CNA Talks: A National Security Podcast

Timothy Ditter joins the show to discuss his report on China’s military presence in Africa, including its first overseas military base in Djibouti.  

Guest Biographies

Timothy Ditter is a senior research scientist in CNA’s China Studies Program. His work covers PLA amphibious warfare, China’s military modernization and expansion, China’s growing nuclear weapons program, and China’s nascent global military presence.

Further Reading 

CNA Report: The Military and Security Dimensions of the PRC's Africa Presence

CNA Report: PRC Illicit and Malign Activities in Africa: Critical Infrastructure and Mining

CNA Report: PRC Lending in Africa: Impacts in a Time of Global Shocks

CNA Talks: China's Economic Activities in Africa

This episode examines the views of three stakeholder communities within Moscow’s interconnected nuclear ecosystem and how they view Russia’s nuclear doctrine. 

*A previous version of this episode incorrectly stated that Russia's Security Council changed its nuclear doctrine during a September 25 meeting. The correct telling is that Russian President Vladimir Putin soft-launched proposed changes to the doctrine during this meeting. At this time, Russia has made no official changes to its nuclear doctrine. 

Guest Bios

Gabriela Rosa Hernandez is a specialist in Russia's security policy. Her recent research has focused on Russian strategic deterrence, security orders, conventional and nuclear arms control in Europe, and the Russian military.

Cornell Overfield is a specialist in the relationship between maritime law and foreign policy. At CNA, he has worked on projects covering Arctic security and economic activity, improved engagement with allies and partners, and data analytics.

Further Reading

CNA Report: Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears

CNA Talks:  Nuclear Policy After the War in Ukraine

This episode examines the misinformation that spread after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and how individuals and institutions can help stop it. 

Guest Bios

Dawn Thomas is a co-director of the Center for Emergency Management and Operations and director of the Center for Critical Incident Analysis. She is an expert in large-scale incident planning and response. She has worked on a large array of emergency preparedness issues, helping federal, regional, state, and local agencies prepare for and respond to biological attacks, active shooters, large-scale evacuations, medical evacuations, earthquakes and tsunamis, mass casualty chemical incidents, public health outbreaks, and cyberattacks.

Meg McBride is a Senior Research Scientist at CNA. Her expertise includes extremism, terrorism, radicalization, disinformation, and the evaluation of programs to prevent violent extremism. Her recent work has focused on psychological risk factors for radicalization and vulnerability and resilience to misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.    

Further Reading

CNA Report: The Psychology of (Dis)information: Case Studies and Implications

This episode explores the Kursk Offensive, Ukraine’s counter-invasion of Russia, and its implications for the United States and NATO. 

Guest Biography

Michael Petersen is a Principal Research Scientist in CNA's Countering Threats and Challenges Program at CNA. He is an expert on Russian military strategy, operations, and net assessments of high-intensity conflict. From 2023-2024, he served as senior advisor to Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti. From 2015-2023, he was Professor and founding director of the Russia Maritime Studies Institute and the Holloway Advanced Research Program at the U.S. Naval War College. He’s also served with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council.

Further Reading

Russia Studies Program

*There was an audio issue in a previous version of this podcast. This edition is correct. 

This episode covers the inception, development, and potential of CNA’s internal large language model, Morse Code.

Guest Biographies 

Gregor Goodman is the Director and Chief Technology Officer in CNA’s Chief Information Office. He has 20 years of hands-on experience with technology and cyber security, from technical administration to consulting. His expertise is understanding business goals and aligning a technology posture to drive organizational growth.

Experts discuss victim-centered policing. How can it lead to better outcomes for crime victims and investigators, and how police departments can implement the practice.

Guest Biographies

Nicole Carroll is the Director of the Victim Services Unit at the Louisville Metro Police Department, where she ensures the rights and needs of crime victims and witnesses are met through quality programs and services, exercising supervision of subordinate personnel, and overseeing advocacy and service provision for victims involved in the criminal justice system of Jefferson County.

Lindsey Clancey is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation and an expert in crime, justice, and victimology. Before joining CNA, Clancey was an associate teaching professor with the University of Missouri - Kansas City, where she served as the assistant undergraduate director for the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Valerie Schmitt is a Research Scientist with CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation and an expert in domestic human trafficking responses, law enforcement training, and victim advocacy. She specializes in trauma-informed law enforcement responses to crime victims, mental health crises, and community engagement.

