The Steady State Sentinel

The Steady State Sentinel

di The Steady State
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You Don’t Set Quotas for Law Enforcement Because Bad Things Are Going to Happen

A sheriff, a former immigration official, and an immigration policy director examine what happens when aggressive immigration enforcement collides with policing, constitutional rights, and community trust. In the third installment of The Steady State Sentinel’s series on immigration, hosts Peter Mina and Lauren Anderson examine what happens when immigration enforcement collides with the Constitution, public safety, civil rights, and community trust. They are joined by Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce, former ICE Chief Counsel Paul Hunker, and American Immigration Council Policy Director Nayna Gupta, who share perspectives from local law enforcement, federal immigration practice, and immigrant advocacy. Their conversation explores enforcement quotas, prosecutorial and law-enforcement discretion, the detention of legal immigrants, longtime community members, third-country removals, and the growing challenge of maintaining public confidence in law enforcement. The discussion goes beyond the immediate controversies to ask what a credible immigration enforcement system could look like. The guests examine the relationship between constitutional rights and effective policing, the long-term consequences when immigrant communities become reluctant to engage with law enforcement, and proposals built around compliance, safety, proportionality, and accountability.
S1 · E46
29 set 2026
52:35

143 Day incarceration : A Lawful Permanent Resident, a Bad $25 Check, and the Cost of America's Immigration System

A legal-status hospice care provider detained for 143 days tells her story — the conditions inside, the demand for obscure "magical paperwork," and why she and her husband are now fighting to change the law. Hosts Lauren Anderson and Peter Mina sit down with Donna Hughes-Brown, a British-born lawful permanent resident who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years, and her husband Jim Brown, a Navy corpsman who served 20 years including Desert Storm. In July 2025, returning from Ireland through Chicago O'Hare, Donna was detained by CBP — requesting she show "some magical paperwork" — and would spend the next 143 days in immigration detention. Her offense: a bad $25 check written to a grocery store in 2012 that had already been adjudicated and was only a misdemeanor. She describes being handcuffed on the jet bridge, no medication for six weeks, and a corrections officer invoking the "five-second rule" when her pill hit the floor. Jim describes calling 200 congressional offices and being told "we don't do legal stuff" — until he told one staffer to resign and turn in their badge, and a week later got a call: “Can you be in D.C. on Wednesday?” Donna warns all listeners : "Just because you're legal doesn't mean you're safe." The episode closes with a description of her data-driven advocacy — 84% of detainees have no criminal record, 19,000 homicides by U.S. citizens last year versus nine by immigrants — and her mission to treat all persons with dignity: "Before you are any of those things, you are human first." Episode Transcript
S1 · E45
22 set 2026
40:58

From West Point to Congress: A Veteran Runs on Common Sense and Service

A former Army lieutenant colonel and Lincoln Project executive on why he's running for Congress, the "weight of leadership," and why the costs, chaos, and corruption of this administration are hitting home in Missouri. Host John Sipher sits down with Fred Wellman, a West Point graduate, former Army Lieutenant Colonel, and current Democratic candidate for Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. Wellman shares his journey from growing up in Kirkwood, Missouri, to flying scout helicopters in Desert Storm, serving three tours in Iraq, and later running a veterans-focused business, working with the Lincoln Project, and now running for Congress. He reflects on the "weight of leadership" — the lesson that leadership should be keenly felt— and how losing his first wife and unborn child in a car accident taught him the importance of empathetic leadership. He contrasts his approach with his opponent, 13-year incumbent Ann Wagner, who is known as "absent Anne" for refusing to hold town halls, who quadrupled her net worth while in office, and has never once broken with Trump. Wellman outlines his plans for “day one:” banning stock trading by members of Congress, turning back tariffs, restoring healthcare subsidies, and addressing the affordability crisis. He also warns about the long-term damage of the administration's military purges, noting that these will have negative consequences for generations to come. "When you fire the women who are generals, when you pass over the black men and women who are generals, the message is sent, and this is gonna echo through the United States military for a generation to two generations." The Steady State endorses Wellman for embodying the values of national security professionals. Guest info: Fred Wellman is a West Point graduate, former Army Lieutenant Colonel, and the Democratic candidate for Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. He flew scout helicopters in Desert Storm and served three tours in Iraq. He earned a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School and later founded a business serving veterans and military families. He served as Executive Director of the Lincoln Project and now hosts a podcast on democracy and politics. He is running to replace 13-year incumbent Ann Wagner. Episode Transcript
S1 · E43
8 set 2026
46:18

