The Voices of War

56. Andy Norman - Mental Immunity: Inoculating against conspiracies and disinformation

My guest today is Dr Andy Norman, who is the award-winning author of ‘Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think’.
His research illuminates the evolutionary origins of human reasoning, the norms that make dialogue fruitful, and the workings of the mind’s immune system. He champions the emerging science of mental immunity as the antidote to disinformation, propaganda, hate, and division.
Currently, Andy directs the Humanism Initiative at Carnegie Mellon University and is the founder of CIRCE, the Cognitive Immunology Research Collaborative. 
Some of the topics we covered include:
Andy’s entry into philosophy
The mind’s ‘immune system’
Definition of ‘mind parasites’
Manipulation gone to scale
Simple conspiracy vs complex reality
The challenge of debating against conspiratorial thinking
The incentives that fuel misinformation
How to prevent mind infections
Determining whether a belief is ‘reasonable’
Evolutionary origins of our capacity to ‘reason’
Dangers of confirmation bias
Factors that make us vulnerable to ‘mind parasites’
The dangers of hitching belief to identity
Developing a ‘mind vaccine’
The ‘New Socratic Method’
During the show, Andy and I discussed a paper he wrote in response to Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber’s book ‘The Enigma of Reason’. You can download that paper here.
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55. Jason Pack - On the ’Global Enduring Disorder’

My guest today is Jason Pack, who is the author of ‘Libya and the Global Enduring Disorder’. Jason is also a Senior Analyst for Emerging Challenges at the NATO Defense College Foundation in Rome where he leads a program titled ‘NATO and the Global Enduring Disorder’, which seeks to produce a range of content analysing our current era of geopolitics while proposing actionable solutions to our most pressing collective action challenges.
Jason is also the President of Libya-Analysis LLC, a boutique consultancy providing strategic advice to any organisations seeking to make sense of the latest political, economic, commercial and security developments in Libya. He is also the founder of the US-based non-profit ‘Eye on ISIS’, which conducts research into Islam and Islamist movements in and outside of Libya.
Some of the many topics we covered are:
Jason’s background and entry into the study of conflict
Behaviouralist, rather than realist, view of International Relations
Meaning of ‘incumbent psychology’
Decline in American exceptionalism
Defining the Global Enduring Disorder
‘Deliberative disorder’ as a political policy
Difference between the war in Iraq and conflicts like Libya, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela or Ukraine
Some of the causes behind the Global Enduring Disorder
The benefits of a global hegemon
Why market economics was not enough to unite the world
Western failures after the Cold War
The importance of social trust to domestic order
Absurdity of Libya and its representation of the Global Enduring Disorder
The complexity of the Global Enduring Disorder
The role of technology and social media in the Global Enduring Disorder
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54. Duncan Spinner - The Fight for at-risk Ukrainians

My guest today is my good friend, Duncan Spinner. Since 2015, Duncan has been working in Ukraine and for four years was the OSCE Head of Operations for Luhansk.
Apart from sharing information on the current situation in Ukraine, this episode is also an appeal for your help in getting at-risk individuals out of harm’s way. As you’ll find out, Duncan and a small team of professionals are informally helping some of the most-vulnerable civilians whose lives are in grave danger. Please consider supporting the below GoFundMe page. Every donation helps save the lives of innocent Ukrainians.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/smm-veterans-for-smm-local-staff
Some of the other topics we covered are:
Snapshot of Duncan’s extensive experience working in conflict affected nations
Work in Ukraine as the OSCE Head of Operations for Luhansk
Questioning the Russian mindset, interpretation of victory and relationship to time
Reflecting on the ‘Russian way of war’
The power of narrative and risk of hubris
Informal rescue of at-risk and vulnerable Ukrainians from danger
The reality of those fleeing Ukraine
Getting personal protective equipment to fighters in Ukraine
The moral imperative of doing something to help
Supporting Duncan and his team
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53. Dr Deane-Peter Baker: State Ethics vs Soldier Morality

Today, I spoke with Dr Deane-Peter Baker, a military ethicist, who is an Associate Professor of International and Political Studies in the School of Humanities and Social Science at UNSW Canberra, where he also is co-Convenor of the UNSW Canberra Future Operations Research Group.
Deane’s work focuses mainly on the ethics of armed conflict. His current area of focus is on ethics and special operations, and he is a regular consultant to Australia’s Special Operations Command as well as the Australian Defence Force more broadly.
He joins me to today to discuss one of his recently published books, Morality and Ethics at War: Bridging the Gaps Between the Soldier and the State. Some of the topics we discussed are:
Deane’s entry into the field of military ethics
Difference between ethics and morality
Idea of individual freedom
Inculcating moral frameworks
Distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello
‘Disciplined disobedience’
Understanding ‘ethics inhibitors’ in a military context
Training with ethics in mind
Moral drift and moral injury
The ‘Guardian ethos’
Interests vs values argument
‘Ethical triangulation’
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52. Dr David Whetham - On the Ethics of War, War Crimes and Ethical Decision Making

