practice of US foreign policy. Join Lara Jakes of the New York Times, Kori Schake of the American Enterprise Institute and Rosa Brooks of Georgetown University Law School for a discussion of where we are right now and where we are headed.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the one hand, America's vaccine roll out is making great progress. On the other, in the last week COVID cases are on the rise in 38 states. On the one hand, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are working remarkably well. On the other hand, Astra Zeneca and perhaps Johnson and Johnson not so much. (Or maybe the government is over-reacting to a very tiny number of problem cases with the J&J vaccine.) On the one hand we know more about the disease. On the other hand it keeps changing and about a third of us just don't want to know the science. Where does this lead? We discuss with Pulitzer Prize-winner Laurie Garrett, former senior Obama health specialist Dr. Kavita Patel and Ryan Goodman of NYU Law School. Also: A special conversation about latest revelations about Trump and Russia and the Biden team's response.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two time Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof has set himself from other columnists by virtue of his deep reporting into the subjects about which he writes. In this exclusive conversation, Deep State listeners and host David Rothkopf pose questions on the subjects that have dominated his work over the years--from China to conflict zones, from social problems in America to protecting the rights of women and girls. Don't miss this wide-ranging and provocative conversation. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/deepstateradio. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.