Dmitri Alperovitch is a cybersecurity expert, entrepreneur, and author of The World on the Brink: How the Hybrid World War Threatens Our Future. He is the co-founder and former CTO of CrowdStrike, a global leader in cyber threat intelligence and defense, and currently serves in senior advisory roles shaping how governments and organizations respond to digital conflict and nation-state cyber operations. Alperovitch’s work spans cyber risk, geopolitics, and emerging threats, making him a key voice on the frontlines of cybersecurity and global stability.

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Peter Pomerantsev is a best-selling author, journalist, and leading expert on propaganda, disinformation, and modern information warfare. He is the author of Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible and This Is Not Propaganda, widely regarded as essential books for understanding how authoritarian regimes manipulate media and reality itself. Pomerantsev has advised governments and institutions on counter-disinformation strategies and regularly contributes to major global outlets on democracy, power, and the battle over truth.

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Scott Kennedy is Senior Adviser and Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). A leading authority on Chinese economic policy and U.S.–China commercial relations, he has traveled to China for nearly four decades and focuses on China’s industrial policy, tech innovation, and global economic governance. His publications include The Business of Lobbying in China, The Fat Tech Dragon, and numerous policy reports on U.S.–China tensions. 

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Don Bentley is a bestselling American thriller author and former FBI Special Agent, SWAT team member, and U.S. Army Apache helicopter pilot. He currently continues the legacy of Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp series, with his newest novel Denied Access, which takes fans back to Rapp’s early days as he battles threats to the CIA and a lover in peril. Bentley’s diverse writing portfolio also includes the Matt Drake series and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Jr. novels.

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Jake Tapper is a prominent CNN anchor and chief Washington correspondent, and the author of Race Against Terror: Chasing an Al Qaeda Killer at the Dawn of the Forever War. His book uncovers the high-stakes global hunt to prosecute an al Qaeda operative who surrendered during the Arab Spring and sheds light on the challenges of delivering justice in the War on Terror. Tapper is also known for his political journalism, previously penning works like The Outpost and his bestselling novels.

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Jack Carr is a former U.S. Navy SEAL turned bestselling author known for his high-octane military thrillers. He burst onto the scene with The Terminal List, which was adapted into a Prime Video series, and has since written several more in the Reece series including Red Sky Mourning and Cry Havoc. In addition to fiction, he’s the author of Targeted: Beirut, a nonfiction work exploring the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings. Carr is also the host of the Danger Close podcast and draws heavily on his two decades of special operations experience in his writing.

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Karen Elliott House is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and former managing editor, publisher, and international editor at The Wall Street Journal with over four decades of experience covering Saudi Arabia. Her latest book, The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia (2025), draws on exclusive interviews with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and offers a nuanced view of a ruler trying to modernize while consolidating power. House is also author of On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines — and Future. 

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Oona A. Hathaway is the Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith Professor of International Law at Yale Law School and President-Elect of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), beginning her presidency in 2026. She also holds appointments at Yale’s Department of Political Science and the MacMillan Center, and directs the Center for Global Legal Challenges. A leading scholar of international and national security law, her research examines the global legal order, war powers, cyber sovereignty, and accountability in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Hathaway is also a Guggenheim Fellow (2025–26) and a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

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Paul Poast is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago, where he also serves as Deputy Dean for Doctoral Education and directs the Summer Institute for Social Research Methods. He’s a nonresident senior fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a foreign affairs columnist for World Politics Review. His research covers international security, alliance politics, and the political economy of warfare, and he is the author of books such as The Economics of War, Organizing Democracy, Arguing About Alliances, and Wheat at War.

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Ryan Hass is an American foreign policy analyst and diplomat currently serving as the director of the John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies at the Brookings Institution. A former U.S. diplomat, he held senior roles including Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, and served in diplomatic posts in Seoul and Beijing. Hass is a prolific author whose recent works include Stronger: Adapting America’s China Strategy in an Age of Competitive Interdependence (Yale University Press, 2021) and U.S.–Taiwan Relations (Brookings Institution Press, 2023), and he continues to shape conversations on U.S.-East Asia relations through Brookings and major media outlets .

