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PODCAST

State Secrets

The Cipher Brief

State Secrets is a weekly interview podcast featuring Cipher Brief experts and national security leaders.

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All Episodes

49:08

National Security Hollywood Style

State Secrets ·

2025/03/24

When Walter Parkes co-wrote the movie War Games in 1983, he had no idea what he had launched. The movie about a teen hacker played by Matthew Broderick examined what might happen if someone breached the security systems around U.S. nuclear weapons. As it turned out, then-President Ronald Reagan saw the movie and asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the time whether it was possible. After an investigation, the answer came back, “Sir, it’s actually worse than you think.” Eighteen months later, the

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19:57

China Keeps Breaking Barriers on Artificial Intelligence

State Secrets ·

2025/03/13

So, what does it mean for U.S. national security? State Secrets is talking with Chip Usher, Senior Director at Eric Schmidt’s Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP), about the broader implications of what DeepSeek and other breakthroughs in AI mean for national security.

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30:53

Former DEA Official Explains the New Terrorist...

State Secrets ·

2025/01/30

In this conversation, Mike Vigil discusses the recent designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government, a move he says is largely symbolic with little real impact on the cartels' operations. He highlights the complexities of U.S.-Mexico relations, the ongoing fentanyl crisis, and the risks of military escalation. Vigil also offers advice for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on addressing drug trafficking in Central America, stressing the importance of creating

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25:50

The Seismic Impact of Artificial Intelligence

State Secrets ·

2025/01/21

Few people have the perspective that Lt. Gen Mike Groen (ret.) has when it comes to Artificial Intelligence and the impact it has and will have in the national security space. Before retiring from the military, Lt. General Groen served as Director of the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Today, he’s ringing the alarm about AI. The military is already adapting AI, so how does he think we need to be understanding it today?

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39:47

Target: Start Up: How Entrepreneurs in Tech are...

State Secrets ·

2025/01/06

Michael Casey is Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the part of the Director of National Intelligence that leads and supports the counterintelligence and security activities of the U.S. Government. NCSC produces the National Counterintelligence Strategy of the United States and includes the National Insider Threat Task Force. NCSC also plays a critical role in conducting outreach to the private sector on foreign intelligence threats: how to recognize them and how to

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31:31

Giving Back to the Intelligence and Military Communities

State Secrets ·

2024/12/17

The Cipher Brief has been honored to support a number of non-profit organizations over the years that have made giving back their mission – especially in the national security world. In this episode of State Secrets, we’re welcoming David Kramer, a self-described ‘regular guy who wanted to give back’ and Jeremy Morton, a former special operations operator who has done some pretty impressive stuff during his time in the military – to talk about how they’re giving back via a non-profit called

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32:53

Former Trump Ambassador on Why Ukraine ‘Must’ Win

State Secrets ·

2024/12/11

Cipher Brief Expert and former Senior CIA Officer Glenn Corn is asking the questions of former Governor James Gilmore as this week’s guest host. Gilmore served as Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe under the first Trump Administration and says it’s critical that Ukraine wins this war.

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39:36

The Case for Overhauling the Department of Defense

State Secrets ·

2024/12/05

The Hon. Gilman Louie has had quite the career in national security, one that – despite his family’s background of service – he wasn’t exactly planning on. Now the co-founder and managing partner of America’s Frontier Fund, a phone call early in his career set him on a path that would lead to a 30+ year career “in the business” as they say. Louie’s focus on investing in future U.S. national security from the private sector side is a fascinating story. And his views on the technology race with China

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26:44

On a Collision Course with China

State Secrets ·

2024/11/21

Beijing is building its largest military since the 1930s and Matt Pottinger and his colleagues at Stanford are deeply concerned. First as a former journalist, and then as former Deputy National Security Advisor in the first Trump Administration, Pottinger has been watching what Chinese President Xi Jinping both says and does - for decades. He explains to The Cipher Brief’s State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly why those two things are making it very clear that China is on a collision course with

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37:22

Yes, We’re in a National Security Crisis

State Secrets ·

2024/11/08

Silicon Valley Entrepreneur and author Steve Blank thinks way outside the Washington DC beltway. The Stanford Professor who teaches courses on lean start-ups, innovation and the art of entrepreneurship – also blogs regularly. It may not be a state secrets that one of his blogs published earlier this year about why large organizations struggle with disruption – and what to do about it – was a not-so-veiled reference to the pentagon. State Secrets host Suzanne Kelly sits down with Blank to talk about

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45:01

The Government Agency that actually is trying to get...

