Sources & Methods

The U.S. military is blowing up boats again. And it is taking a stake in the Venezuelan oil business. What is the administration trying to achieve in the Western Hemisphere?

Guest host Scott Detrow talks with NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre and international reporter John Otis about how the Trump administration's "Donroe Doctrine" is playing out. They also discuss parallels between the Iran war and the post-9/11 conflicts that eventually became quagmires.

Tune in for a live stream episode of our show next week.

Click "Notify me" here to join the conversation on Wednesday, September 9 at 9:30am ET.

Mary Louise Kelly will discuss how the events of 9/11 are still shaping global events, with former intelligence officials and policymakers who lived through it. 

Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

It’s been six months since the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran.
Is anyone winning?

On the one-year anniversary of this podcast, Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre and two of NPR’s International Correspondents: Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv and Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Istanbul. They discuss where the war stands – economically, diplomatically and militarily – and who has scored wins during the conflict.

Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

This week, President Trump ordered that annual military drills between the U.S. and South Korea be scaled back. He also said he’d like to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.


As Trump closes one door with a key U.S. ally, is he also trying to open one with its northern neighbor?

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR White House Correspondent Emily Feng about whether the U.S. is once again trying to shift its attention to Asia, and how the war with Iran is hanging over that effort. Also, the latest on conditions aboard an aircraft carrier that’s been at sea for more than 260 days.

Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

Clarification: This episode has been updated to

remove an imprecise description of the Korean War.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

A president is stashed away in a catering truck -- a ruse to escape a threat from Iran. The White House press corps was clueless. 

Who else remained in the dark and how did this happen? 


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Correspondents Kat Lonsdorf and Tom Bowman, who covers the Pentagon, about the threat against President Trump from Iran. They also discuss the future of National Guard deployment and whether troops might be patrolling polling places in November, the human cost of war, and Count Binface. 


For tickets to a live taping of Sources & Methods visit npr.org/sourcesliveshow.


Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

In the past week, seven U.S. states have reported cyberattacks on their water facilities.

Some in the cybersecurity industry suspect Iran was responsible. Is this a new element of the war between the two countries? And how big is the risk?

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Cybersecurity Correspondent Jenna McLaughlin and NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre about the role cyberwarfare plays in military conflicts. They also discuss the latest from Ukraine, where a diminishing supply of air defense weapons has been unable to deter Russian missiles.

Tickets for our live podcast taping at NPR headquarters in

Washington, D.C., go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 11. Visit this link then: http://npr.org/sourcesliveshow. 

Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

A new book makes the case that if we look closely at hidden conflicts

unfolding around the globe,

we can glimpse a new world order taking shape.

The book is called Hinterlands: The New Cold War Brewing at

the Peripheries of the West and its author is Hannah Lucinda Smith, a veteran

correspondent who has spent years reporting from the Middle East and the

Balkans for outlets such as The Times of London and The Economist.

Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Smith about travelling to

and writing about these frayed geopolitical edges of the world and where we

should be keeping an eye out for the next brewing conflict.

Email the show at [email protected]

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include archive access and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

A new round of strikes between Iran and the United States, an expansion that’s embroiled forces in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, plus concerns about missile shortages in the U.S. arsenal — is this a new phase of the war with Iran?


Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR reporter Arezou Rezvani about the status of the war, negotiations, concerns about a U.S. missile shortage and how the continued fighting has created mixed emotions in Iran. 


Email the show at [email protected]

NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

As Russia and Ukraine pound each other on the battlefield, there's a showdown happening in Kyiv between a young tech wizard and an older battle-hardened general. 

What might that battle tell us about the direction of the war in Ukraine? 


Host Mary Louise Kelly is joined by NPR Russia Correspondent Charles Maynes and NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre to talk about the recent turmoil among Ukraine's military leaders, how the Kremlin is viewing the shakeup and whether Russia's relationship with the United States has changed.


Email the show at [email protected]

NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

The world’s attention is once again on the Strait of Hormuz, as the U.S. and Iran have resumed strikes and their shaky ceasefire broke.


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with two show regulars, NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre, about President Trump's policy shifts around the war, and why it's so hard for him to end the conflict for good. Plus, the president's pick to lead the intelligence community faced Congress this week.

Email the show at [email protected]

NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

President Trump and NATO allies met in Turkey this week, in a summit where European countries were anxious about appeasing the U.S. president.


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR Istanbul Correspondent Hadeel Al-Shalchi about what NATO members wanted to get out of this summit, and what they got. Plus, Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is over, though negotiations will continue. Where does that conflict stand?

Email the show at [email protected]

NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy