Critical undersea cables and pipelines are increasingly vulnerable to sabotage by geopolitical rivals, adding a new threat dimension to competition in the Baltic Sea and elsewhere. Such "gray zone" tactics allow adversaries to test NATO resolve without triggering open conflict. What are the legal and military challenges of protecting infrastructure that lies outside clear territorial boundaries? And how can Western governments deter further disruption?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Martha Miller, a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest. Miller recently served as deputy executive director of the National Security Institute at the Antonin Scalia Law School and was a special assistant to President George W. Bush. She also held national security roles in the U.S. Senate and the U.S. State Department.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

America is seeing a renewed push to expand nuclear energy, driven by rising electricity demand, data centers, and growing geopolitical competition. But building new reactors is slow, expensive, and risky, raising hard questions about financing, siting, and political will. Can the United States realistically catch up to China and Russia while rebuilding its domestic nuclear supply chain? And should Washington prioritize speed, self-sufficiency, or deeper cooperation with allies?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Kenneth Luongo, President of the Partnership for Global Security. Luongo is a member of the Advocacy Council of Nuclear Matters and the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition (NENSC). He served from 1994-1997 as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Energy for Nonproliferation Policy and simultaneously as the Department of Energy’s Director of the Office of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, Director of the Department of Energy’s Russia and Newly Independent States Nuclear Material Security Task Force, and Director of the North Korea Task Force.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

Mass protests in Iran have been met with brutal repression, raising the stakes for the Trump administration which is now weighing whether to respond in support of the demonstrators. Do the protests threaten the Islamic Republic's existence, or is it yet another cycle of unrest the regime believes it can weather through force? What are the risks of U.S. military intervention? And how far would Washington need to go to avoid strengthening the very hardliners it hopes to weaken?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Greg Priddy, a Senior Fellow for the Middle East at the Center for the National Interest. Priddy consults for corporate and financial clients on political risk in the region and previously served as Director for Global Oil at Eurasia Group.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.