Everyone has an opinion about Ukraine, but something I’ve noticed in Western media is that no one really seems to be asking Russians what they think of the situation. The reasons for that are extremely complicated. So let’s talk about them. Here to talk about Russia’s view of the Ukraine conflict, Putin’s motivations, and to do a little … psychoanalysis … is Peter Pomerantsev. Pomerantsev is a returning guest, his latest in Time Magazine is <a href="https://time.com/6140996/putin-ukraine-threats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What the West Will Never Understand About Putin's Ukraine Obsession</a>. His latest book, which is also excellent, is This Is Not Propaganda. Angry Planet has a substack! <a href="https://angryplanet.substack.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Join the Information War</a> to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict. <a href="https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://angryplanet.substack.com/subscribe</a> You can listen to Angry Planet on<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/war-college/id1023774600?mt=2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> iTunes</a>,<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jason-fields/war-college" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Stitcher</a>,<a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Ioueaqtuifyfrxlbf6e6ec6difm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Google Play</a> or follow our<a href="http://rss.acast.com/warcollege" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> RSS directly</a>. Our website is <a href="http://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">angryplanetpod.com</a>. You can reach us on our Facebook page:<a href="https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.facebook.com/angryplanetpodcast/</a>; and on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/angryplanetpod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@angryplanetpod</a>.Support this show <a target="_blank" rel="payment" href="http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege">http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege</a>. <hr> See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

Putin, Ukraine, and Russia's Daddy Issues

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

You can’t win a war with airpower alone, despite what the U.S. Air Force will tell you. For more than 100 years, the masters of the air have promised that military and political objectives can be achieved if you just let them drop enough bombs. It’s a theory that’s been tested, and fallen short, many times. Operation Midnight Hammer, the Trump administration’s use of 14 GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Iranian nuclear sites, is just the latest test. The promise is that this has set back Iran’s nuclear program (<a href="https://dovhlevin.substack.com/p/yes-the-attack-delayed-the-nukes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">it probably has</a>) but Israel is hoping for much more—regime change in the Islamic Republic. Time will tell, but I’m not betting on it. On this episode of Angry Planet we zoom out and talk about the strategy behind airpower in the 21st century. Robert Farley, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kentucky, is on the show today to give us his thoughts on the Iran strikes, airpower in general, and the lessons to be learned from watching the war in Ukraine. <ul><li>Should we abolish the independent Air Force?</li><li>Was Israel’s war on Iran a success?</li><li>Has airpower ever forced regime change?</li><li>Curtis LeMay mentioned</li><li>Bombing doesn’t create revolutionary fervor</li><li>Airpower as theater</li><li>“Israel-splaining”</li><li>What’s a Golden Dome for anyway?</li><li>Are FPV drones part of the air force arsenal or infantry weapons?</li></ul> <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/23/iran-airstrikes-airpower-ukraine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Strikes on Iran Show the Force, and Limits, of Airpower</a> <a href="https://ket.org/program/kentucky-edition/june-24-2025/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Robert on PBS in Kentucky</a> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Grounded-Abolishing-Studies-Conflict-Diplomacy/dp/0813165571" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force</a> <a href="https://warontherocks.com/2015/09/the-five-ring-circus-how-airpower-enthusiasts-forgot-about-interdiction/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Five-Ring Circus: How Airpower Enthusiasts Forgot About Interdiction</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 Iran Strikes Beg the Question: What Is Airpower For?

