Listen to this episode commercial free at <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanetpod.com</a> This week on Angry Planet writer David Faris joins us to talk about his time in Syria and life in America. <ul><li>David’s travels from Lebanon to Syria</li><li>When people hoped Bashar al-Assad would change Syria</li><li>What a real totalitarian state feels like</li><li>The nightmare that follows the collapse of a dictatorship</li><li>Once again, the ugly legacy of colonialism rears its head</li><li>The post-Assad players</li><li>After 15 years, everyone is tired of war</li><li>Turning to domestic politics</li><li>Don’t panic</li><li>“Trump will govern very corruptly.”</li><li>Talking politics with children</li><li>The Trump Cinematic Universe</li><li>“We need billionaires to fight billionaires.”</li><li>The collapse of the liberal intelligentsia</li></ul> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/car-bomb-found-at-beirut-mcdonald-s-1.408551" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The McDonald’s bombing in Beirut</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Syria, Authoritarianism, and U.S. Politics

Listen to this episode commercial free at <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanetpod.com</a> It’s hard to read the mind of a dictator, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying. When Russian President invaded Ukraine in February of 2022, there were a million columns, videos and podcasts explaining “the real reason” for such a “crazy” move. Well, anyone who tells the story from February 2022 is missing decades of Russian interference in Ukraine, with low points coming during the Orange Revolution of 2005 and then in 2014. The Euromaidan protests ended with the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. But what made Putin take that next step eight years later? Lucian Kim is a journalist with vast experience in the region, working in Berlin and as NPR’s bureau chief in Moscow. If you can trust anyone to know what brought the world to war, it’s him—hell, he wrote a book on the subject:<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Putins-Revenge-Invaded-Ukraine-Woodrow/dp/0231214022" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Putin’s Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine.</a> Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

‘Putin’s Revenge.’ Lucian Kim on Why Russia Invaded Ukraine

Listen to this episode commercial free at <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanetpod.com</a> <ul><li>The pros and cons of globalization</li><li>The end of trust in the global system</li><li>What was behind the WTO protests of the 1990s</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msk0PbhwcuA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How 1999's WTO Protests Influenced the Policing of Protests Today</a></li><li>China, China, China</li><li>The Covid shock</li><li><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20goods" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">White goods</a>?</li><li>And we have to talk about McDonald’s</li><li>How sanctions created the multipolar world</li><li>“There’s no trust between the U.S., China, and Russia.”</li><li>Autocrats or historical forces?</li><li>Martyring Jack Ma</li><li>What will happen to prices</li><li><a href="https://apps.npr.org/tshirt/#/title" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How to make a T-shirt</a></li><li><a href="https://www.vox.com/technology/2018/9/13/17851052/apple-iphone-price-china-trump-us-trade" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How much would the iPhone cost if it were made in America?</a></li><li>The Houthis attack on the global supply chain</li><li>“I don’t know why you’re so sad about McDonald’s”</li></ul> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/goodbye-globalization-the-return-of-a-divided-world-elisabeth-braw/20381390?ean=9780300272277" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Lost Episode: ‘Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World’

