At the Water's Edge cover art

At the Water's Edge

At the Water's Edge

By: WRKdefined Podcast Network
Listen for free

Season's Savings | $0.99/mo for 3 months

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo. after 3 months - terms apply.
The At the Water’s Edge Podcast explores national security and geopolitics from an insider’s perspective, looking at how national power, industrial policy, diplomacy, and military might shape our world and America’s place in it.All rights reserved by WRKdefined Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • The Truth About Veteran Support Systems and How to Fix Them

    The Truth About Veteran Support Systems and How to Fix Them
    Oct 4 2026
    Veterans die by suicide at a rate 72% higher than their civilian peers, and women veterans at a rate 101% higher. Lyndsay Tkach, Wounded Warrior Project's Director of Mental and Brain Health Services, has spent twelve years working on that problem. In the series finale, she explains why she calls suicide "a human issue" rather than only a medical one, and what it would take to reach veterans at scale before a crisis hits. This conversation covers the risk factors that sit outside the therapist's office (financial distress, chronic pain, sleep problems, broken relationships), the difference between risk factors and warning signs, and how WWP screens every warrior who comes in through its financial, physical, and mental health programs. It also takes on a hard question: how do you screen a community that learned to lie on every health survey? Along the way, Lyndsay shares that one in four WWP warriors surveyed reported suicidal thoughts in the past year, why connection may be the most underused intervention, and why families need support too. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or reach the Veterans Crisis Line at 988, press 1. This is Episode 5, the finale, of Still Here, a five-part series produced in partnership with Wounded Warrior Project for Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Catch up with Episodes 1–4 (Zach, Lindsey, Sam, and Joe) if you haven't yet. Chapters: 0:00 Cold open: the final chapter of Still Here 0:40 Welcome, and introducing Lyndsay 1:12 How big is veteran suicide? The numbers behind the "22 a day" debate 2:47 "Suicide is a human issue," not just a medical one 4:06 Why veterans are at higher risk: losing structure and purpose in transition 5:56 The gaps in how veterans get help 8:18 Beyond therapy: non-clinical help and the four protective factors 10:32 Risk factors vs. warning signs 12:04 Screening before a crisis happens 13:33 No magic list: how WWP's triage program works 15:48 Who gets screened, and the one-in-four finding 17:06 "We all lied on every health survey": screening when people don't tell the truth 20:08 Does it matter whether a human or a form asks? 21:52 System gaps vs. veterans not asking for help 23:48 Where is the biggest room for improvement? Connection 26:05 Where to start: resources for veterans and families 27:35 Families, and the 135 people affected by a single suicide Learn more about Wounded Warrior Project: woundedwarriorproject.org
    Show More Show Less
    29 mins
  • Is Iran's War Spreading? Three Incidents, One Dangerous Pattern

    Is Iran's War Spreading? Three Incidents, One Dangerous Pattern
    Oct 2 2026
    Masked men with vans full of fuel outside the British base that launched B-52s against Iran. A FlyDubai co-pilot stabbing his captain on a flight to Tel Aviv. A drone knocking out power to the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. Three incidents in one week, as Iran's 45-day deadline on the U.S. blockade expires and a third American carrier heads for the region. Is Iran launching a terror campaign? I don't think so. If Iran is behind these incidents, it looks less like an offensive and more like a regime testing three different escalation paths, all before U.S. combat power peaks in late November. In this solo brief, I walk through each incident the way I'd brief a commander: what we know, what we don't, the competing explanations, and my confidence level. Then I cover where this fits on Iran's escalation ladder and the indicators to watch over the next six weeks. Chapters: 00:00 Is Iran escalating through terror? 02:47 Bottom line up front 03:41 Incident 1: RAF Fairford 08:44 Incident 2: The FlyDubai cockpit attack 12:49 Why this doesn't fit the pilot-suicide pattern 18:31 Incident 3: The Medina grid strike 21:30 Why now? The November window 23:54 What to watch next Mentioned in this episode: Gray zone operations with F. David Diaz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-RUmBaqkTQ&t=33s Robert Pape on the Escalation Trap: https://www.youtube.com/@AttheWatersEdge-r5e/playlists Watch the full video version, with maps and the flight data, on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlp8SIKfNIY Members of The Briefing Room on YouTube get a companion video on state use of suicide terrorism: who becomes a suicide attacker, why states have used them, and why most stopped. https://www.youtube.com/@AttheWatersEdge-r5e/membership Substack: https://substack.com/@scottatthewatersedgeorg
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
  • Trump needs a "LAST CHAPTER" in Iran | Trita Parsi

    Trump needs a "LAST CHAPTER" in Iran | Trita Parsi
    Sep 29 2026
    Trita Parsi argues Trump is looking for a "last chapter" in Iran, an ending that makes the whole war look worth it, and that diplomacy won't give him one. Iran's president flew to New York in the middle of a war to put a deal on the table, and Trump rejected it within days. Trita Parsi, co-founder and executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, joins At the Water's Edge to explain what Iran was really offering and why both sides may be heading toward a third round of war. We discuss why Iran's UNGA proposal mirrors the collapsed MOU, and why sanctions can hurt Iran without changing its policy. Parsi puts the odds of major U.S. escalation after the midterms at 70–80%, and explains why Iran may try to strike first. We also get into what a Democratic Congress could mean for the war and for Secretary Hegseth, and his argument that Europe is already a party to the conflict. On China, he covers Chinese commercial satellite imagery, China's role in holding down oil prices, and the soaring cost of escorting tankers through the Gulf. We close on why Tehran won't make irreversible nuclear concessions to a president it doesn't trust. Chapters: 00:00 Iran's president comes to New York 00:43 Iran's new offer and the MOU 03:16 Are sanctions actually working? 05:52 Has Washington learned anything? 08:10 The odds of U.S. escalation 09:41 What if Democrats win the midterms? 12:03 Why Iran wants a deal before the midterms 14:08 Real offer or message to the world? 16:25 Is Europe already in this war? 20:31 Will China or Russia get involved? 26:06 Could Iran overplay its hand? 28:44 Where to find Trita Parsi Guest: Trita Parsi, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft quincyinst.org tritaparsi.substack.com X: @tparsi Watch the full video on YouTube: At the Water's Edge Subscribe on Substack: substack.com/@scottatthewatersedgeorg At the Water's Edge is a national security and geopolitics podcast hosted by Scott Kelly, a former Green Beret and one of the last ground force commanders in Afghanistan. Views expressed by guests are their own.
    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.