{"podcast":{"title":"Rational Security","slug":"rational-security-525411","podcast_index_feed_id":525411,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/60427f9d34b9a27f4b6e3a8d","website_url":"https://www.lawfaremedia.org/podcasts-multimedia/podcast/rational-security","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/60427f9d34b9a27f4b6e3a8d/1713544365257-0f824289275f3526942871153b556a2c.jpeg","author":"The Lawfare Institute","episode_count":571,"summary":"A weekly discussion of national security and foreign policy matters hosted by Lawfare Senior Editor Scott R. Anderson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-17T04:20:20.086606+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rational-security-525411"},"episode":{"title":"The \"Forbidden Fruit\" Edition","slug":"the-forbidden-fruit-edition","published_at":"2026-06-12T16:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rational-security-525411/the-forbidden-fruit-edition","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rational-security-525411","url":"https://shows.acast.com/rational-security/episodes/the-forbidden-fruit-edition","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/60427f9d34b9a27f4b6e3a8d/e/6a2c188b685069f99fe95483/media.mp3","summary":"This week, Scott was joined by his Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes, Michael Feinberg, and Molly Roberts to talk through the week’s big news in national security, including: “Blanche Check.” DOJ may soon have a new permanent leader, as President Trump has now formally nominated Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to the role permanently. But to secure Trump’s support, Blanche has indulged some of Trump’s most concerning instincts, as evidenced by the attempt to establish an anti-weaponization fund for Trump allies and renewed indictments of figures like former FBI Director James Comey. Meanwhile, DOJ has seen scandal after scandal during Blanche’s tenure over the rapidly declining quality and credibility of its work, exemplified most recently by evidence of grand jury tampering, arguably, in the Broadview Six prosecutions. What should we expect of DOJ under a confirmed Blanche? And how enduring will some of the harm that may result be for the department? “Tinker, Tailor, Realtor, Spy.” President Trump’s decision to dual-hat Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte—a man with no national security experience, who is best known for using his role at the FHFA to facilitate some of Trump’s most transparent attacks on perceived political enemies—as Acting Director of National Intelligence has triggered strong reactions across the political spectrum. This includes a threat by congressional Democrats to kill renewal of Section 702 surveillance authorities if Pulte remains in the acting position. But Trump has thus far refused to back down. What does Pulte’s appointment—and the potential expiration of Section 702—mean for national security? “Pratt Falls.” The open primary in the Los Angeles mayor’s race is over, and Trump-endorsed candidate Spencer Pratt finished j…","meta_description":"This week, Scott was joined by his Lawfare colleagues Benjamin Wittes, Michael Feinberg, and Molly Roberts to talk through the week’s big news in national…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":4801,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rational-security-525411/episodes/the-forbidden-fruit-edition/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rational-security-525411/the-forbidden-fruit-edition.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}