Listen to this episode commercial free at <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanetpod.com</a> We’re living in a bizarre age of technofascism. The richest man who has ever lived, a man who dreams of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-denies-volunteering-sperm-to-start-a-martian-colony-2024-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">colonizing Mars with his children</a>, is America’s CEO. Donald Trump, the man people voted for, is just the chairman of the board. What does Elon Musk believe? Is there a playbook for DOGE? How bad are things going to get? On this episode of Angry Planet journalist Gil Duran, author of <a href="https://www.thenerdreich.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Nerd Reich</a> newsletter, walks us through what’s coming. Over on <a href="https://shatterzone.substack.com/p/democratic-insiders-are-sharing-a" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Shatter Zone</a>, journalist and former Angry Planet guest Robert Evans has published a document that Democratic think tanks are passing around. It gives extra context to Duran’s reporting. All the major players and themes we talk about in this episode are there: Curtis Yarvin, Nick Land, the Butterfly Effect.If you want to understand why so many federal workers are getting fired and the Silicon Valley ideology that’s infected D.C., then give us a listen. <ul><li>Curtis Yarvin’s unimpressive programming career</li><li>“Democracy doesn’t work”</li><li>Bullshit and cherries</li><li>RAGE and Reboot</li><li>The Chairman of the Board</li><li>It’s always about the money</li><li>“Move fast and break things” comes to D.C.</li><li>The Engineer’s Disease</li><li>Nick Land is mentioned and I’m sorry</li><li>“Trump is more intellectual property than man.”</li><li>The horror of comedy</li><li>Selling the Nerd Reich to the Religious Right</li></ul><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8e71f4e-2f4c-425e-83a0-b68e37ff4f5d_680x495.jpeg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc8e71f4e-2f4c-425e-83a0-b68e37ff4f5d_680x495.jpeg"></a> <a href="https://www.thenerdreich.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Nerd Reich</a> <a href="https://www.404media.co/ai-video-of-trump-sucking-musks-toes-blasted-on-government-office-tvs/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVs</a> <a href="https://gizmodo.com/trumps-ai-gaza-video-is-the-tip-of-a-horrifying-gaz-a-lago-iceberg-2000569276" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trump’s AI Gaza Video Is the Tip of a Horrifying ‘Gaz-A-Lago’ Iceberg</a> <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Techno-Fascism Comes to America</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/18/magazine/curtis-yarvin-interview.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening.</a> <a href="https://www.thenerdreich.com/reboot-elon-musk-ceo-dictator-doge/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">'Reboot' Revealed: Elon Musk's CEO-Dictator Playbook</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Welcome to the Nerd Reich

Listen to this episode commercial free at <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanetpod.com</a> The Israeli military is using AI products from Microsoft to conduct its war in Gaza. Off the shelf AI products powered by the tech company’s Azure cloud computing system and OpenAI are helping the IDF sort through data, translate Arabic, and even pick targets. But AI translations aren’t perfect and these systems often make mistakes. What happens when the consequences are life and death? Associated Press global investigative reporters Garance Burke and Michael Biesecker are part of a team that broke the story about Israel’s use of Microsoft’s commercial AI in a war. They’re on the show today to help us sort through it all. <ul><li>Defining “AI”</li><li>Off the shelf solutions for war</li><li>Microsoft Azure as war’s translator and search engine</li><li>“The Israel military is one of the leading militaries in the world adopting the use of AI to assist in its war efforts. They’ve been doing this for years.”</li><li>AI is picking targets</li><li>Students to militants</li><li>AI’s mistranslations</li><li>Blaming AI for human sins</li><li>Matthew’s vision of a hellish automated future</li><li>Employees push back</li><li>The money is just too good</li></ul> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-ai-weapons-430f6f15aab420806163558732726ad9" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How US tech giants supplied Israel with AI models, raising questions about tech’s role in warfare</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-ai-technology-737bc17af7b03e98c29cec4e15d0f108" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">As Israel uses US-made AI models in war, concerns arise about tech’s role in who lives and who dies</a> <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-ai-technology-microsoft-gaza-lebanon-90541d4130d4900c719d34ebcd67179d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Microsoft workers protest sale of AI and cloud services to Israeli military</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

