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The Steady State Sentinel

The Steady State

The Steady State Sentinel is produced by The Steady State, a community of former national security professionals who spent their careers safeguarding the United States at home and abroad. Today, we continue that mission by staying true to our oaths to defend the Constitution, uphold democracy, and protect national security. Each episode features expert hosts in conversation with accomplished guests whose experience sheds light on the crises and challenges facing the nation.

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20 episodes
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43 min on average

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#38Tuesday · 48 min
The Iran You Don't See: The Regime, the People, and What America Gets Wrong
A 22-year veteran of the CIA and Iran specialist on why the regime survives, the MOU disaster, the lessons of Iraq, and the history and humanity of Iranians. Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Mark Fowler, a decorated case officer and one of the most experienced Iran operations officers of his generation. Fowler explains what makes Iran such a uniquely demanding target — not because Iranians are hard to recruit, but because the U.S. has no presence inside the country. He shares why the regime has survived for 45 years: improving education and infrastructure, using the internet as a safety valve, and brutally crushing protest leadership. He reflects on the lessons of the Iraq Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) failure, warning against mirror imaging. He offers a devastating critique of the Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), calling it a "disaster" that gave Iran everything and "guarantees we'll be back." He discusses the complex internal rivalries between the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC,) the danger of hitting civilian targets, and why any resolution will require the administration to "drink the poison" of a bad deal. He closes with what Americans get wrong about Iran: that most Iranians simply want to live their lives, raise their families, and see their country live up to its potential. Mark Fowler is a decorated CIA case officer who served the Agency for 22 years, including as the number- two position on Iran operations. He is a Farsi-speaking Middle East specialist and a veteran of the U.S. war on terror. He served as the Directorate of Operations senior representative to the WMD commission following the Iraq WMD failure. He is the author of the soon-to-be published novel A Prince of Mirrors: A CIA Odyssey of Trust and Betrayal, and writes a Substack column. Episode Transcript
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#37July 28 · 40 min
America's Nuclear Guardians: A Conversation on Security, Espionage, and Speaking Truth to Power
A former acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security on the damage being done to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and why he "never bets against America." Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Bruce Held, who served as Chief of Station on three continents, Special Assistant to two National Security Council principals, Director of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and ultimately acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security. Held describes DOE’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence unique mission — leveraging the thousands of top-secret cleared scientists at the national labs to understand foreign nuclear programs and prevent technological surprise. Held describes the brutal budget battles with the Pentagon over funding America's neglected nuclear deterrent, and the ultimate resolution in which participants prioritized national security above parochial interests. He warns that the current administration's cuts and restructuring at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and DOE will take a decade to rebuild, creating a dangerous window of vulnerability. He discusses the counterintelligence threat from Russia and China, the importance of proactive engagement over bureaucratic secrecy, and why the American people should be asking hard questions about DOGE's access to personnel data. Guest info: Bruce Held is a former Senior CIA clandestine Case Officer who served as Chief of Stationon three continents and special assistant to two National Security Council principals. He was Director of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and later served as acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He is the author of several books on espionage history, including A Spy's Guide to Santa Fe and Albuquerque and The Spy's Guide to the Kennedy Assassination, as well as a Substack column, The Spy's Guide to American History. He also writes spy fiction, including The Intimate Spy. Episode Transcript
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#36July 21 · 49 min
Breaking the Cockpit Barrier: One Pilot's Fight to Engineer Inclusion into the Military
