The Burn Bag Podcast

Welcome to the Burn Bag's collaboration with Girl Security, a workforce mentorship program designed to help young women pursue careers in National Security. This series focuses on how we can reframe our thinking on National Security — what is pertinent to national security in the 21st century? Who, or what, is missing from the national security discussion? Join us as we explore topics within each episode alongside experts in the realm of national security, hosted by Andrea Ochoa and Girl Security Fellows. Burn Bag Podcast co-host Andrea and Girl Security Fellows Amanda Hart and Emilie Reitinger join Former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy and Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Susan Gordon in a discussion on Refocusing Defense. We talk more in depth about the changing nature of national security priorities in the 21st century, and segue into stakeholder engagement within the national security apparatus.  Ultimately, how can we rethink our national security approach while maintaining a strong defense? Join us as we delve into these issues and more as both Michèle and Susan bring their wealth of knowledge to the table. 

Welcome to the Burn Bag's collaboration with Girl Security, a workforce mentorship program designed to help young women pursue careers in National Security. This series focuses on how we can reframe our thinking on National Security — what is pertinent to national security in the 21st century? Who, or what, is missing from the national security discussion? Join us as we explore topics within each episode alongside experts in the realm of national security, hosted by Andrea Ochoa and Girl Security Fellows. For our introductory episode, we are joined by Lauren Buitta and Gina Bennett, CEO and Strategic Advisor of Girl Security, respectively. We will go more in depth into the work Girl Security is doing to make the national security field more inclusive, as well as how we can rethink national security to understand the true scope of national security threats. We will introduce our series, and talk a little bit more about Gina’s Hunter-Gatherer National Security as well. We look forward to having you listen as we speak with more guests throughout the series! 

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!For episode 6 of Risky Business, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Bill Priestap are joined by Dan Nardello, Founder of Nardello and Co. (a private investigations firm), who discusses the intersections of his firm's work, business, and national security. Dan talks about how he factors national security issues into his work, and how he leverages the information and intelligence collected through investigations in addressing these issues when they collide. Dan provides an overview of how the global investigative field has changed over the last two decades, in addition to commenting on how his business works in enabling risk mitigation. We also get Dan's take on what the biggest threats are to business leaders, and what has genuinely surprised him about the field in recent years.

Are we living in the most dangerous year in history? Or was that 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis? According to former Air Force Intelligence Officer Brian J. Morra, the answer is neither -- rather, it was 1983. Brian makes this case, outlining how the United States and the Soviet Union narrowly avoided nuclear catastrophe, after months of tensions, tough rhetoric, and a tragic shoot-down of a Korean civilian airliner. Burn Bag host A'ndre chats with Brian about these events, dramatized in his new book, The Able Archers, based on Brian's own experiences working on intelligence issues during this time period. Brian shares why the Soviets believed that the United States was willing to launch a first strike under the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose tough rhetoric against the Kremlin led to heightened paranoia in the mind of dying Soviet Leader Yuri Andropov. This paranoia came to a head  in September, when a lone Soviet officer prevented a nuclear war scare after a series of false alarms, and in November, when a NATO exercise caused the Soviets to bolster their nuclear posturing in fears that the United States was actually about to launch a first strike. Many of these events came to light decades after 1983, but Brian shares these stories and more in this fascinating episode.You can purchase Brian's book,The Able Archers, here.

Greg and Eric Levesque, founders of Strider Technologies, discuss open source intelligence, the private sector intelligence community, and their partnerships with government entities. They explore the challenges of collecting and processing data, particularly in China, and highlight the role of the private sector in addressing national security issues. The benefits of leveraging technology for efficient intelligence analysis are also discussed, along with the potential impact of artificial intelligence on private sector intelligence gathering.

This week, David and Anna talk with Cynthia Loertscher of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to advocating for all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. The interview surveys recent developments in U.S. policy before diving into how government agencies can support hostages and their loved ones before and after their return home. Tune in for a fascinating conversation on the state of hostage affairs, family advocacy, and ways to bring more Americans home.

