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
17 episodes
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
Ep. 07 IC Integrity, Intel Equity & Ukraine’s Stolen Children
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric highlight the national security issues of intelligence community downsizing, state equity in critical chips, and the return of Ukraine’s abducted children. Along the way, they ex...
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Episode 7
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53:58
Ep. 06 Precision Influence, Precision Maps: Trump–Putin Theater, China’s AI Ops, & Texas Resistance
In this episode, Sue and Eric tackle three issues with profound implications for our republic and, ultimately, for our geopolitical standing: the open question of how the US sees its responsibility to Ukraine and its prior commitments; the comm...
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48:44
Ep. 05: Splashy Action, Long Term Effect
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric jump into two Administration announcements—the GENUIS Act, the Nation’s first cryptocurrency policy focusing on stable coins; the second the elimination of more than $500M in mRN...
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Episode 5
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46:55
Ep. 04 Bonus: China’s Commercial Space Collision Course
In this bonus episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric delve into the rapid expansion of China's commercial space industry and its implications for U.S. dominance in low Earth orbit. They discuss the need for responsible use of space, t...
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15:42
Ep. 04 Threats abroad AND at home
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss the geopolitical threats that intersect America’s interests, continue to focus on the intersection of China, cyber, and AI, this time with a more human dimension, and finish up wi...
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44:56
Ep. 03 Bonus: China Fills the Soft Power Vacuum
In this bonus episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric discuss China's increasing influence within multilateral organizations like the United Nations through strategic funding, staffing, and diplomatic coalitions. Amidst U.S. retrenchme...
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12:38
Ep. 03 Algorithms and AI Action Plans
In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric dive into a couple headlines shaping our world, specifically two announcements that could have profound effect on US technology strategy–the outstanding question is to what strategic effe...
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Episode 2
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46:24
Ep. 02 How does change happen?
Episode Summary: In this episode of Understandable Insights, Sue and Eric unpack the ODNI’s renewed allegations of an Obama administration conspiracy during the 2016 election and what to make of the recently released...
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52:30