My guest today is Dr David Whetham who is a Professor of Ethics and the Military Profession in the Defence Studies Department of King’s College London. He is the Director of the King’s Centre for Military Ethics and delivers or coordinates the military ethics component of courses for around two thousand British and international officers a year at the UK’s Joint Services Command and Staff College.
In 2020 David was appointed as an Assistant Inspector-General to the Australian Defence Force to assist in the final stages of the Afghanistan Inquiry and is the author of the report’s final Annex. He joined me to discuss issues of military ethics. Some of the topics we covered include:
David’s journey into military ethics
Defining military ethics
Jus ad bellum vs Jus in bello
Government and military tension when jus ad bellum is not met
Political leaders’ impunity when sending troops to war
Interests vs values debate
Impact of broken justifications for war
Afghanistan and impact of poor mission definition
Narrative vs reality and resulting disillusionment
Impact of the environment and whether atrocities in war are inevitable
Preparing our troops for moral dilemmas
Environmental elements that contribute to ethical demise
Special Forces, but not special
Mitigating circumstances to atrocities
Ethical drift and institutional responsibility
Realistic training for ethical dilemmas
Training to make the right decision, quicker
David mentioned the recent launch of a free app to help military service members make more informed decisions. You can find the app for both Apple and Android by searching for Military Ethics: Cards for Humanity. 
 
 

51. Carl Miller - On Information Warfare, Social Media and pro-Russian influence campaigns in BRICS

My guest today is Carl Miller who is the co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos. For the past nine years, he's been building new machine learning-driven approaches to robustly study online life and has written over 20 major studies spanning online electoral interference, radicalisation, digital politics, conspiracy theories, cyber-crime, and internet governance. 
His debut book, The Death of the Gods: The New Global Power Grab was published in 2018 and won the 2019 Transmission Prize. He presents programmes for the BBC's flagship technology show, Click and has written for Wired, New Scientist, the Sunday Times, the Telegraph and the Guardian.
He joined me to discuss Information Warfare, cyber-attacks, weaponisation of social media and other challenges, and to do so with a particular focus on the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Some of the topics we discussed are:
Carl’s entry into this field
Terrorists as conspiracy theorists
Profiling a conspiracy theorist
Understanding data
On the ‘Death of Gods’
The power of open-source intelligence
Emergence of information warfare
Frictionless engagement and the Attention Economy
TikTok and censoring of data
Has Ukraine really won the Information War against Russia?
Suspicious Pro-Russian influence operations in BRICS countries
Background and methodology of the BRICS research
Assessment of pro-Russian campaigns in BRICS countries
Cost of attacking vs defending against information operations
Risk of hubris
You can find out more about Carl and his work here, and you can see his recent research on pro-Russian influence operations in BRICS countries here.

50. Peter W Singer - On Ukrainian information warfare, social media dominance and the power of narrative

Today, I spoke with Dr Peter Warren Singer, who is a Strategist at New America, a Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, and Founder & Managing Partner at Useful Fiction LLC. He is a New York Times Bestselling author with a multitude of accolades to his name.
His non-fiction books include ‘Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry’; ‘Children at War’; ‘Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century’; ‘Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know’ and most recently, ‘LikeWar: the Weaponization of Social Media’, which is the book we talked about today.
Peter is also the co-author of a new type of novel, using the format of a technothriller to communicate non-fiction research. ‘Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War’ was both a top summer read and led to briefings everywhere from the White House to the Pentagon. His latest is ‘Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution’ and has been described by the creator of Lost and Watchmen as “A visionary new form of storytelling—a rollercoaster ride of science fiction blended with science fact,” and by the head of US Army Cyber Command as “I loved Burn-In so much that I’ve already read it twice.”
Some of the topics we covered are:
How the concept of #LikeWar was born
The individual vs social media
The power of storytelling in communication
The role of social media in the invasion of Ukraine
Social media – shifting the Who, the When, and the Where
Ukrainian application of best practices
Disconnectedness of Russian narrative
Justness of the Ukrainian cause
'Democratisation' of war
The malleability of the ‘truth’
Lessors learnt from Ukraine’s
During the chat, I referred to an article Peter recently published with Politico. You can access it here.
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49. Dmytro Gurin - The view from Ukraine