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> The world is living with a Cold War hangover. The logic of deterrence, which dominates the minds of the people who plan nuclear wars, means that America must have enough nuclear weapons to credibly threaten to destroy the world should someone launch nukes at it. That thinking led to a world with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, and that was just when the U.S. had the Soviet Union to think about. Now it’s facing the twin threats of Russia and China. Does that mean America needs twice the nukes to handle twice the threats? Some in the Pentagon seem to think so, and the world is embarking on a radical and expensive nuclear build up the likes of which it hasn’t seen in a generation.What if there’s another way? James Acton is here to pitch us on a world where <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/optimal-deterrence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Optimal Deterrence</a> does not mean spending trillions of dollars on new world-ending weapons just to make sure everyone else doesn’t use theirs.Acton is a co-director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program and the author of a new article that outlines the 21st century nuclear arms race and a new plan to stop it. <ul><li>Podcasting from an iPhone in a closet</li><li>The apocryphal camera lens story</li><li>The nuclear tease</li><li>What are nuclear weapons pointed at?</li><li>How to win a three-way nuclear war</li><li>The dread logic of counterforce targeting</li><li>Trump’s nuclear reticence</li><li>How many nukes are there anyway?</li><li>How to spend a trillion dollars on nuclear weapons upgrades</li><li>Acton’s big idea</li><li>“I don’t think we lose much by ceasing to target an adversary’s nuclear forces.”</li><li>“It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not.”</li></ul> <a href="https://www.cfr.org/report/optimal-deterrence" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Optimal Deterrence</a> <a href="https://thebulletin.org/2023/06/one-nuclear-armed-poseidon-torpedo-could-decimate-a-coastal-city-russia-wants-30-of-them/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Russia’s nuclear torpedo</a> <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/?lang=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carnegie Endowment for International Peace</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 Many Nukes Does It Take to Win a War? (Trick Question)

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> Journalists and Nazis have changed a lot in the years since the end of World War II; journalists are on the outs while Nazis are having a bit of a moment. Across the U.S. and Canada, avowed fascists have committed murder, attempted to destroy the power grid, and actively recruit online and in person. As these extremists work to hide their identity, journalists and law enforcement use advanced tech to expose them. But at what cost? On this episode of Angry Planet, Jordan Pearson of the CBC’s visual investigations unit talks us through how he and his co-workers use open source intelligence to expose fascists. We also discuss the ethical struggles that come with using the tools of the surveillance state to track them down. <ul><li>Nazis hiding their faces</li><li>Exercise as a path to fascism</li><li>What’s the public concern?</li><li>Hate speech in Canada vs America</li><li>How a journalist decides when to unmask a fascist</li><li>When a journalist uses facial recognition and leaked data in the public interest</li><li>Falling into OSINT</li><li>Using a boxing glove to find a specific gym</li><li>The lightswitch!</li><li>A gazebo with a chipped tooth</li><li>Can AI help journalists? (yes)</li><li>The nightmare of transcription</li><li>“It’s trending towards Nazis”</li></ul> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/north-ireland-riots-1.7558861" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How a Northern Irish town descended into 3 days of anti-immigrant violence</a><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/lagac%C3%A9-rcmp-quebec-extremists-caf-sniper-1.7581043" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Man accused of facilitating terrorism used quarry outside Quebec City for target practice</a><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/fascist-fight-club" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tracking Canada’s fascist fight clubs</a><a href="https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-in-the-news/isds-mack-lamoureux-joined-the-fighting-matters-podcast-to-discuss-the-rise-of-active-clubs/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What’s an active club?</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.

