Podcast
Sources & Methods
Hosted by NPR · EN
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.
NPR+ supporters hear every episode sponsor-free and can access our complete archive. Learn more and support public media at plus.npr.org.
Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org.
NPR+ supporters hear every episode sponsor-free and can access our complete archive. Learn more and support public media at plus.npr.org.
62episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ukraine’s leadership shakeup / View from Moscow / Is Russia a friend or foe?
5d ago00:32:42Summary readyAs Russia and Ukraine pound each other on the battlefield, there's a showdown happening in Kyiv between a young tech wizard and an older battle-hardened general. What might that battle tell us about the direction of the war in Ukraine? Host Mary Louise Kelly is joined by NPR Russia Correspondent Charles Maynes and NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre to talk about the recent turmoil among Ukraine's military leaders, how the Kremlin is viewing the shakeup and whether Russia's relationship with the United States has changed.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Hormuz blockade / Trump’s mixed messages / Who is Jay Clayton?
2w ago00:32:59Summary readyThe world’s attention is once again on the Strait of Hormuz, as the U.S. and Iran have resumed strikes and their shaky ceasefire broke.Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with two show regulars, NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre, about President Trump's policy shifts around the war, and why it's so hard for him to end the conflict for good. Plus, the president's pick to lead the intelligence community faced Congress this week.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Iran ceasefire over? / NATO drama / Khamenei funeral
3w ago00:27:36Summary readyPresident Trump and NATO allies met in Turkey this week, in a summit where European countries were anxious about appeasing the U.S. president.Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR Istanbul Correspondent Hadeel Al-Shalchi about what NATO members wanted to get out of this summit, and what they got. Plus, Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is over, though negotiations will continue. Where does that conflict stand?Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Ukraine latest / Limits of military might / Can major powers regain dominance?
4w ago00:31:50Summary readyFour years in and Ukraine is still giving Russia a run for its money. Four months in and Iran shows no sign of bowing to U.S. demands. What do Russia’s fight with Ukraine and the U.S. war with Iran tell us about the limits of military might?Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's Ukraine Correspondent Joanna Kakissis about the overnight attack in Kyiv, which comes on the heels of Ukraine's drone assaults in Moscow. NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre joins them to talk about what the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran say about military might and whether major powers can regain dominance. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
How far should the government go to protect America?
4w ago00:33:30Summary readyThis September marks 25 years since terrorists hijacked planes and steered them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They steered a third plane into the Pentagon. A fourth was headed for the U.S. Capitol, but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers overpowered their attackers.In the days — and years — that followed America’s leaders walked a fine and sometimes blurry line: how to prevent an attack like that from ever happening again? And how to do so without trampling American laws and democratic values? As part of a conversation about the legacy of 9/11 at The Aspen Ideas Festival, host Mary Louise Kelly spoke with two of the country's leaders during that time: Alberto Gonzales, who was serving as White House counsel, and Jeh Johnson, who became Homeland Security Secretary under President Obama.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Starmer’s successor / Reset on UK-US relationship? / Strait latest
Jun 2500:26:58Summary readyAnother British prime minister is on his way out the door. That's six in 10 years. Now, the UK is once again looking for a new leader. Will that mean yet another reset of the “special relationship” with the United States?Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's London Correspondent Lauren Frayer and Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman about Prime Minister Keir Starmer's successor, whether Britain is ungovernable and what implications the new leader could have for global defense strategy (think the wars in Ukraine and Iran). Plus, they open up their reporter's notebook to talk about NPR (not us) and snog (not what you're thinking).Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Iran “deal” / Winners and losers / Regional impact
Jun 1800:34:01Summary readyThe U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war.The agreement extends the existing ceasefire, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, and opens negotiations for a final peace deal.Host Mary Louise Kelly gathers three NPR correspondents who are covering the region – Greg Myre in Tel Aviv, Jane Arraf in Beirut and Aya Batrawy in Cairo – to understand what's next and who has emerged as the winners and losers. Also, where nearly four months of war have left the Middle East.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Hegseth blocks promotions / National Guard surge / Downed Apache
Jun 1100:31:46Summary readyU.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blocking some promotions at the Pentagon, and a “summer surge” of National Guard troops heads to Washington. Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR reporter Kat Lonsdorf about the purges at the Pentagon, and why there are still National Guard troops deployed in some Democratic-run cities. Plus, a drone rescue in the Middle East.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
Trump, Netanyahu at odds / Elusive Iran deal
Jun 400:28:25Summary readyPresident Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started the war with Iran together, but they have different ideas for how to end it.Host Scott Detrow steps in for Mary Louise Kelly again this week. He speaks with NPR National Security Correspondent Greg Myre and NPR White House Correspondent Franco Ordoñez about the current friction between the two leaders, and where pain points have come up in the past. Also, where the elusive deal with Iran stands.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary
The broken promises of the 1979 Iranian Revolution
Jun 200:25:50Summary readyThere's a country that was once rooted in a movement around social justice and political freedom.That country? It's Iran in 1979 during the revolution.The path from 1979, with the toppling of a monarch, through the decades of oppression and economic turmoil that followed, to this current moment, is mapped out in the book: “Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran.”Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with reporter and co-author Yeganeh Torbati about her new book, which follows six ordinary Iranians who -- through their lived experiences -- provide rare insight into the hopes and fears of people living from the revolution through decades of turmoil.Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.orgNPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy
Summary