Best Townsend Security Podcasts (2025)

1
Bill Kristol: Diaper Tantrum 51:14

Play Pause

1h ago51:14

51:14

Trump was so embarrassed by Canada using Reagan’s warnings about tariffs that he had a little hissy fit and decided to punish Americans for buying Canadian goods. And by the way, stuffed shirt Scott Bessent: Real American soybean farmers are being hurt by tariffs while you bail out Argentina and pretend that your dainty hands are tilling the soil o…

1
Ryan Holiday: Life Is Too Short to Be a Bootlicker 1:07:48

3d ago1:07:48

1:07:48

Members of the administration, like Stephen Miller, who spend hours every day kissing Trump’s ass look so pathetic—but since the time of the ancients, courtiers have gone to great lengths to degrade themselves before the vain and vindictive. And one lesson for the ages is to not compromise with an extortionist: it will only lead to more extortion a…

1
Did Europe Change Trump's Mind on Ukraine? 47:08

3d ago47:08

47:08

The Trump administration made a major move this week in its announcement of sanctions on major Russian oil companies Rosneft and Luke Oil, along with 31 subsidiaries. This follows President Donald Trump’s cancellation of a discussed meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest and a U.S. agreement to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow m…

1
Ben Wittes and Anna Bower: Trump's Reparations Demand 46:28

4d ago46:28

46:28

The convicted felon was legitimately prosecuted for hoarding classified docs at Mar-a-Lago. And he was justifiably investigated over the numerous contacts he and his associates had with Russian nationals during 2016. But Trump feels he has endured so much pain and suffering from all the probing that he's owed a quarter of a billion dollars in damag…

1
All-American Ruins: Live at the Ulster County Historical Society 1:25:27

4d ago1:25:27

1:25:27

On October 12, 2025, Blake was joined by All-American Ruins guest host and writer Isabel Wilder at the Ulster County Historical Society in Kingston, NY for a 90-minute program. Participants explored how ruins reflect America’s past, present, and future—while doubling as playgrounds for creativity, imagination, and healing. To learn more, visit: htt…

1
Jon Favreau: Foundational Freedoms 1:06:48

5d ago1:06:48

1:06:48

One of the promises of this country has been the freedom to walk down the street without being harassed by the government. But even being an American citizen isn't stopping ICE agents from grabbing people with passports or IDs—and detaining them for hours. At the same time, many of the thugs and sadists who want to do the grabbing and snatching are…

1
Michael Weiss and Karine Jean-Pierre: Low Energy Trump 1:16:53

6d ago1:16:53

1:16:53

Putin’s friend in the White House may be back in his safe space with his kindred spirit in Moscow, but Trump is finding that he has limited leverage on Ukraine to end the war on Putin’s terms. He wants so badly to be crowned the ‘Prince of Peace,’ but he has no vim and vigor to get there—and Zelensky actually said “No” to Trump. Meanwhile, the Gaza…

1
Bill Kristol: Trump Hates America 44:01

7d ago44:01

44:01

Nearly seven million Americans peacefully took to the streets out of their love for this country, and Trump in response acted out like a toddler obsessed with his own poop. Indeed, our commander-in-chief really does have more affinity for the Sharia law dictators in the sand kingdoms than he does for Saturday’s true patriots. This may be the moment…

1
A Tale of Two Russias: Views from Former Intelligence Officers 1:01:15

10d ago1:01:15

1:01:15

Four years into its war in Ukraine, Russia continues to escalate attacks on the Ukrainian population while also dialing up its hybrid campaign against Europe. In the last six weeks alone, Russia has sent military drones into Polish and Romanian airspace and fighter aircraft into Estonian airspace and has continued its influence operations in places…

1
Peter Hamby: The Mini Dictator Wants What He Wants 1:17:32

10d ago1:17:32

1:17:32

The administration under sticky fingers Trump is now pretending it cares about the sanctity of classified documents, while it seems that Marco Rubio is the one pushing for regime change in Venezuela. In California, the redistricting ballot measure has been seen as one of the most significant battles in the November election, but the Supreme Court m…