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Einat Wilf is an Israeli intellectual, author, and former Knesset member (2010–2013), known for her insightful work on Zionism, Israeli education, and foreign policy. She has held roles as an intelligence officer in the IDF, foreign policy adviser to Vice Prime Minister Shimon Peres, and strategic consultant at McKinsey & Company. A Harvard (BA), INSEAD (MBA), and Cambridge (PhD) alumnus, Wilf is the author of several books including We Should All Be Zionists (2022) and the co-authored The War of Return (2020).

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Jon Lee Anderson is an acclaimed biographer, investigative reporter, and war correspondent currently writing for The New Yorker, where he has been a staff writer since 1998. Over his distinguished career, he’s reported from conflicts across the globe—including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, Liberia, Angola, Mali, and more—and contributed to major outlets like The New York Times, Harper’s, Life, and The Nation. Anderson is also a respected author, known for his definitive biography Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life (during which he located Che’s hidden burial site), The Fall of Baghdad, Guerrillas, and The Lion’s Grave: Dispatches from Afghanistan. His latest book To Lose a War: The Fall and Rise of the Taliban is out now. He has been recognized with prestigious honors, including the Maria Moors Cabot Prize for excellence in Latin American reporting.

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Nicolas Niarchos is a staff writer at The New Yorker covering foreign affairs, geopolitics, and global power dynamics. He’s the author of The Elements of Power: Gadgets, Guns, and the Struggle for a New Global Order, a deeply researched book that explores how control over critical elements like rare minerals, weapons, and technology shapes international politics. Niarchos’s work brings sharp insight into how resources and innovation influence statecraft in the 21st century, blending narrative reporting with expert analysis.

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Graham Markiewicz is the Executive Director of the Security and Democracy Forum and a seasoned national security policy advisor. He served as defense policy adviser for U.S. Senate, deployed twice to Afghanistan as an infantry officer, and previously held staff roles on Capitol Hill. A graduate of West Point and Boston College Law School, he combines military experience, legal expertise, and public policy leadership in his current work to strengthen democratic institutions and security governance.

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Demkó Attila is a Hungarian security policy expert, former diplomat, and historian based in Budapest. He holds a PhD in history and political theory from Eötvös Loránd University and has trained at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and the Manfred Wörner Foundation. From 1999 to 2018, he served in senior roles in Hungary’s Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office and Ministry of Defence—including leading the Defence Policy and Planning Departments and representing Hungary to NATO in Brussels. Demkó is also a celebrated author under the pen name "David Autere," whose bestselling novel Máglyatűz (“Bonfire”) imagines Russia leveraging ethnic conflict across Central Europe . Since 2018 he has contributed regularly to Mandiner and currently directs the Strategic Foresight Program at the John Lukács Institute, MCC, focusing on European security dynamics amid the war in Ukraine.

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Yaroslav Trofimov is the Chief Foreign‑Affairs Correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, reporting on global conflicts since 1999. Born in Kyiv, he has spent much of the past three years on the frontlines of the Russian‑Ukraine war and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his coverage in both 2022 and 2023. His recent nonfiction, Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence (Penguin Press, Jan 2024), was a finalist for the Orwell Prize and won the Peterson Literary Prize. He’s also the author of No Country for Love, a historical novel rooted in Ukrainian family history.

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Dana Stroul is Director of Research and Shelly & Michael Kassen Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a role she assumed in February 2024. From 2021 to 2023, she served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, leading U.S. defense policy amid crises like the Israel–Hamas War and Iran’s regional actions. Prior roles include senior staff on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (2013–2018), co-chairing the bipartisan Syria Study Group, and work in the Defense Department, U.S. Embassy in Cairo, and think tanks. She holds an M.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.

