The "Boys Next Door" Edition

<p>This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by <em>Lawfare </em>managing editor Jacob Schulz to hash through some of the week's big national security news, including:</p><ul><li>“Le Pen 15 Club.” As France enters the final run-off round of its <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/10/french-election-results-2022/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">presidential election</a>, incumbent Emmanuel Macron is being closely trailed by extreme right-wing leader Marine Le Pen. What explains Le Pen’s political potency? And what would a President Le Pen mean for the rest of the world?</li><li>“The Biggest Botnet Takedown Since Geocities Deleted My Transformers FanFiction.” The Justice Department recently revealed that the United States and allied governments have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/us/politics/us-russia-malware-cyberattacks.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">secretly removing Russian malware</a> from global networks in order to thwart potential cyber attacks. What does this strategy tell us about the future of cyber conflict?</li><li>“Don’t Trust the DVE in Apartment 23.” Postal inspectors recently stumbled on a pair of heavily armed men <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/04/11/men-impersonating-officers-hearing/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">impersonating DHS agents</a> while living amidst—and showering expensive gifts on—Secret Service agents and other federal law enforcement officers in a Washington, D.C., apartment complex. What the hell was happening? And should we be concerned?</li></ul><p>For object lessons, Alan invoked his love of nut spreads to endorse "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Colle-Del-Gusto-Pistachios-Pistacchiosa/dp/B00O2OKJYM/ref=asc_df_B00O2OKJYM/?tag=hyprod-20&amp;linkCode=df0&amp;hvadid=343242877634&amp;hvpos=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=11621283533463179447&amp;hvpone=&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=&amp;hvdev=c&amp;hvdvcmdl=&amp;hvlocint=&amp;hvlocphy=9019657&amp;hvtargid=pla-781296234361&amp;psc=1&amp;tag=&a