Luke Paxton and Han Lee know a good cause when they see one. When Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, the American vets know what they need to do. Their time in Afghanistan has given them the skills to help fight a war and the moral clarity needed to know when a cause is just. But are they going to fight in Ukraine for the right reason? Do Ukrainians want them there? And does either matter when bombs are dropping all over the country?On this episode of Angry Planet, author Matt Gallagher returns to the podcast to talk about his novel Daybreak. It’s the story of Paxton and Lee as they travel to Ukraine to fight. It’s a work of fiction that strikes at deeper emotional truths about the conflict. It’s also pieced together from Gallagher’s own experiences in Ukraine, some of which wouldn’t fit neatly into a work of journalistic non-fiction. <ul><li>What fiction can do that non-fiction can’t.</li><li>Exploring Lviv’s mystical toy barter alley.</li><li>The contractually required Joan Didion quote.</li><li>Why Ukrainians are suspicious of Americans who say “I want to help.”</li><li>The structure of a Daybreak movie.</li><li>Recorded 4/23/24</li></ul> <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Daybreak/Matt-Gallagher/9781501177859" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Go here to buy Daybreak</a>. Angry Planet<a href="http://angryplanetpod.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> has a Substack!</a> Join to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.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.

Americans in Ukraine Looking for ‘Daybreak’

Sign up at&nbsp;<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">angryplanetpod.com</a>&nbsp;to get instant access to the full episode. <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/p/russian-murderers-who-go-to-war-and" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A direct link to the episode on Substack</a>. In Russia there’s a revolving door between prisons and the frontlines. What began as a Wanger program is now official: the Kremlin will pardon nearly any crime if the convict agrees to serve on the front lines in Ukraine. After a six month stint at war, murderers and rapists are free to return to the scene of the crime. Some come home to kill again. On this episode of Angry Planet,&nbsp;New York Times&nbsp;journalist Milana Mazaeva is here to talk about what happens to Russian communities when criminals return to them after going to war. The first half of the conversation covers the articles and details harrowing stories of Russian murderers who became soldiers who became murderers again.&nbsp; The latter half of the episode is about how hard it is to report from Russia right now, the incredible games of telephone Mazaeva plays to get the stories she does, and what’s lost when you can’t visit the place you’re reporting on. <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>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.

TEASER: Russian Murderers Who Go to War and Come Home to Kill Again

Americans love shrimp. They love it so much they don’t think too hard about where it comes from—or the virtual slaves who are farming them. Joshua Farinella doesn’t have that luxury. A few years ago, Farinella took a job working for a shrimp production company in India. The money they were paying would set his family up for a long time to come, but what he saw when he landed in the country made him realize the cash wasn’t worth it. He chose to blow the whistle. On this episode of Angry Planet, Farinella sits down with us to talk about what he saw in the shrimp factory. It all starts one fateful night when he receives a WhatsApp message telling him that one of the plant’s workers was caught in the place’s water treatment facility. “She was searching for a way out of there,” the message said. “Her contractor is not allowing her to go home.” After Farinella decided to blow the whistle, he began to document what he saw at the plant. Video, audio, and documents he secured can be viewed at The Outlaw Ocean Project.&nbsp; Read <a href="https://www.theoutlawocean.com/investigations/india-shrimp-a-growing-goliath/the-whistleblower/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Whistleblower</a> at The Outlaw Ocean Project <a href="https://www.theoutlawocean.com/investigations/india-shrimp-a-growing-goliath/documents/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Read through the documents</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 Horrors Behind Your Frozen Shrimp

Sign up at&nbsp;<a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">angryplanetpod.com</a>&nbsp;to get instant access to the full episode. <a href="https://angryplanetpod.com/p/russian-murderers-who-go-to-war-and" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A direct link to the episode on Substack</a>. The big picture in Europe doesn’t look good. Russia is moving to encircle key cities in Ukraine and is shaking its nuclear saber at the West. Ukraine’s nearest neighbors are, understandably, concerned about Moscow’s aggression and militarizing at an alarming rate. This summer, NATO will conduct Operation Steadfast Defender, a military exercise the Pentagon said is the <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3656703/nato-begins-largest-exercise-since-cold-war/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">largest since the Cold War</a>. To Moscow, an enormous military exercise on its border could seem a tad aggressive. Add to this Russia’s recent nuclear rhetoric and <a href="https://twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk/status/1793074692913549770" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">missile exercise</a> and the geopolitical situation is looking a bit tense. On this episode of Angry Planet, Aram Shabanian stops by to talk us through the troubling signs he’s seeing about a brewing conflict between Russia and NATO. Shabanian is the Open-Source Information Gathering Manager at the <a href="https://newlinesinstitute.org/people/aram-shabanian/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">New Lines Institute</a>. We also get into what happens when you mix Coke and Pepsi, how Reagan navigated a similar situation, and when it’s OK for everyone to stop worrying about the bomb. (Never.)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.

TEASER: The Case for World War III Breaking Out This Summer

A lot goes into keeping a navy afloat. There’s ship husbanding, maintenance, and buckets of haze gray. The U.S. used to be good at this, but it hasn’t been on an active war-footing for a long time and the manufacturing base that created its massive navy has seen better days. So what happens if there’s a war and America doesn’t have enough welders, let alone drydocks, to build out its fleets? Gil Barndollar is a senior analyst at Defense Priorities and the co-author of a recent piece in Foreign Policy about America’s <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/17/us-navy-ships-shipbuilding-fleet-china-naval-race-pacific/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inability to build new ships</a>. Barndollar sounds the alarm on a number of different issues facing the U.S. military: the recruitment crisis, manufacturing issues, and sailors pushed to the limits of their physical abilities. We might even talk about arming container ships with missile batteries to augment existing forces. <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/17/us-navy-ships-shipbuilding-fleet-china-naval-race-pacific/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The U.S. Navy Can’t Build Ships</a> <a href="https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2019/january/converting-merchant-ships-missile-ships-win" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Converting Merchant Ships to Missile Ships for the Win</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.

Ships: America Doesn't Build Them Like It Used To (Or at All)

Thanks to a hack allegedly carried out by Russian intelligence, relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia are tense to say the least. The Kingdom has blockaded Qatar ports and several Gulf states have removed envoys and ambassadors. Right now, the Middle East looks a lot like Europe on the eve of World War I.

This week on War College, Oklahoma University professor Joshua Landis runs us through the complicated factions making up the Middle East. According to Landis, Iran is the real winner in the latest dust up between old allies.

By Matthew Gault
Produced by Bethel Habte

In Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s fight, Iran’s the real winner

Conversations about conflict on an Angry Planet

In Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s fight, Iran’s the real winner

Angry Planet

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