Here are seven lessons I’ve learned about informing and persuading people without feeding fear, outrage, or exhaustion. The midterms are approaching and, regardless of our political persuasion, we all need to have ‘the conversation’ with others, family, co-workers, or friends. If every political conversation feels like shouting into the wind, it may be how you’re […]
The Red Menace Returns! Or So We’re Told.
/in SubstackBy Adam Wasserman Communism no longer poses the kind of global ideological threat it did during the twentieth century. Yet by resurrecting the rhetoric of the Red Scare, Trump is breathing new life into one of American politics’ oldest tactics: using fear of an exaggerated enemy to justify extraordinary political power. The Red Menace is […]
The Recruiter’s Recruiter: Trust, Treason, and the Human Elements of Espionage with Jim Lawler
/in SubstackIn 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 […]
Transcript Episode 35: The Recruiter’s Recruiter: Trust, Treason, and the Human Elements of Espionage with Jim Lawler
/in SubstackHow the Secretary of State Degraded his Own Intelligence Agency
/in SubstackBy David Abramson The Department of State, Washington, D.C. On July 11, 2025, the State Department dismissed some of its most experienced intelligence analysts merely to appease the Trump Administration’s demands for cuts. I left soon afterward—not because I had stopped believing in the mission, but because I believed the institution had stopped defending the […]
The American Balance Sheet
/in SubstackThe Steady State examines America’s democratic balance sheet—from national security and the rule of law to economic power and civic engagement. We ask a simple question: Are we investing in the institutions that sustain self-government, or spending down the reserves that generations before us built? The Steady State examines America’s democratic balance sheet—from national security […]
The Spies America Is Losing
/in Substackunsplash America’s intelligence edge has never depended solely on satellites, AI, or intercepted communications. It has depended on courageous people who believed the United States stood for something worth risking their lives for. When our leaders erode those ideals, they don’t just damage America’s reputation; they make it harder to recruit the human sources who […]
The Forgotten Parties of January 6
/in SubstackBy Steven A. Cash Capitol Police Holding the Line on January 6 2021 Much of the recent public discussion surrounding January 6 has focused on defendants: their prosecutions, convictions, pardons, clemency, and efforts to revisit or dismiss prior proceedings. Far less attention has been paid to another group with legally recognized interests in those cases: […]
Common Sense Take 2 – Good Grief
/in SubstackCommon Sense: Take 2, A Call to Renew Democracy, contends that the United States is confronting not simply a political crisis but a deeper crisis of democratic capacity. Written by Russ Travers, a career public servant across multiple administrations who retired as Acting Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, the book focuses on the institutional, […]
America Doesn’t Have Kings. It Has Billionaires.
/in SubstackCitizens still cast ballots, but the largest political investments increasingly come from concentrated wealth. The resulting trend, accelerated by the Trump administration, is a democracy whose rules increasingly favor those who can afford to shape them. Two years ago, I was asked to make the keynote address at a conference held at the London School […]
Having “The Conversation” About Threats to Democracy – Lessons Learned
/in SubstackHere are seven lessons I’ve learned about informing and persuading people without feeding fear, outrage, or exhaustion. The midterms are approaching and, regardless of our political persuasion, we all need to have ‘the conversation’ with others, family, co-workers, or friends. If every political conversation feels like shouting into the wind, it may be how you’re […]