Understandable Insights: Information to Intelligence with Sue Gordon
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.
Episodes
35 episodes
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 exam...
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49:17
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 enforceme...
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Episode 28
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55:51
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 ...
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44:21
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 l...
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Episode 26
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42:16
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, r...
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Episode 25
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43:53
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...
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Episode 24
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29:03
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: wheth...
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Episode 24
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29:37
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 fundin...
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Episode 23
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8:47
Ep. 23 Ukraine, the NDAA, and Fusion Hype — and Why We Track Santa
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric start with Europe’s move to fund Ukraine through 2026–2027 and unpack what that signals (and what it doesn’t): real staying power, internal fractures, the role of Russian propaga...
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Episode 23
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41:19
Ep. 22 Transparency by Design: DOE’s Genesis Mission, H200 Exports, & Australia’s Under-16 Test
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric track Transparency by Design; how you build trust in national security by setting clear outcomes instead of picking winners. They start with DOE’s Genesis Mission, a national pus...
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Episode 22
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54:33
Ep. 21 Dominance Playbook: National Security Strategy, Undersea Competition, & Golden Dome Limits
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric crack open the 2025 National Security Strategy. They start by explaining what a National Security Strategy is supposed to do—define outcomes, not micromanage actions—and what it ...
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Episode 21
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59:29
Ep 20 Bonus: Retribution Politics: When Dissent Becomes Dangerous
In this special edition of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric explore the troubling rise of retribution politics in America. Prompted by a Reuters investigation into over 470 individuals and institutions allegedly targeted by the Tr...
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Episode 20
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6:27
Ep. 20 Trust and Consequences: Afghan Allies, Back-Channels, and Nursing Pros
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric look at the price of trust—starting with an Afghan ally accused of murdering a West Virginia National Guard member near the White House and the administration’s response: freezin...
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Episode 20
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48:50
Ep. 19 Substitution or Sovereignty? China’s Capital, Nuclear Loans, & State vs. Federal Power
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric trace how seemingly ordinary deals can reshape American security, starting with a Chinese-linked insurance acquisition that offers a window into the “holy grail” of intelligence—...
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Episode 19
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57:54
Ep. 18 Leaky Systems: Agentic AI Hack, Dams and Drought, & States Stepping Up
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric break down a new milestone in AI operations: an agentic hack using Claude that orchestrates tools together. They explain what’s actually new about the attack, why intent plus AI ...
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Episode 18
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49:48
Ep. 17 Steppe Signals: Kazakhstan’s Uranium, Europe’s First-Mover Standards, & AI Bubble Watch
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss U.S. global influence on display as a C5+1 White House celebration, a former al-Qaeda–linked Syrian leader visits, and the State Department expresses irritation as the EU...
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Episode 17
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45:46
Ep. 16 Critical Mass: Nuclear Testing, Power for the AI Era, and the Civic Moves That Matter
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss the significance of local elections around the country. They delve into the U.S. government’s approach to decommissioned nuclear warheads, current discussions about...
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Episode 16
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41:04
Ep. 15 Speed Is the Advantage: Army Acquisitions, the Asia Trip, & Argentina ROI
We’re back! In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric put speed at the center of national power—why getting tech from contract to combat faster is the 2025 advantage, how to measure success in Ukraine beyond headlines, a...
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Episode 15
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45:19
Ep. 14 Quantum Is Closing In, Data Everywhere, & Peace in Sight
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric put quantum computing on the table—what quantum computers are, why “harvest-now, decrypt-later” raises the stakes for your data, and what a post-quantum cryptography (PQC) world ...
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Episode 14
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49:53
Ep. 13 The War Department’s Misfire
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric unpack Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s fiery Quantico address—why it was a tactical speech to a strategic audience, how it missed the mission, and what its message signals for wo...
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Episode 13
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50:48
Ep. 12 Shutdowns Aren’t a Light Switch: SIM Farms, Justice by Process, and Meeting Turkey’s Ur-Fascism
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss President Erdoğan’s visit to the White House and analyze Turkey, a necessary NATO ally, through Umberto Eco’s ‘ur-fascism’ lens. They examine the SIM farm operating near ...
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Episode 12
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46:05
Ep. 11 Digital Assets 101: Stablecoins to Sovereign Wealth — with Hon. Shannon Corless
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric sit down with Hon. Shannon Corless, former Assistant Secretary for Treasury’s Office of Intelligence & Analysis, to map how finance, technology, and national security now operate as o...
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1:08:31
Ep. 10: Ghost Shark AI, Police-State Tech, and the Leadership Gap
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric dive into autonomous defense at sea, surveillance tech exported by U.S. firms, and the leadership needed when crises hit. After a quick scan of the geopolitical hotspots.
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Episode 10
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53:38
Ep. 09 Congressional Oversight Limited, Caribbean Motives, & City Security
Congressional oversight under pressure. Stablecoins meet statecraft. Caribbean motives, city security, and the homefront of national resilience.In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric draw a through-line on over...
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Episode 9
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51:55
Ep. 08 Cyber to Cornfields: Community and Trust in the Heartland
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric connect three fronts of resilience: cybersecurity on the home front, the governance of biometrics, and the future of American agriculture. They unpack the reduced capacity of coo...
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Episode 8
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47:46