Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon

Sue Gordon & Eric Koepp
  • 5.0 (28)
  • NEWS COMMENTARY

Welcome to “Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon” — the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week,  Eric — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe now.

  1. 2D AGO

    Ep. 29 Power Without Permission: Who Decides When Technology Governs Us All

    When technology companies operate as economic engines, civic spaces, and geopolitical actors without the obligations that traditionally accompany that level of power, sovereignty itself begins to redistribute. In this episode, Sue and Eric examine the dangerous mismatch between capability and accountability as AI reaches what Anthropic's CEO calls "technological adolescence" and Sue calls powerful but not yet wise. From Russia poisoning AI training data to South Korea pioneering governance frameworks, they trace how decisions made at machine speed by private actors are reshaping markets, speech, security, and even war. The question, they argue, isn't whether technology is good or bad—it's whether the system producing it reflects the values and risks we're willing to accept. Timestamps:  01:18 Super Bowl Picks 02:42 Previous Episode Updates 06:36 Episode 29 Introduction 08:29 "The Adolescence of Technology" 15:15 AI Poisoning 24:25 GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out 26:23 South Korea AI Policy 29:10 Tech Companies and Government Accountability 35:00 Redistribution of Sovereign Authority 39:17 Iran, Starlink, and Foreign Policy 43:03 Episode Walk Away Beliefs  45:45 What We’re Watching About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    49 min
  2. Ep. 28 Power, Precedent, and Accountability: Why Power Must Explain

    JAN 27

    Ep. 28 Power, Precedent, and Accountability: Why Power Must Explain

    Precedent is set by what we excuse, not what we celebrate. When power acts first and explains later, accountability erodes—and precedent takes hold. In this episode, Sue and Eric examine recent events in Minnesota, federal enforcement surges, and global reactions from Davos to assess what really matters beyond any single incident. The danger, they argue, isn’t one decision or one tragedy—it’s the pattern forming beneath them: pressure without restraint, authority without explanation, and leadership that mistakes justification for legitimacy. Looking outward, they explore how allies and adversaries interpret America’s internal signals, why trust cannot be surged in a crisis, and how precedent—once normalized—outlives any administration. The conversation returns to first principles: accountability is not optional, oversight is not political, and power must be defensible regardless of who benefits.  Timestamps:  00:25 Welcome to Understandable Insights 01:44 Navy Women's Basketball  03:46 Episode Introduction 04:46 Minnesota Intelligence Analysis  07:41 Information Operations and Adversaries 10:01 Leadership Failures and Accountability 22:05 Respect for ICE and CBP Individuals 29:03 Combatting Selective Information 34:20 Precedent and 4 Unravelings 42:59 Davos and NATO Reactions 50:57 Episode Walk Away Beliefs  51:43 What We're Watching  About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    56 min

  3. JAN 20

    Ep. 27 Democracy Under Stress: Elections as Infrastructure, Conditional Acceptance, & Human Strength

    In this episode we argue that elections are not only symbolic rituals—they are critical infrastructure with attack surfaces. The most consequential threat is seldom a hacked machine—in fact, our technical infrastructure is remarkably sound; it is the deliberate degradation of trust that makes acceptance of results optional. When acceptance becomes optional, the democratic bargain (and with it democratic stability) starts to fail—quietly, procedurally, and then suddenly. We examine a growing number of signals—from diminished investment by the federal government in maintaining technical resilience of our systems, conditional acceptance as strategy; federal and state tensions; and stress on our human administrators. We close the episode with What You Should Ask and What We’re Watching, including some reflections on the coming midterms, Greenland, Minnesota, Davos, Venezuela, and the Winter Olympics.  Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to Understandable Insights 01:05 Personal Reflections 02:18 Honoring MLK and Great Orators 06:02 Elections and Infrastructure 18:25 Mail-in Ballots and Election Integrity 23:52 Conditional strategy 26:52 DOJ's Role in Election Data 31:11 Human Stress 34:58 Midterm Elections and Democratic Health 40:06 What We're Watching About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    44 min
  4. Ep. 26 Default to Trust–Why It’s Necessary, Signs We’re in Trouble

    JAN 13

    Ep. 26 Default to Trust–Why It’s Necessary, Signs We’re in Trouble

    Free and open societies rely on a default to trust–a baseline assumption that institutions, experts, and alliances operate largely as advertised. This is not blind faith; it is a functional necessity that allows society to scale and people to live their lives. In this episode, we argue that today’s disquiet is not driven by any single leader or policy–though those are also problematic–but by the erosion of systems designed to provide legitimacy, restraint, and predictability in a fast, low-authority information environment. The most dangerous consequence is not any one decision, but the second-order effect: a collapse of shared standards that forces individuals to validate everything themselves, which simply cannot work, or at the very least cannot work at speed. Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction to Understandable Insights 01:22 Sue's Basketball Excitement 03:50 Episode 26 Overview 06:43 HHS Vaccine Schedule Changes 15:24 Women in Combat Roles Review 18:44 Investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell 25:52 President's $1.5T Defense Budget Proposal 29:29 US Interests in Greenland 35:52 What We're Watching Listener's Guide: Understandable Insights Episode 26–podcast and Listener Guide Articles:  The Physical Weight of Trumpism About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    42 min
  5. Ep. 25: A Global Geopolitical Romp: Strategy, Scarcity, and a Question of Values

