CNA Talks: A National Security Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Finland and Sweden's NATO Accession Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Dmirtry Gorenburg and Steve Wills join John Stimpson. They discuss Finland and Sweden's NATO accession and what it means for the alliance and for Russia.

Dmitry Gorenburg is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Russia Studies program. He is an expert on security issues in the former Soviet Union, the Russian military, Russian foreign policy, and ethnic politics and identity. He is also an associate at the Davis center for Russian and Eurasian studies at Harvard university.

Twitter: @russmil

Steve Wills is a Research Scientist with CNA's Strategy and Policy Analysis Program. As a Navy historian, his research interests include the history of U.S. Navy strategy development over the Cold War and immediate post-Cold War eras, and the post-World War II Navy surface fleet. He is an also the Navalist at the Center for maritime strategy at Navy league US.

Twitter: @Lazarus_Navy

NSS Event: Nuclear Cooperation with Strategic Competitors Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

In this bonus episode of CNA Talks, we are bringing you the recording of CNA's recent National Security Seminar, "Nuclear cooperation with strategic competitors," which has held on March 21, 2023. The event featured panelists Timothy McDonnell and Rose Gottemoeller. McDonnell is the author of a recent CNA publication entitled, "Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management." This report uses archival sources to examine three historical cases of great power nuclear cooperation, distilling lessons and insights for practitioners. During the event Dr. McDonnell shared his findings and then discussed them with Gottemoeller, a seasoned arms control practitioner, about its findings and implications. The event was moderated by CNA's Mary Chesnut.

Rose Gottemoeller, Steven C. Házy Lecturer, Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former Deputy Secretary General, NATO; former Under Secretary for Arms Control & International Security and chief US negotiator for the New START Treaty, US State Department

Timothy P. McDonnell, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA. He is the author of the report, "Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management."

Mary Chesnut, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Russia Studies Program, CNA

Further Reading

CNA- Working with the Adversary: Great Power Competetion and Nuclear Risk Management

Virtual Reality for Naval Training Mar 15, 2023

Show notes

The Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, in Panama City Florida, trains more than 1,200 military divers from across the services. These students are persuing certificates in everything from underwater construction to explosive ordnance disposal.

In this episode, Neil Carey joins John Stimpson to discuss his research on the potential of extended reality technology (which includes virtual reality, augmented reality and mix/merged reality) as a tool for the training and assessment of these divers.

Resources

Dr. Neil Carey is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Navy Human Resources Program. He is an expert in psychological measurement, cognitive psychology, and their applications to learning.

CNA: The Promise and Pitfalls Of Extended Reality In Naval Training

New Export Rules for Semiconductors Mar 01, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we examine a new regulation from the Department of Commerce aimed at limiting China's access to semiconductors and microchips, the impact it is having on China and how U.S. partner nations are responding.

Guests

April Herlevi is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. She is an expert in China's foreign economic policy, special economic zones, and economic statecraft.

Christopher Cairns is a Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. He is an expert in China's economic statecraft and technology acquisition efforts and U.S. ally and partner issues in the Indo-Pacific.

Links

To subscribe to the Intersections newsletter, please email intersections@cna.org

Intersections Issue 1: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-1

Intersections Issue 2: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-2

A New Paradigm for the Middle East Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the predominant foreign power in the Middle East, influencing the economic, political and security affairs of the region. But in recent years other great powers have begun to chip away at this power, carving out their own spheres of influence in the region.

In this episode, we explore the strategic objectives of China and Russia in the Middle East, the tools they are using to achieve them, and what this means for U.S. policymakers.

Guests

Michael Connell is an expert in Persian Gulf security-related issues, the armed forces of Iran, U.S.-GCC security cooperation, and adversary cyber policy and strategy.

Samuel Plapinger is an expert on strategic competition, irregular warfare, combat effectiveness, insurgency, terrorism, and Middle East security.

