NatSec Matters Podcast

Podcast featuring interviews with national security leaders | Hosted by BGS Managing Directors Michael Allen, Jeremy Bash, and Andrew Shapiro.

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🎙️ Intelligence Matters is now NatSec Matters!

New name, same mission—insightful, informed conversations on today's most pressing national security issues. Hear more from host @michaelallenJMA in our latest episode of @NatSecMatters ⬇️
https://t.co/XuRw514TWC

[Eddie Fishman @edwardfishman]

To understand what's going on in Iran, I highly recommend two recent episodes of the @NatSecMatters w/@michaelallenJMA:

First, @RichardMNephew breaks down the current state of negotiations and the (high) likelihood of a bad deal: https://t.co/HzHhlJaZOH

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New Episode: An alleged U.S.–Iran MOU. A fragile ceasefire. A lot of unanswered questions.
@michaelallenJMA talks with @RichardMNephew, former NSC Director for Iran, on the state of negotiations and the sticking points standing in the way of a deal.
🎧 https://t.co/stYr9RGGSF

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨What's hidden in the new U.S.-Iran agreement?
Host @michaelallenJMA is joined by @RLHeinrichs (@HudsonInstitute) and @rich_goldberg (@FDD ) to unpack the unreleased MOU, the risks of a premature off-ramp, and a real theory of victory to dismantle Tehran's nuclear program.
🎧 https://t.co/jij8JutXLQ

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨 New NatSec Matters: Operation Epic Fury 2?
Adm. (Ret.) Bob Harward, former CENTCOM Deputy Commander and a retired Navy SEAL, joins host @MichaelAllenJMA for a candid conversation on the end state of the Iran conflict, drawing on a perspective shaped by his years in Tehran before the 1979 revolution.
🔗 https://t.co/JXZfUUdvKH

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New on NatSec Matters: Dr. @alanmendoza, Chief Advisor for Global Affairs at the U.K.'s Reform Party, joins host @michaelallenJMA to unpack the political firestorm around PM Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage's momentum, and what it all means for the U.S.-U.K. special relationship. https://t.co/fKosSR5tiQ

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New episode: Trump's Beijing detour and China's role in the Iran endgame.
@MichaelAllenJMA sits down with @FDD's @CraigMSingleton to preview the long-delayed Trump-Xi summit, whether Beijing leverages Tehran, the U.S.-China dependency trap, and why Taiwan still looms.
https://t.co/VPRqYaP00d

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨 New Episode: Can a "guiding" mission in the Strait of Hormuz actually keep oil flowing without sparking a wider conflict?
On the latest @NatSecMatters, @michaelallenJMA sits down with @edwardfishman of @CFR_org to unpack the Trump administration's "last-ditch" diplomatic and geoeconomic push on Iran. https://t.co/xjkgWCRigb

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

Is the U.S. Hormuz blockade sustainable? What does a real nuclear deal with Iran look like? Host @michaelallenJMA sits down with @RHFontaine, CEO of @CNASdc, for a clear-eyed read on where this standoff is actually headed. 🎧 https://t.co/sj5dc3cMWm

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨The ceasefire holds — but for how long? Former CENTCOM Commander Gen. (Ret.) Joseph Votel joins @michaelallenJMA to warn of a looming "escalation trap" as the U.S. and Iran navigate a fragile truce.
🔗 https://t.co/yuFZI0twWA

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New Episode: Is the U.S. military campaign in the Mideast translating into strategic success? Former NSC Director for Iran @RichardMNephew joins @michaelallenJMA on @NatSecMatters with a candid assessment. 🔗 https://t.co/s6s4utE1Dc

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

The U.S. Navy is blockading Iranian ports. What does maritime strangulation mean for the regime's survival and global energy markets? Host @michaelallenJMA sits down with @RogerZakheim & @rich_goldberg to break it down. 🎧 https://t.co/9mepqKsf0P

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🎙️ New episode: Rear Admiral (Ret.) @MarkCMontgomery of @FDD joins @michaelallenJMA fresh off a trip to #Ukraine. On the agenda: battlefield strategy, Russia's gray zone tactics in the Baltics, critical vulnerabilities in the Russian military, and why this war could last another three years.
🎧 Listen now: https://t.co/zbFnbPVcTj

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

Off-ramp or escalation? @michaelallenJMA sits down with @SethGJones of @CSIS to break down the critical juncture in the Iran conflict — regime survival, IRGC targeting, and whether diplomacy still has a chance.
🎧 https://t.co/q8syAOpd5w

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New episode of #NatSecMatters: @michaelallenJMA sits down with @YaakovKatz—former editor-in-chief of the @Jerusalem_Post and author of While Israel Slept—on why Israelis see this moment as a unique historical opportunity to take on Iran directly, and what that means for the region.
Listen 👇 https://t.co/35wZFnE0G8

[Michael Allen @michaelallenJMA]

1/ On the latest @NatSecMatters, I asked Rear Adm. (Ret.) @MarkCMontgomery exactly what it takes to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. His answer is the clearest breakdown I've heard. A thread. 🧵

https://t.co/yknQ4IKrgu

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

🚨New Episode: The Hormuz Pressure Cooker and Oil Price Roulette
@michaelallenJMA speaks with @ClaySeigle (@CSIS) on oil prices, Kharg Island, and what a closure really means. Plus, Rear Adm. @MarkCMontgomery (@FDD) on the naval stakes and resetting Iran's capabilities.
🎧 https://t.co/jxR8iwKkmt

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

General Joseph Votel breaks down the strategic "division of labor" between the U.S. and Israel, explaining why their targeting priorities differ as the conflict escalates.
🎧 Listen to @NatSecMatters here: https://t.co/FYgD63Ax41

[NatSec Matters Podcast @NatSecMatters]

"Missile launching is a system." On @NatSecMatters General Joseph Votel explains how the U.S. uses intelligence and pattern analysis to hunt down Iranian missile networks, treating them with the same precision as a counter-terrorism operation.
@michaelallenJMA
🔗 https://t.co/eFSIwYLay4

[Michael Allen @michaelallenJMA]

1/7 On @NatSecMatters, I asked Gen. Joseph Votel: could a special operations raid actually retrieve Iran's roughly 600kg of highly enriched uranium?
https://t.co/JgJAGkY1YJ