The Steady State Sentinel

The Florida congressional candidate on military service, democratic institutions, national security, and why Congress needs to reclaim its constitutional role.

Episode Summary:

In this candidate edition of The Steady State Sentinel, host Bree Fram sits down with James Martin, Democratic nominee for Congress in Florida’s 21st District and a Coast Guard officer whose career has taken him from commanding cutters to working at the highest levels of the federal government. The Steady State has endorsed James Martin in his congressional race.

Martin discusses his closely contested primary, why he believed every vote ne...

What bureaucracy, satire, sanctions, and superyachts reveal about intelligence, Russian power, and Western institutions.

Episode Summary

Former CIA officer, journalist, author, and Russian oligarch yacht tracker Alex Finley joins John Sipher for a wide-ranging conversation about intelligence, Russian influence, kleptocracy, and the strange places a career in national security can lead. Finley explains how her background in journalism shaped her work as a CIA reports officer, where verifying sources, understanding access, and connecting intelligence collectors with analysts were central to the job. She also reflects on the War on Terror, the disconnect she saw between...

A sheriff, a former immigration official, and an immigration policy director examine what happens when aggressive immigration enforcement collides with policing, constitutional rights, and community trust.

In the third installment of The Steady State Sentinel’s series on immigration, hosts Peter Mina and Lauren Anderson examine what happens when immigration enforcement collides with the Constitution, public safety, civil rights, and community trust. They are joined by Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce, former ICE Chief Counsel Paul Hunker, and American Immigration Council Policy Director Nayna Gupta, who share perspectives from local law enforcement, federal immigration practice, and immigrant ad...

A legal-status hospice care provider detained for 143 days tells her story — the conditions inside, the demand for obscure "magical paperwork," and why she and her husband are now fighting to change the law.

Hosts Lauren Anderson and Peter Mina sit down with Donna Hughes-Brown, a British-born lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years, and her husband Jim Brown, a Navy corpsman who served 20 years including Desert Storm.

In July 2025, returning from Ireland through Chicago O'Hare, Donna was detained by CBP — requesting she show "some magical paperwork" — and would spend the ne...

A distinguished professor and decorated intelligence officer on 25 years of balancing academia and espionage, the value of scientific credentials in the field, and why diversity makes the CIA stronger.

Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Dr. Les Paldy, a distinguished service Professor Emeritus at Stony Brook University who spent 25 years balancing two identities: university professor by day and and on contract with the CIA in service to the United States. Paldy shares how he was first recruited — a classic spotting operation by a former Agency officer who approached him after a co...

A former Army lieutenant colonel and Lincoln Project executive on why he's running for Congress, the "weight of leadership," and why the costs, chaos, and corruption of this administration are hitting home in Missouri.

Host John Sipher sits down with Fred Wellman, a West Point graduate, former Army Lieutenant Colonel, and current Democratic candidate for Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. Wellman shares his journey from growing up in Kirkwood, Missouri, to flying scout helicopters in Desert Storm, serving three tours in Iraq, and later running a veterans-focused business, working with the Lincoln Project, and now running for Congress.<...

Veteran journalist Jeff Stein on the chilling effect of Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) suits, the purge of the intelligence community, and why he's "cautious" about the future.

Host Jim Lawler sits down with Jeff Stein, the founding editor-in-chief of Spy Talk and a veteran journalist who has covered the intelligence community for over 40 years — and who earlier this year beat back a $1 million defamation suit brought by a Trump administration official. Stein shares the visceral reaction to being served on his front porch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and why he knew from the st...

Veteran journalist Jeff Stein on the chilling effect of SLAPP suits, the purge of the intelligence community, and why he's "cautious" about the future.

Host Jim Lawler sits down with Jeff Stein, the founding editor-in-chief of Spy Talk and a veteran journalist who has covered the intelligence community for over 40 years — and who earlier this year beat back a $1 million defamation suit brought by a Trump administration official. Stein shares the visceral reaction to being served on his front porch on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and why he knew from the start his reporting would hold up...

A former U.S. Ambassador and Los Angeles Deputy Mayor on why local leaders are democracy's front line, how cities can resist authoritarianism, and what you can do to help.

Host Lauren Anderson sits down with Ambassador Nina Hachigian, founder and CEO of the Alliance for Local Leaders International, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and connecting mayors and governors globally to solve shared challenges. Drawing from her recent Foreign Affairs article, "The Autocrats' Worst Enemy," Hachigian explains why mayors are the most trusted level of government (70% trust, held for decades) and how in autocracies around the world...

A former CIA officer on China’s espionage successes, America’s IP losses, and the growing threat to the U.S. economy.