This week, A'ndre speaks with Chris Miller, former Acting Secretary of Defense during the last 73 days of the Trump Administration, on a range of topics pertaining to his controversial, short, and significant tenure. We discuss Chris's service in Special Forces, which includes time spent in the early days of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars,  and how that service shaped his worldview. We also highlight some of Chris's work at the National Security Council on counterterrorism, including the efforts against ISIS and the operation that killed ISIS Leader Baghdadi. Chris discusses his view on the ending of the Afghanistan War, and A'ndre probes Chris on whether the end-result would've been the same under a second Trump Administration as it was under the Biden Administration. A'ndre presses Chris on his (and the DoD's) response to the January 6th attacks, whether Chris believes it was an insurrection, and his views on the culpability of President Trump. Chris does outline how he became Acting Secretary, and why his 'neo-isolationist' ideology aligns with President Trump's America First ideology -- and how that factored into the decision to draw down troops in Somalia, and Chris's own belief that the DoD budget needs to be halved.Chris Miller's book, Soldier Secretary, is out now.

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!This week, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett chat with David L. Phillips, Director of Columbia University's Program on Peace-building and Rights and a former Senior Advisor to the U.S. State Department and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, on the intersection of business and peace-building. We discuss why the commercial world needs to be engaged in the work that goes on in peace-building and conflict zones, and how David's own work on peace-building has differed between his time inside and outside government. David provides his view on how much economics intersected with his work, and what he means when he defines economic security. We also go into why businesses need to care about the human rights situations in other countries, and David's prognosis on what this intersection will look like in the future.

This week, A'ndre talks to Dr. Joyojeet Pal, an Indian politics expert and an Associate Professor of Information at the University of Michigan's School of Information, on all things Narendra Modi. They discuss Modi's unconventional rise to power and the controversies surrounding the BBC's documentary, which implicated Modi in the 2002 Gujarat Riots, which result in the deaths of 1,000, predominantly Muslim, civilians. Dr. Pal also highlights unclassified State Department documents, painting a picture of the U.S. Government's evolution in its stance on Modi -- from a Visa ban in the 2000s to the revocation of that ban before he became prime minister -- and the role that relevant U.S. political/policy figures and Indian Diaspora groups played in that timeline. They also discuss recent scandals involving Asia's once-richest-man, Gautam Adani, whose Adani Group recorded $120b in market value loss after the Hindenburg Group, an investment research firm, released a damning report alleging stock manipulation and fraud, amongst other allegations. Dr. Pal provides his prognosis on Indian politics, including how Rahul Gandhi, heir to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and current opposition leader, is attempting a political rebrand after two landslide losses to Modi in 2014 and 2019.

Welcome to Risky Business, a limited series in partnership with Trenchcoat Advisors, a risk advisory firm. In an unpredictable, complex, and chaotic world, the business risks are ever-present. To help navigate the challenges ahead, this series delves into the intersection of business and national security — from influence operations and sabotage to hostage diplomacy and investment security, we’re bringing exclusive conversations with leading experts to better understand and anticipate risk!In episode three, The Burn Bag's A'ndre Gonawela and Trenchcoat's Holden Triplett speak to David S. Lee about what he terms "the new national security economy." David discusses the framework he outlines in his recent Harvard Business Review article, and how companies are already affected by the 'national security economy' -- where certain dependencies (such as foreign production) can be a national security risk.  David also talks about how U.S.-China competition has driven national security concerns further, and commentates on whether companies are willful participants or victims of these circumstances. We discuss how companies are responding, whether through the creation of risk intelligence units or through having Chief National Security Officers as part of their senior leadership team.David S. Lee is an award-winning teacher that is active broadly in the areas of ethics, fintech, leadership, law, and corporate governance. He teaches in the undergraduate, executive education, MBA, and other taught postgraduate degree programs, including the IMBA with Fudan University, and the Executive MBA-Global Asia offered with Columbia Business School and London Business School. David is a co-author of the first Asia focused business ethics textbook, Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases, An Asia Edition (Cengage Learning Asia, 2019). His forthcomiong book is entitled A Perilous Moment: Navigating the New National Security Economy.