State Secrets ·

2024/09/30

The Defense Counterintelligence & Security Agency touches more than 90% of the personnel security background checks that help determine whether a job candidate receives a security clearance. But the agency has other missions as well, all focused on enhancing national security. State Secrets podcast host Suzanne Kelly talks with Director David Cattler about the agency’s responsibilities, about just how long it takes to get a clearance, the challenges associated with clearing a workforce and about

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39:25

Israel and the Law of International Armed Conflict

State Secrets ·

2024/08/20

An Israeli airstrike against a school building in Gaza City earlier this month, killed nearly 100 people. Israel said the school served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility. Hamas – which regularly sets up operational headquarters in civilian areas - denies it. With so many innocent civilians killed, this is exactly the kind of strike that is drawing intense criticism some ten months into Israel’s war against Hamas. A war that started with Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on

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40:57

America’s Wake Up Call on National Security

State Secrets ·

2024/08/13

General Jack Keane (Ret.) talks to State Secrets host Suzanne Kelly about the serious threat posed to the U.S. today, by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. And about how Americans need to take what’s happening in today’s world as a wake-up call and come together in ways we haven’t done since WWII, to ensure future U.S. national security.

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31:55

The Arrest of Sinaloa Kingpin Ismael Zambada and Its...

State Secrets ·

2024/08/01

In this episode of the State Secrets Podcast, Brad Christian interviews Mike Vigil, a former DEA Chief of International Operations, about the recent arrest of Ismael Zambada, co-founder of the Sinaloa Cartel, and the implications for the drug trade and US-Mexico relations. They discuss the background of Zambada and the Sinaloa Cartel, the timing of the arrest, the role of fentanyl in the drug trade, and the challenges of combating the cartels. Vigil emphasizes the need for public awareness and

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41:16

Outgoing Director of the National Counterterrorism...

State Secrets ·

2024/07/19

Christine Abizaid, who has served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) for the past three years, sits down with State Secrets Podcast host Suzanne Kelly to talk about how the threat of terrorism has changed dramatically over the years and why the threat to Americans is still very real.

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23:18

TRM Labs and National Security: A View from Inside an...

State Secrets ·

2024/07/17

In this sponsored episode of the State Secrets podcast, host Suzanne Kelly talks with Sujit Raman, Chief Legal Officer at TRM Labs about how the private sector is working with government to address some of today’s most pressing national security challenges and how professionals like Raman, who also served as Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice, are helping bridge gaps between government and the private sector.

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19:37

At NATO Summit, Putin’s Greatest Weapon is still a...

State Secrets ·

2024/07/10

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges (Ret.) Former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Europe, talks to State Secrets host Suzanne Kelly about this week’s NATO Summit in Washington DC, what Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky wants, what Europe needs to ensure its own future security and why Hodges thinks that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s greatest weapon is his ability to scare the west when it comes to taking more aggressive action to win the war in Ukraine.

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37:12

How Technology Impacts U.S. Intelligence

State Secrets ·

2024/06/28

When former Google CEO Eric Schmidt launched the bipartisan Special Competitive Studies Project – known as SCSP - in 2021, he did it with the intention of bringing together the best and brightest minds in technology to make recommendations that would strengthen America’s long-term competitiveness in an increasingly complex world – a world where technology provides game-changing advantages. In this edition of the State Secrets podcast, host Suzanne Kelly welcomes Chip Usher, who spent 32 years at CIA

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42:06

The Lights Are Going Out All Over Europe

State Secrets ·

2024/06/24

In this episode of the State Secrets podcast, we’re talking with Cipher Brief Expert, Nick Fishwick, a former senior member of the British Foreign Office, about his column in The Cipher Brief titled, “The Lights are Going Out all over Europe”. Fishwick is talking about Europe’s relationship with Russia as it considers the possibility of war after Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The decline of the relationship between Moscow and western governments which, until recently, still

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40:49

High Command with Retired General Frank McKenzie

State Secrets ·

2024/06/19

In this episode of State Secrets, we’re talking with Cipher Brief Expert, retired General Frank McKenzie. General McKenzie served for forty-two years in the U.S. military as a Marine and retired as the fourteenth commander of U.S. Central Command. He also served as Director of the Joint Staff. Perhaps one of the missions he is best known for was overseeing the targeted drone assassination of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in January of 2020. It was a strong and clear U.S. response to the

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145 results

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