Rational Security 2.0: The 'SPAAACE LAAAW' Edition

Jen Patja
Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 12:00 PM

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by special guest, Lawfare chief operating officer David Priess! They sat down to discuss:

  • “In Byelorussia, Everything . . . Everything is Just Awful”: In an effort to hit back over sanctions, the authoritarian regime in Belarus is deliberately admitting refugees only to channel them across its borders with the European Union. How should Europe respond?
  • “Taking ‘Tourist Trap’ Too Literally”: In recent years, foreign governments have taken an unprecedented number of U.S. nationals as effective hostages. Is this a failure of U.S. deterrence? Or something else entirely?
  • “Space: The Littered Frontier”: A Russian test of an anti-satellite weapon has scattered refuse across outer space, threatening the safety of astronauts and potentially complicating space travel in the future.

For object lessons, Scott made a PSA about Lawfare's upcoming online info session for law students interested in becoming student contributors, taking place this Thursday! Quinta brought attention to a recent article on former Washington Post reporter Felicia Somnez and her disturbing treatment after coming forward with her experience being sexually assaulted. Alan endorsed the Bonne Maman jam-based advent calendar he is using (and abusing). Scott urged listeners to check out the upcoming season of "The Expanse" and to keep an eye out for new about the forthcoming film adaptation of "Hyperion." And David encouraged RatSec fans to check out the latest Lawfare podcast offering, Chatter, a long form interview podcast exploring the fringes of national security and culture, which he is co-hosting along with former RatSec host Shane Harris!


Jen Patja is the editor and producer of the Lawfare Podcast and Rational Security. She currently serves as the Co-Executive Director of Virginia Civics, a nonprofit organization that empowers the next generation of leaders in Virginia by promoting constitutional literacy, critical thinking, and civic engagement. She is the former Deputy Director of the Robert H. Smith Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier and has been a freelance editor for over 20 years.

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