1
Anne Applebaum: The Loss of 'Democratic Faith' 52:04

11d ago52:04

52:04

The U.S. has been a model for other aspiring democracies since 1776. At the same time, the idea of America as the leader of the democratic world has also had a unifying effect at home. It’s what has kept this diverse country of many faiths and ethnicities together, and it has been our national identity. But with Trump actively undermining those ide…

1
Heather Cox Richardson: An Attack on Our System of Government 50:23

12d ago50:23

50:23

Republicans in Congress know that what they’re doing is deeply unpopular—on healthcare, supporting troops in the streets, and on redistricting. That’s why they’re basically in hiding, plotting new ways to try to shift the narrative. But because they’ve given their Constitutional power away to Trump & company, unelected officials in the administrati…

1
Why Bitcoin’s Biggest Threat- and Opportunity Might- Come from Quantum Physics 19:50

13d ago19:50

19:50

“Quantum computing is taking the laws of nature — light, heat, entanglement — and turning them into a new kind of computer. When that happens, the way we think about Bitcoin’s security will have to change forever.” — Charlie Shrem This week on The Charlie Shrem Show, we go deep into the strangest frontier yet: the intersection of Bitcoin, cryptogra…

1
JB Pritzker and Franklin Foer: Like Living in an Authoritarian Regime 58:00

13d ago58:00

58:00

After a court temporarily blocked the deployment of Guard troops in Illinois, ICE agents began ramping up their operations around Chicagoland. They are now demanding that residents produce their papers—particularly if they have brown skin. Officers stand outside churches holding Spanish-language Mass or they go into tourist areas to confront people…

1
Bill Kristol and Ty Cobb: Recapturing America 1:14:48

14d ago1:14:48

1:14:48

Peaceful protesters in Chicago and Portland have been so clever and effective at ridiculing the masked Stasi agents in their cities that the political momentum for putting troops on the street feels like it’s petering out. And while Republicans keep smearing this weekend’s No Kings day as about hating America, the real ‘Hate America’ side is the on…

1
Jacob Soboroff and Sarah McBride: Democracy at the Ground Level 1:15:37

17d ago1:15:37

1:15:37

The administration may be trying to lay the groundwork for Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act by invading Chicago, but the real human stories are breaking through: ordinary Chicagoans are outraged that good, decent immigrants are being snatched off the street and their families’ lives ruined. And while Kristi Noem keeps promoting the bad guys tha…

1
Wess Mitchell on The Return of Diplomacy to Great Power Competition 1:02:35

17d ago1:02:35

1:02:35

On the surface, great power competition often seems driven by economic and military conflict, but diplomacy has always been central to great powers' engagement with the world. This is the argument made by Dr. Wess Mitchell in his forthcoming book, Great Power Diplomacy, The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger. Covering 15 centuries…

1
Sam Stein: A Bunch of Violent Keystone Cops 1:04:59

18d ago1:04:59

1:04:59

ICE and other armed federal agents are doing their best to incite violence in blue cities so they can help Trump realize his unfulfilled dream from 2020 to impose a military crackdown. At the same time, Trump can only point to what happened in Portland five years ago during Black Lives Matter protests to try to bolster his case. Meanwhile, Comey ha…

1
Casey Newton: Lawlessness and Danger in Tech's Brave New World 1:02:26

19d ago1:02:26

1:02:26

Trump's TikTok deal looks like classic crony capitalism as well as open theft. But China has bigger fish to fry with trade than its TikTok algorithm—which led Congress last year to ban the app in the U.S. Meanwhile, Silicon Valley thinks they're building a machine god with AI, but we really may be heading into catastrophe. Plus, the armed invasion …

