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David Priess

@davidpriess.bsky.social

1191 followers 79 following 150 posts

Former CIA & State Dept. Now Director of Intelligence, Bedrock Knowledge; Senior Fellow, Hayden Ctr for Intelligence; co-host Chatter podcast. Wrote The President’s Book of Secrets & How To Get Rid of a President. Duke polisci (IR) PhD. Still learning.

David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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New on the Chatter podcast: The wonderful Kathy Peiss joined me to talk about the nexus between America's early intelligence efforts and librarians, which spurred extraordinary efforts to gather materials in Europe during the Second World War.

open.spotify.com/episode/27sg...

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Lawfare's avatar Lawfare @lawfare.bsky.social
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On this week's Chatter, @shaneharris.bsky.social spoke to Katherine Mangu-Ward about the libertarian view on war and diplomacy, how it approaches the question of nation-state conflicts, and the differences between libertarianism and the Libertarian Party.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Not yet. But he was very good. Best narration yet: Cary Elwes reading Carl Sagan’s The Demon-Haunted World 🎯

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Just finished this exceptional audiobook— The Showman: The Inside Story of the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Zelensky, written by Simon Shuster and narrated by Daniel Gamburg. Highly recommended.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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These probes and provocations need to stop. That said, if it comes to conflict, my money is on the F-18s and their Finnish pilots over any and all Russian aircraft and pilots. Hands down. And when Finland in a few years fully incorporates its 64 new F-35s … hoo boy

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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New on the Chatter podcast:

My deep conversation with the great Paul Sparrow about how the 1940-41 war of words between FDR and Charles Lindbergh deepens our understanding of the American experience before WW2—and foreshadows some of today’s political fault lines.
open.spotify.com/episode/4JSt...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Thrilled to share with you my conversation with the amazing Anaïs Maurer all about the legacy of colonial powers' nuclear detonations in Oceania, critical threats from climate change, the stories Oceania’s people tell about their experiences, and more.

open.spotify.com/episode/5MkY...

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Ulrike Franke's avatar Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social
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Nothing encapsulates how our view of drones has changed over the last years as well as the fact that they find it preferable to call this a “drone wall” rather than just speak of better border defences.

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Bill Capehart's avatar Bill Capehart @billcapehart.bsky.social
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An interesting and challenging interview with journalist Gaia Vince (@wanderinggaia.bsky.social) on what happens when folks can no longer adapt to your changing homestead.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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I had an enriching and enlightening chat with the great @wanderinggaia.bksy.social about climate change-driven mass migration, perceptions of borders across time, myths about migrants and jobs and wages, and much more.

And you can hear it now on the Chatter podcast:
open.spotify.com/episode/7E5B...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Two of my favorite people—Shane Harris and Vince Houghton—together. On the Chatter podcast.

Talking about Miami, CIA, Cuba, Castro, Contras, and more.

It’s an amazing episode:

open.spotify.com/episode/3dBG...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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It’s only a matter of time before Russian GPS jamming kills someone in the Baltic region.

NATO may not think it’s at war with Russia—but Russia is acting like it is at war with NATO.

news.err.ee/1609325847/f...

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Lawfare's avatar Lawfare @lawfare.bsky.social
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In this week's Chatter, Matthew Gluck talked to David Sanger about his new book, “New Cold Wars,” in which Sanger argues that the U.S. has entered two new military, technological, and economic conflicts with Russia and China, how the U.S. is seeking to navigate this new era, and more.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Published today, from my friend Elizabeth Neumann: Kingdom of Rage!

It’s her effort to raise awareness of the threat of homegrown radicalization, to help people disengage from extremism, and to equip readers with practical ways to begin healing.
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/eliza...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Fabrics were crucial for outfitting armies and making warships' sails. Textile merchants led to modern political economy.
Counterespionage surrounded Chinese silk production for 1000 years.

All this and more in my long discussion with Virginia Postrel on Chatter!
open.spotify.com/episode/1h10...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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A few more decades, and you’ll be ready for this one called M*A*S*H.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Now that you’re thinking a bit more about things lunar, listen to my extended Chatter conversation with Rebecca Boyle all about the Moon—and how its tidal effects have influenced history and military affairs:
open.spotify.com/episode/7fMO...

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B. A. Friedman's avatar B. A. Friedman @bafriedman.bsky.social
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So it’s just The Manual of Style now?

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Ollie is not amused by earthquakes on the east coast.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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I’m excited that Rebecca Lewis has joined Bedrock Learning to help me manage its intelligence wing! Her intel work at CIA, Stratfor/RANE, and Walmart have given her a rich mix of analytic tradecraft mastery and managerial skill that fits Bedrock’s mission perfectly. Onward!

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Some days have too much news to reasonably process

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Lawfare's avatar Lawfare @lawfare.bsky.social
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On this week's Chatter, @shaneharris.bsky.social spoke to @resobscura.bsky.social about his new book, Tripping on Utopia, on how Margaret Mead launched a movement to expand human consciousness, a story that includes the WWII-era OSS, a shady cast of CIA agents, & the pioneers of the Information Age.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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I am beyond thrilled to finally have the one-in-a-million Jonna Mendez on the Chatter podcast for a long conversation about spy disguises and the ups and downs of her career.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts:
open.spotify.com/episode/2PEP...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Speculation is growing about what will happen this year to the tradition of offering classified intelligence briefings to major party presidential candidates.

And a lot of what’s being said is wrong or incomplete.

Here’s my snapshot of the tradition (from 2020):
www.thebulwark.com/are-the-pres...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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There’s certainly not always logic in our application of geographical terms.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Today I learned that Vardø, the easternmost municipality in Norway, lies farther EAST than St. Petersburg, Russia, and Kyiv, Ukraine.

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Sad but important article on the profound impact climate change is having on the Sápmi homeland of the Sami people and, as a consequence, on their language’s vocabulary.

www.bbc.com/future/artic...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Q: What do these have in common?

The Moon. Tides. Anaxagoras. Julius Caesar. Kepler. Galileo. Jules Verne. The Battle of Tarawa. The Cold War space race. Fantasia.

A: All of it comes up in this extended Chatter episode with the incredible Rebecca Boyle:
open.spotify.com/episode/7fMO...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Was given this nursery rhymes book and I have … concerns

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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On this Presidents’ Day, I’ll share favorite excerpts from my book THE PRESIDENT’S BOOK OF SECRETS—

The first stars Gerald Ford and his dog, Liberty; the second features Bill Clinton and a CIA prank:

Read other stories like these in the book:
tinyurl.com/3bzaxxz3

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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New event at the Hayden Center just announced for next Tuesday night, details and registration coming soon:

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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Congratulations to the people of Finland and to new PM Alexander Stubb, who kindly joined me in 2022 for this podcast episode to discuss his experiences with Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, Russian aggressions across 15 years, and Finland's place in NATO:

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

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David Priess's avatar David Priess @davidpriess.bsky.social
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I learned a lot from the brilliant sociologist Kristin Surak about global mobility for the wealthy, the complex system around it, issues of equity and ethics, and so much more related to citizenship by investment.

Listen to our discussion on Chatter here:
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

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