Hunting Nazis Online With Canadian Journalists

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> The Pacific Northwest is known for its startling natural beauty, precocious rainfall, and propensity to birth serial killers. Why? Caroline Fraser has a theory and it’s a good one. This week on Angry Planet, Fraser takes us on a journey through the American past and into the dark heart of the PNW. Her new book Murderland weaves together memoir, true crime, history, and science into a compelling narrative that’s as beautiful and deadly as the forests around Tacoma. <ul><li>Lead in the time of serial killers</li><li>Crazywall as map</li><li>America’s ultra-leaded 1970s</li><li>The killer hubristic roadways of the Pacific Northwest</li><li>The unique draw of Ted Bundy</li><li>The beauty and horror of the PNW’s woods</li><li>Lead poisoned psychos become pop culture geniuses</li><li>Anne Rule and the different eras of true crime writing</li><li>The Olympic–Wallowa lineament</li><li>The current state of the true crime genre</li></ul> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/murderland-crime-and-bloodlust-in-the-time-of-serial-killers-caroline-fraser/156e2df8d7c9c05c?ean=9780593657225&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Murdlerand: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial Killers</a> <a href="https://ecology.wa.gov/spills-cleanup/contamination-cleanup/cleanup-sites/tacoma-smelter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tacoma Smelter Plume project</a> <a href="https://www.pittmed.health.pitt.edu/story/houses-butterflies" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Houses of Butterflies</a> <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/from-the-archives-a-look-back-on-i-90-floating-bridges-before-light-rail-work-begins/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A look back at the I-90 floating bridges before light-rail work begins</a> <a href="https://hunningham.biblionumis.it/domesday-book/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Domesday Book</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.

Traveling America’s ‘Murderland’

Listen to this episode commercial free at<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://angryplanetpod.com</a> On September 2, 2025 the United States escalated its decades long War on Drugs with a tactic borrowed from the War on Terror. It used a drone to blow up a boat it said was full of drugs then said the 11 people killed in the strike were terrorists. Is this legal? Does that matter? On this week’s Angry Planet, journalist Mike LaSusa of InSight Crime comes on the show to walk us through the ins and outs of America’s long-running War on Drugs and how War on Terror tactics are shaping the fight. <ul><li>What’s Tren de Aragua?</li><li>The real connections between Tren de Aragua and the government of Venezuela</li><li>Is this legal?</li><li>How America’s drug interdiction works</li><li>Does violence deter?</li><li>On narcoterrorism</li><li>Cartel as misnomer</li><li>Violence isn’t sustainable</li><li>“We don’t even know these people’s names.”</li><li>America’s partners in the War on Terror on Drugs</li><li>“Motivations matter.”</li><li>How do you solve a problem like illicit drugs?</li><li>How the Trump admin hurt its own cause in the drug war</li><li>Poppies in Afghanistan</li><li>Drug use as a moral failing</li><li>11 is a lot people for a drug boat</li><li>The Cartel of the Suns</li></ul> <a href="https://insightcrime.org/event/how-war-on-terror-tactics-could-change-the-fight-against-organized-crime/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How War-on-Terror Tactics Could Change the Fight Against Organized Crime</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/us/trump-drug-boat-venezuela-strike.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Boat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs Is Said to Have Turned Before U.S. Attacked It</a> <a href="https://theintercept.com/2025/09/10/trump-venezuela-boat-attack-drone/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rand Paul Reveals Venezuela Boat Attack Was a Drone Strike</a> <a href="https://insightcrime.org/investigations/tren-de-aragua-fact-fiction/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tren de Aragua: Fact vs. Fiction</a> <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/how-trumps-anti-money-laundering-rollback-could-help-latam-criminals/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">How Trump’s Anti-Money Laundering Rollback Could Help LatAm Criminals</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 War On Terror on Drugs

