The Last Line of Defense

Host Seth Jones sits down with United States Representative Rick Crawford (R-AR), chair of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), to discuss next-generation threats to the American homeland. Drawing on HPSCI’s recently published Review of the 9/11 Commission Report, Chairman Crawford highlights the growing security challenges posed by China, drones, and misinformation. He also discusses the need to better integrate local and state governments within the country’s national security architecture, and what’s at stake for the American people’s freedom and security. 

Host Dr. Seth Jones sits down with Dr. Dan Byman, director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at CSIS and professor at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Drawing on his experience in the U.S. intelligence community, the 9/11 Commission, and the Joint 9/11 Inquiry Staff of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, Dr. Byman offers his reflections on the attacks, the United States' response in Afghanistan and the global war on terror, evolving threats to the homeland today, and the lessons that Americans should draw to improve national resilience and prepare for future crises. 

Host Seth Jones sits down with Frank Kendall, former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, to discuss his new book, Lethal Autonomy: The Future of Warfare Whether We Like It or Not. They explore China’s military modernization and the challenge it poses to U.S. and allied forces in the Asia-Pacific, along with lessons from past military-technology “offsets.” Kendall examines how autonomous systems will reshape the way the United States designs, equips, and employs its forces, discusses the future of land and surface warfare, and explains the imperative for technological innovation to strengthen deterrence and help prevent great-power conflict.

Host Seth Jones sits down with General Sir Nick Carter, who served as Chief of the Defence Staff and Chief of the General Staff in the UK military, for an assessment of the changing character of warfare. Drawing on decades of military leadership and firsthand experience commanding U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Carter offers insight into the operational lessons emerging from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, the risks of strategic hubris, the evolving role of drones and autonomy on the battlefield, and the growing danger of escalation toward a broader, multi-theater conflict. 

Host Seth Jones sits down with Robert Cardillo, former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, for an assessment of space as an emerging domain of modern warfare. Drawing on decades of experience in the intelligence community and his current leadership positions in the private sector, Cardillo offers insight into the role of space assets in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, the rise of commercial space companies, and the implications of surging Chinese space capabilities for U.S.-China strategic competition and U.S. homeland defense.