We’re back! In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric put speed at the center of national power—why getting tech from contract to combat faster is the 2025 advantage, how to measure success in Ukraine beyond headlines, and what AUKUS and Australia’s rare-earth capacity mean for resilient national security. Plus: what to realistically expect from upcoming Asia travel—watch South Korea—and a tease of the emerging “time-service” cyber risk (“time is the new oil”) that we’ll unpack in a later episode.

Timestamps: 

00:00 Introduction to Understandable Insights

00:31 Sue's Health Update 

02:12 Halloween: Pumpkin Carve or Paint

04:24 US-AustraliaSubmarines and Rare Earths

07:17 Ukraine Conflict and Cruise Missiles

13:41 Army Acquisition Reforms

20:08 Private Capital in Military Investments

27:27 Argentina Currency Investment

33:20 POTUS Asia Trip

37:14 China Accuses US of Hacking Time

40:15 What We’re Watching

About the show:

Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be.

Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions.

From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear.

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