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.com Political assassins often have incoherent politics and Tyler Robinson is no different. The young man who killed Charlie Kirk inscribed the shell casings of his bullets with obscure memes that say less about what he believed and more about where he spent time online. Robinson isn’t alone. Earlier this year the Annunciation Church shooter showed off a rifle inscribed with similar memes pulled from the internet. The Christchurch shooter in 2019 livestreamed their killing and left behind a meme laden manifesto. So what the hell is going on? On this episode of Angry Planet, Michael Senters—a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech—has some unsatisfying answers. Senters painstakingly walks us through each message on Robinson’s bullets and explains the online spaces from whence they came.If you don’t know a gropyer from a Helldiver or have never heard “OwO” said aloud, this episode is for you. It will not make you feel better. <ul><li>4,000 hours in seven games</li><li>A painfully specific explanation of every shell casing meme</li><li>“It can’t be Helldivers”</li><li>“This kid has probably fried his brain online.”</li><li>Hearts of Iron IV’s place in online fascist discourse</li><li>Son, what’s a groyper?</li><li>There’s no compelling evidence Robinson was a Groyper</li><li>The terrible embarrassment of explaining memes out loud</li><li>The 10 year old meme on the shell that killed Kirk</li><li>Constructing an ideology here is a Sisyphian task</li><li>Being online is about irony and performance</li><li>How a moment in time becomes a memetic hieroglyph</li><li>Assassination as performance</li><li>Gamergate as a “critical junction” in the Republican party</li><li>How GG spread the irony-poisoned posting style like a virus</li><li>Filming a TikTok video at an assassination</li><li>Re-evaluating our relationship to the internet</li><li>A little bit about working in a bookstore</li><li>The charging documents drop at the end of our conversation</li></ul> <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/charlie-kirk-killing-tyler-robinson-shell-casings-rcna230933" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">What the shell casings in the assassination of Charlie Kirk do – and don't – tell us</a> <a href="https://www.liberalcurrents.com/yes-its-the-guns-its-also-the-phones/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Yes, It’s the Guns. It’s Also the Phones.</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/09/16/us/tyler-robinson-charges.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read the Charges Against Tyler Robinson</a> <a href="https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/exclusive-leaked-messages-from-charlie" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Exclusive: Leaked Messages from Charlie Kirk Assassin</a> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSWKtuaV2fY" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The “Notices Bulge OwO” video</a> <a href="https://cad-comic.com/comic/loss/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The “Loss” comic</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.

Assassinations Are Shitposts Now

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.com The episode is about Vanessa Guillén, a US soldier who was murdered at Fort Hood in 2020. She also experienced sexual harassment while in the military. I spoke with ABC Special Correspondent John Quiñones about his new podcast, Vanished. It’s a good podcast that covers Guillén’s case in-depth and highlights the reforms the Pentagon instituted after. We recorded the show on September 30, Guillén’s birthday. That morning, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a long speech about his own military reforms. Many of the changes Hegseth has pushed through conflict with the changes that Guillén’s death ushered in. As such, I thought it was important to get John’s reaction to Hegseth’s speech. Before we began recording,I told him I planned to ask him about this and he agreed to talk about it. When I asked the question during recording, a public relations person from ABC jumped on the line and asked me to stop talking about Hegseth. I pushed back, but not hard enough. The next day, ABC PR reached out via email to ask if I would cut this moment from the show. I will not. It’s included here in full. Further, I want to take a moment at the top to highlight the reasons why I brought up Hegseth’s speech. There’s a lot to it and, honestly, it demands its own episode. Here are Hegseth’s thoughts on toxic leaders. <blockquote>“Today, at my direction, we’re undertaking a full review of the Department’s Definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing, to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing. Of course, you can’t do, like nasty bullying and hazing. We’re talking about words like bullying and hazing and toxic. They’ve been weaponized and bastardized inside our formations, undercutting commanders and NCOs. No more. Setting, achieving, and maintaining high standards is what you all do. And if that makes me toxic, then so be it.”</blockquote> Guillén’s case also changed the way the Army investigates sexual harassment. Here are the secretary’s thoughts on the current state of official internal military investigations: <blockquote>“We are overhauling an inspector-general process, the IG that has been weaponized, putting complainers, ideologues and poor performers in the driver’s seat. We’re doing the same with the Equal Opportunity and Military Equal Opportunity policies, the EO and MEO, at our department. No more frivolous complaints, no more anonymous complaints, no more repeat complaints, no more smearing reputations, no more endless waiting, no more legal limbo, no more side-tracking careers, no more walking on eggshells. “Of course, being a racist has been illegal in our formation since 1948. The same goes for sexual harassment. Both are wrong and illegal. Those kinds of infractions will be ruthlessly enforced.”</blockquote> After the speech, Hegseth signed 11 memos that detailed these changes. I’ll link them in the show notes. The memos say that the military’s definition of “harassment” is overly broad, calls for the end of “anonymous complaints”—something Hegesth also said in his speech, and asks that investigations be completed quickly with the assistance of artificial intelligence. I believe that is all important context for this episode. I also believe that Hegseth’s speech and the policy directives represent a regression in the American armed services. I will not pretend otherwise. <a href="https://abc.com/news/0d06790b-c79c-4be1-bd99-6292955b4002/category/1138628" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen to the All-New ‘Vanished: What Happened to Vanessa’ Podcast</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.

