On Saturday, U.S. forces struck Venezuela and captured president Nicolás Maduro, who has been accused of narcoterrorism. Maduro has pleaded not guilty. The move by the U.S. military has also brought into question whether international law has been broken. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Elise Keppler. Keppler is executive director of the Global Justice Center. She brings two decades of experience working to advance justice for serious crimes committed in violation of international law — including sexual and gender-based violence — before domestic, hybrid, and international courts. Prior to joining GJC, Keppler worked in Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program between 2003 and 2024. She focused on strengthening prospects for justice for atrocity crimes committed in Central African Republic, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. She worked with activists across Africa to counter backlash against the International Criminal Court. She helped lead campaigns for Darfur’s referral to the ICC and for the surrender of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to face justice. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, NPR.
Following the strikes in Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has hinted on future military operations in Colombia, Cuba, and Greenland. To discuss, we FEATURE Nora Bensahel. Bensahel is a Professor of Practice at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. She is a renowned expert on U.S. defense policy, military operations, and the future of war. She is the co-author of the recently-published book Adaptation Under Fire: How Militaries Change in Wartime. Before joining SAIS, Bensahel was a distinguished scholar in residence at the School of International Service at American University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Prior to that, she was a senior fellow and co-director of the Responsible Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security. Her early career included over eleven years at the RAND Corporation, where she rose to the position of senior political scientist. Media includes: Voice of America, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BBC, PBS, CNN, NPR.
Prior to the U.S. invasion of Venezuela, Donald Trump warn Iran that military action will be taken if anti-government protests there turned deadly. To discuss, we FEATURE Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet. Kashani-Sabet is the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History andformer director of the Middle East Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a scholar of modern Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and the Persian Gulf, having published extensively on these topics. She has studied Arab/Persian relations, as well as Sunni/Shia conflicts. She is also an expert on boundary disputes and politics in the Middle East, as well as an established scholar on the history of US—Iranian relaitons. Media includes: Voice of America, Newsday, NPR.
The child abandonment and endangerment trial of Adrian Gonzales has begun. Gonzales is a former Uvalde schools officer who was at the scene of the Robb Elementary school shooting, which killed 19 students. Officers at the scene waited for more than an hour before taking action. To discuss, we FEATURE Debbie Hines. Hines is a Washington, DC based trial attorney, legal analyst, former Baltimore prosecutor and member of the Supreme Court bar. Debbie is an expert in criminal law, high profile criminal cases, gun control and gun laws, police brutality, death penalty, domestic violence and Supreme Court cases. She often addresses legal/political issues at the intersection of gender, race and class. As a former felony prosecutor, she tried homicides, attempted murders, rapes, burglaries, robberies, narcotics and economic crimes. Media includes: Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, MSNBC, CNN.
On Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping met to discuss restoring the relationship between the two countries. To discuss, we FEATURE Duyeon Kim. Kim, is an adjunct senior fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at Center for a New American Security based in Seoul. Her expertise includes the two Koreas, nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, East Asian relations and geopolitics, U.S. nuclear policy, and security. Kim was previously senior advisor for Northeast Asia and nuclear policy at the International Crisis Group; an associate in the nuclear policy and Asia programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; and a senior fellow and deputy director of non-proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, D.C. Media includes: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CBS.
Following the holidays, U.S. flu infections have surged along with COVID-19 infections rising. Health officials have warned that infections will likely continue to increase. To discuss, we FEATURE Valda Crowder. Crowder is a medical expert on the front line of the gun violence and mental health crises, four pandemics, natural disasters and the fallout of health disparities.To improve medical care and reduce health disparities, Crowder has re-engineer large health care systems, such as Cooper Hospital/UMDNJ Health Care System in Camden, New Jersey, and Corizon Health, which provides health care to incarcerated inmates nationwide. Media includes: The Baltimore Times, The Dallas Examiner, NPR.
Liz Theran