Today, I spoke with Dmytro Gurin, who is a currently serving Member of Parliament in Ukraine. Dmytro is originally from Mariupol, the besieged city in South-eastern Ukraine that is capturing global headlines, where he has spent his childhood and where he went to university. In the past, Dmytro has also spent more than a decade living in Moscow and is very familiar with Russian political and media machinations. 
He joins me today, just after midday on Sunday, 13th of March, Eastern European Time, to discuss the evolving Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of the topics we covered are:
Current situation in Ukraine
Change of Russian tactics to target civilians
General Russian orientation towards Ukraine
The reality faced by Russian troops
Life in the besieged city of Mariupol
Western predicament and possible ways forward
What Ukraine needs from the West
Possible scenarios inside Russia
Difference between Ukrainian and Russian armies
The state of the Ukrainian nation

48. MAJGEN Mick Ryan: On the Russian invasion and his recent book ’War Transformed’

My guest today is MAJGEN Mick Ryan, who only days ago officially retired from more than 35 years of service in the Australian Army. During this time, he has deployed on multiple overseas deployments, has commanded troops at platoon, squadron, regiment, task force, and brigade level, and among the many awards for service and excellence he has received, in 2008, Mick was also awarded the Order of Australia for distinguished leadership of the Australian 1st Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.
He is a recognised expert in leadership, institutional strategy, technology, organisational adaptation and change management, institutional reform, as well as personnel development. Mick is also a prolific writer and speaker, with a particular focus on thinking about and preparing for the battlespace of the future.
This is also what his recently published book is all about. It is titled ‘War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict’ and is a deep dive into how four key disruptors, namely geopolitics, demographics, technology, and climate change, will impact great power rivalry. In short, Mick explores how the dynamics of the nascent fourth industrial revolution and its interplay with the ongoing changes in the way we live as well as dramatic shifts in global affairs will transform tomorrow’s wars.
He joined me today to talk about his book and how it relates to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of the topics we covered are:
Nature vs. Character of war
Russian vs. Ukrainian Information Operations
Why Putin is fundamentally losing, so far
The role of surprise in this invasion
Re-emergence of Europe
Russian military deficiencies
Two principal decisions Ukraine is facing
The importance of time in the current war
Importance of leadership in war
Critical role of logistics
Impact of the Russian invasion on China
Are ‘our’ wars, different to ‘their’ wars?
21st Century as showdown between Democracy vs. Authoritarianism
Lessons learnt from the Russian invasion
You can find out more about MAJGEN Mick Ryan here. I also recommend you follow his Twitter page (@WarintheFuture) for regular updates on the current crisis and beyond. Lastly, you can view and purchase his book 'War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict' here.

47. Arne Dalhaug and Wolfgang Sporrer - On the War in Ukraine

This episode was recorded at 1000h CET on 27 Feb 2022. 
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Today, I spoke with Arne Dalhaug and Wolfgang Sporrer, both of whom I recently interviewed independently about the crisis in Ukraine (links with longer bios below). Arne is a retired three-star Norwegian Army officer, who also served as a senior officer in NATO and, more-recently, as a senior leader at the OSCE in Ukraine. Wolfgang is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Hertie School in Berlin and was recently the head of the Human Dimension Department of the OSCE in Ukraine.
They join me today to discuss the invasion, current crisis and possible future outcomes. Some of the topics we covered are:
Reason behind Putin’s ultimate invasion
Influence and importance of social media
Narrative control in Russia
Zelenskyy and his communication skills
Russian military and its failures to date
Impact of sanctions and financial measures
Energy sector and Nord Stream 2 
China’s orientation towards the invasion and Russia
Other strategic tensions influencing the current situation
Putin’s options from here
You can find more-extensive biographies of both guest in our previous discussions below: 
Special Release: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Arne Bård Dalhaug: On the current Russia/Ukraine crisis
Special Release: Wolfgang Sporrer - Providing nuance to the crisis in Ukraine
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46. Marc Garlasco - War through the eyes of a Pentagon Chief of High Value Targeting

