Patreon Feed Rational Security ·Oct 8, 2026 ·1h 22m

The “Too Much Molly” Edition

Evaluation and Summary

5.0/10

This Rational Security episode features Scott (presumably Scott Shapiro), Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes, and two Mollys—Molly Roberts (Lawfare Senior Editor) and Molly Reynolds (Brookings Institution)—discussing three major national security and governance stories from late September 2026. The first segment covers 'pocket rescissions,' a controversial budgetary maneuver where the Trump administration requested cancellation of $810 million in already-appropriated funds timed to expire before Congress could review the request. This follows a previous $4 billion foreign aid rescission the Supreme Court allowed. The hosts examine legal challenges from Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, Democratic appropriators, the GAO, and seven states, plus a potential judicial solution involving suspending fund expiration dates. The second topic, 'Poll Position,' examines the Trump administration's election-reshaping campaign ahead of midterms. The Supreme Court allowed DHS to resume using its SAVE citizenship database for voter roll screening, but federal courts blocked other measures including proposed mail-in-ballot rules, voter roll coercion, and counterterrorism grant withholding from non-compliant states. The hosts assess which election safeguards remain intact and which face ongoing peril. The third segment, 'Straining Credulity,' addresses a suspicious death at Russia's Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute where a 28-year-old lab technician died of severe pneumonia after alleged plague exposure. Russian authorities claim 'pneumonia of unknown etiology' and deny plague findings, but shifting accounts, disappeared news reports, and Russia's documented history of biological weapons programs raise credibility concerns. The episode concludes with lighter 'object lessons' segments featuring personal anecdotes about congressional procedures, legislative processes, and regional NPR journalism. The episode promises substantive analysis of urgent governance and security issues from credible expert voices, though the show notes provide limited detail on specific arguments, evidence presented, or analytical depth.

Verdict: A credible expert panel tackling urgent governance and security issues with apparent sourcing and multiple perspectives, but limited detail in show notes prevents assessing analytical depth, evidence quality, or whether the episode earns its 82-minute runtime.

Government rubric

Accuracy and sourcing 3/5 20%

Show notes reference named officials (Collins, GAO), court decisions, and government assessments (U.S. assessment of Russian biological programs), suggesting sourced reporting, but specific citations and primary documents aren't detailed in
Balance and context 3/5 20%

The episode presents multiple perspectives (administration actions vs. court pushback, official Russian claims vs. credibility concerns) and acknowledges competing views, though the framing leans toward skepticism of administration and Russ
Clarity on what it means 3/5 15%

The notes explain real-world impacts (election integrity risks, budgetary control, biological threats) and pose consequential questions, but don't detail how the hosts actually answer them or what listeners should understand about implicati
Substance 3/5 15%

Three substantive policy topics with expert guests suggest solid content, but the show notes don't indicate depth of analysis, evidence presented, or whether discussions stay focused or drift; lighter 'object lessons' segments suggest some
Delivers on its title 3/5 15%

The title 'Too Much Molly' references the two Mollys as guests but doesn't promise specific content; the episode covers national security topics as expected from Rational Security, though the title is more about guest composition than topic
Value for time 3/5 15%

At 82 minutes with three major topics plus lighter segments, the pacing is unclear from notes alone; the breadth suggests reasonable coverage but potential for either tight analysis or padding depending on execution.

How we score Government

Worth it if you follow U.S. national security policy closely and want expert analysis of pocket rescissions, election integrity threats, and Russian biological research from established Lawfare and Brookings voices.

#national security #election integrity #budget policy #russia #governance

Based on the episode description. AI-generated; it can be wrong.

Show notes

This week, Scott sat down with Lawfare Editor in Chief and cohost emeritus Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare Senior Editor Molly Roberts, and Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution Molly Reynolds to talk through the week’s big news in national security, including: “Pocket Change.” Late on Friday, September 25, the White House sent Congress an $810 million “pocket rescission”—a request to cancel already-appropriated federal funding, timed so the money will expire at the end of the fiscal year on September 30, before the 45 days Congress has to review the rescission request. It’s the second time the Trump administration has used the maneuver after the Supreme Court let the pocket rescission of about $4 billion in foreign assistance funds go forward last year. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and Democratic appropriators have denounced the move as illegal, the Government Accountability Office agrees, and seven states (among other plaintiffs) have already sued. And this time, some district courts may be gravitating toward a novel, if largely untested, solution: using equitable and statutory authority to suspend the disputed funds’ expiration date. Could this measure help bring an end to pocket rescissions? And how far is the Trump administration willing to go in seeking to assert control over federal funds? “Poll Position.” With less than a month to go before the midterms, the Trump administration’s campaign to reshape U.S. elections is getting mixed results. The Supreme Court decided on September 25 to allow the Department of Homeland Security to resume using its revamped SAVE citizenship database to help states screen their voter rolls for noncitizens. But federal courts have pushed back on other measures, from the administration’s proposed mail-in-ballot rule, to efforts to coerce states into providing their voter rolls, to the withholding of counterterrrorism grants from states and localities that don’t adopt the administration’s preferred election changes. What part of our elections seem safe 30 days out, and which are still under peril? And what could the consequences be? “Straining Credulity.” Last week, a 28-year-old laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia died of severe pneumonia, reportedly after being exposed to the bacterium that causes pneumonic plague, prompting Russian authorities to quarantine a local hospital and place nearly 200 people under medical observation. Russian officials have since insisted she died of “pneumonia of unknown etiology” and told the World Health Organization on Tuesday that no plague has been found among her contacts. But shifting official accounts, disappearing local news reports, and Russia’s long history of biological weapons work—including the U.S. government’s assessment that Moscow still maintains an offensive program—have fueled concerns. What do we actually know about what happened in Irkutsk, and to what extent should we believe the official account being offered by the Russian government? And what does it tell us about the risks posed by Russia’s biological research enterprise? In object lessons, Molly L. is a notebook-carrying member of the pink soup club. Ben, in ingesting the Congressional Precedents into RAGtime, discovers what Senators may ingest on the floor. Scott expresses his concern over the state of the United States Code . And Molly E. once again makes the case for the pleasures of regionally produced NPR , with a story that manages to combine two of her favorite things: excellent local journalism and the legislative process. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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