How Israel Is Using Microsoft AI to Pick Targets in Gaza

A lot of the people designing America’s technology and close to the center of American power believe some deeply weird shit. We already talked to journalist <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/p/welcome-to-the-nerd-reich" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gil Duran about the Nerd Reich</a>, the rise of the destructive anti-democratic ideology. In this episode, we dive into another weird section of Silicon Valley: the cult of Rationalism. Max Read, the journalist behind the Read Max Substack, is here to help us through it. Rationalism is responsible for a lot more than you might think and Read lays out how it’s influenced the world we live in today and how it created the environment for a cult that’s got a body count. <ul><li>Defining rationalism: “Something between a movement, a community, and a self-help program.”</li><li>Eliezer Yudkowsky and the dangers of AI</li><li>What the hell is AGI?</li><li>The Singleton Guide to Global Governance</li><li>The danger of thought experiments</li><li>As always, follow the money</li><li>Vulgar bayesianism</li><li>What’s a Zizian?</li><li>Sith Vegans</li><li><a href="https://iep.utm.edu/anselm-ontological-argument/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anselm: Ontological Argument for God’s Existence</a></li><li>SBF and Effective Altruism</li></ul> <a href="https://maxread.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">READ MAX!</a> <a href="https://maxread.substack.com/p/the-zizians-and-the-rationalist-death" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Zizians and the Rationalist death cults</a> <a href="https://time.com/6266923/ai-eliezer-yudkowsky-open-letter-not-enough/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pausing AI Developments Isn’t Enough. We Need to Shut it All Down - Eliezer Yudkowsky’s TIME Magazine piece</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-is-rokos-basilisk-elon-musk-grimes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Explaining Roko’s Basilisk, the Thought Experiment That Brought Elon Musk and Grimes Together</a> <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/delirious-violent-impossible-true-story-zizians/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Delirious, Violent, Impossible True Story of the Zizians</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btos-LEYQ30&amp;t=285s" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Government Knows AGI is Coming | The Ezra Klein Show</a> <a href="https://archive.fo/BHd1p" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The archived ‘Is Trump Racist’ rational post</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The Cult of Rationalism in Silicon Valley

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> For mercenaries, death is a business. It’s all about finding the right market. Wagner and other Russian mercenary groups have found willing markets in Africa. Journalist John Lechner spent years in Africa among the mercenaries and he’s on the show today to tell us about what he learned. Lechner tells us how Wagner’s men think the U.S. media killed Prigozhin, why every theater (or market) is different, and the training regimen of a fresh convict recruit. It’s all in his new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Death-Our-Business-Russian-Mercenaries/dp/1639733361" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Death Is Our Business: Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare</a>. The threats change…but the mercenaries stay the same. <ul><li>Interlinking militant Islam and the rise of modern mercenaries</li><li>Russian mercenaries before Wagner</li><li>Prigozhin rising</li><li>Putin’s Chef was the father of ‘Hybrid War’</li><li>Wagner in Africa</li><li>‘No one said mercenary life was gonna be easy.’</li><li>Life inside Wagner</li><li>‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.’</li><li>You can’t judge intent by results</li><li>The Russian “royal” court is full of self starters and entrepreneurs</li></ul> <a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-tip-of-russias-spear-lechner" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Tip of Russia’s Spear</a> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/death-is-our-business-russian-mercenaries-and-the-new-era-of-private-warfare-john-lechner/21362561" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Death Is Our Business</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/06/world/europe/russia-convicts-war-murder.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pardoned for Serving in Ukraine, They Return to Russia to Kill Again</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/taliban-bureaucrats-hate-working-online-all-day-miss-the-days-of-jihad/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Taliban Bureaucrats Hate Working Online All Day, ‘Miss the Days of Jihad’</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Life Inside Wagner Before and After Prigozhin

