This week, Suzanne talks with Steve Blank, the Silicon Valley Entrepreneur widely recognized as one of the most influential voices in technology today. Blank’s passion for US national security led him to co-launch two classes at Stanford, where he teaches.  One is called Hacking for Defense and the other, Hacking for Diplomacy.  Hacking for Defense later became a federal program as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Today, Steve has joined a chorus of voices complaining that Department of Defense ‘culture’ is hindering its ability to truly innovate and it’s putting the US behind it’s adversaries.  What does that mean?  And how could it impact future US national security and US competitiveness in the world?

In this episode Suzanne catches up with Cipher Brief Expert and author Admiral James Stavridis (Ret) to talk about his new book- To Risk It All: Nine Conflicts and the Crucible of Decision.

Former Chief of Counterterrorist Operations Ric Prado spent the bulk of his CIA career undercover, taking on the hardest challenges the Agency had, from Nicaragua to Afghanistan. Now, the Cuban refugee shares the secrets of why he did it, and why he thinks it’s time to set the record straight.

Former Senior CIA Officer Kristin Wood shares her insights on secrets and the world of Open Source Intelligence. Now CEO of Grist Mill Exchange, Wood shares her insights on how businesses and the government can benefit the most from secrets that are sometimes right there in the open.

Cipher Brief Publisher and CEO Suzanne Kelly talks with retired CIA Officer Beth Sanner, who spent 35 years in national security before recently retiring.  Her responsibilities included serving as Deputy Director for National Intelligence, and as former President Trump’s Intelligence Briefer.   That means that twice a week, for two years, Sanner met with the former President in the Oval Office, sometimes in other locations around the White House, to brief him on the nation’s most classified intelligence.  In order to do that, she had to get inside her customer’s mind, anticipate the questions he would ask and have answers ready.  What are some of the secrets Sanner has for briefing people in positions of power?

Find out how CIA is thinking about Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and Data Analytics in a conversation with Marie Falkowski, Director of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics at CIA’s Directorate of Digital Innovation 

This week with all of the heaviness with what’s happening in Ukraine and a new world order taking shape, we wanted to give you a break from the stress of reality, and focus on fiction.  What we’re seeing today is something that no many of us could have written about a few months or even a few years ago.  And a failure of imagination comes with a price.  So I think you’re going to find my conversation with author Mark Greaney as interesting as I did.  Many of you already know Greaney as the author of the Gray Man series, and his latest book Sierra 6 is a well-written escape.  If you follow Mark you also know that he wrote several books under the Tom Clancy name.  In this episode we talked about what’s happening in Ukraine right now, what inspires him as an author and how continues to find the energy and discipline to write two books per year.   I’m your host Suzanne Kelly, and this is the State Secrets Podcast.  

In this episode Suzanne welcomes General Joseph L. Votel U.S. Army (Ret.) to the State Secrets podcast.  Votel is now the President & CEO of the Business Executives for National Security (BENS) organization.  This conversation covers General Votel's perspective on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis and alot more, including the most pressing issues BENS is focused on in partnerhip with the US Government.

In this episode Suzanne talks with Cipher Brief Expert and former Director of Intelligence Analysis for the New York Police Department Mitch Silber.  Mitch weighs in on how the recent hostage situation in Texas connects to New York City, and what he learned about protecting NYC during his time at the NYPD.  

Cipher Brief CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly talks with Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author Walter Pincus about his new book- Blown To Hell: America's Deadly Betrayal of the Marshall Islanders.