Rational Security 2.0: The 'Home Sick' Edition

Jen Patja, Alan Z. Rozenshtein, Quinta Jurecic, Scott R. Anderson, Natalie K. Orpett
Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 12:00 PM
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This week, Alan, Quinta, and Scott were joined by Lawfare executive editor Natalie Orpett to talk through some the week's big national security news, including: 

  • “First Act Break.” We are one week into the Jan. 6 committee’s public hearings. What have we learned that we didn’t know already? And how effective are they proving to be?
  • “Not Since the Sultans of Swing.” A dire situation is once again brewing over the straits of Taiwan, as China and the United States rattled sabers at the regional Shangri-La Dialogue as the former rejected the Taiwan Strait’s status as international waters. And they received an unlikely assist from Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky, who sent in a video message calling for the region to defend Taiwan from possible Chinese aggression. Is Ukraine pushing China and the United States closer to a conflict over Taiwan? How should the international community respond?
  • “A Big Win for Big Sisters.” Last week, a mentally ill young man aborted plans to murder Brett Kavanaugh and surrendered to police just outside the Supreme Court justice’s home on the advice of his sister. Since then, Congress has gone from near unanimous support for stronger security measures for the Supreme Court to increasingly partisan loggerheads over how to provide it. What explains the strange trajectory of these debates? And what does it tell us?

For object lessons, Alan gave a strong endorsement to "Top Gun: Maverick" as the rare sequel that is better than the original material—and a tribute to Tom Cruise's apparent death wish. Quinta revisited Bill Stepien's last turn in the public eye: as a major player in the NJ-NY scandal Bridgegate. Scott embraced his spicy boi nature by passing along a home hot sauce recipe and asked listeners for their own recommendations. And Natalie recommended some companion listening for the Jan. 6 committee hearings: the podcast Will Be Wild and Lawfare's own The Aftermath.

Here are a few other articles the RatSec crew mentioned in the course of the episode:

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Jen Patja

Jen Patja

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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

Alan Z. Rozenshtein

@ARozenshtein
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Alan Z. Rozenshtein is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, a senior editor at Lawfare, 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

Quinta Jurecic

@qjurecic
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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

Scott R. Anderson

S_R_Anders
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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.
Natalie K. Orpett

Natalie K. Orpett

@nkorpett
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Natalie Orpett is the executive editor of Lawfare and deputy general counsel of the Lawfare Institute. She was previously an attorney at the law firm Jenner & Block, where she focused on investigations and government controversies, and also maintained an active pro bono practice. She served as civilian counsel to a defendant in the Guantanamo Military Commissions for more than eight years. She also served as counsel to the National Security and Foreign Policy Legal Team of the Biden-Harris Transition Team.

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