CNA Talks: A National Security Podcast CNA

In this bonus episode of CNA Talks, we are bringing you the recording of CNA’s recent National Security Seminar, “Nuclear cooperation with strategic competitors,” which has held on March 21, 2023. The event featured panelists Timothy McDonnell and Rose Gottemoeller. McDonnell is the author of a recent CNA publication entitled, “Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management.” This report uses archival sources to examine three historical cases of great power nuclear cooperation, distilling lessons and insights for practitioners. During the event Dr. McDonnell shared his findings and then discussed them with Gottemoeller, a seasoned arms control practitioner, about its findings and implications. The event was moderated by CNA’s Mary Chesnut.
Rose Gottemoeller, Steven C. Házy Lecturer, Center for International Security and Cooperation, and Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; former Deputy Secretary General, NATO; former Under Secretary for Arms Control & International Security and chief US negotiator for the New START Treaty, US State Department
Timothy P. McDonnell, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Strategy and Policy Analysis Program, CNA. He is the author of the report, “Working with the Adversary: Great Power Cooperation and Nuclear Risk Management.”
Mary Chesnut, Research Analyst and nuclear weapons policy expert, Russia Studies Program, CNA
Further Reading
CNA- Working with the Adversary: Great Power Competetion and Nuclear Risk Management

The Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, in Panama City Florida, trains more than 1,200 military divers from across the services. These students are persuing certificates in everything from underwater construction to explosive ordnance disposal.  
In this episode, Neil Carey joins John Stimpson to discuss his research on the potential of extended reality technology (which includes virtual reality, augmented reality and mix/merged reality) as a tool for the training and assessment of these divers.
Resources
Dr. Neil Carey is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA’s Navy Human Resources Program. He is an expert in psychological measurement, cognitive psychology, and their applications to learning. 
CNA: The Promise and Pitfalls Of Extended Reality In Naval Training

In this episode, we examine a new regulation from the Department of Commerce aimed at limiting China’s access to semiconductors and microchips, the impact it is having on China and how U.S. partner nations are responding.
Guests 
April Herlevi is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. She is an expert in China's foreign economic policy, special economic zones, and economic statecraft. 
Christopher Cairns is a Research Scientist with CNA's Indo-Pacific Security Affairs program. He is an expert in China's economic statecraft and technology acquisition efforts and U.S. ally and partner issues in the Indo-Pacific. 
Links
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Intersections Issue 1: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-1
Intersections Issue 2: https://www.cna.org/our-media/newsletters/intersections/issue-2
 

Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the predominant foreign power in the Middle East, influencing the economic, political and security affairs of the region. But in recent years other great powers have begun to chip away at this power, carving out their own spheres of influence in the region.
In this episode, we explore the strategic objectives of China and Russia in the Middle East, the tools they are using to achieve them, and what this means for U.S. policymakers.
Guests
Michael Connell is an expert in Persian Gulf security-related issues, the armed forces of Iran, U.S.-GCC security cooperation, and adversary cyber policy and strategy.
Samuel Plapinger is an expert on strategic competition, irregular warfare, combat effectiveness, insurgency, terrorism, and Middle East security.
Links
Report: China’s Presence in the Middle East and Western Indian Ocean
Podcast: Putin, Raisi and Their Common Enemy

This episode originally aired on CIMSEC's Sea Control Podcast. Special thanks to their team for allowing up to rebroadcast this episode. 

Dr. Joshua Tallis joins the program to discuss the evolution of NATO's maritime command and control and the future for the Standing Naval Force. Dr. Tallis is a naval analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses, where he is a senior research scientist in the Operations Evaluation Group. He has embedded as an analyst with Carrier Strike Group Eight and most recently with U.S. Sixth Fleet. This episode was edited and produced by Nathan Miller.

EPISODE NOTES Links
1. "NATO’s Maritime Vigilance: Optimizing the Standing Naval Force for the Future," by Dr. Joshua Tallis, War on the Rocks, December 15, 2022.

What do search engine optimization, airline schedules and standardized testing have in common? They are all vulnerable to Goodhart’s law, the idea that when a metric becomes a target it ceases to be a good metric.  
In this episode Michael Stumborg and Timothy Blasius join John to discuss their report, “Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis.”
 
Michael Stumborg is a Principal Research Scientist with CNA’s ​Strike and Air Warfare Program.
Timothy Blasius is a Senior Research Scientist with CNA’s Strike and Air Warfare Program.

CNA: Goodhart’s Law: Recognizing and Mitigating the Manipulation of Measures in Analysis

Army War College: Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession