CSIS Global Development Department President Enoh T. Ebong and Chief of Staff Hadeil Ali reflect on their recent experience at the 81st UN General Assembly, discussing shifting development partnerships, emerging commercial markets, and the race for the next UN Secretary-General.
Their conversation covers how countries are defining their own priorities, the role of technology and investment, and the future of global cooperation.
Sources: CSIS (YouTube)
More than 100 senior Chinese military officers have been removed or gone missing since 2022, including many promoted by Xi Jinping himself. The purge has hit the top of nearly every theater command and service, leaving vacancies that CSIS says would make it incredibly difficult for China to launch large military campaigns against Taiwan in the short term.
The video examines the PLA’s longstanding corruption problem, from buying promotions to procurement kickbacks, and considers whether Xi is building a more capable force or creating a command structure too afraid to tell him the truth.
Sources: Task & Purpose (YouTube)
Commanders and supervisors at every level are directed to conduct a one-day stand-down in October, with every warrior given the opportunity to vote.
Sources: DoD News (YouTube)
Naval Group has completed the first at-sea test campaign of its Rampart close-in weapon system, conducted aboard a French Navy Mistral-class LHD during the WildFire 2026 exercise. The campaign allowed the company to mature the system’s development.
During the test, the crew fired a salvo of unguided rockets at a sea target and a guided rocket against a target UAV. Rampart is a modular launcher that can accommodate various payloads, including guided and unguided rockets, very short-range surface-to-air missiles, and short-range surface-to-surface missiles.
Sources: Naval News (YouTube)
Under terms dating back to the Korean War, the United States retains wartime operational control, or OPCON, of South Korean forces. President Lee Jae Myung’s administration seeks to complete the transfer before his term ends in 2030.
Washington supports the transition on a conditions-based track, and Seoul has agreed to take primary responsibility for its conventional defense against North Korea. Joining Mark Lippert to discuss the timeline and the future of the alliance are Victor Cha and Gen. Robert Abrams, former Commander of United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/United States Forces Korea from 2018 to 2021.
Sources: CSIS (YouTube)
CSIS convened a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks, in which letters containing anthrax powder were distributed through the U.S. postal system. The event examined how lessons from the attacks have been applied to the U.S. biodefense enterprise and what additional effort is needed to deter and prevent the consequences of bioterrorist incidents.
Maj. Gen. Paul Friedrichs (ret.), senior adviser at the CSIS Global Health Policy Center, moderated the discussion. Panelists included Dr. Robert Kadlec, Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense; Dr. Wendi Kuhnert, deputy director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and former Senator Richard Burr, co-chair of the CSIS Bipartisan Alliance for Global Health Security.
Sources: CSIS (YouTube)
The Department of War asserts that the state of the force is strong, with the warrior ethos revived and the military rebuilt. The clip states that after years of weakness, American deterrence is back.
Sources: DoD News (YouTube)
CSIS experts discuss new reports of rogue AI agents on the open internet, including the first known case of an agent hacking a government system, and the lackluster outcome of last week’s U.S.-China summit. The episode also covers contrasting AI governance visions presented by the Trump Administration and frontier lab CEOs, plus new state regulation on AI models and data center buildout.
Timestamps cover the Australian government site hack, frontier labs facing tens of thousands of AI cyber incidents, the U.S.-China summit, UNGA remarks, the AI czar and AI Force, an updated court ruling on Anthropic vs. DOD, and new data center directives in Texas and Virginia.
Sources: CSIS (YouTube)
A short video urges service members to make sure they vote, directing them to FVAP.GOV to register and request a ballot.
Sources: DoD News (YouTube)
Japan’s critical minerals strategy, shaped by a 2010 rare earths supply shock, is examined as a model for other advanced economies. The episode traces how Japan built one of the world’s most comprehensive state responses to mineral supply risk, centered on the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).
CSIS’s Graceland Basrin speaks with JOGMEC President Michio Daito about how the agency translates national strategy into investment decisions, uses government finance to bridge projects too risky for private capital, and structures offtake agreements—including its rescue of Lynas Rare Earths—to secure long-term supply. The discussion also covers opportunities for allied cooperation with the U.S., Australia, and other partners.
Sources: CSIS (YouTube)