When You Can’t Obey | Episode 97

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Pauline Shanks Kaurin, Ph.D joins Covert Contact to discuss ethical and moral dilemmas and how we can prepare ourselves for the eventual challenge of facing them. Her book, On Obedience: Contrasting Philosophies for the Military, Citizenry, and Community, explores these issues and presents strategies for anticipating and navigating even the most complex problems.

Pauline is a professor in the College of Leadership and Ethics, and the Admiral James B. Stockdale Chair in Professional Military Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. She holds a doctorate in Philosophy from Temple University and specializes in military ethics, just war theory, philosophy of law and applied ethics. You can follow her on Twitter @KaurinShanks.

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the participants alone and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of USNWC or any agency of the U.S. government.

The Poisoning of Sergei Skripal | Episode 94

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Fred Burton, former deputy chief of counterterrorism at the Diplomatic Security Service and the author of GHOST: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent’s Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, and Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi joined me shortly after the attack on Sergei Skripal. Skripal. a former Russian double agent now living in the UK, was poisoned with a Russian novichok nerve agent developed during the Soviet era. We look at the many implications of this brazen attack, security issues surrounding it, and the need for a serious response.

Team Leadership & Ethics | Episode 93

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In his 3+ years as Chief of the Analysis Bureau at New Jersey’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness Dean Baratta led a very capable team of intelligence analysts. Dean was a critical part of a small team that was widely recognized for its innovative approaches. Now, as he moves on to another project, he reflects on leadership, lessons learned, team building, and the challenge of public service.

You can follow NJOHSP on Twitter @NJOHSP and access their unclassified intelligence products at njhomelandsecurity.gov. Their podcast, Intelligence, Unclassified is available on iTunes and other platforms.

The Jerry Chun Shing Lee Case | Episode 92

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William J. Tucker, a regular contributor on counterintelligence and security topics for Blogs of War and Covert Contact, returns for a look at the Jerry Chun Shing Lee case. Jerry Chun Shing Lee, a former CIA case officer, is suspected by many to have compromised CIA activities in China but has only been charged with the less serious crime of unlawful retention of national defense information.

Evaluating the North Korean Threat | Episode 89

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Phil Walter joins returns to the show to look at how the U.S. processes and evaluates the threat posed by North Korea. We try to separate the rhetoric and action to cut through the hype. We examine American concepts of security and risk and how emotional responses drive both. Is war with North Korea likely? Is it justified when weighing some of the worst possible outcomes?

Phil has served in the military, the intelligence community, and the inter-agency. He is also the found of Divergent Options. His written works are catalogued on Storify and archived at www.philwalter1058.com. I highly recommend them if you are at all interested in national security issues. You can follow him on Twitter @philwalter1058.