National security threats can emerge from unexpected places, including food systems, biological risks and increasingly interconnected technologies. Preparing for these challenges requires more than gathering intelligence. It also means making decisions when information is incomplete and the consequences are uncertain.
Steve Hirsch, a former senior CIA executive, joins Cool Science Radio to discuss how intelligence professionals identify threats, evaluate competing information and help leaders navigate crises. During more than three decades at the CIA, Hirsch held senior roles in counterterrorism, intelligence analysis, public affairs and organizational transformation. Following the Sept. 11 attacks, he served as a presidential daily briefer for senior government officials.
Hirsch explores why food and agricultural systems are critical to national security, how artificial intelligence is changing intelligence analysis and why human judgment remains essential. He also discusses vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and lessons from intelligence work that can help government agencies, businesses and communities prepare for high-impact crises.
