Rational Security: The 'Thelma or Louise' Edition
Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott reunited on our new recording day to talk through the week’s big national security news, including:
- “Blocked and Muted.” Earlier this week, the Washington Post published a draft report by the Jan. 6 committee detailing how the far right used social media to organize and mobilize in the lead-up to the insurrection—the very same analysis that was reportedly kept out of the committee’s final report, over the objections of staffers. How substantial are these revelations? And how will they impact the committee’s legacy?
- “Sino the Times.” The Chinese government is reporting that its population has declined for the first time in 60 years, decades ahead of projections. Combined with the fallout of the regime’s reversal on zero-Covid policies and a lagging economy, some are taking this as a sign of difficult times to come for the People’s Republic. How should we read these reports? And what do they mean for the China-U.S. relationship?
- “Raising the Roof.” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the federal government is beginning “extraordinary measures” to avoid a debt default, as the United States moves closer to the debt ceiling—without either party in Congress having an apparent plan for raising it. How serious a threat is this? What options might be available for addressing it?
For object lessons, Alan recommended the Australian kids series “Bluey” for those listeners with toddlers they need to keep occupied. Quinta, fresh off her vacation to the Grand Canyon, recommended an unlikely book: an authoritative account of everyone who has ever died there. And Scott passed along the best damn lentil soup recipe ever.
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.
Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, Research Director and Senior Editor at Lawfare, a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Previously, he served as an Attorney Advisor with the Office of Law and Policy in the National Security Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and a Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.
Quinta Jurecic is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a senior editor at Lawfare. She previously served as Lawfare's managing editor and as an editorial writer for the Washington Post.
Scott R. Anderson is a fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution and a Senior Fellow in the National Security Law Program at Columbia Law School. He previously served as an Attorney-Adviser in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State and as the legal advisor for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
