Smart Women, Smart Power

Jan 30 2025 237 ep. 30 mins 4.6k
Smart Women, Smart Power Podcast artwork

CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power is a speaker series on women in international business and global affairs. The biweekly podcast features leading women from the corporate, government, and national security worlds discussing top international issues.

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The Weaponization of Data

Jan 30 2025 17 mins  
On this episode, host Kathleen McInnis spoke with Pavlina Pavlova, a #ShareTheMicInCyber Fellow at New America and Cybercrime Expert at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Pavlina shares insights from her recent research on the weaponization of data, highlighting how data breaches and cyberattacks have a gendered dimension, especially throughout the healthcare sys

To Infinity and Beyond: Open AI to the New Space Race

Dec 19 2024 28 mins  
Before OpenAI was the household name it is today, the leading artificial intelligence company began as a non-profit organization with an uncertain future. In 2018, Ashley Pilipiszyn had a decision to make: take a risk and be an early employee of a start-up or focus on finishing her PhD. On this episode, Kathleen McInnis and Lauren Bedula explore Ashley’s decision and delve into t

Beyond the Spin: Truth, Media, and Democracy

Dec 11 2024 36 mins  
Nina Jankowicz knows what it’s like to be attacked for defending the truth, and she is now on a mission to increase the cost of lies that undermine our democracy. On this episode, Dr. Kathleen McInnis dives into Nina’s past, from leaving government, suing Fox News, and ultimately using the sum of her experiences to inspire the creation of the American Sunlight Project.

Countering China and Russia: The Hidden Advantages of Women, Peace, and Security

Nov 20 2024 50 mins  
How can Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) be better utilized to accomplish U.S. strategic objectives? Recently, the Smart Women, Smart Power Initiative released their latest brief: Countering China and Russia: The Hidden Advantages of Women, Peace, and Security. To discuss the findings of the report, Dr. Kathleen McInnis was joined by Dr. Kyleanne Hunter, Director, RAND Women, Peace

Decoding the Pentagon Bureaucracy

Nov 06 2024 27 mins  
In this episode, Dr. Kathleen McInnis is joined by Dr. Janine Davidson, who currently serves as president of Metropolitan State University of Denver and the chair of the Defense Policy Board. The pair discusses Dr. Davidson’s years of navigating the bureaucracy within the Pentagon and the lessons she has taken with her to higher education.

Building Comprehensive Approaches to Wicked Problems: The Ukraine War

Oct 29 2024 78 mins  
As a part of the tenth-anniversary celebration of Smart Women, Smart Power, Dr. Kathleen McInnis hosted a panel discussion that explored women’s leadership during Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine and how women are leading the charge in both prosecuting the war and planning for peace. The panel featured Amb. Kelley Currie, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Co

Pentagon Priorities Amid Polycrises with Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks

Oct 22 2024 38 mins  
On October 15, Smart Women, Smart Power celebrated its tenth anniversary! The celebration kicked off with a discussion with HON Kathleen H. Hicks, Deputy Secretary of Defense, who sat down with Beverly Kirk, Director of Washington Programs at Syracuse University. The pair discussed her approach to the world’s simultaneous challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine crisis and China

The State of Election Security in 2024

Oct 21 2024 26 mins  
Suzanne Spaulding, Director of the CSIS Defending Democratic Institutions Project, joins a special crossover episode with the CSIS Smart Women, Smart Power podcast to discuss election security, the role of election officials, and how to fight disinformation as early voting begins across the nation.

A Conversation with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi

Sep 23 2024 23 mins  
Dr. Kathleen McInnis sat down with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for a conversation on her new memoir, where she reflects on her time in Congress. Additionally, the pair discusses the current and future U.S. landscape, including what the U.S. should be doing to counter China’s aggressive authoritarian expansionism and more.

Take a Chance on Mentorship

Sep 04 2024 23 mins  
An off-chance encounter as an intern transformed Funmi’s life several years later when someone she networked with early in her career thought of her down the line and offered her a job. Funmi Oludaiye, Managing Director (Global Head of Engineering) at Goldman Sachs, discusses how she advanced her career in STEM through hard work, mentorship, and relationship building.