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Sources & Methods

NPR 6 Episodes Sep 17, 2026

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 and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home. Additional episodes feature interviews with power players from the NatSec world -- current and former military officials, intelligence experts, diplomatic leaders, and more.

Episodes

AI hacks are already here / U.S.-China race dynamics / Global guardrails Sep 17, 2026 1614 All a sudden everyone is talking about the risk of an AI catastrophe or, in the case of President Trump, an AI "hoax."Host Mary Louise Kelly talks with NPR Cybersecurity Correspondent Jenna McLaughlin about the risks cyber experts are worried about already. And NPR White House Correspondent Emily Feng explains why a global agreement on AI guardrails to protect against future existential risks look

How Sept. 11 reshaped national security Sep 9, 2026 3700 It’s been 25 years since al-Qaida attacked the United States by hijacking airplanes and crashing them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with a fourth plane crashing into a field in Pennsylvania.Sept. 11 represented a new kind of national security threat, and a new national security architecture was created to confront it.Before a live audience at NPR, host Mary Louise Kelly discussed h

Trump's oil deal / A year of boat strikes / Could Iran become a forever war? Sep 3, 2026 1591 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 th

Six months of Iran war / Gains and losses / CIA Chief in Moscow Aug 27, 2026 2001 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

South Korea military drills / Pivot to Asia? / USS Lincoln Aug 20, 2026 1683 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 abou

Introducing Sources & Methods Aug 25, 2025 110 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 and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places m

Sources & Methods

Episodes

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