National Security Law Today
National Security Law Today

National Security Law Today

National Security Law Today

Overview
Episodes

Details

National Security Law Today brings legal experts discussing the hot topics and current issues in the world of national security law right to your phone. Get information and advice for lawyers, law students or interested parties who want to dig deeper into the law that protects the country.

Recent Episodes

Crash, Bailout, or Breakthrough? The Future of America’s AI Bet
DEC 3, 2025
Crash, Bailout, or Breakthrough? The Future of America’s AI Bet
<p>What happens when an innovation boom starts to look like a financial bubble? This week, Elisa sits down with Sarah Myers West of the AI Now Institute to examine the mounting evidence that America’s most influential AI firms may be overvalued, overleveraged, and quietly expecting government rescue if profits don’t materialize. Together, they trace the circular flow of investment between chipmakers, cloud providers, and AI developers, explore why growth projections outpace real-world demand, and unpack how national security narratives are being used to justify unchecked expansion.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://ainowinstitute.org/contributor/sarah-myers-west">Sarah Meyers West</a> is Co-Executive Director of the AI Now Institute</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://ainowinstitute.org/">The AI Now Institute</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/you-may-already-be-bailing-out-the-ai-business-dd67d452">Op Ed: Sarah Meyers West and Amba Kak, You May Already Be Bailing Out the AI Business. The Wall Street Journal. Nov 12, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/accelerating-federal-permitting-of-data-center-infrastructure/">EO on Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/promoting-the-export-of-the-american-ai-technology-stack/">EO on Promoting the Export of the American AI Technology Stack</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-executive-order-regulating-state-ai-laws-rcna244890">NBC: "Trump administration drafts an executive order to challenge state AI laws." Jared Perlo. Nov. 19th 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/big-tech-is-spending-more-than-ever-on-ai-and-its-still-not-enough-f2398cfe?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqfGYAw9Ff90S9PNcvMXou6F4Jr2z274CamMqjE8kU-YlDsXfhzxeSO7SR92D3k%3D&amp;gaa_ts=69306ec6&amp;gaa_sig=DRgC45cfWrb4-k8qvBRr_LtCjvNVqcvP4bT-hjJiz3Md_ZVJS9HrwuZ7wTnUvWyv7y5Sx9cCxAi3Mwcds9o5Kg%3D%3D">WSJ: "Big Tech Is Spending More Than Ever on AI and It’s Still Not Enough." Megan Bobrowsky. Oct. 30th 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.bain.com/about/media-center/press-releases/20252/$2-trillion-in-new-revenue-needed-to-fund-ais-scaling-trend---bain--companys-6th-annual-global-technology-report/">Bain &amp; Company: "$2 trillion in new revenue needed to fund AI’s scaling trend." Sep 23rd, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/technology/david-sacks-white-house-profits.html">NYT: "Silicon Valley’s Man in the White House Is Benefiting Himself and His Friends." Nov. 30 2025</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/10/24/remarks-by-apnsa-jake-sullivan-on-ai-and-national-security/">The White House Archives: "Remarks by APNSA Jake Sullivan on AI and National Security." The National Defense University. Oct 24 2024.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3939/text">RISE Act</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000718668068">NSLT Ep. 380, "Where Energy Policy Is Headed Next with Tyler O’Connor (Part 1)" July 23 2025.</a></li></ul>
play-circle icon
34 MIN
Profiting from Polarization: The Economics of America’s Culture War
NOV 26, 2025
Profiting from Polarization: The Economics of America’s Culture War
<p>Polarization isn’t just a political outcome—it’s an industry. This week, Elisa welcomes Aakaash Rao and Shakked Noy, economists from MIT and Harvard and co-authors of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4xxenpo8wotkw1238e/rao-jmp.pdf?rlkey=x8rg0slqo9mwfhdlbqgftaw4b&amp;e=3&amp;dl=0"><em>The Business of the Culture War</em></a>, to explore how shifts in the media business model—from the collapse of local newspapers to the rise of cable news—created powerful incentives to divide audiences. Together, they unpack how networks learned to mobilize viewers through cultural identity issues, what survey data reveals about a dramatic realignment in voter priorities, and why these trends pose urgent questions for policymakers and the future of American democracy.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/toohzkqs3mj7p26d117el/rao-cv.pdf?rlkey=jyqujefdgva4bppgzbshg4glt&amp;e=1&amp;dl=0">Aakaash Rao</a> is a Ph.D. candidate in Economics at Harvard University</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://shakkednoy.com/cv.pdf">Shakked Noy</a> is a Ph.D student in Economics at MIT</p><p></p><p><em>References:</em> </p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/27v4xxenpo8wotkw1238e/rao-jmp.pdf?rlkey=x8rg0slqo9mwfhdlbqgftaw4b&amp;e=2&amp;dl=0">Rao, Aakaash, and Shakked Noy. <em>The Business of the Culture War.</em> Job Market Paper, Harvard University, 2025.</a> </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/national-security-law-today/id1276946676?i=1000578056546">NSLT, Ep. 229, <em>Broken News and the Media Rage Machine with Chris Stirewalt</em></a> </li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/topic-guide/fairness-doctrine">The Fairness Doctrine Overview</a></li></ul>
play-circle icon
39 MIN
Foreign Money, American Power: Mapping Washington’s International Lobbying Pipeline with Kenneth Vogel
NOV 20, 2025
