Smart Women, Smart Power

CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power is a speaker series on women in international business and global affairs. The biweekly podcast features leading women from the corporate, government, and national security worlds discussing top international issues.

Government
Non-Profit
News
1
An Icelandic Perspective Inside NATO
32 min
2
Inside Modern Defense Tech
Erin Biggers joins to talk scaling Vannevar Labs' mission to equip U.S. public servants with cutting-edge defense technology.
27 min
3
Putin's Next Soldiers: Ukrainian Children
Host Kathleen McInnis speaks with Nobel Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk on Russian war crimes against Ukrainian children.
23 min
4
Why We Need Women in Special Forces
Jessica Yahn, executive producer and U.S. Special Operations veteran, joins for a conversation about the human-experience surrounding conflict.
22 min
5
Trust the Work, Trust Yourself
Gargee Ghosh, President of Global Policy & Advocacy at the Gates Foundation, joins for a conversation about her impactful career and her work driving progress in international development.
25 min
6
Whole of Society Resilience Lessons from Russia...
Dr. Kathleen McInnis sits down with Lieutenant Colonel Scott Murphy, visiting U.S. Marine Corps military fellow and Iryna Nykorak, Ukrainian Minister of Parliament, and founder of ArmWomenNow, about the importance of resiliency and how to prepare the entirety of society for conflict.
44 min
7
The Weaponization of Data
On this episode, host Kathleen McInnis spoke with Pavlina Pavlova, a #ShareTheMicInCyber Fellow at New America and Cybercrime Expert at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
17 min
8
To Infinity and Beyond: Open AI to the New Spac...
On this episode, Kathleen McInnis and Lauren Bedula explore Ashley Pilipiszyn’s decision and delve into the growing space race between China and the United States.
28 min
9
Beyond the Spin: Truth, Media, and Democracy
Dr. Kathleen McInnis dives into Nina Jankowicz's past, from leaving government, suing Fox News, and ultimately using the sum of her experiences to inspire the creation of the American Sunlight Project.
36 min
10
Countering China and Russia: The Hidden Advanta...
How can Women, Peace, and Security be leveraged to counter China and Russia? Dr. Kathleen McInnis discusses a new brief with Dr. Kyleanne Hunter and Monica S. Herrera.
50 min
11
Decoding the Pentagon Bureaucracy
Dr. Janine Davidson joins to discuss her years of navigating the bureaucracy within the Pentagon and the lessons she has taken with her to higher education.
27 min
12
Building Comprehensive Approaches to Wicked Pro...
Dr. Kathleen McInnis hosted a panel discussion that explored women’s leadership during Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and how women are leading the charge in both prosecuting the war and planning for peace.
78 min
13
Pentagon Priorities Amid Polycrises with Deputy...
The HON Kathleen H. Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense sat down with Beverly Kirk, to discuss her approach to the world’s simultaneous challenges.
38 min
14
The State of Election Security in 2024
Suzanne Spaulding, director of the CSIS Defending Democratic Institutions Project, joins discuss election security, the role of election officials, and how to fight disinformation as early voting begins across the nation.
26 min
15
A Conversation with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
Dr. Kathleen McInnis sat down with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for a conversation on her new memoir, where she reflects on her time in Congress.
23 min
16
Take a Chance on Mentorship
Funmi Oludaiye, Managing Director (Global Head of Engineering) at Goldman Sachs, discusses how she advanced her career in STEM through hard work, mentorship, and relationship building.
23 min
17
Solving the World’s Hardest Problems with Mello...
Mellody Hobson joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis for a discussion on how she strives to close the racial wealth gap and create a better public understanding of financial literacy.
32 min
18
Secrets and Sacrifices: CIA, Benghazi, and Moth...
Sue Gordon, a 25-year CIA veteran, joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis and Lauren Bedula to discuss balancing her career and motherhood, as well as her experience during the 2012 Benghazi attacks, where she realized the changing nature of secrecy.
48 min
19
What Does Infant Formula Have to do with Nation...
Laura Modi, founder of the first U.S. based manufactured organic formula company, joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis and Lauren Bedula, the Managing Director at Beacon Global Strategies, for a discussion on how her company was defined during a national infant formula shortage.
37 min
20
Beating Putin’s Playbook
Marie-Doha Besancenot, Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, NATO, joins to discuss the different ways NATO is prioritizing this space.
28 min
21
The Future of NATO is Female
Irene Fellin, the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis, Senior Fellow, International Security Program and Director, Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative, to discuss what’s on her mind as NATO celebrates its 75th year and heads into the Washington Summit.
28 min
22
The Role of UNICEF USA in the World
Michele Walsh, Executive Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, UNICEF USA, joins for a discussion on how she led after Russia invaded Ukraine.
24 min
23
Humanizing Refugee Resettlement
Heather Higginbottom, Head of Research Policy & Insights for Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase, joined Dr. Kathleen McInnis to discuss how she has anchored her work in humanizing the process behind refugee resettlement.
30 min
24
The Murky World of Deepfakes
In her aptly named scientific study, “As Good as A Coin Toss,” Horizon Fellow Di Cooke joins Dr. Kathleen McInnis to walk through the murky world of deepfakes and the countermeasures that should be prioritized to mitigate the dangers posed by weaponized synthetic media.
24 min
25
Lessons from Myanmar
In Myanmar, 1998, Nisha Anand was arrested for passing out pro-democracy leaflets. Now, she joins us to unpack the state of democracy today, and what we can learn from Myanmar and other places.
27 min