In a picturesque valley in the mountains of eastern Bosnia, thousands of white gravestones bear witness to a mass atrocity that still struggles for a place in Europe’s conscience. Nearly 8,400 names are etched into a stone memorial, a stark reminder of the Srebrenica Genocide committed by Bosnian Serb forces against Bosnian Muslims in July 1995 – 30 years ago this year. And yet, too many political leaders and others continue denying the scale and scope of the travesty that unfolded there. What h...
Jul 11, 2025•39 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) delivered its highly anticipated judgement in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia–a watershed moment in international human rights law. In this episode, Just Security Executive Editor and professor at American University Washington College of Law Rebecca Hamilton , and Just Security editorial board member and professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy Tom Dannenbaum join Just Security co-editor-in-ch...
Jul 09, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Iran’s nuclear program has long been a source of international tension. Early in U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, hopes for a diplomatic resolution resurfaced—until June, when Israel launched strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites. Days later, the United States joined the conflict, bombing three sites within Iran. Iran retaliated with missile attacks in Israel and a U.S. base in Qatar, and suspended cooperation with nuclear inspectors. With both Washington and Tehran signaling i...
Jul 07, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 113
The leaders of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, just finished their annual Summit in The Hague in The Netherlands, as Ukraine continues its existential fight against Russia’s full-scale invasion that began more than three years ago. That invasion, preceded six years earlier by the capture of Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine, set off the biggest war in Europe since World War II. How do Ukrainian leaders see the outcome of the NATO Summit? What are the prospects for negotiations, and h...
Jun 27, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Over the past several days, the Trump administration has taken increasingly drastic steps in response to protest activity and unrest in Los Angeles — including federalizing 4,000 National Guard troops and sending hundreds of Marines, against the objections of California’s state and local leadership. As events unfold on the ground in LA, and in the lead-up to further anticipated protests this weekend, Just Security and the Reiss Center on Law and Security hosted a YouTube Live event to examine th...
Jun 13, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 111
In recent years, the United States has sustained some of the most severe cyber threats in recent history– from the Russian-government directed hack SolarWinds to China’s prepositioning in U.S. critical infrastructure for future sabotage attacks through groups like Volt Typhoon . The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is responsible for responding to, and protecting against these attacks. How do leaders steer through cyber crises, build trust, and chart a path forward? In convers...
Jun 10, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 110
For nearly 70 years, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division led efforts to protect voting rights and fight racial discrimination at the polls. But in January 2025, DOJ political appointees froze all new civil rights cases and dismissed every major pending voting rights lawsuit—prompting most career attorneys to leave the Division. With federal challenges to restrictive voting laws now dropped in several states, the fight for voting rights falls to individual voters and advocacy groups, raising urgent q...
Jun 02, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 116
The State Department has released a reorganization plan that would usher in significant changes to the way the United States conducts its diplomacy and foreign assistance, at a time of considerable geopolitical change. Proposals by the Trump administration include eliminating or restructuring a number of the Department’s longstanding functions, dissolving and/or folding USAID into State, and imposing large budget and staffing cuts. Debates over how to structure and optimize the State Department,...
May 19, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 115
As the Supreme Court holds oral arguments on Thursday, May 15, Kristin A. Collins , Gerald Neuman and Rachel E. Rosenbloom argue that Executive Order 14160, which denies birthright citizenship to any child born in the United States who does not have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, clearly violates the birthright citizenship federal statute. They note the statute has not received as much public attention, as they discuss the 1940s and 1950s legislative hist...
May 15, 2025•14 min•Ep. 114
Now in its third year, the Russo-Ukraine War has upended the post-Cold War security landscape, exposing deep fractures in the global balance of power. As western unity frays and U.S. diplomacy shifts under President Trump, the war has become a flashpoint for competing visions of the international order. This week, the European Union gave Russia an ultimatum: accept a proposed ceasefire or face expanded sanctions—just days ahead of a potential round of direct peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday. ...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 113
On Friday, May 9, senior White House official Stephen Miller said: "The Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land, that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended at a time of invasion. So I would say that’s an action we’re actively looking at." CNN later reported that President Donald Trump has been personally involved in discussions in the administration over potentially suspending habeas. In this episode of the podcast, Ryan Goodman discusses ...
May 12, 2025•13 min•Ep. 112
An audio of Ilya Somin's Just Security article, which has become more topical by the day. The title: "What Just Happened: The Invasion Executive Order and Its Dangerous Implications." Somin is a Professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, and author of Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration and Political Freedom (Oxford University Press)....
May 10, 2025•17 min•Ep. 111
May 3rd marks World Press Freedom Day. This year especially, press freedom is under threat in the United States from a range of directions: from hostile official rhetoric and actions to self-censorship and systemic appeasement, to just basic information overload. As the Trump administration continues to “flood the zone,” how can we assess individual developments to discern broader trends that might help us better understand what’s happening, its impact and what we can do about it? Just Security ...
May 02, 2025•23 min•Ep. 110
In early April 2025, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released two major policies on Federal Agency Use of AI and Federal Procurement of AI - OMB memos M-25-21 and M-25-22 , respectively. These memos were revised at the direction of President Trump’s January 2025 executive order, “ Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligenc e” and replaced the Biden-era guidance. Under the direction of the same executive order, the Department of Energy (DOE) also put ...
Apr 17, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 109
The North African country of Sudan marks two years of war this week. The fighting between rival military factions – the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – has killed an estimated 150,000 people and forced more than 15 million people from their homes. Almost 25 million people face acute hunger, according to United Nations agencies. It’s the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. How did Sudan get to this point? What’s the current state of play in Sudan, and where does the count...