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Special for our international listeners, did you know you can now buy a pathway to U.S. citizenship for the low, low price of $5 million sent directly to the U.S. treasury? For decades America’s immigration policies were a boon to its national defense. No one has better intelligence on a rival country than a fleeing dissident with firsthand knowledge. Times have changed. Gil Guerra of the Niskanen Center is here to talk all about those changes. It’s an episode packed with bizarre anecdotes and interesting tidbits about how America runs now. You’ll learn why evangelical Christians are turning their back on refugees, why China won’t accept deportation flights, and how to navigate the Darien Gap using short form video posts. <ul><li>Immigration is a foreign policy tool</li><li>Dissident refugees as a strategic win</li><li>What we know about how the “Gold Card” will work</li><li>“You simply can’t create greencards out of nowhere.”</li><li>How Mexico uses immigration to get concessions from the U.S.</li><li>“At a certain point the people who send you into the blades look like the bastards.”</li><li>Dealing with a dictator</li><li>20,000 Chinese nationals at the southern border</li><li>The internet has made it easier to immigrate</li><li>Navigating the Darien Gap, one TikTok video at a time</li></ul> <a href="https://www.niskanencenter.org/op-ed-trumps-gold-card-visa-explained/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Op-ed: Trump’s gold card visa, explained</a> <a href="https://www.niskanencenter.org/domestic-debate-global-strategy-revisiting-immigration-in-u-s-foreign-policy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Domestic debate, global strategy: Revisiting immigration in U.S. foreign policy</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/26/1184053690/chinese-owned-farmland-united-states" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">China owns 380,000 acres of land in the U.S. Here's where</a> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/weapons-of-mass-migration-forced-displacement-coercion-and-foreign-policy-kelly-m-greenhill/71cd5b4de563a723?ean=9780801457425&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Weapons of Mass Migration</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Immigration Policy As Defense Policy

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Turkey’s president has grabbed a bit more power for himself with the recent arrest of the mayor of Istanbul. The mayor was thought to be one of the few politicians who could challenge Erdogan. Steven Cook will take us through it. Talking about authoritarians is one of the things we do here, so strap in for another tale of turmoil on an angry planet. <ul><li>Shilling for <a href="http://kagi.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">kagi.com</a></li><li>“Competitive authoritarianism”</li><li>Negotiating with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party</li><li>How to court the Kurdish vote while killing Kurds</li><li>A stable of failsons</li><li>“The Turkish Marc Andreessen”</li><li>Why Erdogan hates Pennsylvania</li><li>Disproving McDonald’s Diplomacy, once again</li><li>Leveling a park to build a mall</li><li>How Erdogan processed the Arab Spring</li><li>“Fools, knaves, and rubes”—Oh my!</li></ul> <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/25/turkey-protests-erdogan-legacy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Turkey Can’t Live With, or Without, Erdogan</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/ukraine-has-written-a-folk-song-about-its-drone/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ukraine Has Written a Folk Song About Its Drone</a> <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/04/07/turkey-and-israel-are-becoming-deadly-rivals-in-syria" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Turkey and Israel are becoming deadly rivals in Syria</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Erdogan’s Path to Pure Authoritarianism

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Conquest is back baby! Eastern Europe, Taiwan, Greenland, Canada? It’s all on the table—and maybe up for grabs. Here to help us sort through this new age of empire building is University of Chicago political scientist Michael Albertus. <ul><li>As always, climate change</li><li>Whither Canada?</li><li>The coming Canadian century</li><li>“Territorial ambitions sometimes bite back”</li><li>The biggest caveats ever uttered on the show</li><li>“An empire eats”</li><li>The stories nations tell themselves</li><li>“Getting more America”</li><li>Picking the winners and losers</li><li>A little optimism at the end</li><li>How land confers power</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry5GHJifMWY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Those Were The Days</a></li><li>The false promise of abundance</li></ul> <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/climate-change-coming-age-territorial-expansion" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Coming Age of Territorial Expansion</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Land-Power-Doesnt-Determines-Societies/dp/1541604814" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Land Power: Who Has It, Who Doesn’t, and How That Determines the Fate of Societies</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Why An Empire Eats

