The new Iran memorandum is raising old questions about war powers, diplomacy, and congressional oversight. This week, Elisa is joined by Brian Egan, current partner at Skadden and former State Department Legal Adviser and Deputy White House Counsel, to examine the Trump administration’s 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran and how it compares to the JCPOA. Together, they break down what legal force an MOU may carry, what it could mean for sanctions, inspections, frozen funds, and regional security, and why the Algiers Accords still matter when assessing major international agreements.

Brian J. Egan is a partner in Skadden’s National Security Group, where he leads the firm’s CFIUS, export controls, and sanctions practices.

References:

• Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding Between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America. NPR, 18 June 2026
• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
• The Algiers Accords

FISA 702 is back at the center of the national security debate. This week, Elisa is joined by Glenn Gerstell, senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former General Counsel of the National Security Agency, to break down what FISA Section 702 does, what happened when it lapsed, and what could be at stake if Congress fails to act. Later, Elisa walks through several developments shaping the national security landscape, including proposals for government stakes in AI companies, weapons production among U.S. allies, critical minerals deals, and the spread of online-fueled violence.

Glenn Gerstell is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former General Counsel of the National Security Agency.

References:

• FISA Section 702
• EO 12333
• The Stored Communications Act (SCA)
• The SAVE America Act
• The American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act
• Strategic Partnership Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• NSLT, Ep. 421, "Cognitive Warfare: AI, False Realities, and the Laws of War with Gary Corn"
• McClements, Freya. “Study Finds ‘Alarming’ Role Played by Social Media in Sparking Racial Intimidation in North.” The Irish Times, 2 May 2025.
• Section 721 of the Defense Production Act
• The Department of Justice’s First Lawsuit Enforcing a Presidential Order Under Section 721 of the Defense Production Act

A new AI executive order is raising big questions about innovation, security, and government oversight. This week, Elisa speaks with Josh Geltzer, Partner at WilmerHale and former Deputy White House Counsel and Legal Advisor to the National Security Council, about the Trump administration’s new framework for securing frontier AI models before they reach the public. Together, they explore what voluntary early access could mean for leading AI companies, how the federal government may respond to national security risks, and whether this kind of public-private process could eventually evolve into a stronger legal framework.

Josh Geltzer is a Partner at WilmerHale, where he focuses on national security issues including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, CFIUS, crisis management, and national security-related litigation.

References:

• Executive Order: “Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.” The White House, June 2, 2026.
• Executive Order: “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” The White House, December 11, 2025.
• The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)
• Subscribe to our YouTube

Project Maven stands as one of the earliest and most consequential efforts to bring AI into military operations. This week, Elisa sits down with Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, former Director of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and founding Director of Project Maven, to explore how AI entered the battlefield and why it became a strategic priority for the U.S. military. Together, they examine the development of Project Maven, the challenges of using massive troves of defense data, the risks of data manipulation, and how the U.S. can think responsibly about AI, autonomy, and military advantage in the decades ahead.

Lt. Gen. John “Jack” Shanahan, USAF Ret., is the former inaugural Director of the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and founding Director of Project Maven, the DoD’s first operational AI program.

References:

• Manson, Katrina. Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of AI Warfare. W. W. Norton & Company, 2026.

This week, we revisit Elisa’s conversation with Margaret Hu, Professor of Law at William & Mary, and Davi Ottenheimer, Vice President of Trust and Digital Ethics at Inrupt, to examine the vulnerabilities embedded in our digital footprints. Together, they discuss microtargeting, the exploitation of personal data, and how a stronger federal data privacy framework could better protect individuals, institutions, and public trust.

Margaret Hu is the Taylor Reveley Research Professor and Professor of Law, and Director of the Digital Democracy Lab, at William & Mary Law School

Davi Ottenheimer is Vice President of Trust and Digital Ethics at Inrupt

References:

• Register: Luncheon program featuring former DOJ Assistant Attorneys General for National Security – June 4th at 12PM, at the University Club in Washington DC
• Subscribe to our Youtube
• Ep. 340, Unchecked AI and the Exploitation of Personal Data: National Security Implications with Margaret Hu and Davi Ottenheimer (Part 2)
• Ep. 179, Algorithms – Who's in Control? with Alex Stamos (Part 1)
• Ep. 180, Algorithms – Who’s in Control? with Alex Stamos (Part 2)
• Ep. 411, Russia’s War of Attrition: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains with Seth Jones
• Ep. 416, The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi
• California SB 1386, Overview
• The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
• The EU Artificial Intelligence Act, Overview

AI and the modern information ecosystem are making reality harder to verify, and easier to weaponize. This week, Elisa Poteat is joined by Gary Corn, Program Director and Adjunct Professor of Technology, Law and Security at American University Washington College of Law, to discuss his recent article, “Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.” Together, they explore how cognitive warfare has been used throughout history, how deepfakes and synthetic media could accelerate its effects, and what international humanitarian law can, and cannot, do to address the risks AI poses to civilians, truth, and modern conflict.