No Cloak, No Dagger: A Professor's Secret Life Inside the CIA

A distinguished professor and decorated intelligence officer on 25 years of balancing academia and espionage, the value of scientific credentials in the field, and why diversity makes the CIA stronger. Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Dr. Les Paldy, a distinguished service Professor Emeritus at Stony Brook University who spent 25 years balancing two identities: university professor by day and and on contract with the CIA in service to the United States. Paldy shares how he was first recruited — a classic spotting operation by a former Agency officer who approached him after a conference talk. He explains how his scientific credentials allowed him to "go where others could not," attending conferences in China and Eastern Europe to spot and assess foreign scientists as potential recruitment targets. He describes the cultural differences between academia and the CIA — the openness and shared inquiry of the university versus the compartmentation and top-down directives of the Agency. He reveals how he kept his secret life hidden from colleagues for decades, with only his wife and two sons knowing he was "doing something with the CIA." He reflects on what people get wrong about the Agency, why diversity is essential to its mission, and why he'd do it all over again. The episode closes with advice for young people considering intelligence careers. Guest info: Lester Paldy is a distinguished service professor emeritus at Stony Brook University and a decorated former intelligence officer. He served on teams in the CIA's Directorate of Operations and the FBI Counterintelligence Training Center at Quantico, Virginia. He is a former Marine Infantry Officer and the author of No Cloak, No Dagger: A Professor's Secret Life Inside the CIA. He spent 25 years balancing a career in academia with service as with the CIA , using his scientific credentials to spot and assess foreign scientists at conferences around the world. Episode Transcript
E44
15 set 2026
37:52

The Autocrats' Worst Enemy: Why Despots Fear Mayors

A former U.S. Ambassador and Los Angeles Deputy Mayor on why local leaders are democracy's front line, how cities can resist authoritarianism, and what you can do to help. Host Lauren Anderson sits down with Ambassador Nina Hachigian, founder and CEO of the Alliance for Local Leaders International, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and connecting mayors and governors globally to solve shared challenges. Drawing from her recent Foreign Affairs article, "The Autocrats' Worst Enemy," Hachigian explains why mayors are the most trusted level of government (70% trust, held for decades) and how in autocracies around the world, they have served on the front lines to protect democratic freedoms. She shares harrowing examples: the mayor of Gdańsk assassinated for his support of LGBTQ rights; the mayor of Caracas jailed for leading protests; and Istanbul's mayor thrown in jail and facing 2,000 years of sham charges. She discusses how the current US administration is using classic authoritarian tactics including weaponizing federal funding against states and cities that didn't support the president’s election. She offers hope through local innovation (participatory budgeting) and civic engagement–volunteering, connecting and communicating with local representatives, and the simple act of getting to know your neighbors. Her message: "Mayors are the canaries in the coal mine," when assessing the health of our democracy. And local democracy is where renewal begins. Episode Transcript
E41
25 ago 2026
34:27

Cornucopia of Vectors of Theft: How China Is Stealing America's Economic Future

A former CIA officer on China’s espionage successes, America’s IP losses, and the growing threat to the U.S. economy. Host John Sipher sits down with his former CIA colleague Glenn Chafetz, now Director of the 2430 Group, a nonprofit focused on state-sponsored espionage against the economy. Chafetz explains how technology has transformed espionage — from the days of clandestine meetings in parking garages where “if you didn’t get caught red-handed, you didn’t get caught” to a world where "commercial surveillance far outstrips government surveillance" and the changes the technological expansion required of the CIA. He describes China's coordinated, party-state, intentional, and purposeful effort to steal American intellectual property (IP) calling China’s intelligence service "the single most successful intelligence organization in the history of the planet." He argues that American companies are losing the IP war because their focus on quarterly profits prevents them from calculating the significant long-term cost of stolen technology and making needed investments in counterintelligence efforts that would protect their IP. He warns that China's informal network of autocracies — Russia, Iran, North Korea — functions as a modern "Axis of Evil," and that the U.S. is destroying its own alliance network at the worst possible time. He closes with advice for companies: You have to become sufficiently expert in economic espionage, counter-espionage, counterintelligence, because if you don't, your competitors will. Guest info: Glenn Chafetz is the Director of the 2430 Group, a nonprofit providing research and advice on state-sponsored espionage efforts against the US economy, and publisher of the tRed Report, the organization’s recurring intelligence/geopolitical brief . He served at the State Department and the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency before spending much of his 30 year government career at the CIA which included three tours as Chief of Station.. He became the first person to oversee the Agency’s program of espionage tradecraft in the age of technological expansion. View Episode Transcript
E40
18 ago 2026
48:52

The Intelligence You Don't See: A Career Analyst Warns about Systemic Weaponization of the Intelligence Community

