This episode of the A6 and Z podcast covers technology, national security, and the future, and is based on a conversation that was recorded last month between Mark Andreessen and Michelle Flournoy, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and co-founder of the Center for a New American Security.

The conversation, which follows a couple of minutes after the introductions and is moderated by A6 and Z partner Matt Spence,

covers everything from technology procurement to the politics of industrial policy and ethics debates around use cases for new technologies to the changing international landscape for security.

Before coming to the firm, when I was working at the White House of the National Security Council and as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, I had a great privilege to work with Michelle Flournoy. We have a term in formal policy language we use for someone like Michelle. It's called a total badass. She really is one of the most inspiring and impressive public servants I've had the chance to work with.

And it's really an honor to have her come today. I want to introduce my friend from Washington,

Richard Fontaine. Richard is the president of the Center for New American Security. He was a top

foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain. And he was one of the most respected and thoughtful

commentators on Nash Gordy today. Well, thanks, Matt, and thanks to all of you for being here.

To introduce Michelle, as Matt said, badass is her formal title, but her informal title is

chief executive officer and co-founder of CNAS, the Center for New American Security, a national

security think tank in Washington, D.C., where the only national security think tank that is

co-led by a Democrat and a Republican, we have a strong emphasis on building the next generation

of national security and foreign policy leaders and developing innovative solutions to some of the problems

and challenges that face the world. Prior to that, Michelle was the Under Secretary of Defense

for Policy under Secretary Gates and then Secretary Panetta at the Pentagon and has had a long

and distinguished career in government and in the intellectual world on matters pertaining to

national security. So it's a pleasure to be able to introduce Michelle, and it's a pleasure for us to be here

this morning.

I now like to introduce Ted Ulliot. Ted was the General Counsel of Facebook. He served in senior

roles in the Bush administration of the White House and Justice Department. Now he heads up the policy and regulatory affairs team here at Andreessen Horowitz. Ted will come in to talk a little bit, Andrews, and introduce Mark. Welcome, everyone. And introducing Mark Anderson at an Andreen Horowitz event. So, Mark was born in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

He was raised in New Lisbon, Wisconsin.

Kidding.

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