This week Leone Lakhani spends 15 Minutes with Javier Peña, a former drug enforcement agent, who was instrumental in bringing down the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Peña and his partner Steve Murphy – both depicted in the Netflix series Narcos – track the life and eventual demise of Escobar, as consultants on the show. Season 3 of Narcos enters a new chapter in the war on drugs, following the brutal Cali Cartel. While Peña didn’t consult on this season, he did track the Cali traffickers during his career. Here, he tells Leone about the show, his experiences, and what he learned from the hunt for Escobar.

Much of the emphasis of fighting violent extremism in the U.S. is on the Islamist or Jihadist threat. But the attack in Charlottesville earlier in August, was a reminder that other elements, including right-wing extremist groups, are also at play. Have these types of groups been ignored? What are the challenges of counter-terrorism in today’s America? Leone Lakhani speaks to Michael Leiter, former Director of the National Counter Terrorism Center to find out. 

On the 16th Anniversary of 9/11, stay tuned for a special Part II of Michael Leiter's podcast, where he tells Leone about his part in the hunt for Bin Laden.

Former National Security Advisor to Joe Biden, Former Deputy Chief of Staff in the State Department, Former Director of Policy Planning, Senior Advisor during the Iran Nuclear Negotiations, Top Foreign Policy Advisor to Hillary Clinton during her campaign, and now, a professor at Yale and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Jake Sullivan has lead a busy life, but he recently took time to sit down with the Cipher Brief's CEO and Publisher Suzanne Kelly to discuss our relations with Iran, the changes at the State Department, and what we can do to face our biggest security threats. 

The U.S. State Department recently revealed that some government employees working in the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cuba were sent home due to symptoms resembling a concussion, with at least one employee suffering from hearing loss. State Department officials have said this was an “acoustic attack,” using sonic devices outside the range of audible sound that were placed either inside or outside the diplomats’ residences. This week, The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spends 15 minutes with H. Keith Melton, an intelligence historian, author, and board member of the International Spy Museum, who recently co-authored Spy Sites of Washington, DC with former CIA Director of the Office of Technical Service Robert Wallace. Here, they talk about the history of espionage activities between the U.S. and Cuba, and which country is the biggest espionage threat to the United States.

This week, The Cipher Brief’s CEO and Publisher Suzanne Kelly spends 15 minutes with Rob Joyce, the White House cybersecurity coordinator. Prior to his role in the new administration, Joyce was chief of the NSA’s elite hacking unit named Tailored Access Operations. Joyce now leads the government’s coordination of all things cyber, a big job to take on considering the number of agencies, departments, and threats. Suzanne spoke with Joyce about his role, and what he sees as the biggest cyber threats today.

This week, The Cipher Brief brings you a special best of episode of one of our most fascinating guests, Jason Matheny, Director of IARPA, the research branch for the intelligence community that works on ways to tell the future. The Cipher Brief’s CEO and Publisher, Suzanne Kelly, spoke with Jason about what exactly IARPA does, what keeps him up at night, and if there’s ways to predict political instability and unrest.

A U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, envoy to Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia: James Dobbins has had years of experience representing U.S. interests abroad. Along with his numerous positions, he was also lead negotiator to the Bonn Agreement, which re-created the state of Afghanistan following the U.S. invasion. In this week’s 15 Minutes podcast, The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge speaks with Ambassador Dobbins about his experiences as a diplomat, what role the U.S. has abroad under the Trump administration, and his new book, Foreign Service: Five Decades on the Frontlines of American Policy.

It’s a rough time for liberal democracies – with fake news and election hacking creating a growing erosion of trust in governments. Estonia, a small country in eastern Europe and previously under the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence, was hit by a wave of cyber attacks in 2007, which many believe Russia orchestrated. Since then, Estonia and former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves have been focused on building up cyber defenses. This week, The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spends 15 minutes with President Ilves, who is now a visiting fellow at Stanford’s Institute for International Studies. Here, they talk about fake news, twitterbots, and the future of artificial intelligence.

The U.S. Navy protects our seas around the clock. But what else does the Navy do? It innovates – a lot. Ray Mabus, who was Secretary of the Navy under both Obama Administrations and held that post longer than anyone since World War I, created a fully green fleet during his tenure. Now, 65 percent of energy on navy bases around the world comes from non-fossil fuels. This week, The Cipher Brief’s Kaitlin Lavinder spends 15 minutes with Secretary Mabus, who was previously the Governor of Mississippi and U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Here, he tells Kaitlin about other innovations in the Navy, like unmanned underwater vehicles that compete with Russia and China on underwater capabilities.

This week, The Cipher Brief celebrates Independence Day by looking back at interviews we did with men who have served this country in the Armed Forces. From Robert 'Buzz' Patterson, air force pilot and military aide to President Clinton, to Senator John McCain, a former naval pilot and POW, to Jack Keane, a retired four-star general, these men worked tirelessly for the greater good. 

As the 23rd Secretary of the Air Force under President Obama, one of Deborah Lee James' principal concerns was U.S. advancement in space. She believes its mission-critical for the United States to better protect its satellite communications and missile warning systems. The Cipher Brief's Fritz Lodge joined Secretary James for a discussion on the role of U.S. armed forces in space - and some of the game-changing advancements that may come soon in space-based missile defense. 