    JAN 6

    Ep. 25: A Global Geopolitical Romp: Strategy, Scarcity, and a Question of Values

    In this episode, Sue and Eric kick off the year with a look at geopolitical hotspots and assess that, in aggregate, US actions reveal the National Security Strategy for what it is—and isn’t. Assessing the Trump strategy as one of power, resources, and driven by their version of the “scarcity model”, they walk through recent actions in Venezuela, Iran, Syria, Nigeria, Israel, China/Taiwan, and Russia/Ukraine to show that despite the values-based rhetoric often used to justify US actions, the actions themselves belie that claim. Throughout their conversation they press beyond the event to articulate the precedent being set—good and bad—and what listeners might look for next to help them chart their own course through these turbulent times   And, there’s a new original song! Timestamps:  00:00 Welcome to Understandable Insights 05:50 Venezuela 12:33 Iran 15:48 Syria 19:30  Nigeria and Sahel  23:39 Israel-Gaza Conflict: Phase Two 28:13 China 33:24 Russia-Ukraine  39:01 What We're Watching  About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    44 min
  6. Ep. 24 Bonus Space: From Domain to Dependency

    JAN 2 · BONUS

    Ep. 24 Bonus Space: From Domain to Dependency

    In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss the future of space. Low Earth orbit is becoming a “house of cards,” where mega-constellations and frequent close passes shrink the margin for error and raise the risk of a cascading debris event. Space is shifting from a domain to a dependency, and we’re lagging on the policies, norms, and accountability needed to keep pace with capability. They also dig into what this means for NASA’s next chapter—less about a list of initiatives and more about defining “what lane NASA is in,” clarifying outcomes, and aligning the civil/commercial/national-security ecosystem around a coherent role.  Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction to Understandable Insights 01:24 Space Traffic Management 06:14 New NASA Administrator: Jared Isaacman 14:34 US Space Policy Executive Order 19:42 Rocket Labs, New Player in Space Defense 23:17 Dogfighting in Space: A New Era of Satellite Maneuvering  About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    29 min
  7. Ep. 24 The National Security Trump Card: Ukraine, Greenland, and Windmills

    12/30/2025

    Ep. 24 The National Security Trump Card: Ukraine, Greenland, and Windmills

    In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss Ukraine’s latest turn: President Zelensky takes his pitch for peace to Mar-a-Lago as Russia sustains heavy strikes. They unpack what would actually signal progress: whether battlefield activity slows in a way that suggests a real path to peace rather than leverage and messaging. Next, they move north to Greenland to draw a sharp distinction between owning terrain and achieving security outcomes, arguing that strategy is built through partnerships and priorities, not possession thinking. Finally, offshore wind becomes the latest case study in overusing “national security” as a trump card: less a physics problem than a governance one and an overused label to bypass transparency, shut down dialogue, and avoid explaining tradeoffs. They close with predictions for 2026, What We’re Watching, and a look ahead for Ui in the coming year.  Timestamps:  00:00 Introduction to Understandable Insights 00:49 New Year's Resolutions and Reflections 04:10 Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks 09:33 US-Greenland Relations 13:19 Offshore Wind Projects and National Security 18:07 Predictions for 2026 22:58 What We’re Watching 26:34 Understandable Insights 2026  About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    30 min
  8. Ep. 23 Bonus: You Can't Surge Trust in a Crisis

    12/26/2025 · BONUS

    Ep. 23 Bonus: You Can't Surge Trust in a Crisis

    In this special edition of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric examine public health policy as national security. Beginning with HHS’s termination of pediatric health grants, they map the downstream consequences of politicized funding: diminished institutional trust, fragmented preparedness, and greater vulnerability ahead of the next crisis. Questioning science isn’t the problem— questioning science is the nature of science.  Recorded on December 22, 2025, this segment originally appeared in the extended YouTube cut of Episode 23. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to Understandable Insights 01:20 Impact of mRNA Vaccine Research Cuts 01:43 Concerns Over Political Influence on Health Policies 03:31 Fragmentation of Public Health Policy Across States 06:04 Comparing US and Denmark's Vaccine Policies 07:35 Looking Ahead  About the show: Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon is the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week, Eric Koepp — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. Website and Feedback: Remember we’re here for you. Provide us feedback or suggest topics for next time: Feedback Send us a text Join us on Youtube, Instagram, and wherever you enjoy your podcasts. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow or subscribe today.

    9 min
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About

Welcome to “Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon” — the national security podcast that provides you an elemental understanding of the world as it is, not how you prefer it to be. Each week,  Eric — a former Marine, father, and entrepreneur — sits down with the Honorable Sue Gordon, the nation’s former top career intelligence officer. Together, they break down the headlines shaping our world and ask what they really mean for citizens, leaders, and institutions. From armed conflict to emerging tech, foreign interference to the resilience of democracy — this is where raw information becomes real intelligence. Unfiltered. Candid. Unapologetically clear. New episodes every Tuesday. Subscribe now.

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