A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel on height requirements that excluded 44% of women, the first maternity flight suit, and why "truth isn't afraid of transparency." In her debut as a co-host of the Steady State Sentinel, retired Space Force Colonel Bree Fram joins Lauren Anderson to interview retired Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Ruttenber, a senior pilot with over 3,000 flight hours. Their conversation explores the effects on combat readiness of hidden barriers, the importance of data over anecdotes, the chilling effect of censorship and erasure of military history (including the Tuskegee Airmen and The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and why veterans have a duty to speak out. Lt. Col. Ruttenber shares her journey from being told she was "too short" to fly to becoming a driving force behind the Department of Defense's first maternity flight suit and the Equality for Military Mothers Amendment. She reveals how an outdated 1960s anthropometric study based on the "average male" excluded 44% of women from aviation — and 74% of Black women. She explains how changing a single policy gave the Air Force "30 instant pilots" worth of man-hours. She closes with a powerful message: sometimes "surviving is the ultimate rebellion" when the system wasn't designed for you. Episode Transcript
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#35July 14 · 52 min
The Recruiter's Recruiter: Trust, Treason, and the Human Elements of Espionage with Jim Lawler
25-year CIA case officer and author Jim Lawler on the ten qualities of a top recruiter, the A.Q. Khan takedown, the Hanssen case, and why speaking truth to power matters more than ever. In this episode, host Lauren Anderson turns the tables on co-host Jim Lawler, a 25-year veteran of the CIA's clandestine service and the officer who led the takedown of the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network, an operation that former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin called "the closest thing to a perfect intelligence operation." Lawler shares how a chance interview with a CIA recruiter in 1976 led him to a career he loved. He reveals the qualities of a top recruiter — curiosity, listening, extreme empathy, patience, persistence, creativity, ruthlessness, and even what he calls "the metaphysics" — and tells the story of his first recruitment: a deputy chief of mission who initially rejected him, then came back days later to say yes and provided stack of sensitive information. Lawler reflects on the Robert Hanssen case (which he calls "a sacred vow" broken), the erosion of trust inside intelligence agencies under the current administration, and why he still encourages young people to serve. Guest info: Jim Lawler served for over 25 years as a case officer with the CIA, including as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service. He led the team that dismantled the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network — the world's largest and most dangerous black market for nuclear weapons technology. Former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin called this operation "the closest thing I have ever seen to a perfect intelligence operation." Since retiring, Lawler has taught at CIA, FBI, and DIA, and is the author of three spy novels: Living Lies, In the Twinkling of an Eye, and The Traitor's Tale. Episode Transcript
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#34July 7 · 45 min
Phillips O'Brien on America's Strategic Collapse
The acclaimed military historian explains why conflict in Iran, Ukraine and the erosion of alliances point to a deeper crisis in American strategy and details the critical nature of the 2026 midterm elections. In the latest episode of the Steady State Sentinel, Phillips O'Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and one of the sharpest contemporary writers on war and strategy joins host John Sipher to argue the Iran War revealed two devastating truths: The U.S. government is strategically incoherent — it went to war without clear goals or an exit plan. The U.S. military is showing signs of degradation, with weaker officers promoted and critical thinking suppressed. He dissects the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, calling it a capitulation: "Trump got nothing. Iran is in better shape at the end than it was before the bombing started." He warns that the U.S. is now deemed utterly untrustworthy by allies, in Europe and throughout Asia, and that China is now positioned to win a war with the U.S. due to America's military degradation and collapsed industrial base. He critiques the Biden administration's "Goldilocks strategy" in Ukraine — which, concerned about global stability, sought to ensure that Ukraine could survive, but didn't want Russia to lose. This was followed by Trump, who abandoned Ukraine completely. O’Brien frames the 2026 midterms as the most consequential election since 1862 on which hinged the results of the Civil War. The results of the 2026 midterms will determine whether the massive corruption within this administration becomes fully entrenched throughout the government: once these systems go corrupt, it becomes entrenched. The episode closes with O'Brien explaining why the Administration’s MAGA movement has resulted in the deliberate destruction of the U.S. Alliance system that has kept America strong and prosperous for the last 80 years. If it continues unchecked, the stability we enjoyed will be impossible to rebuild. Guest info: Phillips O'Brien is Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and one of the sharpest contemporary writers on war, strategy, and political power. He is the author of several major books, including How the War Was Won, The Strategists, The Second Most Powerful Man in the World, and most recently War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why. He writes regularly for The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and his own Substack, Phillips's Newsletter. Episode Transcript
