

Fault Lines
National Security Institute
Fault Lines, the National Security Institute’s flagship podcast, gets you quickly up to speed, three-times-a-week, on the national security and foreign policy debates shaking up America.Our regular cast of foreign policy experts includes NSI Deputy Executive Director Martha Miller, NSI Senior Fellows Lester Munson and Morgan Viña, and Director of the NSI CTC - Howard University Cybersecurity Clinic Jessica Jones. Tune in to learn more about the issues dominating headlines and the news stories you may have missed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 13, 2021 • 38min
Episode 101: NSI’s Past, Present, and Future with Jamil Jaffer, Founder and Executive Director
Fault Lines welcomes Jamil N. Jaffer, the Founder and Executive Director of the National Security Institute, as we reflect on the past four years of NSI. How did NSI begin? What can work in the non-partisan realm teach us? Where will the efforts of the National Security Institute be in the next four years? These questions and more are answered on this week’s episode of Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 7, 2021 • 46min
Episode 100: Future Challenges
On this special 100th episode of Fault Lines, Jamil Jaffer, Carmen Medina, Lester Munson and Sarah Stewart look forward to what the future of national security may hold. What type of challenges will China pose to the United States? Should the U.S. come to Taiwan’s aid if China were to invade? Is political polarization the biggest challenge policymakers will face in the next five years? These questions and more are answered on Fault Lines’ 100th episode! Our panelists reference The Age of America First: Washington’s Flawed New Foreign Policy Consensus in their discussion. Read it here.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 29, 2021 • 37min
Episode 99: Ford v. Harman: A NatSec Debate
Fault Lines welcomes Dr. Christopher Ford, author of the recent NSI paper "Principled Conservatism in America’s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy", and former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, Distinguished Fellow and President Emerita at the Wilson Center, and author of the book, "Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe," to discuss the intersection between different views of national security. How do we get Americans back to a point of embracing free trade? What is the best function of multilateral institutions? What could a bipartisan national security policy look like? These questions and more are covered in this week’s episode of Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec.Next week is our 100th episode of Fault Lines! Keep an eye on social media and our website for some fun ways to engage with our podcast team before we record the extra special episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 22, 2021 • 42min
Episode 98: Little Problems in Big China
This week, Les, Jamil, Sarah, and Matthew turn their focus on Biden's China policy. How is President Biden faring so far? Are China’s environmental sins becoming leverage for relief on other issues, including the crackdowns in Xinjiang and Hong Kong? What should we make of the AUKUS pact and China's reaction? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 15, 2021 • 20min
Episode 97: Rescue, Recovery, and Refugees: Afghanistan with Congressman Seth Moulton
Fault Lines welcomes Congressman Seth Moulton, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, to recount his recent trip to Afghanistan and the growing concerns around Afghan refugees. What should Congress be doing about Afghanistan? How can we, as individuals, help with rescue efforts? Should we be concerned about terror groups using Afghanistan as a launch site? These questions and more are covered in this week’s episode of Fault Lines. If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 8, 2021 • 44min
Episode 96: After Afghanistan
We are entering the third week after the Taliban took Kabul, and Loren, Jamil, Rob, and Les discuss implications of the withdrawal. What lessons have we learned in the last three weeks? Twenty years on, what lessons and reflections do we have of 9/11? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sep 1, 2021 • 43min
Episode 95: The Road Ahead: A Further Discussion on Afghanistan with Ryan Browne
Fault Lines welcomes Ryan Browne, former CNN correspondent at the Pentagon, to continue NSI’s discussion on Afghanistan. What does the future hold for individuals on the ground in Afghanistan following the withdrawal? Will we continue to see efforts from “Digital Dunkirk”-style groups? What kind of internal struggles may the Taliban experience as they begin attempting to function as a government? These questions and more are covered in this week’s episode of Fault Lines. If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec.Note: This episode was recorded at 1:00pm ET on August 30th, 2021. The National Security Institute acknowledges that the situation is rapidly changing and that some of the conversation held may no longer be accurate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 25, 2021 • 52min
Episode 94: Afghanistan Airlift
All eyes are on Afghanistan, and Les, Jamil, Mike, and special guest Ryan Browne discuss the events that have unfolded in the last week on the ground. Has enough been done to get Americans and our allies out of a war zone? Should we extend our presence past August 31st? How well did the Biden administration handle the withdrawal? All these questions and more answered in this week’s Fault Lines.If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec.Note: This episode was recorded at 1:00pm ET on August 23rd, 2021. The National Security Institute acknowledges that the situation is rapidly changing and that some of the conversation held may no longer be accurate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 20, 2021 • 38min
Episode 93: The Caribbean with Caleb McCarry
Fault Lines welcomes Caleb McCarry, former Cuba Transition Coordinator during the Bush administration, a senior official at the Development Finance Corporation in the Trump administration, and a Senior Adviser to both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. What does it mean for U.S. interests when there is such turmoil in Haiti? What, if anything, should the U.S. be doing differently as a neighbor to Haiti? How has the Biden administration responded to the ongoing protests in Cuba? Host Lester Munson and Caleb McCarry answer questions and more are answered on the latest episode of Fault Lines! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aug 18, 2021 • 31min
Special Episode: The National Security Implications of Afghanistan
On this special episode of Fault Lines, host Jamil N. Jaffer discusses the national security implications of the fall of Afghanistan and the rise of the Taliban with Jennifer Cafarella, NSI Visiting Fellow and Research Director at the Institute for the Study of War; Matthew Heiman, NSI Senior Fellow and Director of Strategy and Chairman, Cyber & Privacy Working Group at the Regulatory Transparency Project; and Mike Nelson, NSI Visiting Fellow and Professor of Military Science at George Mason University, and former Deputy Director of the Commander’s Action Group at United States Central Command for General Joseph Votel.Our episode begins with a brief summary of the situation in Afghanistan, followed by analysis of the Biden administration's actions thus far, the counterterrorism perspective, and what Taliban rule may mean for U.S. national security. If you like what we're doing, be sure to like, rate, and subscribe to Fault Lines. If you have ideas for future episodes, be sure to email us at nsi@gmu.edu or tweet us at @MasonNatSec.Note: This episode was recorded at 3:30pm ET on August 17th, 2021. The National Security Institute acknowledges that the situation is rapidly changing and that some of the conversation held may no longer be accurate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


