Manhunt to Mindshift: Fmr. CIA Analyst Gina Bennett on Hunter-Gatherer National Security and Evolutionary Power

In this episode of The Burn Bag, A’ndre sits down with retired CIA analyst Gina Bennett, who famously authored the first classified warning about Osama bin Laden in 1993. A key voice in the fight against al-Qaeda — and featured in the Netflix documentary Manhunt — Gina reflects on her decades in intelligence and how the U.S. national security system has long understood the nature of threats.

Now, she’s pushing for a paradigm shift with her Hunter-Gatherer National Security theory — a bold framework that challenges the traditional, militarized view of power and argues that skills like emotional intelligence, civic engagement, and social cohesion are just as vital to national security as military might. Together, A’ndre and Gina explore the deep historical biases embedded in how we define “security,” the concept of evolutionary power, the dangers of neglecting civic education in a democracy, and what a more holistic, evolved security strategy could look like.