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#33June 30 · 49 min
The Making of a Public Servant: Lauren C. Anderson's Journey to the Senior Ranks of the FBI
Service, gut checks, the power of humanity in law enforcement, and why she said “yes” to The Steady State. In a format shift, host Peter Mina turns the microphone over to co-host Lauren C. Anderson to explore her origin story — from a childhood visit to the FBI where a tour guide told her girls can't be agents because “...they paint their fingernails," to serving as a senior executive in the FBI across nearly 30 years. Lauren shares how her first "failure" — struggling with pre-med science in college taught her to trust her gut and pivot. She recounts harrowing moments in the Central African country of Gabon, where she negotiated with a corrupt colonel to restore dignity to a torture victim who was a witness in a murder investigation, demonstrating that you can be "tough and compassionate at the same time. She reflects on what it was like being a woman in a male-dominated world, the importance of de-escalation and proportionality in law enforcement, and why she believes the current administration has abandoned the humanity that should define public service. The episode closes with Lauren explaining why she joined The Steady State — because "if everybody takes the approach that it's someone else's turn, we will never be the best that we can be." Guest info: Lauren C. Anderson is a former senior executive at the FBI with nearly 30 years of service working national security issues in the U.S. and overseas. She spent her career running toward crises that most people run away from, working cases across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. She is a co-host of The Steady State Sentinel and writes the Substack column "What We Choose to Defend." Host Peter Mina is the founder of the Mina firm, a civil rights and federal employment law firm in Washington, D.C., and a former Deputy Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties at the Department of Homeland Security, where he worked to integrate civil rights and civil liberties protections into the department's national security programs. Episode Transcript
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#32June 23 · 43 min
The Uncrowned King: Ambassador Charles A. Ray on America’s Authoritarian Turn
A former U.S. Army officer, diplomat, and ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe on oath, duty, service beyond party, the collapse of institutional guardrails, and why rebuilding trust will take decades. Host Jim Lawler, a former senior CIA operations officer, sits down with Ambassador Charles A. Ray, a rare polymath who served 20 years in the U.S. Army (including two combat tours in Vietnam) followed by 30 years in the Foreign Service, as Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and as the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City. Together, they explore what happens when the oath to the Constitution is replaced by loyalty to a single man. Ambassador Ray describes how some first-term officials in the Trump Administration, including Mike Pence, Defense Secretaries, Attorneys General, still functioned as constraints on Trump’s worst impulses, and why he believes the second administration has been stocked with yes people, sycophants, and what he calls a “confederacy of dunces.” Ray shares a chilling firsthand account of a U.S. Army colonel making overtly partisan political statements in pre‑deployment briefings, and recalls that, when Ray challenged the colonel directly, Ray was the one told he would no longer be deployed there. He reflects on watching January 6 in tears, calling it something he had only seen in “shithole dictatorships,” and names the 1776 Fund and pardons for January 6 participants as evidence that the country has “already walked through the door” of autocracy. Ray diagnoses America’s damaged credibility abroad: “our heart and our head have caught up with each other, and they’re both in the wrong place.” He warns that even with a change in leadership in 2028, the work of un‑indoctrinating a politicized national-security workforce, civil service, and new generation of government hires will take two to three administrations. He ends with a sobering message to young people considering government service: go in with your eyes wide open, because silence is consent. Episode Transcript Guest info: Ambassador Charles A. Ray served 20 years as a U.S. Army officer, including two combat tours in Vietnam, followed by a 30‑year career in the Foreign Service. He served as U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia and to Zimbabwe, and was the first U.S. Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. He also served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs. He is a prolific author of more than 400 works of fiction and nonfiction, including leadership, history, diplomacy, and Westerns. He remains active in foreign policy work as a trustee and chair of the Africa program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He also teaches in Arizona State University’s School of Public Politics and Global Studies.