Host John Sipher sits down with his former CIA colleague Glenn Chafetz, now Director of the 2430 Group, a nonprofit focused on state-sponsored espionage against the economy. Chafetz explains how technology has transformed espionage — from the days of clandestine meetings in parking garages where “if you didn’t get caught red-handed, you didn’t get caught” to a world where "commercial surveillance far outstrips government surveillance" and the changes the technological expansion required of the CIA.

He descri...

A former CIA analyst and NSC director on the weaponization of the DNI, the decapitation of the NSC, and why dissent is no longer tolerated.

Host Bree Fram, a retired Space Force colonel, sits down with Julia Curlee, a former CIA analyst with 25 years of experience who served as an National Security Council (NSC) director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a presidential daily intelligence briefer to Vice President Pence.

Curlee explains how intelligence was designed to work — raw reports transformed into context-rich analysis to help policymakers make informed decisions — and how...

A 22-year veteran of the CIA and Iran specialist on why the regime survives, the MOU disaster, the lessons of Iraq, and the history and humanity of Iranians.

Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Mark Fowler, a decorated case officer and one of the most experienced Iran operations officers of his generation. Fowler explains what makes Iran such a uniquely demanding target — not because Iranians are hard to recruit, but because the U.S. has no presence inside the country.

He shares why the regime has survived for 45 years: improving education an...

A former acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security on the damage being done to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and why he "never bets against America."

Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Bruce Held, who served as Chief of Station on three continents, Special Assistant to two National Security Council principals, Director of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and ultimately acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security.

Held describes DOE’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence unique mission — leveraging the thousands of top-secret cleared scientists at the...

A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel on height requirements that excluded 44% of women, the first maternity flight suit, and why "truth isn't afraid of transparency."

In her debut as a co-host of the Steady State Sentinel, retired Space Force Colonel Bree Fram joins Lauren Anderson to interview retired Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Ruttenber, a senior pilot with over 3,000 flight hours.

Their conversation explores the effects on combat readiness of hidden barriers, the importance of data over anecdotes, the chilling effect of censorship and erasure of military history (including the Tuskegee Airmen and The Women Airforce Service...

25-year CIA case officer and author Jim Lawler on the ten qualities of a top recruiter, the A.Q. Khan takedown, the Hanssen case, and why speaking truth to power matters more than ever.

In this episode, host Lauren Anderson turns the tables on co-host Jim Lawler, a 25-year veteran of the CIA's clandestine service and the officer who led the takedown of the A.Q. Khan nuclear smuggling network, an operation that former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin called "the closest thing to a perfect intelligence operation."

Lawler shares how a chance interview with...

The acclaimed military historian explains why conflict in Iran, Ukraine and the erosion of alliances point to a deeper crisis in American strategy and details the critical nature of the 2026 midterm elections.

In the latest episode of the Steady State Sentinel, Phillips O'Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and one of the sharpest contemporary writers on war and strategy joins host John Sipher to argue the Iran War revealed two devastating truths:

Service, gut checks, the power of humanity in law enforcement, and why she said “yes” to The Steady State.

In a format shift, host Peter Mina turns the microphone over to co-host Lauren C. Anderson to explore her origin story — from a childhood visit to the FBI where a tour guide told her girls can't be agents because “...they paint their fingernails," to serving as a senior executive in the FBI across nearly 30 years.

Lauren shares how her first "failure" — struggling with pre-med science in college taught her to trust her gut and pivot. She recounts h...

A former U.S. Army officer, diplomat, and ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe on oath, duty, service beyond party, the collapse of institutional guardrails, and why rebuilding trust will take decades.

Host Jim Lawler, a former senior CIA operations officer, sits down with Ambassador Charles A. Ray, a rare polymath who served 20 years in the U.S. Army (including two combat tours in Vietnam) followed by 30 years in the Foreign Service, as Ambassador to Cambodia and Zimbabwe, and as the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City.

Together, they explore what happens...

Two former federal prosecutors on what the job is supposed to represent at its best, why Bob Mueller was the model, and the prosecutor’s unique duty to serve and protect the system itself.

What does it mean to be a federal prosecutor when the client is the United States and the measure of success is not simply winning, but doing justice and doing it the right way? In the latest Steady State Sentinel podcast, former federal prosecutor and Steady State member Steve Bunnell interviews former federal prosecutor Ken Wainstein, who, among many senior positions, served as U...

A former CIA chief of staff and White House Situation Room senior director warns that politicized intelligence can weaken national security by chilling truth telling, hollowing out institutions, and discouraging young talent from entering public service.

Former senior CIA operations officer Jim Lawler sits down with Larry Pfeiffer, former senior director of the White House Situation Room and chief of staff to CIA Director Michael Hayden, who describes the rigors of working in the Situation Room, crisis decision-making, and what it takes to deliver accurate information when seconds matter.

