When President Trump agreed to meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest, it looked like a potential breakthrough. Instead, it became a masterclass in manipulation. Within 24 hours, the Kremlin pulled the plug — and the world saw how quickly leverage can shift. In this episode, Ambassador Kurt Volker, former US Special Envoy to Ukraine and current Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy analysis unpacks how Putin’s “summit offer” was never about peace talks, but about power, humiliation, and control — and what it reveals about the fragile state of U.S.–Russia diplomacy.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

After twenty years of covering the U.S. military, I turned in my Pentagon press credential today. But that’s all that changes; My commitment to covering the men and women of the U.S. military and the institution they serve remains exactly the same. Let me explain.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We go deep inside the mind of one of Ukraine’s most unflinching voices—two-time former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. The man who stood at the helm during the nation’s darkest hour after Russia’s first invasion in 2014 returns with a stark warning and a message of resilience. In this powerful conversation, Yatsenyuk, now Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, dissects Vladimir Putin’s endgame, the limits of Western resolve, and what it truly means to fight for democracy when your nation’s survival hangs in the balance. From the corridors of Kyiv to the frontlines of the disinformation war, his words cut through the noise—revealing what Ukraine needs most and what the world stands to lose if it turns away.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov has tracked the rise of Putin’s propaganda machine from the inside; and paid the price in exile. In this gripping conversation, he connects the dots between Russia’s early media crackdowns and the chilling parallels unfolding in the United States today. From late-night comedy to Pentagon press restrictions, Soldatov explains how free speech erodes step by step; and what Americans must do to fight back. This episode is both a history lesson and a warning: freedom of expression isn’t lost overnight; it’s chipped away until silence becomes the norm.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Russia is turning up the pressure on NATO’s doorstep. Estonia says three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets stormed into its airspace over the Gulf of Finland, lingering for twelve minutes in what Tallinn calls a “brazen and deliberate” violation. It’s the fourth breach this year, but the first involving multiple high-performance fighters—and NATO isn’t brushing it off, especially not Estonia. Krisjan Prikk, Estonia's ambassador to the U.S., explains what happened and the consequences.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode we look at how Immigration and Customs Enforcement is believed to have access to Graphite—powerful spyware capable of silently hacking smartphones and reading encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Signal. At issue is what Graphite can do, the legal red lines it risks crossing, and what it means for civil liberties inside the U.S. if you carry a phone. Joining us are Eric O'Neill, a former FBI counterintelligence operative, author, and current national security strategist with Nexasure, and Theresa Payton, CEO of Fortalice Solutions and former White House Chief Information Officer.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are two headline-grabbing incidents—the overnight Russian drone incursion into Poland and the explosion of eight Polish gas tankers on a train in Lithuania—part of the same campaign? Dr. Artis Pabriks thinks so. The former Latvian Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister, now chairman of the Northern Defence Policy Centre, joins us to explain why he believes the events are connected and why he holds Russia responsible. He also lays out what NATO can do next.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On this episode we’ve got two big stories.

First, we continue our Greenland story. Denmark says covert influence operations aren’t just the work of Russia or China anymore—they’re happening inside the Western alliance. Investigators there allege Americans tied to Donald Trump tried to stir separatist sentiment in Greenland. Now we're hearing there are people from another country involved in this. Greenland MP Pipaluk Lynge joins us.

And second, BUT a really big story as well, a cyber campaign with global reach; it’s called Salt Typhoon. A sweeping Chinese operation that pierced America’s telecommunications backbone, siphoning off call records, texts, and even audio from high-level officials, political campaigns, journalists—and ordinary citizens. Emily Odom, Cyber Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the FBI's Washington field office, explains.

Two different fronts, one common thread: covert operations shaking the foundations of trust and security.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.