Foreign Money, American Power: Mapping Washington’s International Lobbying Pipeline with Kenneth Vogel
<p>Washington’s influence economy is bigger—and murkier—than most Americans realize. This week, Elisa sits down with investigative reporter Kenneth P. Vogel to unpack the sprawling web of foreign lobbying revealed in his new book, Devil’s Advocate, tracing how powerful insiders—from Rudy Giuliani to Hunter Biden—became entangled with corrupt foreign interests and why these relationships blur partisan lines. Drawing on history behind the Foreign Agents Registration Act and modern examples of access-brokers operating in plain sight, Vogel exposes the incentives, vulnerabilities, and national-security risks that allow foreign money and influence to move through Washington, often away from public view but never without consequences.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/kenneth-p-vogel">Kenneth P. Vogel</a> is a reporter based in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, investigating the intersection of money, politics and influence.</p><p>References:</p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.harpercollins.com/products/devils-advocates-kenneth-p-vogel?variant=43110856097826">Vogel, Kenneth P. <em>Devils’ Advocates: The Hidden Story of Rudy Giuliani, Hunter Biden, and the Washington Insiders on the Payrolls of Corrupt Foreign Interests.</em> William Morrow, 2025.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/PDF/IF11439/IF11439.2.pdf">Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) Overview</a></li></ul>
play-circle icon
39 MIN
Scaling AI: Building Ethics into the Algorithm with Roy Austin
NOV 12, 2025
Scaling AI: Building Ethics into the Algorithm with Roy Austin
<p>AI is learning from us—but what happens when the data it’s fed carries our deepest biases? This week, Elisa Poteat sits down with Roy Austin, inaugural director of Howard Law School’s Artificial Intelligence Initiative and former Deputy Assistant to the President for Urban Affairs, Justice and Opportunity in the Obama White House, to discuss how law and ethics can keep pace with accelerating innovation. Together, they examine AI’s influence on justice, bias, and national security, the responsibility of major tech companies, and what it will take to prepare the next generation of lawyers for an AI-driven world.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://law.howard.edu/articles/howard-university-school-law-launches-howard-law-ai-initiative-roy-l-austin-jr-named">Roy Austin</a> is the inaugural director of the Howard Law Artificial Intelligence Initiative, a groundbreaking initiative focused on ethical AI innovation and civil rights law.</p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.american.edu/spa/justice-initiatives/lair/upload/wh-lair_annual_report_-_nov_2016_-_final.pdf">White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable. <em>Expanding Access to Justice, Strengthening Federal Programs: First Annual Report of the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable</em>. November 2016.</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-guidelines/">Horwitz, Jeff. “<em>Meta’s AI Rules Have Let Bots Hold ‘Sensual’ Chats with Kids, Offer False Medical Info.</em>” Reuters, 14 Aug. 2025</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230">FISA Section 230</a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.420095/gov.uscourts.cand.420095.167.0.pdf"><em>Doe v. Meta Platforms, Inc.</em> U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal., No. 23-cv-420095, Opinion filed Oct. 17, 2025.</a></li></ul>
play-circle icon
42 MIN
Innovation Without Guardrails: The Rise of OpenAI and the Upcoming National Security Law Conference
NOV 5, 2025
Innovation Without Guardrails: The Rise of OpenAI and the Upcoming National Security Law Conference
<p>As artificial intelligence accelerates, questions about power, privacy, and accountability are more urgent than ever. This week, we revisit our conversation with bestselling author and award-winning AI reporter Karen Hao, whose book <em>Empire of AI</em> reveals how ambition and competition transformed OpenAI from a mission-driven nonprofit into one of the world’s most powerful—and controversial—tech companies.</p><p>This re-air comes ahead of the 35th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law CLE Conference, taking place November 13–14 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC. With the theme “<em>Technology, National Security, and the Law: Keeping Pace with Innovation</em>,” the conference will feature two days of expert discussions on how emerging technologies are reshaping national security.</p><p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://karendhao.com/about">Karen Hao</a> is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering artificial intelligence.</p><p></p><p><em>References:</em></p><ul><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://events.americanbar.org/event/2f688d02-0302-4fb3-859e-3fff06468b17/summary"><strong><em>Register Now!</em></strong><em> The 35th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law CLE Conference, November 13–14, 2025, with an opening reception on November 12. </em></a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://custom.cvent.com/F9E449D691AE483080DAC6296EBC2854/files/b74c9b9c2c3047a2a570fce95ca548b6.pdf"><strong><em>Agenda:</em></strong><em> The 35th Annual Review of the Field of National Security Law CLE Conference</em></a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://karendhao.com/"><em>Hao, Karen. Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Penguin Press, 2025</em></a></li><li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R46751"><em>Section 230 Overview</em></a></li></ul>
play-circle icon
52 MIN