Sources & Methods

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National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. With decades of reporting from battlefields and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home. Additional episodes feature interviews with power players from the NatSec world -- current and former military officials, intelligence experts, diplomatic leaders, and more.

Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org.

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Last refreshed: February 23rd, 2026 at 1:49 AM ⓘ

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Episodes

China: Purging generals and testing nukes? / Trump, Iran and Ukraine

Did China conduct secret nuclear tests? The United States thinks so. Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR China correspondent Jennifer Pak about China's nuclear arsenal and U.S. claims of an illicit Chinese nuclear test conducted in 2020. They also check in on other national security topics swirling this week: Board of Peace inaugural meeting, Iran and Ukraine. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org NPR+ supporters hear every episode without spons...

Feb 19, 2026•27 min

Europe's post-Munich exhale / Machado on gifting Nobel to Trump

If you heard our show last week you know we were at the Munich Security Conference – a gathering in Germany where world leaders, security experts and defense officials meet yearly to take the temperature of the global order. This is a special follow-up episode to share some of what we learned there. Host Mary Louise Kelly spoke with Michael Froman, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s keynote address. She also hosted a conversation with María Cori...

Feb 17, 2026•26 min

View from Munich / Europe’s far-right / DNI in Georgia

“The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics,” begins the Munich Security Report, released as the world’s security establishment gathers in Germany. Host Mary Louise Kelly is on the ground at the Munich Security Conference, as is Berlin Correspondent Rob Schmitz. Together with National Security Correspondent Greg Myre, they check in on Europe’s effort to bolster its own defenses, as the U.S. pulls back. Rob explains Germany’s right-wing populist AfD party’s political ascendence and ...

Feb 12, 2026•27 min

'Persons of no interest:' embassy wives become spies in new thriller

Two American women -- living in Cold War-era Moscow, with husbands in the CIA -- suddenly become undercover agents themselves. That's the set-up for PONIES, a new spy thriller now available on Peacock. Mary Louise Kelly speaks with star Haley Lu Richardson and showrunner David Iserson about the show, the research behind it, and what makes a good spy. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. ...

Feb 10, 2026•27 min

Can Iran negotiate its way out of a U.S. attack?

President Trump says he’ll act against Iran “with speed and violence,” if he doesn’t get a deal to rein in Iran’s nuclear program. Host Mary Louise Kelly talks with National Security Corresponent Greg Myre and Science and Security Correspondent Geoff Brumfiel about how, after a month of turmoil, the US and Iran seem to have arrived at talks over Tehran's nuclear capabilities. And they'll unpack how much more dangerous the world is after the expiration of the last U.S.-Russia nuclear weapons trea...

Feb 05, 2026•28 min

Introducing Sources & Methods

Aug 25, 2025•2 min

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