The “Truth Fairy” Edition

<p>This week, Alan, Quinta and Scott were joined by Jeffrey Kosseff, cybersecurity law professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, to hash through some of the week's big national security news, including:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>“One Letter Off KGB, Two Letters Away from DGAF.” The Department of Homeland Security has taken heat this week for creating an internal <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/02/technology/partisan-dhs-disinformation-board.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Disinformation Governance Board</a>, which partisan critics have railed against as a federal “Ministry of Truth” responsible for policing speech. What’s the real story behind this group? And does it warrant all this fervor?</li><li>“One Bad Mother Tucker.” A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/us/tucker-carlson-gop-republican-party.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newly published New York Times report</a> documents how Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show makes unprecedented use of racist rhetoric and partisan fear-mongering. What new did we learn? And what broader impact should we expect this report to have?</li><li>“Chutes and Escalation Ladders.” While Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a habit of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/05/02/five-ways-looking-nuclear-escalation-ukraine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">invoking his country’s nuclear arsenal</a> in response to Western reactions to his invasion of Ukraine, he so far hasn’t made any signs toward actually using it. But is this about to change? And how should the United States and its allies respond?</li></ul><p>For object lessons,&nbsp;Alan endorsed his neighbor's ghost pepper-laced apple brandy, which all listeners should take as an invitation to crash at his place in Minnesota. In light of the pending repeal of&nbsp;<em>Roe v. Wade</em>, Quinta recommended that listeners read Jessica Bruder's&nbsp;“<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/05/roe-v-wade-overturn-abortion-rights/629366/" rel="noopener no