Host Karen J. Greenberg welcomed CNS Distinguished Fellow for Global Security and former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Ali Soufan at CNS on February 15, 2022 for a conversation on The U.S. and Today's Foreig

Richard Conn on Letting Go of Religion and Embracing Reality

Oct 22nd, 2021 35m 28s

What will it take for the world to renounce religious dogma and discover humanity’s place in it through science and reason? Can it save our societies from perpetual conflict? Attorney and investment fund manager Richard Conn joins this episode

Anthony Romero on Post-9/11 Challenges

Sep 17th, 2021 50m 24s

ACLU Director Anthony Romero joins our special series on 9/11 to discuss the challenges, accomplishments and persistent hurdles experienced by the ACLU and the country in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Guantanamo Docket: New York Times Journalists Carol Rosenberg and Charlie Savage on Keeping a Record of Guantanamo

Sep 14th, 2021 48m 21s

Who remains at Guantanamo Bay? What’s more to be known? And can the Biden administration finally close the notorious detention center? Journalists Carol Rosenberg and Charlie Savage discuss lessons culled from nearly two decades of reporting on

Spencer Ackerman on the Perpetual Shadow of 9/11

Sep 13th, 2021 44m 21s

In his new book, Reign of Terror: How the 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump, journalist Spencer Ackerman traces America’s response to 9/11 to the violence, vitriol and instability the country faces today, part of Vital Interests

Peter Bergen on the Life and Impact of Osama Bin Laden

Sep 10th, 2021 34m 13s

Journalist Peter Bergen has spent decades reflecting on the man responsible for the attacks on 9/11. Now, twenty years after that fateful day, he joins our commemoration series to provide insights into Osama bin Laden’s life, his lasting influe

Richard Clarke on the Mistakes Made Before 9/11 and the Lessons We Have Yet to Learn

Sep 9th, 2021 57m 55s

What were the failures in the lead up to the attacks on 9/11? What lessons should we take from that fateful event and our response to it to better prepare for the crises of the future? Former White House terrorism advisor Richard Clarke joins o

Journalist Craig Unger on Spies, Lies, and the Threats to American Democracy

Jun 8th, 2021 32m 11s

How do America’s top leaders use power to enrich themselves and further their interests? From the Bush administration to the GOP and the Trump presidency, Craig Unger has spent the last twenty years uncovering the “unseen” ways in which power w

Joshua Dratel on Reforming America’s Criminal Justice System

May 25th, 2021 33m 35s

Many Americans think that U.S. criminal justice system is unfair, ineffective, and broken. So how do we fix it? Joshua Dratel, a leading criminal defense attorney, joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss.

Ken Wainstein - Thinking about National Security Twenty Years Ago and Now

May 11th, 2021 31m 46s

Twenty years after 9/11, Ken Wainstein, Homeland Security Advisor to George W. Bush, reflects on security and 21st century challenges.

Clint Watts on How Social Media Changed the Internet, Distorts Reality, and Fuels Extremism

Apr 27th, 2021 28m 37s

How can America counter group mentality? Clint Watts, a national security, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity expert, joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss disinformation, conspiracy theories, and domestic terrorism.

Hina Shamsi on Protecting Human Rights in an Era of Heightened Global Security

Apr 13th, 2021 32m 1s

Twenty years after 9/11, with President Biden in the White House, are we ready for a new approach to security and justice? Hina Shamsi joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss the ICC, the no fly list, the First Amendment, and t

Jessica Stern Reflects on a Career Studying Terrorism

Mar 30th, 2021 26m 34s

Boston University Professor Jessica Stern joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss how a perceived loss of status is helping to radicalize young people, and how understanding these feelings could be key to stopping them from bec

Colin Clarke on Countering Violent Extremism in the US and Abroad

Mar 16th, 2021 33m 44s

Are we seeing something new in terrorist violence? Colin Clarke, the Director of Policy and Research at the Soufan Group, joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss what’s changed—and what’s stayed the same—in extremist ideology a

Nick Rasmussen on How to Tackle Extremism on the Internet

Mar 2nd, 2021 38m 1s

Nick Rasmussen, the inaugural executive director of the Global Internet Forum to Counterterrorism (GIFCT) joins this episode of the Vital Interests Podcast to discuss how his organization is helping major technology companies moderate extremist

Sheila Foster on the City as a Commons

Feb 16th, 2021 43m 44s

In this episode of Vital Interest Podcast, Sheila Foster, a professor of urban law and policy at Georgetown University and the co-director of LabGov, reimagines traditional structures of governance in cities. She offers a new approach: the Co-C

Rebroadcast: Ali Soufan on January 6th and the Threat To Democracy: What Went Wrong and How Should We Respond?

Feb 2nd, 2021 1h 3m

Host Karen J. Greenberg welcomed Ali Soufan for a virtual event at the Center on National Security at Fordham Law titled "January 6th and the Threat To Democracy: What Went Wrong and How Should We Respond?" The full event can be watched on our

Matt Duss on the Insurrection at the Capitol and Rethinking American Foreign Policy

Jan 19th, 2021 35m 59s

Matt Duss, Foreign Policy Advisor to Bernie Sanders, joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss the Capitol Riots, Biden’s foreign policy challenges, and the legacy of 9/11. Vital Interests Podcast with Karen Greenberg is brought

Annie Owens on Reforming the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel

Jan 6th, 2021 34m 52s

The Justice Department’s legitimacy took a hit under the Trump administration. Can reforms within its Office of Legal Counsel—and a rule-of-law-abiding new Attorney General— help burnish its reputation? Annie Owens, a former Attorney Advisor in

Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin on the Problems of Counterterrorism in the Post-9/11 World

Dec 15th, 2020 36m 31s

Nearly 20 years after 9/11, one might ask, where do we stand now in terms of counterterrorism policies? What have we accomplished? What remains to be done? Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human R

Peter Beinart on Biden’s Foreign Policy Challenges

Dec 8th, 2020 31m 23s

Journalist Peter Beinart joins this episode of Vital Interests Podcast to discuss China, multilateralism, a One-State solution for Israel – and more. Vital Interests Podcast with Karen Greenberg is brought to you by the Center on National Secur

Rebroadcast: Seamus Hughes' Homegrown: ISIS in America

Dec 1st, 2020 1h

Seamus Hughes joined host Karen J. Greenberg on November 19th to discuss his new book: Homegrown: ISIS in America. The full webinar can be watched on our website at CenterOnNationalSecurity.org/events. Vital Interests Podcast with Karen Greenbe

Steve Blank on Expecting the Unexpected: Silicon Valley and 21st Century Warfare

Nov 25th, 2020 35m 7s

Tech entrepreneur and early leader of the Lean Startup movement Steve Blank joins this episode of the Vital Interests Podcast to discuss his Stanford University course, Hacking for Defense, and how the lessons learned from successful startups i

Rebroadcast: John Brennan's "Undaunted" with Samantha Power

Nov 17th, 2020 1h

Host Karen J. Greenberg welcomed John Brennan and Samantha Power on October 15th to discuss Brennan's new book Undaunted: My Fight Against America's Enemies, At Home and Abroad. The full event can be watched on our website at CenterOnNationalSe

Edwin Frank on Literature, the Pandemic, and our World

Nov 10th, 2020 29m 12s

Edwin Frank, the editorial director for the New York Review of Books, joins the podcast to discuss his long-running collection, the NYRB Classics Series. Vital Interests Podcast with Karen Greenberg is brought to you by the Center on National S