As tensions with Iran persist, the issue of wrongful detention remains a critical but often overlooked national security concern. This week, Elisa sits down with Kieran Ramsey, former Director of the FBI’s Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell and current Chief Investigative Officer at Global Reach, to examine how countries like Iran use arbitrary detention—and how these cases are tracked and challenged on the global stage. The episode also includes audio from our recent luncheon with journalist Jason Rezaian, who recounts his 544 days of detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison and reflects on how his experience intersects with law, diplomacy, and the human cost of these high-stakes cases.

Kieran Ramsey is Chief Investigative Officer at Global Reach, a private company that deals with individuals wrongfully held or taken hostage around the world.

References:

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

E.O. 14248, Strengthening Efforts to Protect U.S. Nationals from Wrongful Detention Abroad

Rezaian, Jason. Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison. HarperCollins, 2019

Four years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the war has become a slow-moving conflict defined by massive losses and limited gains on the battlefield. This week, Elisa sits down with Seth Jones, President of the Defense and Security Department and Harold Brown Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to discuss findings from his latest report, Russia’s Grinding War: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains for a Declining Power. Together they examine Russia’s staggering casualty numbers, the slow pace of its advance, and what these trends reveal about Russia’s long-term economic and geopolitical trajectory.

Seth Jones is President of the Defense and Security Department and Harold Brown Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

References:

• Report: Jones, Seth G., and Riley McCabe. Russia’s Grinding War in Ukraine: Massive Losses and Tiny Gains for a Declining Power. Center for Strategic and International Studies, 27 Jan. 2026.
• VideoCast: Are Russia and Ukraine Headed to 2 Million Casualties? CSIS. Jan. 30 2026
• Stanford University's Global AI Vibrancy Tool
• The Warsaw Pact, 1955

A standoff between the Pentagon and one of the world’s leading AI companies is raising new questions about the limits of government authority. This week, Elisa sits down with Alan Rozenshtein, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and Research Director at Lawfare, to unpack the dispute between the Department of War and Anthropic over the use of advanced AI tools. Together, they explore whether existing law can compel technology companies to cooperate with national security demands and what the Defense Production Act might mean in the age of artificial intelligence.

Alan Rozenshteinis an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota and Research Director at Lawfare

References:

• Endrias, Michael, and Alan Z. Rozenshtein. “Pentagon’s Anthropic Designation Won’t Survive First Contact with Legal System.” Lawfare, 2 Mar. 2026.
• The Defense Production Act
• DoD Directive 3000.09, “Autonomy in Weapon Systems,” November 21, 2012
• E.O. 14365, "Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence"
• 10 US Code 3252
• IEEPA
• NSLT, Ep. 392, "Empire AI: OpenAI’s Rise and the Race for Global Power with Karen Hao"
• NSLT, Ep. 399, "Crash, Bailout, or Breakthrough? The Future of America’s AI Bet"