1
Jake Tapper: Trump Is Making the Country Less Safe 1:07:24

20d ago1:07:24

1:07:24

By The Bulwark

1
Bill Kristol and Jane Fonda: The New 'Fierce Urgency of Now' 1:07:16

21d ago1:07:16

1:07:16

By The Bulwark

1
Tom Nichols: All The Circuit Breakers Are Gone 1:01:08

24d ago1:01:08

1:01:08

President Trump’s loyalty purges continue. Prosecutors are fired from the U.S. attorney’s office in Eastern Virginia, including people who had nothing to do with the Comey case. And Kash Patel pushes out an FBI agent in training for displaying a rainbow flag in his workspace. Meanwhile, reports surface that Marco Rubio is leading a push among Trump…

1
Moldova Chooses Its Future with William Hill and Laura Thornton 49:34

24d ago49:34

49:34

On September 28th, Moldovan voters went to the polls in parliamentary elections to choose between competing visions for their country's future. Despite intense efforts by the Kremlin to influence the information space, wage cyber attacks on election infrastructure, and even make bomb threats at diaspora polling places in Europe, the pro-EU party of…

1
Symone Sanders-Townsend: The White House’s Goal Is Enacting Pain 54:12

25d ago54:12

54:12

The Trump administration is turning up the heat now that the government has shut down, cancelling billions for green projects, targeting funding for infrastructure in New York and threatening mass firings of federal workers. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to hold the line in the Senate with their demands about health care. Elsewhere, the White Ho…

1
Ken Burns: You Have To Be A Bulwark 59:41

26d ago59:41

59:41

A government shutdown begins, as a standoff over spending enters what could be a painful phase. And President Trump kicks off the week warning his military leaders about facing an invasion from within. Ken Burns joins Tim Miller to talk about his new documentary, “The American Revolution,” what lessons from history he tries to apply our current pol…

1
Van Lathan and David Jolly: How To Beat Middle Finger MAGAism 1:26:52

27d ago1:26:52

1:26:52

Pete Hegseth convenes the military’s top leaders to complain about fat troops and generals and plug his book. Meanwhile, Charlie Kirk’s assassination continues to drive debate about how to confront MAGA as a cultural and political movement. David Jolly, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Florida, joins Tim to talk about his campaign, why he sw…

1
Bill Kristol: Trump Wants Troops in Portland 53:15

28d ago53:15

53:15

President Trump orders the National Guard to be deployed to Portland, Ore., after declaring it a war-ravaged city. And reports surface that the administration is considering strikes in Venezuela. Meanwhile, the military’s top generals are on their way to Quantico for a mysterious meeting called by Pete Hegseth that the president now wants to crash.…

1
NATO’s Counter-Drone Conundrum 1:02:53

1M ago1:02:53

1:02:53

Over the last two weeks, Russia has repeatedly violated NATO airspace. Seventeen Russian military drones entered Polish airspace on September 10th, followed by another drone in Romania, three Russian jets flew into Estonian airspace for 12 minutes on September 19th, and drones of unknown origin shut down airports in Copenhagen and Oslo on September…

1
Adam Kinzinger: We Can’t Be Intimidated 51:28

1M ago51:28

51:28

President Trump’s quest for revenge escalates, as a grand jury indicts former FBI Director James Comey days after Trump forced out a prosecutor who refused to bring charges against his political enemies. Trump, meanwhile, is cheerleading the indictment and publicly encouraging prosecutors to go after more Democrats and left-leaning organizations. A…

1
Ezra Klein: Protecting People Means Winning Power 1:13:21

1M ago1:13:21

1:13:21

The White House readies plans for mass firings in the federal government as Democrats weigh the stakes of forcing a government shutdown. The Justice Department prepares to seek an indictment for former FBI Director James Comey as President Trump hunts for revenge against his political enemies. Ezra Klein of The New York Times joins Tim to discuss w…

