Intelligence Matters

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Amy Zegart, the Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Professor of Political Science at Stanford University about her new book, "Spies, Lies and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence." Morell and Zegart discuss the impact of emerging technologies on intelligence collection and analysis, both of which, Zegart says, have been fundamentally changed by developments like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and commercial satellite imagery. Zegart also outlines the five "mores" - more threats, more speed, more data, more customers and more competitors - that she says have made the work of intelligence newly challenging. 

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Dawn Meyerriecks, former Deputy Director for Science and Technology at the CIA, about the role of technology in intelligence collection and analysis and how technological developments can enhance, threaten or fundamentally change the work of national security. Meyerriecks discusses how the CIA has historically approached the incorporation of new technologies into its tradecraft and how the agency is adapting to fast-moving changes today. She also discusses how the CIA is contending with the phenomenon of ubiquitous technical surveillance, which has threatened its human intelligence collection mission. 

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with State Department Counselor Derek Chollet about the top foreign policy challenges facing the United States, and how the State Department sees the way forward with regard to Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and China. Chollet outlines the U.S. strategy for deescalating tensions with Moscow amid its continued military buildup at Ukraine's border, discusses the prospects for brokering a nuclear deal with Iran, and offers thoughts on how the U.S. will approach challenges stemming from China's rise. He also describes ongoing efforts to bolster U.S. alliances and reinvigorate U.S. diplomacy. 

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Hal Brands, the Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and the author of the new book, "The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us About Great Power Rivalry Today." Morell and Brands discuss the ways in which applied history can help policymakers make better-informed strategic decisions today. They move through a selection of Cold War-era lessons outlined by Brands in his book to inform the United States' approach to competition with Russia and China. They also discuss why some efforts - including the forging global partnerships and successfully projecting democratic values - may pose more of a challenge for the United States today than it did in decades past.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell offers a personal, in-depth analysis of two top global threats in 2022: Russia’s military aggression toward Ukraine and Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Morell offers historic and contemporary context on Moscow’s objectives and President Putin’s tactics; he also offers unique perspective on the political and national security calculus being made by Tehran’s leadership as nuclear talks continue. He describes alternative scenarios and lays out the most likely outcomes for each foreign policy challenge.  

In this 'Best Of' episode of Intelligence Matters, we revisit Michael Morell's June 2021 conversation with CNN Chief International Correspondent Clarissa Ward, who shares anecdotes and personal reflections related to her memoir, "On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist." Ward explains how the attacks on September 11, 2001, prompted her to pursue a career in broadcast journalism, and how she rose through the ranks to become an on-air correspondent. She details her experiences reporting from conflict zones in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, and what drove her to tell the stories of people living in war-torn areas. Ward also tells Morell about her friendship with American journalist Austin Tice, as well as her efforts to search for Tice after his abduction in Syria in 2012.

In this 'Best Of' episode of Intelligence Matters, we revisit Michael Morell's February 2021 conversation with Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, author and adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. They discuss her latest book, The Daughters of Kobani, which tells the story of the Women’s Protection Unit (YPJ) and their fight against ISIS alongside American forces. Lemmon discusses what she describes as the most far reaching experiment in women's equality in the least likely place in the world.

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with former CIA operations officer Jim Lawler about his years of work on counterproliferation matters and his post-CIA pursuit of writing fictional novels, including “Living Lies: A Novel of the Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program.” Lawler and Morell discuss the similarities between recruiting spies and developing literary plots, as well as why a keen sense of empathy is necessary to be accomplished in each. Lawler tells Morell why he believes the most successful operations officers may have a particular neurological capability for convincing spies to steal secrets, which he calls the “metaphysics of recruitment.”  

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell moderates a conversation among three top experts on China’s geopolitical ambitions and their implications for the United States. Harvard University Professor Graham Allison, Johns Hopkins Professor Hal Brands, and George Mason University Assistant Professor Ketian Zhang discuss President Xi Jinping’s near and long-term political objectives, the domestic challenges he may face, and how the United States should develop its own strategies for confronting or cooperating with Beijing. This episode was produced in partnership with the Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. 

In this episode of Intelligence Matters, host Michael Morell speaks with Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. under President George W. Bush and Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021. Khalilzad and Morell discuss the history of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan, including in the period during the withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1989, after 9/11, and today. Khalilzad offers new details about the deal his team brokered with the Taliban in 2020 - including the contents of two still-secret annexes - and explains why he believes diplomatic engagement with the Taliban should continue. Khalilzad also reflects on the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as his own role as lead negotiator under Presidents Trump and Biden.