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Great power competition has gotten old for President Donald Trump—never one for a fair fight. He’s looking for a little great power collusion instead, dividing the world with his best buds, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. This kind of thing isn’t new, though, Stacie Goddard, a professor at Wellesley, tells us, in fact it’s the 1800s on repeat. Well, look how that turned out… World War I, anybody? BTW, check out her <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/rise-and-fall-great-power-competition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">terrific article</a> on this in Foreign Affairs magazine. <ul><li>Welcome to the Concert of Europe</li><li>The post-Napoleon party</li><li>A taxonomy of aspirational Germans</li><li>Retvrn</li><li>Strong men, weak world</li><li>Government by Mafia</li><li>What becomes of the “middle powers”?</li><li>The era of aging dictators</li><li>The long breakdown</li><li>Empire without ickiness</li><li>Turns out might does, in fact, make right</li><li> </li></ul><a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/rise-and-fall-great-power-competition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Rise and Fall of Great-Power Competition</a> <a href="https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/international-relations/organizing-international-system/concert-europe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Concert of Europe</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Donald Trump Wants to Divide Up the World With His ‘Friends’

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Recorded 5/7/25 India and Pakistan have been unhappy neighbors since 1947 and Britain’s decolonization of the subcontinent. They’ve fought four wars and there have been countless skirmishes. As Indian jets streak over Pakistani skies and that Muslim nation threatens retaliation, it’s unclear if this is war or just another blip between nations that plain don’t like each other. Joining us is Sushant Singh, a man with a background that includes academic, journalist and 20-year veteran in the Indian army. He’s written an article <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/india/india-pakistan-kashmir-are-perilously-close-brink" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">on the situation in Foreign Affairs</a>, and brings us up to date. <ul><li>The state of play on the morning of May 7th</li><li>The Pahalgam attack</li><li>‘The Switzerland of India’</li><li>Matthew almost gets everyone into a lot of trouble</li><li>How Pakistan creates instability in Kashmir</li><li>The entire history of the conflict between India and Pakistan in about five minutes</li><li>China’s looming presence</li><li>‘These are non-escaltory strikes’</li><li>Comparing the militaries</li><li>Getting into the nuclear options</li><li>Pakistan’s tactical nuclear arsenal</li><li>The incredible monetary cost of uncertain missile defense</li><li>We go out on a happy note for once</li></ul> <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9vyzzyjzlo" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">More than 20 killed after gunmen open fire on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

India and Pakistan: Nuclear Neighbors on the Brink

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> The Pentagon has been trying to pivot to the Pacific for years now. Under President Donald Trump 2.0, who is focused on China, it just might happen. It’s a complicated body of water with dozens of players and a bloody history. One where Beijing is increasingly asserting itself. Here to walk us through some of it is Angry Planet producer and Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Knodell. He’s just back from the Philippines where he spent two weeks reporting on a joint exercise between the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific.<ul><li>Balikatan</li><li> </li><li>Training exercises as signalling</li><li>How 40 years of Balikatan tells the story of U.S.-Philippines relations</li><li>“There are definitely some places where it is about the fish.”</li><li>The Chinese Maritime Militia</li><li>Duterte vs Marcos in 2025</li><li>Why America doesn’t understand China</li><li>Russia’s imperial history in the Pacific (Kevin misspoke here, it’s <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/hawaii/article/hawaii-kauai-russian-fort-paulaula-19829530.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fort Elizabeth</a> not Fort Alexandria)</li><li>Why people like Pete Hegseth</li><li>The Nine-Dash line</li><li><a href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46d42d63-c5d0-41b6-8e24-41b715566fb2_979x1206.png" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img src="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F46d42d63-c5d0-41b6-8e24-41b715566fb2_979x1206.png"></a></li><li>The century of humiliation</li><li>Checking up on Red Hill</li></ul> <a href="https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/05/16/hawaii-news/hawaii-troops-forge-alliances-in-philippines/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hawaii troops forge alliances in Philippines</a> <a href="https://www.staradvertiser.com/2025/05/14/hawaii-news/army-allies-ponder-pacific-role/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Army, allies ponder Pacific role</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