Vanessa Guillén and the Importance of Speaking Up

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.com This week on Angry Planet we have returning guest and former judge advocate Dan Maurer. The last time he was on the show, Maurer walked us through the consequences of a <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/p/so-what-happens-to-seal-team-6-if" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Supreme Court ruling</a> that asked the question: is it illegal for the President to order SEAL Team Six to kill people? It was a surreal question that now feels more pressing. A US Carrier Strike Group is moving into South American waters to support America’s highly kinetic War on Drugs. Military lawyers might have advised the Trump administration that extra-judiciously executing alleged criminals in international waters is, in fact, illegal. But Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/a--sweeping-overhaul--of-the-jag-corps-poses-likely-dangers" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">no fan of military lawyers</a> and fired the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of both the Army and the Air Force. The Pentagon plans to turn as many as 600 of the remaining military lawyers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-immigration-judges-trump-pete-hegseth-b07950833591270b926ad86ede8b961f" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">into immigration judges</a>. The second Trump administration is perverting the law and sidelining anyone that might tell them it’s a bad idea. Since he was last on the show, Maurer has retired from the Army and is now a professor at Ohio Northern University’s college of law. He’s here to tell us how bad things are and how much worse they might get.<ul><li>The terminal parent metaphor</li><li>A story that only ends one way</li><li>What’s a JAG?</li><li>Hegseth’s JAG hate</li><li>Law as perversion</li><li>Are these strikes legal? “No.”</li><li>“It can be lawful, but not moral.”</li><li>Legally speaking, you can’t be a combatant and a criminal.</li><li>When Truman tried to take over the steel industry.</li><li>Can state authorities arrest the feds?</li><li>Life after Trump time</li></ul> <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/are-military-lawyers-being-sidelined" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Are Military Lawyers Being Sidelined?</a> <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/defining--rebellion--in-10-u.s.c.---12406-and-the-insurrection-act" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Defining ‘Rebellion’ in 10 U.S.C. § 12406 and the Insurrection Act</a> <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/on-treason-and-traitors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">On Treason and Traitors</a> <a href="https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna--lindsey-halligan-here" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”</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.

Yes, US Strikes On Alleged Drug Traffickers Are Illegal. That Won’t Stop Them

We’re obsessed with apocalypses, big and small. We fantasize about what the future might look like after the fall of society and fear the coming tribulation. Rome fretted about decline until its end. Stories of the Sea Peoples terrified the monarchs of the Late Bronze Age. During the 30 Years’ War, Europeans imagined Armageddon had finally begun. But a funny thing happens after the collapse: things tend to get a little better for everyone. Luke Kemp is here to hold our hands through the end of the world as we know it. Kemp is a researcher at Cambridge’s Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and the author of the book Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse. <ul><li>Beauty in collapse</li><li>Matthew’s AI test</li><li>The Doctor Doom mask</li><li>“Collapse was good for most people.”</li><li>Sea People’s mentioned</li><li>Why a Goliath and not a Leviathan?</li><li>Down with Thomas Hobbes</li><li>Fear of a mass panic driving collapse</li><li>“Emergency powers have a very funny tendency to stick around”</li><li>The problem with guns, germs, and steel</li><li>The Tree of Evil</li><li>On the purpose of human sacrifice</li><li>Doctor Doom is the belle of the ball</li><li>Are we ending on a high note?</li></ul> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/goliath-s-curse-the-history-and-future-of-societal-collapse-luke-kemp/d320180b7aac6931?ean=9780593321355&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buy Goliath’s Curse</a> <a href="https://www.cser.ac.uk/team/luke-kemp/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Centre for the Study of Existential Risk</a> <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/the-great-myth-of-empire-collapse" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The rewards of ruin</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.