1
Angie Craig and Glenn Thrush: Don’t Be Called Weak Sauce 1:00:04

1M ago1:00:04

1:00:04

A government shutdown creeps closer as President Trump cancels a meeting with Democratic leaders. Former Vice President Kamala Harris embarks on a press tour to promote a score settling book about her campaign. Plus, Trump taps one of his former personal lawyers to replace a U.S. attorney he dismissed for not targeting his political enemies after p…

1
Bakari Sellers: The Danger of RFK Jr. 55:15

1M ago55:15

55:15

The injecting-bleach president is getting some super-strong pseudoscientific information to scare mothers and blame them for autism while conveniently ignoring the role geriatric sperm may play in neurodivergence. Meanwhile, Kimmel may be coming back, but confusion remains about why his show was pulled to begin with—given the jokes Trump, his son, …

1
Bill Kristol: Where Is the $50,000? 42:55

1M ago42:55

42:55

We thought Tom Homan was just an extreme border hawk and ideologue. Now we know this powerful law enforcement official, who's depriving immigrants of their freedom, may also be a corrupt law-breaker—after he was reportedly recorded taking a $50,000 cash bribe during an FBI sting operation. And MAGA die-hards, like Megyn Kelly, have made clear they …

1
Thomas Chatterton Williams: How MAGA Learned to Love Cancel Culture 1:00:39

1M ago1:00:39

1:00:39

Cancel culture lives on, but it's taken new turns, especially among some of the loudest opponents of woke culture who simply can not abide one word of criticism about Charlie Kirk or Israel. Meanwhile, the vice president of the United States is actively encouraging his kind of Americans to rat out their neighbors. Plus, how authoritarianism and cor…

1
Brian Stelter and Jonathan V. Last: Worst Case Scenario 1:07:06

1M ago1:07:06

1:07:06

The administration wants people to believe that Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air because he supposedly crossed a red line when it came to Charlie Kirk—yet at the same time, somehow totally ignore that this is naked government coercion of critics who embrace the time-honored tradition of skewering presidents. And because this is the Trump adminis…

1
Susan Rice: A Cancer in the Body Politic 47:54

1M ago47:54

47:54

This country has been dealing with an increase in political violence for nearly a decade, and leaders from across the spectrum need to do everything they can to get us off this terrible path. Declaring 'free speech for me and not for thee,' or getting random people fired for not saying nice things about Charlie Kirk isn't helping to tamp things dow…

1
Joe Manchin: The Man in the Middle 58:48

1M ago58:48

58:48

The former senator and former Dem has some not-very-nice things to say about Schumer and Obama—as well as progressives—who he blames for hounding Biden to move left and diminishing his will to fight. And while he's proud he helped protect the filibuster while he was in the Senate, Republicans just invoked the nuclear option to get Trump's nominees …

1
Brussels Sprouts LIVE: Europe with Less U.S.: Preventing Russia Opportunistic Aggression in Europe 58:59

1M ago58:59

58:59

Despite the degradation of Moscow’s military in Ukraine, senior western officials estimate that it could reconstitute its forces within two to five years. A new CNAS report considers how a crisis in the Indo-Pacific could shape Russia’s willingness to test NATO. U.S. involvement in a major crisis in Asia would cause Washington to redeploy resources…

1
Bill Kristol: What Does 'They' Mean? 1:04:47

1M ago1:04:47

1:04:47

The administration is threatening to take away money and power—and maybe even freedom—from some vague Trump opponents because of the Kirk assassination. It doesn't seem to matter that elected Democrats have roundly condemned his murder. And it doesn't matter that Trump himself largely ignored the recent political assassination of Minnesota Democrat…

1
David Frum: Leveraging Violence as a Tool of Power 1:01:53

1M ago1:01:53

1:01:53

Trump and the people around him want to use the Kirk assassination to suppress their political opposition. And Trump is clearly laying the groundwork for cracking down on people he doesn't like—peaceful protesters, Dem fundraisers—while also offering rhetorical comfort to potential vigilantes on the right. Meanwhile, we are witnessing the danger of…