He describes advising Kathryn Bigelow’s A...

The fight to repair public service, Congress, and democratic accountability

In this episode of The Steady State Sentinel, John Sipher speaks with veteran intelligence and counterterrorism official Russ Travers about the state of American democracy, the national security system, and his forthcoming book, Common Sense Take Two. Travers reflects on his 45-year career across the intelligence community, from warning about systemic intelligence failures before 9/11 to helping build the post-9/11 counterterrorism architecture.

The conversation explores how America’s institutions were built for an earlier era and now struggle to address today’s interconnected threats, from terrorism and...

This special joint episode of the Steady State Sentinel and Mission Implausible brings together two podcasts focused on separating fact from manipulation, defending democratic institutions, and understanding real-world national security threats. Hosted by former CIA officers John Sipher and Jerry O’Shea, Mission Implausible examines the line between conspiracy theory and actual conspiracy, making it a natural partner for this conversation with national security expert Andy Weber on weapons of mass destruction, Iran, and the evolving dangers of biological threats.

Nuclear weapons-usable uranium, biolabs for biological warfare, secret chemical facilities -- In Operation Sapphire, Former Assistant Secretary of...

A top pollster and an award-winning journalist break down who is self‑censoring, why Gen Z sees democracy differently, and whether the U.S. can reverse its authoritarian slide.

Host Lauren C. Anderson, former senior FBI executive, sits down with pollster Stefan Hankin of Lincoln Park Strategies and journalist Joel Anderson of The Ringer and Slate) to unpack a national poll released in March 2026. Key findings: 54% of Americans say they hesitate to express political views at work or online, or in their communities because they worry about the consequences, and 76% express some level of concern that the U...

A veteran LA Times correspondent on Trump’s assault on the press, the White House Correspondents' Dinner security scare, and the fight for truth in a fractured media era.

In the latest episode of the Sentinel podcast, former CIA Operations Officer Margaret Henoch interviews Bob Drogin, a 38-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times. Drogin describes what he assesses as the Trump administration’s unprecedented assault on the First Amendment: cutting NPR and PBS funding, banning reporters from the White House and taking over the press pool. He frames this against a backdrop of limiting FOIA access, targ...

A deep dive into FISA, modern surveillance authorities, and the growing tension between intelligence collection and civil liberties in the digital age.

Former CIA Senior Officer Jim Petrila joins Peter Mina to break down the evolution of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the controversies surrounding Section 702, and the growing tension between national security surveillance and civil liberties. Petrilla explains how technological shifts after the Cold War and 9/11 transformed intelligence collection, leading to major legal and policy battles over government access to communications data.

The conversation explores incidental collection of Americans’ communications,debate over tfhe ne...

The Spoils System Returns, the Foreign Service Professional Association Is Crushed, and Why the Next President Will Be Handicapped

In the latest episode of the Sentinel, Peter Mina interviews Ambassador Eric Rubin, a 38‑year Foreign Service veteran, former president of American Foreign Service Association and current Steady State board member. Rubin describes how the Trump administration has dismantled the nonpartisan career foreign service, destroyed employee associations and affinity groups, and replaced them with a loyalty‑based “spoils system.”

He reveals that membership in the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship, a Heritage Foundation project, has become the equivalent of membe...

Government Transparency, Security Clearance Battles, and the Future of American Democracy

Former CIA officer Jim Lawler and former FBI senior executive Lauren C. Anderson host Mark Zaid, a renowned national security attorney who has represented whistleblowers, been personally targeted by a presidential clearance revocation, and fought for government transparency for nearly three decades.

They discuss the real difference between a whistleblower and a leaker (using Edward Snowden as a cautionary example), the erosion of democratic norms under the second Trump administration, and why the rule of law has become “water soluble.”

Zaid predicts that...

Conspiracy Narratives, Media Challenges, and the Long Shadow of Russian Influence

Former CIA officer John Sipher sits down for the latest Sentinel podcast with David Corn, Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones and one of the nation’s most respected political journalists. They dive deep into the explosive schisms within MAGA world triggered by the Iran war, from Tucker Carlson accusing Trump of being the anti‑Christ to escalating feuds between figures like Megyn Kelly and Mark Levin.

Corn explains why the FBI under Kash Patel has been gutted of counterterrorism expertise, how a reportedly Krem...

How a former Chief of the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy and Transparency at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence thinks about privacy, protest, and the power of government data.