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Eliot A. Cohen is a leading authority in international security and strategic affairs. He holds the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy at CSIS and is Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins SAIS, where he served as dean from 2019 to 2021. Previously, he was Counselor of the U.S. State Department under Secretary Condoleezza Rice (2007–2009), advising on Iraq, Afghanistan, and Russia. A prolific author, his works include Supreme Command, Conquered into Liberty, The Big Stick, and The Hollow Crown, and he contributes to The Atlantic and major national media.

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Judy Woodruff is a veteran broadcast journalist with a career spanning over five decades. She served as the anchor and managing editor of PBS NewsHour from 2013 to 2022, becoming the sole anchor following the passing of co-anchor Gwen Ifill in 2016. Woodruff has covered every U.S. presidential election and convention since 1976 and has held prominent roles at NBC, CNN, and PBS. She is renowned for her insightful political reporting and commitment to journalistic integrity. Currently, she continues her work as a senior correspondent for PBS NewsHour.

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Arash Azizi is an Iranian writer, historian, and journalist whose work explores the intersections of politics, culture, and society in Iran and the broader Middle East. His latest book, What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom, delves into the aspirations and struggles of Iranians seeking a normal life under a repressive regime. Azizi's insightful analysis sheds light on various forms of activism in Iran, from employment and environmentalism to religious freedom, highlighting the resilience and determination of the Iranian people. His previous works include The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions, which examines the life and influence of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Azizi's writings have appeared in numerous publications, and he is recognized for his in-depth reporting and historical perspectives on Iran's contemporary issues.

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James M. Scott is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author renowned for his compelling narratives on military history. His latest book, Targeted: Beirut, co-authored with Jack Carr, delves into the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon, offering a meticulously researched account based on survivor interviews, military records, and personal documents . Scott's previous works include Black Snow, Rampage, Target Tokyo, The War Below, and The Attack on the Liberty. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard, he currently serves as the Scholar in Residence at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina.

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Philip Zelikow is an American diplomat, historian, and academic, best known for serving as executive director of the 9/11 Commission. He was Counselor of the U.S. State Department under Secretary Condoleezza Rice and has held senior academic roles at the University of Virginia and Stanford’s Hoover Institution. Zelikow’s work spans diplomacy, national security, and the writing of history, with a focus on pivotal global events and the art of statecraft.

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​Chris Whipple is a renowned journalist and author, best known for his in-depth analyses of American political institutions. His latest book, Uncharted: How Trump Beat Biden, Harris, and the Odds in the Wildest Campaign in History, offers a detailed account of the 2024 presidential election, providing insider perspectives on the campaigns of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Donald Trump. Whipple's previous works include The Gatekeepers and The Spymasters, both of which explore the inner workings of the White House and the CIA, respectively.​

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Stephen M. Walt is a renowned columnist for Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. A leading scholar in foreign policy theory and U.S. grand strategy, Walt is best known for his work on realism, alliance politics, and international security. His influential books include The Origins of Alliances, Taming American Power, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, and International Relations: One World, Many Theories. Walt’s writing and commentary challenge conventional wisdom and shape debates on America’s role in the world.

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​Lieutenant General (Retired) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe (2014–2017), is a Senior Advisor to Human Rights First and NATO Senior Mentor for Logistics. He co-authored Future War and the Defence of Europe and frequently provides analysis on European security matters in international media.

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Terry McAuliffe is a seasoned political leader and businessman who served as the 72nd Governor of Virginia. A former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he has been a key figure in national and state politics, focusing on economic growth, job creation, and education.