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#31June 16 · 51 min
The Bob Mueller Standard: Justice, Integrity, and Public Service
Two former federal prosecutors on what the job is supposed to represent at its best, why Bob Mueller was the model, and the prosecutor’s unique duty to serve and protect the system itself. What does it mean to be a federal prosecutor when the client is the United States and the measure of success is not simply winning, but doing justice and doing it the right way? In the latest Steady State Sentinel podcast, former federal prosecutor and Steady State member Steve Bunnell interviews former federal prosecutor Ken Wainstein, who, among many senior positions, served as U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, General Counsel and Chief of Staff to Bob Mueller, and Homeland Security Advisor for President George W. Bush. Together, they explore best practices of their prosecutorial craft, using the legendary career of the late Bob Mueller as their North Star. They focus on Mueller's journey from Assistant Attorney General to line homicide prosecutor in Washington, D.C., during one of the city’s most violent periods, earning the admiration of detectives, judges, and colleagues alike. The conversation unpacks the unwritten values of the ideal prosecutor: integrity over showmanship, public service over personal glory, protecting the rights of the accused while pursuing righteous convictions, parking politics outside the door, and leaving the institution stronger than you found it. With an appearance by homicide Lieutenant Guy Middleton, this episode is both a tribute to Mueller and a reminder that rule of law depends not only on laws and procedures, but on public servants with the character, humility, and integrity to uphold them. The episode includes a special appearance by Guy Middleton, a homicide lieutenant from the period when Bob Mueller served as a prosecutor in Washington, D.C. Episode Transcript Guest info: Kenneth Wainstein, is a former federal prosecutor who served as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and the District of Columbia, including in the homicide section. He later served as General Counsel and Chief of Staff to FBI Director Bob Mueller, then as a U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and the first Assistant Attorney General for National Security. His career at DOJ spanned approximately 18 years. Ken also served as DHS Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis from June 2022 through January 2025. Host info: Steve Bunnell, a Steady State member, is a former federal prosecutor who served more than 17 years at DOJ, including as Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., and at Main Justice. He now practices law as senior counsel at a small firm in D.C.
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#30June 9 · 37 min
Inside the Situation Room: Larry Pfeiffer on the Politicization of Intelligence, Professional Integrity, and the Cost of Truth
A former CIA chief of staff and White House Situation Room senior director warns that politicized intelligence can weaken national security by chilling truth telling, hollowing out institutions, and discouraging young talent from entering public service. Former senior CIA operations officer Jim Lawler sits down with Larry Pfeiffer, former senior director of the White House Situation Room and chief of staff to CIA Director Michael Hayden, who describes the rigors of working in the Situation Room, crisis decision-making, and what it takes to deliver accurate information when seconds matter. He describes advising Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite, helping portray the White House Situation Room with realism and showing audiences what crisis decision-making feels like on “a pretty bad day.” Other discussions center on the dangers of politicizing intelligence, the professional duty to speak truth to power, and the institutional costs of loyalty tests and political pressure. Drawing on decades of experience across the CIA, NSA, ODNI, and the White House, Pfeiffer explains how fear can chill analysis, drive experienced officers out, discourage young talent from serving, and weaken the systems that protect national security. He recounts a late‑Friday meeting with CIA Director Michael Hayden before a highly sensitive operation, when he urged Hayden to confirm he had the president's backing before giving the go order. Episode Transcript Guest info: Larry Pfeiffer is the director of George Mason University’s Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, where he oversees the center’s operations and public programming. A veteran of the U.S. Intelligence Community, he previously served as senior director of the White House Situation Room, chief of staff to CIA Director Michael Hayden, and in senior roles at the CIA, ODNI, and NSA. He also advised Kathryn Bigelow’s film A House of Dynamite on the realistic portrayal of the White House Situation Room.
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#29June 2 · 39 min
Common Sense for a Democracy in Crisis
The fight to repair public service, Congress, and democratic accountability In this episode of The Steady State Sentinel, John Sipher speaks with veteran intelligence and counterterrorism official Russ Travers about the state of American democracy, the national security system, and his forthcoming book, Common Sense Take Two. Travers reflects on his 45-year career across the intelligence community, from warning about systemic intelligence failures before 9/11 to helping build the post-9/11 counterterrorism architecture. The conversation explores how America’s institutions were built for an earlier era and now struggle to address today’s interconnected threats, from terrorism and transnational crime to AI, privacy, and political polarization. Travers argues that defeating Trumpism is necessary but not sufficient, because the deeper crisis lies in weakened institutions, civic disengagement, declining trust, and a Congress unable to solve the problems Americans care about most. At the center of Travers’s argument is a call for the “exhausted majority” of Americans to reengage in democratic life and help rebuild a government capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century. Guest info: Russ Travers is a veteran intelligence and counterterrorism official with roughly 45 years of service across the U.S. national security community. His career included senior roles at the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Joint Staff, the National Intelligence Council, the National Security Council, and the National Counterterrorism Center, where he later served as acting director. He also served in the Biden administration as deputy homeland security advisor. Travers helped shape the post-9/11 counterterrorism architecture and has written extensively on intelligence reform, national security dysfunction, and democratic governance. His forthcoming book, Common Sense Take Two, argues that America’s democratic crisis requires not only defeating authoritarian politics, but also confronting the deeper institutional failures that have weakened public trust and civic life. Episode Transcript