In the latest episode of the Sentinel, American University Adjunct professor and Scholar‑in‑Residence, Alex Joel, joins host Peter Mina to unpack how democracies can fight real threats without becoming one themselves, exploring the post‑9/11 “connect the dots” mindset, the Privacy Act’s enduring role, and how data, protest, and transparency collide.

Alex Joel is a Scholar‑in‑Residence and Adjunct Professor at American Univ...

Soft Power, Hard Choices, and the Hollowing Out of U.S. Diplomacy

In this edition of the Sentinel podcast, host Lauren Anderson, former senior FBI executive, sits down with Ambassador Tom Shannon, one of the most experienced diplomats of his generation. They discuss what Shannon describes as a "counterrevolution" in U.S. foreign policy – a shift away from the post-WWII alliance-based system toward a more unilateral "America First" approach. Shannon warns that the erosion of institutional expertise at agencies like the State Department and FBI, and across the national security enterprise, will have long-term consequences for U.S...

A conversation on identity, disinformation, and the path out of political extremism

In this week's episode of the Sentinel podcast, John Sipher speaks with Rich Logis, founder of Leaving MAGA, about his journey into—and out of—the movement. They explore how identity, belonging, and media ecosystems shape political belief, why leaving can be so difficult, and what ultimately breaks the cycle. Logis also shares insights on disinformation, “anger addiction,” and how families can support loved ones questioning deeply held views.

Watch and listen to new Sentinel episodes each Tuesday. Subscribe and review us on your fav...

Strategic Failures, Intelligence Erosion, and the New Global Threat Landscape

In the latest episode of the Sentinel podcast, Jim Lawler hosts investigative journalist Seth Hettena to discuss the U.S. war with Iran, domestic security, and global policy challenges. Domestically, they discuss the weakened state of our institutions, loss of expertise, and politicization of decision-making. Globally, they highlight strained credibility, particularly regarding Ukraine, and the declining trust in the U.S. of our allies. The conversation also raises concerns about expanding government surveillance capabilities enabled by modern technology.

About: Seth Hettena is a veteran national...

In this week's episode, Lauren Anderson and Phil Gurski discuss the Five Eyes partnership, the FBI’s challenges, and why politicized intelligence endangers everyone.

Summary: Former FBI executive Lauren Anderson sits down with Canadian intelligence veteran Phil Gurski, the first international guest on the Steady State Sentinel, to explore how America looks from the perspective of a close ally. Together they unpack the history and purpose of the Five Eyes partnership, the vital but often invisible fabric of liaison relationships, and the indispensable teamwork between analysts, case agents, and linguists in counterterrorism work. Gurski warns about the po...

Inside the risks of reporting on intelligence in an era of political pressure and weakening institutional guardrails

John Sipher sits down with The Atlantic’s Shane Harris for a wide-ranging conversation on intelligence reporting, the unraveling of trust in American institutions, threats to press freedom, and what U.S. allies now fear most about Washington. Harris also reflects on one of the most extraordinary source relationships of his career and what it reveals about journalism, secrecy, and risk.

Shane Harris is a staff writer at The Atlantic covering national security and intelligence. He has written ab...

Former CIA deputy director Michael Morell joins former senior CIA operations officers Jim Lawler and John Sipher to reflect on post 9/11 overcorrection towards counterterrorism. They assess the current “might makes right” approach to foreign policy, and weigh the arguments for and against efforts for regime change in Iran.

Mr. Morell also explores how we can strengthen U.S. intelligence, public trust, and future decision-making in an era of great power competition and complex global threats.

This episode was recorded 12 hours before the US launched attacks against Iran.

Watch on YouTube and view the tran...

Host Lauren Anderson leads a candid conversation with retired FBI officials Mark Ferbrache, Nikki Rutman, and Mae Syed. Their discussion covers successfully resolved cases, the value of the FBI to civil society, and the reputational damage caused by politicization of law enforcement.

National Security reporter and author Tim Weiner and host Jim Lawler discuss how the Trump Administration’s politicization of our national security institutions, attacks on our constitution and rule of law, and betrayal of our allies are putting us in danger of losing our civil liberties at home and increasing our national security threats abroad.

Host Peter Mina interviews Bill Braniff and Dexter Ingram, two renowned experts on countering extremism who issue a red alert on the executive branch’s shameless reliance on white supremacist symbolism and arguments to defend its actions. (recorded 1-16-26)

Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges speaks out on the improper use of the U.S. military, its impact on U.S. defense and our allies’ growing distrust. (Recorded 12-4-2025)

In this episode, Dr. Ruth Ben-Ghiat, an NYU professor and expert in fascism and authoritarian leaders speaks with host Jim Lawler about the threats from authoritarianism in the United States and what can be done to push back on this rising tide. (Recorded 1-27-2026)