Introducing UT's National Security Law Podcast

The world probably does not need another podcast, but it’s getting one anyway… As many of you already know, my friend Steve Vladeck joined me on the faculty at UT-Austin this past fall. We’re coteaching this spring, and even before that we were spending quite a bit of time in conversation about the latest developments in the field of national security law. Not surprisingly, we find that we agree on some things but not others, and also that we have a fun time sorting it all out. Well, now we’ve convinced ourselves that some of you might enjoy hearing how these conversations go. And so—gulp—we are taking the podcasting plunge, under the auspices and with the support of UT’s Strauss Center (where I serve as the Director and Steve is one of our Distinguished Scholars).

We had planned originally to go live only after creating a reasonably-polished product: good intro music, nice production values, a nice homepage, an easy way to subscribe, and all the rest (including a clever name). And then the story broke, on Wednesday, that there was a draft executive order impacting detention, interrogation, and military commission prosecutions. Exactly the sort of thing we had in mind as the focal point for a podcast episode, and we just couldn’t pass on the opportunity to record our first episode (clocking in at about 37 minutes).

It’s a prototype—just an mp3 file loaded on the UT server with an open link. No production values to speak of; just us in an all-too-casual conversation format unpacking the draft EO. Give us a listen (the file is here; once you are on that page, I recommend downloading the file to play it, rather than streaming), send us your feedback, and stay tuned for the eventual formal rollout of the new National Security Law Podcast (and while you are at it, follow @NSLpodcast).