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Dr. Andrew A. Michta is a Senior Fellow at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council and term life member at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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In a special episode of Clearer Than Truth, Nathan is joined by Grammy winner Rupert Wainwright (Stigmata, The Fog) and filmmaker David Dodson to discuss their latest collaboration - HEROES UKRAINE

Make sure to check out Rupert and David's incredible music video here - https://youtu.be/M5SOkb7M2Ho

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Saleha Mohsin is the author of PAPER SOLDIERS, a compelling exploration of financial power and politics. As a Senior Washington Correspondent for Bloomberg News, she covers the intersection of economics and policy, bringing clarity to complex global financial systems. Saleha is also the host of The Big Take DC podcast, where she interviews key decision-makers and thought leaders shaping the nation's capital. 

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Joshua M. Landis is an American academic and leading expert on the Middle East, with a particular focus on Syria. He directs the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma and has been the author of the blog Syria Comment since 2004.

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Kelley Currie is an American human rights lawyer and former Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues (2020–2021). She has served as the U.S. Representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council and Acting Deputy U.S. Representative to the U.N. A former senior fellow at the Project 2049 Institute, Currie has held senior roles in the U.S. State Department and various human rights organizations, focusing on security, public policy, and humanitarian issues.

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Joby Warrick is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who has been a member of The Washington Post’s National staff since 1996. Specializing in Middle East issues, terrorism, and weapons proliferation, Warrick has authored three acclaimed nonfiction books, including Red Line: The Unraveling of Syria and America's Race to Destroy the Most Dangerous Arsenal in the World and Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS, which won the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction in 2016.

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Tom Gardner is The Economist’s Africa correspondent, based in Nairobi. With nearly a decade of experience, including time in Addis Ababa during the 2020-22 Tigray war, his reporting on Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa has appeared in The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and The Atlantic. His first book, The Abiy Project: God, Power and War in the New Ethiopia, was published in 2024.

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James Barnett is a research fellow at the Hudson Institute, specializing in conflict, terrorism, and geopolitics in Africa. With extensive fieldwork experience in conflict zones, he has conducted research in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Ukraine.

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Tim Bouverie is a British historian, journalist, and bestselling author specializing in World War II and modern European history. His acclaimed debut, Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War, explores the diplomatic failures that paved the way for conflict, and his latest book, Allies at War, examines the fractious wartime relationship between Britain and the United States. A former political journalist for Channel 4 News, Bouverie brings deep research and sharp narrative skill to his writing on power, diplomacy, and the lessons of history.

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Michael John Williams is associate professor of international affairs and director of international relations graduate programs at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He specializes in international security, NATO, and European-Russian relations. Trained at the London School of Economics, he brings an interdisciplinary approach to examining society-military relations and warfare.

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Matthew Klein is a returning guest and analyst at The Cook Political Report. He’s back to discuss the results of the 2024 election, offering nonpartisan insights into U.S. House and gubernatorial outcomes.

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Matthew Klein is an analyst at The Cook Political Report, where he collaborates with editors to provide nonpartisan insights on U.S. House and gubernatorial elections. On election nights, he manages the publication's social media updates and oversees key site features like the House Open Seats Chart. Originally from Maryland, Matthew holds a B.A. in Political Science from Emory University, where he authored an honors thesis on political realignment in West Virginia. A film enthusiast and avid runner, he currently resides in Washington, D.C.

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Drew Petrimoulx is an award-winning filmmaker, video producer, journalist, and Show Host for The Hill. Based in Washington, DC, he co-founded Framed Up Productions, where he helps clients craft compelling stories that connect with target audiences. His work spans every stage of production, from development to editing, and he frequently collaborates with major TV networks to report on key U.S. and global stories.

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Michael Lind is a historian, author, and scholar specializing in U.S. political and economic history, democratic nationalism, and foreign policy. His notable books include The Next American Nation, Land of Promise, and The New Class War. A fifth-generation Texan, Lind has taught at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Texas, where he is now a Professor of Practice at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. He contributes to publications like Tablet and American Affairs and is the author of fiction and poetry, including the award-winning The Alamo and Bluebonnet Girl.