A former CIA analyst and NSC director on the weaponization of the DNI, the decapitation of the NSC, and why dissent is no longer tolerated. Host Bree Fram, a retired Space Force colonel, sits down with Julia Curlee, a former CIA analyst with 25 years of experience who served as an National Security Council (NSC) director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a presidential daily intelligence briefer to Vice President Pence. Curlee explains how intelligence was designed to work — raw reports transformed into context-rich analysis to help policymakers make informed decisions — and how that system has been systematically dismantled. She describes the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as a "loaded gun waiting on the table" that has been weaponized under Tulsi Gabbard and Bill Pulte, and warns that the NSC's coordination function has been "decapitated," leading to catastrophic planning failures in the run-up to the Iran war. She reveals how the head of the National Intelligence CounciL (NIC) was fired for delivering an assessment that didn't align with Stephen Miller's desired narrative, and how this has taught analysts that "any form of dissent" will be held against them. She closes with a sobering assessment: the Iran war is a strategic blunder that rivals Iraq, the U.S. has no good way out, and it will take decades to rebuild the trust that has been destroyed with allies and partners. Guest info: Julia Curlee is a former CIA analyst with 25 years of experience in national security. She served as an NSC Director in the Biden and second Trump White Houses and as a presidential daily intelligence briefer to the Vice President. She completed multiple tours in the Middle East and South Asia and served in the CIA's China Mission Center. She holds master's degrees from the National War College and American University and is currently a public service fellow at Lawfare. Episode Transcript
E39
11 ago 2026
45:33

The Iran You Don't See: The Regime, the People, and What America Gets Wrong

A 22-year veteran of the CIA and Iran specialist on why the regime survives, the MOU disaster, the lessons of Iraq, and the history and humanity of Iranians. Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Mark Fowler, a decorated case officer and one of the most experienced Iran operations officers of his generation. Fowler explains what makes Iran such a uniquely demanding target — not because Iranians are hard to recruit, but because the U.S. has no presence inside the country. He shares why the regime has survived for 45 years: improving education and infrastructure, using the internet as a safety valve, and brutally crushing protest leadership. He reflects on the lessons of the Iraq Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) failure, warning against mirror imaging. He offers a devastating critique of the Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), calling it a "disaster" that gave Iran everything and "guarantees we'll be back." He discusses the complex internal rivalries between the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC,) the danger of hitting civilian targets, and why any resolution will require the administration to "drink the poison" of a bad deal. He closes with what Americans get wrong about Iran: that most Iranians simply want to live their lives, raise their families, and see their country live up to its potential. Mark Fowler is a decorated CIA case officer who served the Agency for 22 years, including as the number- two position on Iran operations. He is a Farsi-speaking Middle East specialist and a veteran of the U.S. war on terror. He served as the Directorate of Operations senior representative to the WMD commission following the Iraq WMD failure. He is the author of the soon-to-be published novel A Prince of Mirrors: A CIA Odyssey of Trust and Betrayal, and writes a Substack column. Episode Transcript
E38
4 ago 2026
48:40

America's Nuclear Guardians: A Conversation on Security, Espionage, and Speaking Truth to Power

A former acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security on the damage being done to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and why he "never bets against America." Host Jim Lawler sits down with his former CIA colleague Bruce Held, who served as Chief of Station on three continents, Special Assistant to two National Security Council principals, Director of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, and ultimately acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security. Held describes DOE’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence unique mission — leveraging the thousands of top-secret cleared scientists at the national labs to understand foreign nuclear programs and prevent technological surprise. Held describes the brutal budget battles with the Pentagon over funding America's neglected nuclear deterrent, and the ultimate resolution in which participants prioritized national security above parochial interests. He warns that the current administration's cuts and restructuring at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and DOE will take a decade to rebuild, creating a dangerous window of vulnerability. He discusses the counterintelligence threat from Russia and China, the importance of proactive engagement over bureaucratic secrecy, and why the American people should be asking hard questions about DOGE's access to personnel data. Guest info: Bruce Held is a former Senior CIA clandestine Case Officer who served as Chief of Stationon three continents and special assistant to two National Security Council principals. He was Director of DOE's Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and later served as acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the National Nuclear Security Administration. He is the author of several books on espionage history, including A Spy's Guide to Santa Fe and Albuquerque and The Spy's Guide to the Kennedy Assassination, as well as a Substack column, The Spy's Guide to American History. He also writes spy fiction, including The Intimate Spy. Episode Transcript
E37
28 lug 2026
40:24

Breaking the Cockpit Barrier: One Pilot's Fight to Engineer Inclusion into the Military

A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel on height requirements that excluded 44% of women, the first maternity flight suit, and why "truth isn't afraid of transparency." In her debut as a co-host of the Steady State Sentinel, retired Space Force Colonel Bree Fram joins Lauren Anderson to interview retired Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Ruttenber, a senior pilot with over 3,000 flight hours. Their conversation explores the effects on combat readiness of hidden barriers, the importance of data over anecdotes, the chilling effect of censorship and erasure of military history (including the Tuskegee Airmen and The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) and why veterans have a duty to speak out. Lt. Col. Ruttenber shares her journey from being told she was "too short" to fly to becoming a driving force behind the Department of Defense's first maternity flight suit and the Equality for Military Mothers Amendment. She reveals how an outdated 1960s anthropometric study based on the "average male" excluded 44% of women from aviation — and 74% of Black women. She explains how changing a single policy gave the Air Force "30 instant pilots" worth of man-hours. She closes with a powerful message: sometimes "surviving is the ultimate rebellion" when the system wasn't designed for you. Episode Transcript
E36
21 lug 2026
49:16
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