Sources & Methods

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was already facing questions for his role in the September 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Then on Thursday, a Pentagon report dropped that says he risked a United States bombing mission in Yemen when he shared classified plans on Signal. Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and national security correspondent Quil Lawrence about the controversies Hegseth keeps finding himself in. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Ideology is the enemy of intelligence, says Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tim Weiner. His recent book, a history of the modern CIA, is called The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century. A version of this interview previously aired on NPR's All Things Considered. We're off the rest of the week and back with a regular Thursday episode on December 4. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has positioned himself as a global power broker with money to invest. President Trump considers him an ally. How have the U.S.-Saudi ties deepened under Trump?Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and international correspondent Aya Batrawy about Prince Mohammed's return to Washington, and the U.S. plan for an international security team to enter, demilitarize and govern Gaza.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Trump has an ad-hoc approach to foreign policy. How well is it working?Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and Russia correspondent Charles Maynes about Trump's second term approach to foreign policy, and how that's playing out across the globe including Russia. And is Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear talk just bluster, or the beginning of a new arms race?An earlier version of this episode contained a confusing reference to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. That agreement -- unlike the New START Treaty -- will not expire in February. We have edited the audio for clarity. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Carol Leonnig and Aaron C. Davis sit down with Mary Louise Kelly to talk about their book Injustice: How Politics and Fear Vanquished America’s Justice Department. They reveal why career prosecutors at Department of Justice were slow to explore the Trump administration's efforts to subvert the 2020 election -- and how they got insiders to talk.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. With decades of reporting from battlefields and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home. Additional episodes feature interviews with power players from the NatSec world -- current and former military officials, intelligence experts, diplomatic leaders, and more. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org. NPR+ supporters hear every episode sponsor-free and can access our complete archive. Learn more and support public media at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy