Nine months after the US seizure of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela has largely slipped from the headlines. Oil production in the country is steadily rising, however, and talks over a political transition are inching forward under the government of Delcy Rodríguez. The stakes could hardly be higher: Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves. But is this oil-driven recovery actually reaching ordinary Venezuelans? Can the country's politics hold together if a true democratic transition remains on a distant horizon? And can Washington use its leverage to build a lasting partnership, or will it miscalculate, pressing for terms that Venezuelans find unacceptable?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Richard Sanders, Senior Fellow for the Western Hemisphere at the Center for the National Interest. Sanders is a former member of the Senior Foreign Service. He served as Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General Mark A. Milley from 2016-18. Prior to that, he served as Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, from 2013-14 and as Deputy Chief of Mission from 2014-16. Earlier assignments include service in Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, and Spain.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

A cyber attack on Jaguar Land Rover last year cost the British economy £2 billion. Had a Russian drone bombed a British oil refinery at a fraction of that damage, NATO would have invoked Article 5. But because a cyber attack isn't kinetic, it doesn't count. That gap between how much damage hostile states can do and what states are prepared to call an "act of war" is now the cheapest, fastest exploit in so-called "hybrid" warfare, and the hackers conducting these attacks are often teenagers. What happens when hostile states can recruit the world's most capable hackers faster than western democracies? And why are democracies moving so slowly to recognize and deploy ethical hacking?

In this episode, Paul Saunders speaks with Fergus Hay, the CEO and Co-Founder of The Hacking Games, a platform that is reshaping the future of cyber talent by redirecting teens from cybercrime to deploying their skills in ethical hacking. Hay is also Director of the Defence and Security Forum and one of the architects of The Resilience Imperative (non-profit) focused on rebuilding the UK's national security infrastructure.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.

In late August, President Trump sent the US-Saudi 123 agreement for civil nuclear cooperation to Congress, beginning a 90-day legislative countdown after which the deal enters into force. The deal — signed by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in July — establishes a framework for American companies to sell nuclear technology to Riyadh. In the process, Saudi capital would help finance America's own nuclear buildout, including the domestic enrichment capacity needed to wean US dependence on Russian fuel. But the agreement arrives at a fraught moment. As the war with Iran drags on, America’s Gulf partners are growing increasingly uncertain about Washington’s commitment and capabilities in the region. Is nuclear cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the national interest? Should Washington condition the deal on Saudi normalization with Israel, as Trump suggests? And does the agreement make nuclear weapons proliferation more likely?

In this episode, Paul Saunders makes the case that the agreement is worth having on both commercial and strategic grounds. Saunders is the president of the Center for the National Interest and an expert with more than three decades of experience in foreign policy. He previously served in the George W. Bush Administration from 2003 to 2005 as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs.

Music by Sonican from Pixabay.