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Horns of a Dilemma

Latest episodes

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Jan 11, 2024 • 1h 2min

Foreign Policy In the Johnson Years

Marc Selverstone, the director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, co-chair of the Center’s Presidential Recordings Program, and professor of presidential studies, moderated a discussion with Francis Gavin, the Giovanni Agnelli distinguised professor and director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Sheyda Jahanbani, an associate professor at the University of Kansas; and Fredrik Logevall, the Laurence D. Belfer professor of international affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a professor of history at Harvard University. The conversation focused on President Lyndon Johnson's foreign policy and the recent book, LBJ's America: The Life and Legacies of Lyndon Baines Johnson.
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Jan 5, 2024 • 31min

China's Digital Data Trafficking

Aynne Kokas, the C.K. Yen Professor at the Miller Center and an associate professor of media studies at the University of Virginia, spoke about her book Trafficking Data: How China is Winning the Battle for Digital Sovereignty. Kokas explained how the asymmetry in digital regulations between the United States and China, along with practices of private industry, have helped empower Beijing's broader effort to control digital data.
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Jan 2, 2024 • 36min

Government Historians and Engagement with Classified Information

Carter Burwell, a Public Interest Declassification Board board member, moderated a discussion with Erin Mahan, Chief Historian at the Office of the Secretary of Defense; Adam Howard, the director of the Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State; and John Fox, a historian at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The conversation discussed the role of historians and archivists inside the U.S. government, the role that historians play in preserving institutional knowledge, and how that role intersects with classification/declassification issues.
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Dec 29, 2023 • 46min

The Media, Secrecy and Transparency

Ben Powell, a Public Interest Declassification Board board member, moderated a discussion with Adam Goldman, a reporter at the New York Times; Nomaan Merchant, a reporter at the Associated Press; Dustin Volz, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal; and Josh Gerstein, a journalist with Politico. The conversation talked about the role of the media in holding government accountable, the use of the Freedom of Information Act, and how the classification issue impacts the media business and the job of reporting. 
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Dec 22, 2023 • 33min

A Conversation with Sen. John Cornyn

Dr. Will Inboden sat down with Sen. John Cornyn to discuss the issues of declassification and transparency, along with the ongoing debate about the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The two also discussed the role of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Congressional oversight, and how Section 702's renewal is important for U.S. national security  
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Dec 19, 2023 • 38min

The Future of Presidential Libraries

Paul Noel Chretien, a Public Interest Declassification Board Board Member and retired Central Intelligence Agency Officer, moderated a discussion with Tim Naftali, a clinical associate professor of History and Public Policy at New York University; Matthew Connelly, a professor of History at Columbia University; Warren Finch, the former director of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library; and Mark Lawrence, the director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library. The conversation explored the role of presidential libraries, the issues they face, and the future of these institutions.
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Dec 15, 2023 • 46min

Using Technology to Solve the Declassification Problem

Adam Klein moderated a panel with Jared Abrams, a research associate at Applied Research Laboratories; Ivan Lee, the founder & CEO of Datasaur.ai; Alex Joel, a senior project director and adjunct professor at Washington College of Law, American University; and Ezra Cohen, the former chair of Public Interest Declassification Board and Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. The conversation touched on the role of technology in helping to manage classified material and the declassification process, along with how technology has increased the amount of classified material. The panel also discussed how AI could help scholars with research. This conversation was part of a multi-panel event on classification and U.S. democracy.
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Dec 12, 2023 • 46min

Classification and Scholarship

Aaron O'Connell, the director of research at the Clements Center for National Security, moderated a panel with Jim Goldgeier, a visiting scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation; Deborah Pearlstein, co-director of the Floersheimer Center for Constitutional Democracy; Jeremi Suri, the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at UT Austin; and Sheena Greitens, the founding director of the Asia Policy Program at the University of Texas at Austin. The conversation focused on the classification process, scholarship, the need for more transparency, and why it matters for the writing of history. This was the first of a three panels exploring the topic of classification and democracy.  
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Dec 8, 2023 • 38min

Counter-Terrorism and U.S. Foreign Policy Priorities

Christy Abizaid, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, spoke about the duties of the center, terrorist threats to the United States and the role of counter-terrorism during an era of strategic competition. She also participated in a moderated question and answer session with Mark Pomar, discussing U.S. foreign policy, the counter-terrorism mission, and what it is like to work with in the intelligence community.  
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Dec 5, 2023 • 24min

Russian Opposition to Totalitarianism

Dr. Mark Pomar, a senior national security fellow at the Clements Center for National Security, moderated a discussion with Alexander Podrabinek, a Soviet and Russian human rights activist, journalist, and writer. The conversation explored the drivers of the return of totalitarian rule in Russia. The two also discussed the role of propaganda in shaping domestic opinion and the ongoing Russian resistance to authoritarianism.

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