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#28May 30 · 58 min
Hunting Weapons of Mass Destruction (with Andy Weber)
This special joint episode of the Steady State Sentinel and Mission Implausible brings together two podcasts focused on separating fact from manipulation, defending democratic institutions, and understanding real-world national security threats. Hosted by former CIA officers John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea, Mission Implausible examines the line between conspiracy theory and actual conspiracy, making it a natural partner for this conversation with national security expert Andy Weber on weapons of mass destruction, Iran, and the evolving dangers of biological threats. Nuclear weapons-usable uranium, biolabs for biological warfare, secret chemical facilities -- In Operation Sapphire, Former Assistant Secretary of Defense Andy Weber found and disposed of them. Where are the current threats? What does Iran still have? Biological threats may ultimately prove even more dangerous than nuclear ones. How do we control them? Guest info: Andrew “Andy” Weber is a national security expert who has spent decades working to reduce nuclear, chemical, and biological threats. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical, and Biological Defense Programs, where he advised senior Pentagon leadership, oversaw the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and helped lead Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction work. Weber also played a key role in operations to remove weapons-grade uranium from Kazakhstan and Georgia and helped develop the Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks and serves on the Board of the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies International Advisory Council. He has also worked on global health security, including service as Deputy Coordinator for Ebola Response at the State Department. You can find Andy on X @AndyWeberNCB. Watch Mission Implausible on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MissionImplausiblePod Episode Transcript
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#27May 26 · 41 min
Afraid to Speak, Afraid for Democracy: New Poll Finds Widespread Concern About Authoritarianism
A top pollster and an award-winning journalist break down who is self‑censoring, why Gen Z sees democracy differently, and whether the U.S. can reverse its authoritarian slide. Host Lauren C. Anderson, former senior FBI executive, sits down with pollster Stefan Hankin of Lincoln Park Strategies and journalist Joel Anderson of The Ringer and Slate) to unpack a national poll released in March 2026. Key findings: 54% of Americans say they hesitate to express political views at work or online, or in their communities because they worry about the consequences, and 76% express some level of concern that the U.S. is moving toward a more authoritarian form of government. The conversation explores political self-censorship, pressure on First Amendment norms, erosion of the rule of law, and the silencing of critics and journalists. They discuss generational divides, including Gen Z’s higher confidence in democracy compared with Boomers the mainstreaming of slurs and hateful speech; and why rebuilding democratic guardrails will take years. Stefan shares how his mother’s memories of 1930’s Berlin shape his view of today’s warning signs, while Joel offers practical advice on rebuilding community through schools, churches, volunteer organizations, and local elections. Episode Transcript
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#26May 19 · 31 min
The War on the Press: How Trump Attacks the First Amendment
A veteran LA Times correspondent on Trump’s assault on the press, the White House Correspondents' Dinner security scare, and the fight for truth in a fractured media era. In the latest episode of the Sentinel podcast, former CIA Operations Officer Margaret Henoch interviews Bob Drogin, a 38-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times. Drogin describes what he assesses as the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on the First Amendment: cutting NPR and PBS funding, banning reporters from the White House and taking over the press pool. He frames this against a backdrop of limiting FOIA access, targeting government data, and filing punitive lawsuits against major news outlets. Drogin contextualizes this crisis within the brief "golden age" of journalism, the rise of billionaire press lords, and today’s fragmented media landscape. He discusses the White House Correspondents' Dinner security scare, and reflects on how AI and social media are reshaping (and threatening) the future of news. Guest Info: Bob Drogin spent 38 years at the Los Angeles Times as a national correspondent, foreign correspondent, and Washington correspondent. He covered intelligence and national security for more than a decade, later serving as national security editor and White House editor during the first Trump administration. He is the author of Curveball: Spies, Lies, and the Con Man Who Caused a War, about the case for the Iraqi war made by the GW Bush administration. View episode transcript
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#25May 12 · 43 min
The Most Powerful Intelligence Tool You’ve Never Heard Of: A Former CIA Lawyer Explains Section 702
A deep dive into FISA, modern surveillance authorities, and the growing tension between intelligence collection and civil liberties in the digital age. Former CIA Senior Officer Jim Petrila joins Peter Mina to break down the evolution of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the controversies surrounding Section 702, and the growing tension between national security surveillance and civil liberties. Petrilla explains how technological shifts after the Cold War and 9/11 transformed intelligence collection, leading to major legal and policy battles over government access to communications data. The conversation explores incidental collection of Americans’ communications,debate over tfhe need to obtain warrants, oversight concerns, and the expanding role of third-party data brokers that collect and sell personal information outside many traditional safeguards. Petrilla also warns how surveillance authorities and emergency powers can become vulnerable to abuse when accountability and public trust erode. View the transcript. About the guest: James Petrila spent over thirty years as a lawyer in the Intelligence Community, working at the National Security Agency and, for most of his career, at the Central Intelligence Agency with the Office of the General Counsel. He has taught courses on counterterrorism law and legal issues at the CIA at the George Washington University School of Law. He is currently a senior advisor to the Institute for the Study of States of Exception and is a member of The Steady State.