1
Drones over Poland with Doug Lute and Kurt Volker 50:39

1M ago50:39

50:39

In the early hours of September 10th, Polish authorities detected 19 Russian drones over Polish airspace. This incident represents a major escalation, with Poland triggering Article 4 of the NATO Treaty. At a minimum, this was an attempt by Russia to get European nations to back down from their support for Ukraine and to expose the Alliance as a pa…

1
Erin Ryan: The Murder of Charlie Kirk 1:06:32

2M ago1:06:32

1:06:32

This country has too many guns and too many crazy people. And the social media oligarchs are fanning the flames of violence by constantly trying to piss people off. The Kirk assassination highlights just how dangerous a moment we are living in. America is not free if people are too afraid to speak their minds. Plus, parenting and the surprising gap…

1
Stephanie Ruhle and Tom Saenz: Why Aren't People Freaking Out? 58:14

2M ago58:14

58:14

If Zohran Mamdani, as NYC mayor-elect, held a dinner with finance bros and threatened them with a huge wealth tax if they didn't sweet-talk him and say how much they agreed with his political vision, the Wall Street community would freak out. Yet, this version of a shakedown is *really* happening at the White House all the time and in response, the…

1
James Bennet: Trump Is Still Hacking the Media 1:09:06

2M ago1:09:06

1:09:06

More than 10 years in, journalists still have not figured out how to cover Trump. He understands the media environment better than a lot of reporters, and knows his outrageous acts and statements command attention—and that people will not be able to finish processing one outrage before the next one comes down the pike. But now he's laying down the …

1
Bill Kristol: Escalating the Authoritarian Project 53:36

2M ago53:36

53:36

In seven months, Trump has accumulated an astonishing amount of unchecked power. No one inside his administration is challenging his will, and Trump is assuming war powers with barely any explanation—while blacklisting Tom Hanks from West Point. At the same time, in the business world, only one MAGA-friendly hedge fund billionaire has raised mild c…

1
David French: Maybe the Tariffs Are the Problem 1:06:13

2M ago1:06:13

1:06:13

Last month, Trump fired the "woke" job numbers person after she released weak employment data. Now, we have even worse jobs numbers—and burgeoning signs of a tariffs-triggered manufacturing recession. Meanwhile, the administration may be working on a de facto military policy that would fulfill one of Trump's biggest longtime wishes: summarily execu…

1
Ukraine Negotiations: Europe’s Perspective and the Next Steps 48:48

2M ago48:48

48:48

This week, we continue our assessment of the Trump-Putin and Trump-Zelensky meetings in August. European leaders can take solace in the fact that their presence at the Washington meeting means that their views are not being entirely ignored, but significant outstanding questions remain relating to how the discussions of western security guarantees …

1
Mark Hertling: Performative and Deadly 52:03

2M ago52:03

52:03

The lethal U.S. military strike on a speedboat in the Caribbean was more about putting on a show than countering the drug trade out of South America. And it's not even clear that the people killed on the boat were running drugs, or that any contraband was bound for America. Meanwhile, if senators are truly concerned that local police departments ar…

1
In Which I Let You Go at an Abandoned Security Gatehouse (Schrade Cutlery Factory - Ellenville, NY) 16:41

2M ago16:41

16:41

On the one-year anniversary of his best friend Julie’s death, Blake makes his way to the ruins of the Schrade Cutlery Factory in Ellenville, NY. The only remaining structure is a crumbling security gatehouse which Julie and Blake always talked about getting to but never did. Covered in vines, Blake reminisces on his friendship with Julie and asks h…

1
Lina Khan: The Impunity of the Elites 43:03

2M ago43:03

43:03

The economic populists at the Nat Con conference may be talking a lot about elites screwing over the little guy, but the Trump administration itself has been catastrophic for working people—its policies are all about doing special favors for elite interests. And while many loud voices in Silicon Valley cursed the Biden administration for blocking s…