Sources & Methods

By NPR

National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. With decades of reporting from battlefields ... more

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FAQs about Sources & Methods:

How many episodes does Sources & Methods have?

The podcast currently has 25 episodes available.

Sources & Methods episodes:

January 08, 2026 What’s happening with the U.S. and Venezuela?
One week ago, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was leading
the country. Now, he’s sitting inside a detention center in Brooklyn.

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR international correspondent Carrie Kahn
in Bogotá about what she’s hearing from Venezuelans, and NPR Pentagon
correspondent Tom Bowman about the Trump administration’s plans for the
country. Bowman also shares his reporting that the Pentagon will review the role
of women in ground combat units.

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26min
January 04, 2026 Venezuela leader captured. Trump says U.S. to 'run' the country. Here’s what we know
After months of threats, warnings and seizing of alleged drug boats – tensions between the United States and Venezuela have now come to this: the arrest of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

Now, President Trump says the United States is “running the country.”
In this special episode of Sources & Methods, host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre, Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman, international correspondent Carrie Kahn and Rep. Adam Smith about the latest from Venezuela.
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21min
December 29, 2025 Undercover for the holidays: Some of our favorite spy novels
What's more thrilling than a great... thriller? As national security buffs, we have thoughts.

Host Mary Louise Kelly chats with national security correspondent Greg Myre and books and culture reporter Andrew Limbong about some of their favorite books and authors in the world of espionage fiction.

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30min
December 22, 2025 From CIA Officer to Governor: Abigail Spanberger on intelligence and politics

Virginia governor-elect Abigail Spanberger will be the first woman and the first former CIA officer to lead the commonwealth.

Host Mary Louise Kelly talks to Spanberger about her unconventional career path that took her from Langley to D.C. and now to Richmond, and how some of her skills from gathering intelligence come in handy in politics.

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26min
December 18, 2025 Is ISIS making a comeback?
The terrorist group has been linked to the mass shooting in Australia and a deadly attack in Syria. What do these two attacks reveal about the group's strength?

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and Middle East correspondent Jane Arraf about how the Islamic State has adapted in a post-caliphate world and what American forces are doing in Syria.

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29min
December 11, 2025 Is Trump breaking up with Europe?
In recent days, President Trump has called European leaders “weak," Biden-era aid to Ukraine “stupid" and Russia “strong.” It’s a radical shift in how the United States views its closest ally.

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and Paris correspondent Eleanor Beardsley about where the transatlantic alliance goes from here.

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29min
December 04, 2025 Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in hot water – again
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was already facing questions for his role in the September 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Then on Thursday, a Pentagon report dropped that says he risked a United States bombing mission in Yemen when he shared classified plans on Signal.

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and national security correspondent Quil Lawrence about the controversies Hegseth keeps finding himself in.

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26min
November 24, 2025 MAGA and 'The Mission' of the intelligence community
Ideology is the enemy of intelligence, says Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tim Weiner. His recent book, a history of the modern CIA, is called The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century. A version of this interview previously aired on NPR's All Things Considered.

We're off the rest of the week and back with a regular Thursday episode on December 4.

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15min
November 20, 2025 Trump and MBS: Who's wooing whom?
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has positioned himself as a global power broker with money to invest. President Trump considers him an ally. How have the U.S.-Saudi ties deepened under Trump?

Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and international correspondent Aya Batrawy about Prince Mohammed's return to Washington, and the U.S. plan for an international security team to enter, demilitarize and govern Gaza.

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28min
November 13, 2025 Peace through strength? America first? Is there a Trump doctrine?
President Trump has an ad-hoc approach to foreign policy. How well is it working?

Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and Russia correspondent Charles Maynes about Trump's second term approach to foreign policy, and how that's playing out across the globe including Russia. And is Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear talk just bluster, or the beginning of a new arms race?

An earlier version of this episode contained a confusing reference to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. That agreement -- unlike the New START Treaty -- will not expire in February. We have edited the audio for clarity.

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24min

FAQs about Sources & Methods:

How many episodes does Sources & Methods have?

The podcast currently has 25 episodes available.

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