From 1985 to 1994, CIA officer Aldrich Ames was actually a spy for the Soviets. At the time of his arrest in ’94, he had compromised more CIA assets than any other mole in history. This week, The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani spends 15 minutes with former CIA officer Sandy Grimes, who was instrumental in uncovering Ames. She had worked beside him as a young officer with the CIA’s Soviet bloc division. Here, she shares her personal experiences with Ames and why she believes he was such a valuable Soviet target.

There’s seldom a day that we don’t hear about cyber attacks, hacks, and how governments and the general public should protect against cyber threats or criminals. One company says its mission is to use technology to do just that: keep people safe online. The company’s called Jigsaw. It’s a technology incubator created by Google. But how do they do it? The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani spends 15 minutes with Jigsaw’s Managing Director Scott Carpenter to find out.

This week, The Cipher Brief's Suzanne Kelly spends 15 Minutes with Ali Soufan. Ali is a former FBI special agent, who recently wrote The Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of Bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State. What's unique about the book is that he wrote it like a novel, to bring the readers into the world of Bin Laden and help them better understand it. So how did he come up with the idea?

This week, The Cipher Brief looks back at five groundbreakers in the national security space. Each in his/her own right has blazed a trail for others to follow — in policy, spycraft, and law enforcement. From Pentagon pioneer Michele Flournoy to Steve Murphy, who co-led the demise of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, take 15 Minutes to hear from some of the leaders and change-makers in national security and intelligence. To listen to the full podcasts with each of these trailblazers, search The Cipher Brief podcasts.

How important are the Balkans to U.S. national security? The region remains volatile, with ethnic and socioeconomic tensions rising, and increased Russian meddling in internal affairs. So, this week, The Cipher Brief's Kaitlin Lavinder spends 15 Minutes with Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who recently returned from a trip to the Balkans. He also voted in March for the state of Montenegro to become NATO's newest member. Here, he tells Kaitlin what he thinks Montenegro will bring to the table. 

What is the most stable country in the world? Which is the most fragile? What determines those qualities? This week, The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani spends 15 Minutes with JJ Messner, Executive Director of The Fund for Peace, which projects the annual Fragile States Index. Judged on 12 indicators – based on social, economic and political factors – the index ranks 178 countries from the most fragile, to the least. So, which countries ranked the highest in 2017? And why does it matter?

In a world of evolving threats, how can the United States innovate to stay ahead in the national security space? That’s a question The Cipher Brief's CEO Suzanne Kelly puts to Milo Medin, a member of the Defense Innovation Board, an initiative set up by former Defense Secretary Ash Carter in 2016. Milo, who is also Google’s Vice President of Access Services, speaks to Suzanne about potential solutions, on the sidelines of Georgetown University’s “Hacking 4 Defense” innovation panel.

This week The Cipher Brief's Executive Producer Leone Lakhani speaks to Adam Meyers from the cyber-security firm CrowdStrike. As the Vice President of Intelligence, Adam heads a team that identifies the perpetrators of cyber-crimes, both in the private and public sectors. CrowdStrike helped to identify the hackers behind the Democratic National Committee's email leaks last year, and more recently the mastermind behind the Kelihos Botnet. Leone speaks to Adam about the challenges and procedures in identifying these cyber criminals. 

This week The Cipher Brief's CEO & Publisher Suzanne Kelly spends 15 minutes with Michele Flounoy, CEO & Founder of the DC-based think tank the Center For a New American Security (CNAS). She was formerly the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. When President Barack Obama nominated her for the position, she was the highest-ranking woman in the Pentagon’s history.

After President Donald Trump’s election, General James Mattis asked her to be his Deputy Secretary of Defense, a position she turned down. So, what are her views on the new Administration? And what does she see as the most pressing challenges ahead, from North Korea to Yemen, Syria and Iraq?

This week, The Cipher Brief's Executive Producer and Reporter Leone Lakhani speaks to Jonna Mendez, who spent 27 years at the CIA, eventually becoming the Chief of Disguise. She’s also a founding board member of the International Spy Museum, where she aims to educate people about the world of espionage. Here, Jonna educates Leone on how she learned from Hollywood makeup artists and magicians, to master illusion and disguise.

This week The Cipher Brief's Executive Producer and Reporter Leone Lakhani speaks to Carmen Medina, former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence and a long-time advocate of diversity in the Agency. She’s also the co-author of Rebels at Work, a book in which she shares the virtues of being a rebel in the workplace. A self-styled rebel herself, Carmen tells Leone how she shook up the Agency, and why she sees the world differently.

This week, The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge speaks to Michael German, author of “Thinking Like a Terrorist” and a former undercover FBI agent, who infiltrated white supremacist groups in the 1990s. Fritz asks Michael how his experiences shaped his understanding of terrorism and how to best fight violent extremism both at home and abroad.

This week, The Cipher Brief's Senior National Security Editor Steve Hirsch speaks with James Mitchell, a psychologist - and author of Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying to Destroy America. Along with his partner John Bruce Jessen, James carried out debriefings of high profile detainees like 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, on behalf of the CIA from 2002 to 2009. Together they created what's known as "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" - or EITS - to question the prisoners. James spoke with Steve about the EIT program and the role they could have in the future. 

This week The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani speaks to Robert “Buzz” Patterson, who held the “Nuclear Football” for President Bill Clinton. If the United States faces an imminent threat from a foreign power, did you know the President can order a nuclear attack at a moment’s notice? How? One option is by using the “Nuclear Football.” The Football – also known as the President’s Emergency Satchel – is a briefcase that accompanies the President, at all times. So what’s in it? And how does it work? Buzz gives some insight on these questions.