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Threat Status Podcast

Threat Status Podcast

An edgy and informative look at the biggest U.S. national security and geopolitical issues making headlines right now. Less about hot takes and more about depth, the Threat Status podcast is helmed by veteran Washington Times journalists Ben Wolfgang and Guy Taylor and features regular appearances by insiders with expertise on war, politics and global affairs.

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Recent Podcasts

Ben is joined by Washington Times Correspondent John T. Seward to discuss the proposed "Golden Fleet" of battleships, the Pentagon's $1 billion stake in a solid rocket motor manufacturer, and whether the U.S. will launch new military strikes on Iran.

LISTEN: When will Trump's Golden Fleet actually sail?

Steve Pykett, the CEO of Fairbanks Morse, joins the show from the floor of the Surface Navy Association's annual symposium to talk about America's naval edge and the importance of breaking supply chain reliance on China.

Artist’s illustration of Rocket Lab’s spacecraft for the U.S. Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space mission, VICTUS HAZE. Credit: Rocket Lab

LISTEN: When will the Space Force station humans in orbit?

Bill Woolf, the president and founder of the Space Force Association, joins the show to talk about the future of the U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon's relationship with commercial satellites, and how soon the Space Force will station humans in orbit.

AI is supercharging cyber threats, and companies and individuals can protect themselves in the age of artificial intelligence. File photo credit: Yau Ming Low via Shutterstock.

LISTEN: How AI is supercharging cyber threats

Elad Schulman, CEO and co-founder of the company Lasso Security, joins the show to talk about how AI is supercharging cyber threats and how companies and individuals can protect themselves in the age of artificial intelligence.

United States Space Force Department of the Air Force coat of arms as pin on black uniform jacket close up. KYIV, UKRAINE - JUNE 26, 2024 File photo credit: Mehaniq via Shutterstock.

LISTEN: Inside the future of the U.S. Space Force

John Bentivegna, the chief master sergeant of the U.S. Space Force, joins the show to talk about the future of the Space Force, the weaponization of space, and how America and its allies can work together in space.

Is China dominating the AI race? File photo credit: DC Studio via Shutterstock.

LISTEN: Is China dominating the AI race?

Booz Allen Hamilton President and CEO Horacio Rozanski joins the show from the 2025 Reagan National Defense Forum for an exclusive interview on U.S.-China competition for AI dominance and a range of other advanced-tech issues intersecting with national security.

This photo combination shows Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, left, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dec. 9, 2024 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

LISTEN: Inside Ukraine's major corruption scandal

Washington Times Correspondent Guillaume Ptak joins the show from Ukraine to discuss the country's ongoing negotiations with the U.S. and the major corruption scandal gripping President Zelenskyy's government.

A mushroom cloud rises from a test blast at the Nevada Test Site on June 24, 1957. (U.S. Energy Department via AP, File)

LISTEN: A new era of great power nuclear weapons tests

Bill Wright, the head of global government affairs at the company Elastic, joins the show to talk about cyber threats facing America and how vital it is for private companies to share threat information with the federal government.

President Trump said Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, that the U.S. military had carried out its third fatal strike against an alleged drug smuggling vessel this month. Trump said in a social media post that the strike killed three and was carried out against a vessel “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility.” Since then, the U.S. military has issued more strikes. (Screen grab of Truth Social video) ** FILE **

LISTEN: Are Trump's drug boat strikes legal?

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charlie Dunlap, executive director of the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security at Duke University Law School, joins the show to talk about the legal questions swirling around the Trump administration's targeting of alleged drug boats.

NATO foreign ministers attend a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in foreign ministers format at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

LISTEN: Inside NATO's planning for future war

French Adm. Pierre Vandier, the head of NATO's Allied Command Transformation, joins the show to discuss the alliance's preparations for future conflict, the role of human beings in 21st-century battles, and much more.

An oil tanker is moored at the Sheskharis complex, part of Chernomortransneft JSC, a subsidiary of Transneft PJSC, in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Oct. 11, 2022, one of the largest facilities for oil and petroleum products in southern Russia. (AP Photo, File)

LISTEN: Why it's so hard to go after Russia's oil revenue

Emily Kilcrease, senior fellow and director of the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, joins the show to talk about secondary tariffs on Russia's oil sector and why it's so difficult -- and geopolitically complex -- for the U.S. to target Russian energy revenue.

The Pentagon is viewed from the window of an airplane Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

LISTEN: Is the Pentagon too focused on drones?

Retired Air Force Gen. David Deptula, dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, joins the show to talk about the future of American air power, whether the Pentagon is focused too heavily on drones, and why the Space Force needs a bigger budget.

House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, presides over a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing "An Assessment of the State Departments Withdrawal from Afghanistan by Americas Top Diplomat," on Capitol Hill, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

LISTEN: How drones could threaten World Cup, Olympics

Rep. Michael McCaul, chair of the House Task Force on Enhancing Security for Special Events in the United States, joins the show to talk about potential terrorist threats to the World Cup, Olympics and other major events.

How will the U.S. manage space traffic? File photo credit: Pingingz via Shutterstock

LISTEN: How will the U.S. manage space traffic?

Audrey Schaffer, a space policy expert and the vice president of strategy and policy at Slingshot Aerospace, joins the show to talk about the growing amount of space traffic and whether the federal government should establish a department of space.

Here's why the Army wants to 3D print drones. File photo credit: MarinaGrigorivna via Shutterstock.

LISTEN: Here's why the Army wants to 3D print drones

Lt. Gen. Chris Mohan, deputy commanding general and acting commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command, joins the show to talk about the 3D printing of drones and how the Pentagon is rethinking the way it moves materiel and personnel around the world.

Chinese navy troops attending a joint naval drill with Iran and Russia stand on the deck of their warship in an official arrival ceremony at Shahid Beheshti port in Chabahar in the Gulf of Oman, Iran, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

LISTEN: Are Chinese troops fighting in Ukraine?

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Neil Thurgood joins the show to talk about the rapid pace of growth in military technology, whether soldiers trust that technology, and how it's changing military tactics and strategy.

How dangerous is superintelligent AI? File photo credit: Anggalih Prasetya via Shutterstock.

LISTEN: How dangerous is superintelligent AI?

Dan Hendrycks, director of the Center for AI Safety, joins the show to talk about superintelligent AI, its internal value systems, and its potential ramifications for U.S. national security.