‘Goliath’s Curse’ and the Surprising Benefits of Societal Collapse

Is your Empire feeling less than fresh? Does it feel like the modern world’s best days are behind it? Do conquest and global power politics not hit as good as they used to? Welcome to the Age of Stagnation, a time when the fruits of the Industrial Revolution can be enjoyed but not replicated. It’s making us all a little crazy, especially world leaders. With us today on the show is Michael Beckley, a political science professor at Tufts University and his career includes stretches at the Pentagon, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the RAND Corporation. To hear Beckley tell it, stagnation might not be such a bad thing. If we can avoid repeating the worst mistakes of the 20th century and let go of a “number go up” mind set, then maybe we can all learn to enjoy a long age of stabilization. <ul><li>The diminishing returns of the Industrial Revolution</li><li>Winners and losers in the Age of Ascent</li><li>Moore’s Law sputters out</li><li>Stabilization isn’t so bad. “We’re some of the luckiest people who’ve ever lived.”</li><li>Shenanigans and shithousery</li><li>AI isn’t “ready” yet</li><li>Why conquest doesn’t work anymore</li><li>China as a paper tiger in the age of stabilization</li><li>America’s unique advantages</li><li>“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” - Mike Tyson</li></ul> <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/stagnant-order-michael-beckley" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Stagnant Order</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/i-tried-the-robot-thats-coming-to-live-with-you-its-still-part-human-68515d44?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqcH9j_PeQDRXYSWEyHNnXv0woIflltVCxz6SzLeB9Rb96VGCQu00klILonW6_g%3D&amp;gaa_ts=690e117a&amp;gaa_sig=XqcLrDxSnFq3t8ubq9ZyJz1EmccQPA59GYWECnLpkpurTDGOSa0NMEtL1uveIre9_sDoa9lm0VMttrgFtcxuCQ%3D%3D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human.</a> <a href="https://www.michaelbeckley.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Michael Beckley</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.

Learning to Love the Stagnant Order

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 we’re taking a break from the horrors of the present to explore horrors of a past distant enough now that they’re entertaining. But then, America found those horrors pretty entertaining at the time, too. Even when it was still a thriving community and a going concern, the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, was the subject of dimestore novels and tall tales. Peter Cozzens is here with us to talk about his new book Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West. Cozzens is a historian who has written 17 books that focus on the U.S. Civil War, the Wild West, and the American Indian Wars. His latest work is all about Deadwood and the wild cast of characters who inhabited it. Come sit with us a spell and learn about the real Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and Al Swearengen. <ul><li>“Power comes to any man who has the color.”</li><li>Black Elk and how the West Was Lost</li><li>Conflicting perceptions of Wild Bill Hickock</li><li>Professional gamblers</li><li>Creating Calamity Jane</li><li>Softening George Hearst</li><li>“In the West, women didn’t wear underwear.”</li><li>Deadwood burns</li><li>How history becomes a dime store novel</li><li>“The most diabolical town on the face of the earth.”</li></ul> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/deadwood-gold-guns-and-greed-in-the-american-west-peter-cozzens/fa36b6aacbe935e1?ean=9780593537855&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West</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.

