Age of Danger: Reimagining the National Security Machine Amidst Threats from Superpowers, Germs, Digits, Drones, and Storms with Andrew Hoehn and Thom Shanker

This week, A'ndre interviewed Andrew Hoehn (Senior Director of Research at RAND) and Thom Shanker (Director of Project for Media and National Security) on their new book Age of Danger, which aims to reassess and redefine how the United States approaches national security, amidst a range of new and emerging threats. Andrew and Thom talk about why the U.S. Government focused too much on the threat of terrorism for twenty years, while missing the mark on the rise of China and Russia. We also discuss the country's long-time focus on hard power (military might, weapons, and more) and why there needs to be a shift to emphasizing soft power (diplomacy, economics, and influence). We call out the emerging threats of pandemics, cyber, autonomous technologies, and climate change, and both Andrew and Thom discuss how they'd retool the $1.25 trillion national security machine to be better able at addressing those threats.

Age of Danger:  Keeping America Safe in an Era of New Superpowers, New Weapons, and New Threats is out on May 9th, and you can purchase the book here.