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#24May 5 · 43 min
Saving My Life's Work: Eric Rubin on the Dismantling of American Diplomacy
The Spoils System Returns, the Foreign Service Professional Association Is Crushed, and Why the Next President Will Be Handicapped In the latest episode of the Sentinel, Peter Mina interviews Ambassador Eric Rubin, a 38‑year Foreign Service veteran, former president of American Foreign Service Association and current Steady State board member. Rubin describes how the Trump administration has dismantled the nonpartisan career foreign service, destroyed employee associations and affinity groups, and replaced them with a loyalty‑based “spoils system.” He reveals that membership in the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, a Heritage Foundation project, has become the equivalent of membership in the Soviet Communist Party for State Department officers seeking promotions. Rubin also discusses the catastrophic war with Iran, noting that Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff (both staunch Netanyahu supporters) are the actual negotiators, while career Iran experts have been purged. He offers a sobering look at how allies will never fully trust the U.S. again, and why young people should still join the Foreign Service, because America will need diplomats long after Trump. The episode ends with a powerful call to action: international engagement is the basis of our prosperity and security, and Americans must recognize that we are less safe today than on January 19, 2025. View the transcript Ambassador Eric Rubin is a senior fellow with the Democratic Resilience Program at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a member of the board of directors of The Steady State. A career Foreign Service officer for 38 years, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria (2016‑2019) and was elected president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) from 2019 to 2023. He has held key assignments in Ukraine, Russia, Thailand, and Honduras. You can follow his writing and speaking engagements on LinkedIn
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#23April 28 · 40 min
The Fragile Glue: Mark Zaid on Whistleblowers, Retaliation, and the Rule of Law
Government Transparency, Security Clearance Battles, and the Future of American Democracy Former CIA officer Jim Lawler and former FBI senior executive Lauren C. Anderson host Mark Zaid, a renowned national security attorney who has represented whistleblowers, been personally targeted by a presidential clearance revocation, and fought for government transparency for nearly three decades. They discuss the real difference between a whistleblower and a leaker (using Edward Snowden as a cautionary example), the erosion of democratic norms under the second Trump administration, and why the rule of law has become “water soluble.” Zaid predicts that the loss of seasoned diplomats, intelligence officers, and FBI agents will take a generation to rebuild, and explains why, despite everything, the judiciary remains his beacon of hope. The conversation also covers FOIA in the digital age, his representation of clients across the political spectrum, and practical advice for law students entering national security law. View the transcript. Mark S. Zaid is a nationally recognized Washington, D.C. attorney specializing in national security, First Amendment, government accountability, and whistleblower representation. He founded the James Madison Project in 1998 and co‑founded Whistleblower Aid in 2017. He represented the whistleblower whose complaint triggered the first impeachment of President Trump, sued Libya on behalf of Pan Am 103 victims, and taught security clearance law as an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University. You can follow his work through the James Madison Project (www.jamesmadisonproject.org) and on X (formerly Twitter) at @MarkSZaidEsq.
