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Sources & Methods

Sources & Methods

By: NPR
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 National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. With decades of reporting from battlefields and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home. Additional episodes feature interviews with power players from the NatSec world -- current and former military officials, intelligence experts, diplomatic leaders, and more.


Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org.


NPR+ supporters hear every episode sponsor-free and can access our complete archive. Learn more and support public media at plus.npr.org.Copyright 2025-2025 NPR - For Personal Use Only Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in hot water – again

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in hot water – again
    Dec 4 2025

    Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth was already facing questions for his role in the September 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean. Then on Thursday, a Pentagon report dropped that says he risked a United States bombing mission in Yemen when he shared classified plans on Signal.

    Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman and national security correspondent Quil Lawrence about the controversies Hegseth keeps finding himself in.

    Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org

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    25 mins
  • MAGA and 'The Mission' of the intelligence community

    MAGA and 'The Mission' of the intelligence community
    Nov 24 2025
    Ideology is the enemy of intelligence, says Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Tim Weiner. His recent book, a history of the modern CIA, is called The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century. A version of this interview previously aired on NPR's All Things Considered.

    We're off the rest of the week and back with a regular Thursday episode on December 4.

    Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org

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    15 mins
  • Trump and MBS: Who's wooing whom?

    Trump and MBS: Who's wooing whom?
    Nov 20 2025

    Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has positioned himself as a global power broker with money to invest. President Trump considers him an ally. How have the U.S.-Saudi ties deepened under Trump?



    Guest host Sacha Pfeiffer speaks with national security correspondent Greg Myre and international correspondent Aya Batrawy about Prince Mohammed's return to Washington, and the U.S. plan for an international security team to enter, demilitarize and govern Gaza.


    Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org

    NPR+ supporters hear every episode without sponsor messages and unlock access to our complete archive. Sign up at plus.npr.org.

    Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
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