The failure, ahem, suspension this week of United Nations sponsored talks in Geneva aimed at stopping the carnage in Syria was all too predictable. The talks were initially delayed by the inability of Syrian opposition groups to agree on who should get a seat at the table. Then after just five days of negotiations, the negotiators realized what should have been apparent from the start—an end to the Syrian civil war is highly unlikely absent conditions on the battlefield conducive to a negotiated settlement. What are those conditions?

Tamara talks about the administration's revamping of its efforts to staunch ISIS recruitment. Shane discusses how the NSA is making the line between cyber attacks and defense even blurrier. And I have a proposal to solve the going dark problem. Plus, Tamara visits another podcast and the most.

Poet Sam Gwynn presents a talk on Conquest’s literary achievements and his relationships with well-known writers such as Kingsley Amis. Among his considerable gifts, Bob was a superb conversationalist. He had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh: the look of playful delight that animated his face as he nailed a punch line is impossible to forget.

Hoover Institution fellow and former secretary of state George P. Shultz illuminates Conquest’s far-reaching influence on Ronald Reagan’s administration. Robert Conquest set the gold standard for careful research, total integrity, and clarity of expression about the real Soviet Union and provided guidance about the roots of the USSR's policies around the world.