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#22April 21 · 47 min
The MAGA Crack-Up: David Corn on Iran, the FBI, and a Democracy Under Siege
Conspiracy Narratives, Media Challenges, and the Long Shadow of Russian Influence Former CIA officer John Sipher sits down for the latest Sentinel podcast with David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones and one of the nation’s most respected political journalists. They dive deep into the explosive schisms within MAGA world triggered by the Iran war, from Tucker Carlson accusing Trump of being the anti‑Christ to escalating feuds between figures like Megyn Kelly and Mark Levin. Corn explains why the FBI under Kash Patel has been gutted of counterterrorism expertise, how a reportedly Kremlin‑connected propagandist gave Patel $25,000, and why career national security officials are now terrified to speak with reporters. The conversation also covers RFK Jr.’s dangerous tenure at HHS, Tulsi Gabbard’s politicization of intelligence, and the media’s struggle to cover an administration that lies as a strategy. Corn offers a sobering assessment of American democracy’s fragility—and where he still finds hope. David Corn is the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones and a longtime national security and political journalist. He has covered presidents, scandals, and the rise of the modern right for more than three decades. He is the author of several books, including Russian Roulette (with Michael Isikoff) and the forthcoming How Russia Won. His newsletter, R‑Land, is available at davidcorn.com. You can find him on Bluesky at @davidcorn and on Signal at DavidCorn99. View the transcript.
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#21April 14 · 33 min
Protecting Liberty in the Age of Surveillance
How a former Chief of the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence thinks about privacy, protest, and the power of government data. In the latest episode of the Sentinel, American University Adjunct professor and Scholar‑in‑Residence, Alex Joel, joins host Peter Mina to unpack how democracies can fight real threats without becoming one themselves, exploring the post‑9/11 “connect the dots” mindset, the Privacy Act’s enduring role, and how data, protest, and transparency collide. Alex Joel is a Scholar‑in‑Residence and Adjunct Professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, where he leads the Privacy Across Borders initiative and focuses on the intersection of national security, technology, privacy, and civil liberties. He previously served as the longtime Chief of the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, acting as the Intelligence Community’s Civil Liberties Protection Officer and later its Chief Transparency Officer after earlier service as an attorney at the CIA. View the episode transcript.
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#20April 7 · 45 min
The Counterrevolution: Tom Shannon on America’s Retreat from the World
Soft Power, Hard Choices, and the Hollowing Out of U.S. Diplomacy In this edition of the Sentinel podcast, host Lauren Anderson, former senior FBI executive, sits down with Ambassador Tom Shannon, one of the most experienced diplomats of his generation. They discuss what Shannon describes as a "counterrevolution" in U.S. foreign policy – a shift away from the post-WWII alliance-based system toward a more unilateral "America First" approach. Shannon warns that the erosion of institutional expertise at agencies like the State Department and FBI, and across the national security enterprise, will have long-term consequences for U.S. effectiveness abroad. He also emphasizes the enduring importance of soft power, including programs like the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), in shaping global relations. The conversation closes with a look at how Gen Z students, including those Shannon teaches at Princeton, view America’s role in a chaotic world. Thomas A Shannon Jr. is one of the United States’ most experienced career diplomats, with more than 35 years in the Foreign Service. He served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the State Department’s top career diplomat, and held senior roles across multiple administrations, including as U.S. Ambassador to Brazil and Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. He also led the department through the transition between the Obama and Trump administrations. Now teaching at Princeton University, Shannon brings deep expertise in diplomacy, U.S. foreign policy, and America’s role in a rapidly changing world. View the episode transcript.
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#19March 31 · 36 min
Leaving MAGA: Identity, Propaganda, and the Path Back
A conversation on identity, disinformation, and the path out of political extremism In this week's episode of the Sentinel podcast, John Sipher speaks with Rich Logis, founder of Leaving MAGA, about his journey into—and out of—the movement. They explore how identity, belonging, and media ecosystems shape political belief, why leaving can be so difficult, and what ultimately breaks the cycle. Logis also shares insights on disinformation, “anger addiction,” and how families can support loved ones questioning deeply held views. Watch and listen to new Sentinel episodes each Tuesday. Subscribe and review us on your favorite podcast platform. Guest Info: Rich Logis is the founder and executive director of Leaving MAGA, an organization that supports people who are leaving or questioning the MAGA movement and helps families navigate reconciliation. https://leavingmaga.org/memoir/ Read the full transcript here.
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