America’s Pivot to the Pacific

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Palantir, Anduril and a suite of other Tolkien-inspired tech nightmares want to integrate artificial intelligence into every aspect of the U.S. military. Both companies have software suites they’re pitching as agents that will help make command decisions during combat. An AI general, if you will. Yes, that’s a terrible idea. On this episode of Angry Planet, Cameron Hunter and Bleddyn Bowen will tell us why. Hunter is a researcher at the University of Copenhagen and Bowen is a professor of Astropolitics at Durham University. They’ve just written a paper that skewers the idea that AI will ever be able to make command decisions. <ul><li>The narrow definition of AI</li><li>The folly of the AI general</li><li>The games AI can’t win</li><li>“Targeting things is a command decision”</li><li>The IDF’s use of Microsoft’s use of AI systems</li><li>“The enemy gets a vote”</li><li>Killing more doesn’t mean winning more</li><li>American military as a “glass tank”</li><li>Matthew gets lost in a rant</li><li>“They don’t even have an animal’s intelligence”</li><li>The very real military uses of AI</li></ul><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2023.2241648" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We’ll never have a model of an AI major-general: Artificial Intelligence, command decisions, and kitsch visions of war</a> <a href="https://youtu.be/XEM5qz__HOU" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Palantir’s pitch</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWEXnph1ElI" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Palmer Luckey on 60 Minutes</a> <a href="https://www.404media.co/scientists-explain-why-trumps-175-billion-golden-dome-is-a-fantasy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Scientists Explain Why Trump's $175 Billion Golden Dome Is a Fantasy</a> <a href="https://futurism.com/openai-employees-say-firms-chief-scientist-has-been-making-strange-spiritual-claims" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">OpenAI Employees Say Firm's Chief Scientist Has Been Making Strange Spiritual Claims</a> <a href="https://gizmodo.com/eastern-europe-wants-to-build-a-drone-wall-to-keep-out-russia-20005852474" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Eastern Europe Wants to Build a ‘Drone Wall’ to Keep Out Russia</a> <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/p/how-palantir-is-using-ai-in-ukraine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Palantir Is Using AI in Ukraine</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

The Horror of AI Generals Making Command Decisions

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> America loves the Western. Stories about frontier towns, outlaws and lawmen, and—most of all—killing. How did the myth and legend of the gunfighter come to permeate the U.S.? Were there rules to gunfights? How did you become famous by killing people? Did Texas, yes Texas, make all this possible? We’ll answer those questions in this episode of the show as we discuss the new book The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild. It’s the work of returning guest (and Texan) Bryan Burrough. <ul><li>Texas is both the West and the South</li><li>What made Texas so violent</li><li>What, exactly, is a gunfighter?</li><li>The rules of the duel</li><li>“Boys, I’m killed”</li><li>How to win friends while killin’ people</li><li>“What is more equalizing than a man alone with a gun?”</li><li><a href="https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/olive-isom-prentice" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Olive, Isom Prentice</a></li><li>Historiography of the gunfighter</li><li>Modern bank robbers are boring</li><li>The cattle business is the perfect vehicle for violence</li><li>The future belongs ... to pirates?</li></ul> Buy The Gunfighters from an <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-gunfighters-how-texas-made-the-west-wild-bryan-burrough/21783018?ean=9781984878908&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">independent bookstore</a> or from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gunfighters-Texas-Made-West-Wild/dp/1984878905/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3E951ZP922IU2&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.u8AfWGiEjXfAlWa6ZiYHJ-pxBUzLmuhvBL3lSl7BAVBsQ3IxadC3ReHmTKlqk-TuvjICUIZqj1blwEJUcZ1njV_2xh_-Ha96qqMUnYcC-1mS0G2ipa_DEs4YP5fcZgc9GteFVsDFwcWzjdORcthqjl7VL7_LuKUBggqs3fso3J3kHTNZq3JJvF2C1_ifbzp-aDkcXUg5JPlWJ-Ovq0Z_kFw1xF7nxXQ0bpYu2n6_kSs.pcCf27WDupBm9BgPHsztHjKpuPUJGSJdvTtJ1lQHNws&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=The+Gunfighters&amp;qid=1748464435&amp;sprefix=the+gunfighter%2Caps%2C94&amp;sr=8-1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amazon</a>Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

America’s Favorite Gunfighters and the Birth of the Old West

The host of the Hardcore History podcast joins War College to discuss some of the most powerful figures in history - men and women who burned down the world they were born into and -- many generations later&nbsp;-- are sometimes credited with laying the foundation for progress. But that doesn't mean that's what the arsonist set out to do, or that the people in their way were happy to pay the price.