Deadwood: The Town that Made the Wild West

The White House is portraying the race to adopt AI as an existential crisis. It’s the next Manhattan Project, they say, a technology so important it will require an unprecedented build out of energy infrastructure and massive data centers. But the Manhattan Project was a government-led technological drive whereas AI is led by salesmen and corporations.What could possibly go wrong? On this episode of Angry Planet, Ben Buchanan is here to tell us about the government’s role in fostering AI. Buchanan was an AI advisor during the Biden administration where he helped write the policy that paved the way for private-public partnerships between DC and AI companies. Now he’s a professor at John Hopkins and, though he’s still an AI advocate, he’s got concerns. Slop, public land use, and autonomous weapons. We get into it all on this episode of Angry Planet. <ul><li>AI as an arm’s race</li><li>Nukes are cheaper than AI</li><li>Government’s role in the construction of AI infrastructure</li><li>What are the stakes of the AI competition between the United States and China?</li><li>“More powerful AI systems will enable more powerful cyber operations.”</li><li>“It’s the hardest thing we do as a species.”</li><li>Turning over federal lands to data centers</li><li>How Trump is shooting himself in the foot regarding AI</li><li>“We’re just chasing power all across the country.”</li><li>“We’re going to be building data centers for a very long time.”</li><li>How the AI expert uses AI</li><li>“There’s a long list of concerns.”</li><li>Accident reports and autonomous weapons</li></ul> <a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/artificial-intelligence-grand-bargain-buchanan-collins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The AI Grand Bargain</a> <a href="https://sais.jhu.edu/users/bbuchan8" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ben Buchanan</a> <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-identifies-16-federal-sites-across-country-data-center-and-ai-infrastructure" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DOE on federal lands for data centers</a> <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-has-a-plan-to-keep-its-ai-from-building-a-nuclear-weapon-will-it-work/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Anthropic Has a Plan to Keep Its AI From Building a Nuclear Weapon. Will It Work?</a> <a href="https://www.esd.whs.mil/portals/54/documents/dd/issuances/dodd/300009p.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">DoD Direction 3000.09 Autonomy in Weapons Systems</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 US Government’s AI Grand Bargain

Another week and another Angry Planet about the horrifying systems that rule our lives. Is there a depressive theme running through the work right now? Possibly. I promise we’ll soon replace it with rage. This week on the show we have Sven Beckert to talk about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Beckert is a professor of history at Harvard and his tome is an attempt to capture the entire history of an economic system in one book. It’s a doorstop, but it’s also readable and clear-eyed. Some come with me on a journey that runs through the plantations of South Carolina to the tech markets of Shenzhen. <ul><li>Cotton as an entry point to the history of capitalism</li><li>The economic big bang</li><li>Industrial Revolution as mutation</li><li>“It’s still being born.”</li><li>Human data is oil to be fracked</li><li>The Quaker Oats metaphor</li><li>“The market is God.”</li><li>Ascribing morality to economics</li><li>When Gary Hart ushered in Neoliberalism</li><li>“Capitalism is a series of regime changes.”</li><li>Moments of great change offer opportunities</li></ul> <a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/capitalism-a-global-history-sven-beckert/a8c65a49e75babdf?ean=9780735220836&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Capitalism: A Global History</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/opinion/davos-neoliberalism-trump-tariffs.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Old Order Is Dead. Do Not Resuscitate.</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.

‘Capitalism Is a Series of Regime Changes’

Earlier this year journalist Ben Makuch caught a glimpse of Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, dancing at a club in Kyiv. It was a surreal moment, a snapshot of a tragic war that the West thinks is defining the future of conflict. Tech executives have flocked to Ukraine, courting the country in an attempt to get at a resource more precious than gold: data. Makuch was just there and has written about what he saw for The New Republic and he’s on the show today to talk about it. <ul><li>Some light smoking banter</li><li>Ben’s timeline</li><li>Google’s CEO dancing in a bar in Kyiv</li><li>Ukraine as laboratory for war tech</li><li>The JSOC era is over</li><li>In defense of the majestic American turkey</li><li>The great America vs China speculation</li><li>War, cheaper</li><li>On the actual frontline</li><li>Wheat fields of fiber optic line</li><li>The buzz of the drone</li><li>Life in the bloodlands</li><li>The human suffering of living in Ukraine</li><li>FPV-made propaganda</li><li>“Never underestimate human innovation when it comes to killing other humans.”</li><li>What’s Erik Prince doing in Ukraine?</li></ul> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/08/opinion/us-china-taiwan-military.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New York Times on Military Reform</a> <a href="https://medium.com/war-is-boring/the-medieval-and-highly-effective-tactics-of-the-ukrainian-protests-a292fc7a40c2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Medieval—and Highly Effective—Tactics of the Ukrainian Protests</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/who-is-st-javelin-and-why-is-she-a-symbol-of-the-war-in-ukraine/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Who Is St. Javelin and Why Is She a Symbol of the War in Ukraine?</a> <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/cope-cages-on-busted-tanks-are-a-symbol-of-russias-military-failures/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘Cope Cages’ on Busted Tanks Are a Symbol of Russia’s Military Failures</a> <a href="https://www.404media.co/unauthorized-edit-to-ukraines-frontline-maps-point-to-polymarkets-war-betting/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">‘Unauthorized’ Edit to Ukraine’s Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket’s War Betting</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.