Professor Gary Corn is Director of the Technology, Law & Security Program and an adjunct professor of cyber and national security law and the law of armed conflict at American University Washington College of Law.

References:

• Corn, Gary P. “Cognitive Warfare: Generative AI, False Realities, and International Humanitarian Law.” American University Washington College of Law, 2025.
• Sun-tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Lionel Giles, Project Gutenberg, 1994.
• Video Series: Operation InfeKtion. The New York Times Opinion, 2018.
• The Law of Armed Conflict Overview
• U.S. Constitution, Article IV: Relationships Between the States. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School.
• Gary Corn Articles of War Profile. Lieber Institute for Law & Warfare, United States Military Academy at West Point.
• NSLT, Ep. 339, "Unchecked AI and the Exploitation of Personal Data: National Security Implications with Margaret Hu and Davi Ottenheimer (Part 1)"
• NSLT, Ep. 411, "Russia’s War of Attrition: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains with Seth Jones"
• NSLT, Ep. 416, "The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi"

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in government and national security systems, one question grows harder to ignore: can these tools actually be secured? This week, Elisa is joined by Disesdi Shoshana Cox, CEO and Head of Research at Bermuda Hundred Strategies, to examine the cybersecurity risks behind AI integration. Together, they discuss whether AI models can be corrected after harmful inputs, how threat modeling can help secure national security use cases, and why prompt injections pose a serious risk as AI systems become more widely deployed across government.

Shoshana Cox is the CEO and Head of Research at Bermuda Hundred Strategies and an AI security architect, researcher, and strategist whose work focuses on AI threat modeling, MLSecOps, and defensive architectures for mission-critical systems.

References:

• Cox, S. Securing AIML Systems in the Age of Information Warfare. Critical Alliance, Apr. 2022
• Cox, S. Agentic AI Red Teaming Guide. Cloud Security Alliance, 28 May 2025
• Shoshana's Substack
• Subscribe to Angles of Attack Newsletter

AI is unlocking new speed and power in biological research, creating opportunities for medical breakthroughs while raising new questions about oversight. This week, Elisa sits down with Doni Bloomfield, Associate Professor of Law at Fordham University, to discuss his recent report, Biological Data Governance in an Age of AI, and the growing risks of training AI models on sensitive viral and genetic information. Together, they explore how AI-powered virus research could shape future treatments, while examining the biosecurity risks of open scientific access and what thoughtful oversight might require.

Doni Bloomfield is an Associate Professor of Law at Fordham Law School whose work focuses on intellectual property, biosecurity, national security law, and health law.

References:

• Bloomfield, Doni et al. “Biological data governance in an age of AI.” Science (New York, N.Y.) vol. 391,6785 (2026): 558-561
• Turner, Stephen D. “Tiered Access for AIxBio Governance.” Paired Ends, 9 Feb. 2026.
• Amodei, Dario. “The Adolescence of Technology: Confronting and Overcoming the Risks of Powerful AI.” Dario Amodei, Jan. 2026.
• NIH All of Us Research Program
• The White House. America’s AI Action Plan. Washington, DC: The White House, July 2025.
• Supreme Court of Alabama. Laurie Ibach and Mark Stewart v. Bruce Stewart, No. SC-2025-0106, Apr. 24, 2026.

As artificial intelligence accelerates, questions about its origins—and underlying assumptions—are becoming harder to ignore. This week, Elisa sits down with filmmaker Valerie Veatch to explore her latest documentary, Ghost in the Machine, which traces the intellectual roots of AI back to the eugenics movement. Together, they examine how these early ideologies may still echo in today’s AI systems, what it means for a workforce increasingly shaped by automation, and how unchecked technological progress can lead to unintended consequences.

Valerie Veatch is a writer, director, and producer of documentary films, including Me @ the Zoo, Love Child, and her latest release, Ghost in the Machine.

References:

• McQuillan, Dan. Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence. Bristol University Press, 2022.
• Bender, Emily M., and Alex Hanna. The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want. Harper, 2025.
• Becker, Adam. More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. Basic Books, 2025.
• Sacks, David O., and Peter Thiel. The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and Political Intolerance on Campus. Independent Institute, 1998.
• “Q-Day Just Got Closer: Three Papers in Three Months Are Rewriting the Quantum Threat Timeline.” The Quantum Insider, 31 Mar. 2026

When cyberattacks target hospitals, infrastructure, and everyday systems, the line between battlefield and civilian life begins to blur. This week, Elisa is joined by Ricoh Danielson, a cybersecurity expert, U.S. Army veteran, and CEO of 1st Responder Cyber, to unpack Iran’s expanding cyber operations and what they reveal about modern warfare. Drawing on recent attacks and long-standing tactics, they examine how Iran uses cyber tools to project power, exploit both human and technical vulnerabilities, and disrupt essential services.

Ricoh Danielson is a U.S. Army combat veteran, digital forensics expert, cybersecurity leader, and CEO of 1st Responder Cyber.

References:

NSLT, Ep. 416, "The Drone Disruption: How Autonomous Systems Are Reshaping the Battlefield with Dawn Zoldi". April 14 2026.