Apr 16, 2025•17 min•Season 1Ep. 108
2025 will be a pivotal year for technology regulation in the United States and around the world. The European Union has begun regulating social media platforms with its Digital Services Act. In the United States, regulatory proposals at the federal level will likely include renewed efforts to repeal or reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Meanwhile, States such as Florida and Texas have tried to restrict content moderation by major platforms, but have been met with challenges to...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 107
Presidents have long pursued policy prerogatives through the Department of Justice, but traditionally, there’s been a clear division between those and the Justice Department’s enforcement decisions. On March 5, 2025, the NYU Law Forum and the Reiss Center on Law and Security at NYU School of Law co-hosted an all-star panel of experts who have served in senior positions at the White House and in the Department of Justice to assess the degree to which the division between the President and the Jus...
Mar 12, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 106
Alongside the new Trump administration, a new Congress has also taken power in Washington, D.C. The 119th Congress brings unified Republican control of both chambers with key votes – such as confirming many of President Trump’s cabinet nominees – complete, another focus will be on congressional investigations and oversight. What might the oversight landscape look like? What investigative priorities will take center stage? And what role will key actors, both inside and outside of Congress, play i...
Mar 07, 2025•29 min•Ep. 105
In just his first six weeks in office, President Donald Trump has issued more than 80 executive orders and other actions, many of them targeting the federal workforce and the structure of the federal government. Just Security’s Co-Editor-in-Chief, Ryan Goodman, recently published a timeline of actions that highlight the alarming level of politicization and weaponization of the Department of Justice under the second Trump administration. Politicization includes the misuse of the Department’s powe...
Mar 06, 2025•48 min•Ep. 104
In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series we help to answer exactly that question. On each episode of “What Just Happened,” we’ll talk with leading experts, from former government officials to professors – the people wh...
Mar 04, 2025•32 min•Ep. 103
In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series we help to answer exactly that question. On each episode of “What Just Happened,” we’ll talk with leading experts, from former government officials to practitioners and professo...
Feb 18, 2025•49 min•Ep. 102
The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit recently concluded in Paris, France, drawing world leaders including U.S. Vice President JD Vance. The Summit led to a declaration on “inclusive and sustainable” artificial intelligence, which the United States and United Kingdom have refused to join, though 60 other nations, including China and India support the declaration. What are the key takeaways from the Summit? How might it shape other global efforts to regulate artificial intelligence? Joining t...
Feb 12, 2025•16 min•Ep. 101
Around the world, lawyers – particularly those representing human rights defenders, political prisoners, and upholding the rule of law – face threats of disbarment, harassment, and prosecution simply for doing their jobs. Jan. 24 marked International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, which focused on Belarus this year. The Belarusian government has developed a toolkit of repression to silence members of the legal profession, with hundreds of lawyers facing disbarment or exile, and at least six sitti...
Feb 07, 2025•34 min•Ep. 100
In the first quarter of the 21st century, U.S. presidential power has reached new heights in both domestic policy and foreign affairs. While the framers created a system of government defined by the separation of powers, the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump reveal a vision, and a version, of unilateral executive power. What are some reforms that could restore the balance? Harold Hongju Koh has studied presidential power for decades both as a professor and...
Feb 05, 2025•51 min•Ep. 99
The tech industry is calling this AI’s “Sputnik Moment” – and President Donald Trump has said it’s a “wake-up call” for U.S. companies. We’re talking about DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that has rapidly emerged as a formidable contender in the global AI race. DeepSeek is making waves for developing powerful open-source language models that rival leading U.S. competitors – at a fraction of the cost and with far lower computational requirements. The DeepSeek saga raises urgent questions about C...
Feb 04, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 98
In his second term in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series we help to answer exactly that question. On each episode of “What Just Happened,” we’ll talk with leading experts, from former government officials to professors – the people wh...
Jan 28, 2025•24 min•Ep. 97
In just his first two days back in office, President Donald Trump has already taken sweeping measures on immigration, the environment, the U.S. military, and the structure of the federal government. With so many executive orders, policy changes, and novel actions, it’s easy to wonder, “What just happened?” In this podcast mini-series, we help to answer exactly that question. On each episode of “What Just Happened,” we’ll talk with leading experts, from former government officials to professors –...
Jan 22, 2025•24 min•Ep. 96
On Friday, Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, the law which could effectively ban TikTok from operating in the United States, unless it is sold to a U.S. company. The case is the latest round in a legal battle involving free speech, national security, and the popular social media app, which is used by more than 170 million Americans. U.S. lawmakers argue that TikTok’s ties to the Chinese gov...
Jan 18, 2025•57 min•Ep. 95
Just after midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 14, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s office released its report on President-elect Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The report concludes that the evidence Smith obtained was sufficient to criminally convict Trump, but that after the 2024 election, the case could not move forward in light of Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president. While the report reveals relatively little new factual information around ...
Jan 15, 2025•40 min•Ep. 94
In just a few weeks, Donald Trump will begin his second term as U.S. president. During his campaign and after reelection, Trump has signaled sweeping reforms to the U.S. immigration system. Among his top goals are promises to conduct the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, militarize the border, and introduce more border surveillance. In recent years, digital technologies have impacted virtually every aspect of migration. From visa triaging algorithms to drone surveillance with biometric d...
Jan 02, 2025•25 min•Ep. 93