We cover CNA’s Force Design Lab, which helps shape the Navy's future by assessing the platforms, capabilities, and concepts that enable it to perform desired missions. 

Guest Biographies

Gordon Jaquith is the Executive Director of CNA’s Department of Navy Relations and the Vice President and Director of CNA’s Systems, Tactics and Force Development Division. Before joining CNA, Gordon served as director of the Strategic, Defensive, and Science/Technology Division at the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE) office within the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Jon Bollinger is a Senior Research Scientist with the Surface Warfare Team in the Systems, Tactics, and Force Development Division. He has been with CNA for four and a half years. His work is focused on the capabilities of long-range and overhead sensors and developing new computational approaches to optimize the employment of Navy surface assets.

Further Reading

CNA: A Novel Model of Cyber Combat

One of the most prominent challenges organizations face when planning for the future is grappling with how unknown external factors will impact their organization. STEEP analysis allows planners to examine future Social, technical, economic, ecological, and political factors and plan for the opportunities and threats these factors will create. 

In this episode, CNA’s Melissa Gutierrez and Heleana Melendez, Captain Jose Gurule from the Denver Sheriff's Department, and Danielle Rudes from Sam Houston State University join the show to discuss applying this framework to corrections. 

Guest Biographies

Melissa Gutierrez is a Senior Research Specialist with CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation. She is an expert in criminal justice research with a focus on gang networks and gun violence, including gun markets. At CNA, her work includes providing training and technical assistance on violent crime reduction programs and researching technology in law enforcement. Before joining CNA, Gutierrez worked at the Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, where she participated in projects related to program evaluation, violent death surveillance, and unintentional overdose death surveillance.

Heleana Melendez is an associate research analyst with CNA’s Center for Justice Research and Innovation. JRI works throughout the justice system, providing training and technical assistance (TTA), conducting research, and supporting nationwide organizational reform in agencies and jurisdictions. Ms. Melendez supports projects at CNA focused on violence prevention, system improvement, and use of force.

Danielle Rudes is a Professor of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Sam Houston State University in Texas. She is also Deputy Director of the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE!). She is a Fellow with the Bureau of Justice Assistance, focusing on Enhancing Correctional Spaces and Cultures. Dr. Rudes is an expert qualitative researcher with over 20 years of experience working with corrections agencies. She is recognized for her work examining how social control organizations understand, negotiate, and at times, resist change. 

Captain Jose Gurule started his career in 2009 with the Conejos County Sheriff's Office. Rising to the rank of Division Commander for the Detention Division. In 2015, he began his tenure with the Denver Sheriff's Department. He has been assigned to direct supervision, intake unit, the field training program, ADA Liaison, LGBTQ+ liaison, and the Peer Support Team. Currently, he is the medical/classification/receiving unit commander. Overseeing the inmate classification/housing of two facilities with a combined housing capacity of 2693 inmates

Future Reading

Register for the Virtual Symposium Futurescape of Justice: Improving Public Safety 

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, which led to the United States’ entry into the Vietnam War. In recognition of this event, we are bringing you a special episode of CNA Talks, featuring a group of historians with uniquely valuable perspectives on the incident. This discussion was originally held on August 5, 2023. 

In September 2021, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States announced a trilateral security agreement known as AUKUS. The partnership would allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines from the US, and it would be an agreement that the partners would collaborate on advanced technology like artificial intelligence and autonomy. 

In this episode, Ralph Espach and Stephanie Stapleton join the show to discuss their assessment of AUKUS’s implementation.  

Guest Biographies

Ralph Espach is an expert in U.S.-Latin American relations, U.S. security assistance and cooperation in Latin America, and the assessment, monitoring, and evaluation of U.S. strategies and programs. His work focuses on U.S. security relations across the Americas, maritime security and naval issues, U.S. security cooperation efforts, and strategic risks such as Chinese and Russian regional relations and climate change.

Stephanie Stapleton is a nuclear policy specialist. Her research topics include strategic deterrence and competition, multipolarity, nuclear arms control, risk reduction, and US nuclear policy. Before joining CNA, she was the managing editor of the academic journal Peacebuilding and Development and taught at Georgia Highlands College.