NatSec Matters

Michael is joined by Richard Nephew, Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and former NSC Director for Iran, to discuss the uncertain and deteriorating situation in the Persian Gulf. Richard analyzes Tehran's recent escalation of demands—from demanding the full removal of the U.S. blockade and sanctions to seeking $300 billion in reparations. He also explores the internal consolidation of power within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) following recent decapitation strikes, detailing how a narrower, unipolar hardline faction now views aggressive deterrence as the clear path forward. Richard also breaks down global energy friction points, including severe price spreads in refined products like diesel, the limitations of covert commercial ship escorting, and the dangerous race between global economic endurance and the U.S. blockade.

Michael is joined by Glenn Corn, former CIA Chief of Station and foreign policy expert with over 34 years of experience across the U.S. intelligence, defense, and diplomatic communities. Returning from his latest trip to Ukraine, Glenn offers a candid, on-the-ground operational update on how Kyiv's military is reshaping the battlefield through mid-range FPV drone strikes, integrated AI battle management systems, and deep-strike campaigns targeting Russian oil refineries and supply lines. He also analyzes internal socio-political frictions within Russia as Moscow struggles to manage mounting casualties and economic strain.

Michael is joined by Rear Admiral (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Senior Director of the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), who just concluded his seventh trip to Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. Mark delivers an operational update on his work training Ukrainian brigade commanders and assesses the strategic political reshuffle in Kyiv. He compares President Volodymyr Zelensky to a wartime Winston Churchill—brilliant yet fallible—and evaluates the new military leadership under Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi. Finally, Mark draws on his naval expertise to argue why the U.S. Navy must commit to physical escort operations through the Strait of Hormuz to permanently break Iran's economic grip.

Michael is joined by Bojan Pancevski, Chief European Political Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, to discuss his new book, The Nord Stream Conspiracy: The Inside Story of the Explosions That Shook the World. Drawing on direct conversations with German law enforcement and the Ukrainian saboteurs, Pancevski reveals how a six-person team used a rented yacht and a $250,000 budget to destroy Europe's primary Russian energy pipeline . Pancevski discusses the fallout of the operation , as well as the broader evolution of Ukrainian hybrid warfare, long-range drone strikes on Russian infrastructure, and the trajectory of the war .

Michael is joined by Dr. Alina Polyakova, President and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis, and Peter Rough, Director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, to discuss how the recent NATO Summit in Ankara landed. The two explore the hidden friction points undercutting transatlantic unity, from software interoperability gaps to trade and digital policy disputes. They also focus on how Ukraine's decentralized, software-driven "operating system" has transformed Russia's immense geographic mass into highly exposed vulnerabilities, and how the sudden passing of Russia hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham is set to reshape Capitol Hill's approach to the war.