Welcome to Getting Curious. I'm Jonathan Bennes and every week I sit down for a 40-minute

conversation with a brilliant expert to learn all about something that makes me curious.

On today's episode, I'm joined by USC Professor of the Practice in National and Homeland Security

Dr. Arrell Sothers, where we discuss how big of a threat is domestic terrorism, how is

the term domestic terrorism applied on a federal level, is it balanced, and how do I survive

a mask shooting situation? Honey, let's go. So, Dr., how, I mean, to become a doctor is something,

don't you have to write like a really, it's like a dissertation, and so, and what did you write,

yours on? I wrote mine on homegrown violent extremism and strategies to engage the community to

reduce the risk of violence and radicalization. Dang, well let's just dive right in. So, you don't

need coffee or something water. I'm one of those, are you not a, you probably are too aware of the

world so you can't have coffee because it makes you too fucking stressed. And I'm up at 430 so,

like, I've been up for a while. Dang, why every day 430? It's an old SWAT habit when I was on SWAT,

you're up at 430. Oh, so you were on SWAT? Yeah, I SWAT. Okay, I have to say based off of your

gorgeous stature, I'm not surprised you are serving me muscles. You are serving me. I'm going to

get you out of here if someone comes in here, honey, I feel safe, I feel protected. All right,

so you're on this SWAT team, then you work with Arnold Schwarzenegger, then you go through that

other moment, then you become a doctor. Yeah. And I'm just giving people the timeline. So, really,

like your whole adulthood career has been in like, has been in, in defending people and, and really

defending people and, and studying acts of violence. It's been in public safety. Start of my career,

40 years ago at the Santa Monica Police Department, and went to the FBI, and then finished my career,

uniform career at the LA Airport Police, where I was assistant chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence.

Dang. So, you're just like, you've really been like elbow deep in this stuff for a minute.

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