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Toby Muse is a journalist, author, and documentary filmmaker known for his in-depth reporting on the cocaine trade. His work, featured in outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and BBC, often explores the human stories behind global conflicts and the drug industry. His book Kilo: Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels provides a gripping look at the journey of a kilo of cocaine from production in Colombia to its arrival in the U.S. market, highlighting the lives affected by the drug trade.

For more information, visit Toby Muse's official website.

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Welcome back to Clearer Than Truth. On this episode, we are joined by writer and historian Arash Azizi to discuss the situation in Iran following the sudden death of the country's president, Ebrahim Raisi. We talk about the fallout from this tragic accident, as well as how this will affect Iran and its current state going forward. 

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Ambassador Elliot Abrams joins  "Clearer Than Truth" for our inaugural episode, where we engaged in a detailed discussion concerning the current state of global affairs. During our dialogue, he also delved into the intricate dynamics of the Middle East, shedding light on various geopolitical nuances. Furthermore, the conversation took a turn towards domestic politics, providing listeners with insight into the current political landscape and its implications on international relations.

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Yaakov Katz is an Israeli-American author, journalist, and senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute in Jerusalem. He served as editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post from 2016 to 2023 and continues to write a popular weekly column while appearing regularly as an analyst on CNN and the BBC. Katz is the author of Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power, Weapon Wizards: How Israel Became a High-Tech Military Superpower, and Israel vs. Iran: The Shadow War, and his upcoming book While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East is a national bestseller. He previously spent nearly a decade as the paper’s military reporter and defense analyst, served as a senior policy adviser to Israel’s government, and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard.

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Max Boot is a senior columnist for The Washington Post and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. A leading voice on U.S. foreign policy, national security, and military history, he has advised senior policymakers and served as a defense analyst for multiple administrations. Boot is also the author of several acclaimed books, including The Road Not Taken, Invisible Armies, and War Made New, and is a frequent commentator on global affairs and American strategy.

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Ilan Berman is Senior Vice President of American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) in Washington, D.C., and a leading expert on security issues in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia. He has consulted for the CIA and U.S. Defense and State Departments, and advised congressional offices on foreign policy and national security. Berman is also an adjunct professor at the Institute of World Politics and associated faculty at Missouri State University’s Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. He is the author and editor of numerous books on Iran, Russia, warfare, and global security — including a forthcoming work titled The New Imperialists.

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Edward Fishman is a leading scholar of economic statecraft and a former U.S. diplomat who helped design sanctions policies at the State Department and Treasury. He is currently a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and also teaches at its Center on Global Energy Policy. His book Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare (2025) offers a gripping, behind-the-scenes account of how the U.S. turned global finance, technology, and energy infrastructure into tools of geopolitical influence.

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Barry R. Posen is the Ford International Professor of Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Director Emeritus of its MIT Security Studies Program. A leading scholar in grand strategy and defense policy, his influential works include Restraint: A New Foundation for U.S. Grand Strategy and The Sources of Military Doctrine. Posen continues to shape debates on global power shifts, U.S. force posture, and military intervention through his teaching, research, and commentary.

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Edward Luce is the chief U.S. commentator and columnist for the Financial Times, where he covers American politics, foreign policy, and global power shifts. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America’s Great Power Prophet, a definitive biography of one of the most influential strategic thinkers of the Cold War era. Luce is widely respected for his sharp analysis of U.S. leadership, geopolitics, and the future of the liberal international order.

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Brad Thor is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the most prominent voices in the modern thriller genre. Best known for his long-running Scot Harvath series, Thor’s novels explore terrorism, intelligence, and global security with meticulous research and real-world insight. His latest work, Cold Zero, co-authored with Ward Larsen, continues his tradition of high-stakes storytelling grounded in contemporary geopolitical threats. Thor frequently consults with intelligence and military professionals and is a sought-after commentator on national security issues.

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