Links

Report: China's Presence in the Middle East and Western Indian Ocean

Podcast: Putin, Raisi and Their Common Enemy

NATO's Maritime Future with Joshua Tallis (Sea Power) Feb 01, 2023

Show notes

This episode originally aired on CIMSEC's Sea Control Podcast. Special thanks to their team for allowing up to rebroadcast this episode. Dr. Joshua Tallis joins the program to discuss the evolution of NATO's maritime command and control and the future for the Standing Naval Force. Dr. Tallis is a naval analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, where he is a senior research scientist in the Operations Evaluation Group. He has embedded as an analyst with Carrier Strike Group Eight and most recently with U.S. Sixth Fleet. This episode was edited and produced by Nathan Miller.

EPISODE NOTES

Links

1. "NATO's Maritime Vigilance: Optimizing the Standing Naval Force for the Future," by Dr. Joshua Tallis, War on the Rocks, December 15, 2022.

Better Metrics for Better Analyses Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

What do search engine optimization, airline schedules and standardized testing have in common? They are all vulnerable to Goodhart's law, the idea that when a metric becomes a target it ceases to be a good metric.

In this episode Michael Stumborg and Timothy Blasius join John to discuss their report, "Goodhart's Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis."

Michael Stumborg is a Principal Research Scientist with CNA's Strike and Air Warfare Program.

Timothy Blasius is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Strike and Air Warfare Program. CNA: Goodhart's Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis Army War College: Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession

Rebroadcast: Center for Naval Analyses Year in Review Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

For the past 80 years, the Center for Naval Analyses has been the Navy's partner and an essential resource for agencies across the federal government.

In this episode, Executive Vice President of the Center for Naval Analyses, Andrew Mara sits down to discuss the Center's accomplishments over the past fiscal year and where the organization is headed in the coming one.

An Unprecedented Challenge to Xi Jinping Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

On November 28, thousands of people across China took to the streets to protest the country's 'zero-COVID policies and censorship and to call for democracy. These demonstrations were an unprecedented show of dissent against the government in the era of Xi Jinping. How has the government responded to these uprisings, and how will they affect Beijing's COVID strategy going forward?

To answer these questions Heidi Holz and Josiah Case, analysts from CNA's China Studies Program, join the podcast.

Heidi Holz is a Research Scientist in the CNA China Studies Program. Her research interests include China's media environment, Chinese military doctrine and operations, as well as U.S.-China military-to-military relations. Josiah Case is a Research Analyst in CNA's China Studies Program. His research at CNA has focused on PRC media and Beijing's global activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

CNA InDepth: Bejing's Zero-COVID Dilemma CNA Report: Telling China's COVID-19 Story Well Propaganda, Disinformation, & Other Influence Efforts

THE 20TH NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY: FOREIGN POLICY, TECHNOLOGY AND MILITARY DIMENSIONS Nov 24, 2022

Show notes

Video Link to this Podcast: https://youtu.be/Aly90z-1-eI

https://www.cna.org

THE 20TH NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY: FOREIGN POLICY, TECHNOLOGY AND MILITARY DIMENSIONS A SITUATION SPOTLIGHT Part of CNA's National Security Seminars series November 17, 2022 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST

Featuring: Dr. David Finkelstein, Vice President, CNA and Director, China and Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Division, CNA (https://www.cna.org/about-us/leadership/center-for-naval-analyses/david-finkelstein.xml) Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick (https://www.cna.org/experts/Wishnick_E.xml), Senior Research Scientist, China Studies Program (https://www.cna.org/centers-and-divisions/cna/cip/china-studies), CNA, and Senior Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Dr. April Herlevi (https://www.cna.org/experts/Herlevi_A.xml) Senior Research Scientist, Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Program (https://www.cna.org/centers-and-divisions/cna/cip/indo-pacific-security-affairs), CNA For a recent analysis of the CCP Congress report see our InDepth blog posts by David Finkelstein and Brian Waidelich.