International terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, the arms trade, organized crime – these are among the gravest threats to our society, and among the toughest issues for a journalist to cover. How does a reporter piece together the puzzle of disparate facts and fictions to make sense of national security threats? Using case studies from the news media, the class will analyze how to do it right – and how to know when sources go bad and hunches turn wrong. Students will also do their own stories, reporting on the CIA, Pentagon, FBI and others, with a final project on a major transnational threat.