Sources & Methods

Sources & Methods

National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. With decades of reporting from battlefields and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home. Additional episodes feature interviews with power players from the NatSec world -- current and former military officials, intelligence experts, diplomatic leaders, and more. Email the show at sourcesandmethods@npr.org. NPR+ supporters hear every episode sponsor-free and can access our complete archive. Learn more and support public media at plus.npr.org.

Episodes

July 2, 2026 31 mins
Four years in and Ukraine is still giving Russia a run for its money. Four months in and Iran shows no sign of bowing to U.S. demands. 

What do Russia’s fight with Ukraine and the U.S. war with Iran tell us about the limits of military might?


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's Ukraine Correspondent Joanna Kakissis about the overnight attack in Kyiv, which comes on the heels of Ukraine's drone assa...
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This September marks 25 years since terrorists hijacked planes and steered them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. They steered a third plane into the Pentagon. A fourth was headed for the U.S. Capitol, but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers overpowered their attackers.

In the days — and years — that followed America’s leaders walked a fine and sometimes blurry ...
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Another British prime minister is on his way out the door. That's six in 10 years. Now, the UK is once again looking for a new leader. Will that mean yet another reset of the “special relationship” with the United States?


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's London Correspondent Lauren Frayer and Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman about Prime Minister Keir Starmer's successor, whether Britain is ungovernab...
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The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war.


The agreement extends the existing ceasefire, reopens the Strait of Hormuz, and opens negotiations for a finalpeace deal.

Host Mary Louise Kelly gathers three NPR correspondents who are covering the region – Greg Myre in Tel Aviv, Jane Arraf in Beirut and Aya Batrawy in Cairo – to understand what's next and who has emerged as the wi...
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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is blocking some promotions at the Pentagon, and a “summer surge” of National Guard troops heads to Washington.


Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR Pentagon Correspondent Tom Bowman and NPR reporter Kat Lonsdorf about the purges at the Pentagon, and why there are still National Guard troops deployed in some Democratic-run cities. Plus, a drone rescue in the Middle E...
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August 25, 2025 1 min
National security, unlocked. Each Thursday, host Mary Louise Kelly and a team of NPR correspondents discuss the biggest national security news of the week. 


With decades of reporting from battlefields and the halls of power, they bring you inside the Pentagon, State Department, and intelligence community to help you understand America's shifting role in the world, and how events in faraway places matter here at home...
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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