Google’s Former CEO Is Dancing in Ukraine

The annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine and the military operation in Syria present the image of a confident Russian President Vladimir Putin willing to expend military power for political gain. The truth, according to Dr. Mark Galeotti of New York University, is far more complex.

Most of Russia's military still 'rubbish' despite Ukraine, Syria deployments

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

Why nuclear war looks inevitable

Depending on where you live, this story will either be shocking or old hat. But even if you have an armed "militia" operating&nbsp;near you, you probably don't realize just how developed these states within a state have become - and how far they've drifted from the majority of American society.

Inside America’s armed militias and the new civil war

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 Weimar Republic was doomed from the start. World War I left Germany in a precarious position. The Treaty of Versailles ended outright aggression but it also left the German economy crippled and saddled its people with a government they never quite believed in. Worse, it stipulated that Germany take full responsibility for the most devastating war in human history. This week on War College, Jason Fields--the show’s co-creator and digital editor at the Holocaust Museum--returns to walk us through how the Nazis came to power during the interwar years. From the beer halls to Hugo Boss and the Night of Long Knives, Fields tells the story of how streetfights and national shame led to “blood and soil.” By Matthew Gault. Produced by Jason Fields and Matthew Gault

This Is How Republics Fall

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!

If there’s one thing that’s always changing, it’s history. And no, we’re not talking about the Confederacy today. We’re back to one of our favorite subjects: Russia. Under the Soviet regime, history was malleable. Events appeared or disappeared like characters in a play. Stalin was a savior, he was a devil. It was all in the telling. But that urge to rewrite history goes way back in Russia, and he who controls the past controls the future, as they say. Joining us today is friend of the show Mark Galeotti. His new book, A Short History of Russia, from Pagans to Putin has got it all covered.&nbsp; Galeotti is an expert on the Russian military, politics, and underworld, the author of many fine books, an honorary professor at University College London and a Senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute. <ul><li>Recorded 7/17/20</li></ul> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

The Entire History of Russia in One Hour

Civil wars, proxy wars, cold wars, hot wars. Economic collapse, the collapse of civil societies and governments. Hunger, torture, disease. Many parts of the world seem to be falling apart in 2020, but even then, the Middle East is its own special case. To talk about the state of one of the world’s most turbulent regions, Steven Cook joins us. Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. He recently wrote an overview for Foreign Policy magazine that captures much of what’s going on—“The End of Hope in the Middle East” <ul><li>Recorded 9/10</li><li>How bad are things really?</li><li>How Western powers created a sectarian system in Lebanon</li><li>Who is fighting on the ground in Libya?</li><li>Russian mercenaries and air assets</li><li>Iraq as America’s original sin of the current troubles, and why that’s wrong</li><li>How Saddam held Iraq together</li><li>Fragmentation of the Middle East</li><li>Is Saudi Arabia as stable as it seems?</li><li>The importance of having a vision for the future</li></ul> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

War, Death, and Financial Collapse in the Middle East

Conversations about conflict on an Angry Planet

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