What makes a historical arsonist?

Several developments have the potential to move the hands of the nuclear doom clock closer to midnight.&nbsp;

Why nuclear war looks inevitable

RE-RELEASE: Dan Carlin, who hosts the Common Sense and Hardcore History podcasts, joined us last year to discuss men and women who fundamentally change&nbsp;the worlds they are born into. Good may eventually come from what these "historical arsonists" do, but the price paid by their contemporaries is usually in blood.

ICYMI: The men who burned down the world: A conversation with Dan Carlin

The Pentagon lost track of equipment worth more than a billion dollars, according to a now declassified Department of Defense audit obtained by Amnesty International last month.  The F-35 program has already cost $100 billion to develop, and may not even be ready for combat according to an ex-director. The Justice Department has charged at least 20 U.S. Navy flag officers in the “Fat Leonard” scandal – one of the biggest corruption scandals in American military history.
 
What’s going on? America operates the best and most well funded fighting force on the planet. It’s also the most expensive, and that much cash can breed corruption, waste, fraud and abuse.
 
But this is more than just a financial problem. This week on War College, former Marine Corps captain Dan Grazier walks us through how bloated budgets and blank checks hurt military readiness.

By Matthew Gault
Produced by Bethel Habte

How the Pentagon’s wasteful budget hurts the military

From the Silver Legion to the Aryan Nation, the U.S. has had its share of fascist organizations but its never had anything quite like Atomwaffen Division. Grown and organized online, the group has been linked to five murders and a bomb plot in the past eight months. The group is so extreme that even prominent leaders of the Alt-Right have denounced it. This week on War College, journalist Jake Hanrahan takes us through what the group believes, what it wants, and what it might be willing to do to get it. You can listen to War College on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war-college/id1023774600?mt=2" target="_blank">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jason-fields/war-college" target="_blank">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ioueaqtuifyfrxlbf6e6ec6difm" target="_blank">Google Play</a> or follow our <a href="http://rss.acast.com/warcollege" target="_blank">RSS directly</a>. You can reach us on our new Facebook page: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/</a>; and on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/War_College" target="_blank">@War_College</a>.

Inside the Occult Neo-Nazis Killing People in America

When you hear the word Sparta, there’s an immediate association with war and the military. Of the Greek City States, it’s the one most associated with battle. Spartan men were expected to be warriors and their society was geared almost entirely toward training for war. For generations, military leaders have drawn inspiration from Sparta. Much of the romance around Sparta centers Around the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE, where the Persian Empire crushed a small and ill-equipped collection of elite soldiers. Since then, historians, propagandists, Hollywood, and the American military have turned Sparta’s epic defeat at the gates of fire into a myth of slavery vs freedom, east vs west, and democracy vs despotism. But the thing is … a lot of what hear about the Spartans is bullshit, the truth is more complicated. Here to help us unpack modern day mythos around Sparta is Pauline Kaurin. Kaurin is the Chair of Military Ethics at the US Naval War College and the author of The Warrior, Military Ethics and Contemporary Warfare: Achilles Goes Asymmetrical. You can listen to War College on<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war-college/id1023774600?mt=2" target="_blank"> iTunes</a>,<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jason-fields/war-college" target="_blank"> Stitcher</a>,<a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ioueaqtuifyfrxlbf6e6ec6difm" target="_blank"> Google Play</a> or follow our<a href="http://rss.acast.com/warcollege" target="_blank"> RSS directly</a>. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/" target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/</a>; and on Twitter:<a href="https://twitter.com/War_College" target="_blank"> @War_College</a>.

This Is (Not) Sparta!

Conversations about conflict on an Angry Planet

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