My guest today is Marc Garlasco, who began his career as the Chief of High Value Targeting at the Pentagon between 1997 and 2003 where he led targeting teams during operations Iraqi Freedom, Desert Fox, and Allied Force. Marc later worked in senior roles at Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and the Centre for Naval Analyses.
Throughout his time, he has worked in Afghanistan, Gaza, Georgia, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, and other conflict zones. He is a co-author of the ICRC report on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas, and a co-host of the excellent The Civilian Protection Podcast that tells the story of those harmed by war, but whose voices are rarely heard.
Marc is currently the military advisor at PAX, the largest peace organisation in the Netherlands and works to protect civilians against acts of war, to end armed violence and to build inclusive peace. Some of the topics we covered are:
Marc’s journey into targeting
Developing a picture of Iraq
9/11 and (absence of) link to Iraq
Deliberate vs dynamic targeting
The failed targeting of Saddam
Why targeting fails
Incentives vs intelligence
Impact of ‘humane’ war
How a Collateral Damage Estimate (CDE) is conducted
Reconciling the fact that not all lives are worth the same
Use of drones and accuracy of battle damage estimates
Changing policy to reduce civilian harm
Building bridges between NGOs and the military
Impact of our wars on soldiers fighting them
Marc and I discussed The Civilian Protection Podcast, of which he is a co-host. You can access all episodes of this excellent project here.
Marc also mentioned the upcoming release of a US Department of Defence Memorandum, to be signed by the Secretary of Defence, that will direct the development of a comprehensive plan to mitigate and respond to civilian harm. That memo has now been released and is worth reading. You can find it here. 
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45. Introducing 2022

This is a short introduction to what's in store throughout 2022 on The Voices Of War. As you will hear, the show finally has a Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page. Please take the time check out the links below and support us if you are able to do so. Every little bit helps to grow the show. 
 
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar
Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar
 
Thank you and I hope you enjoy The Voices Of War throughout 2022. 
 
Maz
 

44. Special Release: Wolfgang Sporrer - Providing Nuance To The Crisis In Ukraine

My guest today is Wolfgang Sporrer, who is an Adjunct Professor at the Hertie School in Berlin. He used to be the head of the Human Dimension Department of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Kyiv, where he lead the civilian aspects of conflict management and facilitated and promoted dialogue between the opposing sides.
Before that, he was the head of the international oil and gas company OMV's representation in the Caspian region, where he spearheaded regional efforts to promote the Southern Gas Corridor for the EU.
Previously, he served as the Head of the Europa House of the European Commission in Baku/Azerbaijan and as the Head of the Democratisation Department of the OSCE Presence in Albania. He also served as a political adviser in the EU delegation in Moscow and in several functions for the OSCE in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.
He joined me to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Some of the topics we covered are:
Wolfgang’s background in conflict zones
Defining the conflict
Inner Ukrainian tensions
Ukraine/Russia bilateral relations
East/West dimension
Headlines vs. reality
Irrationality of a possible Russian invasion
Interests of President Biden and President Putin
The absence of a united EU position on Russia
A possible way out
Challenges to overcome

43. Special Release: Lieutenant General (Ret.) Arne Bård Dalhaug: On the current Russia/Ukraine crisis

My guest in this Special Release episode is Lieutenant General (Ret.) Arne Dalhaug, who during his extensive and distinguished career served at the highest levels of the Norwegian Armed Forces, the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, as well as NATO. His several final postings in uniform as a three-star general include serving as the Chief of Defence Staff/Deputy Chief of Norwegian Armed Forces, as the Norwegian Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee, and as the Commandant at the NATO Defense College. After retiring from the military, Arne served for three years in a senior management position for the OSCE in the non-government-controlled area in eastern Donbas in Ukraine. Arne now works as an independent expert on NATO, Russia and conflicts in the post-Soviet domain.
During our conversation we covered topics such as:
Origins of the Ukraine/Russia conflict
Reasons behind President Putin’s current actions
NATO and whether its actions have contributed to the crisis
The likelihood of an actual military invasion
Russian political vs military aims
Impact of the media on the current crisis
NATO cohesion and current posture
Assessment of the most-likely way forward
During the conversation, we discussed an excellent article from the Kyiv Independent, which you can read here.
You can find Arne's extended military biography here.
 
 

42. Special Release: Mark Willacy - On ‘Killing Field‘ and ‘Rogue Forces‘

Today, I spoke with Mark Willacy, the journalist behind the ABC report ‘Killing Field’ as well as the recently published book ‘Rogue Forces: an explosive insiders’ account of Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan’. Even though I stated that I will recommence publishing new episodes on the 21st of February 2022, I am releasing this one as a Special Release as I feel that the contemporary relevance of this conversation warrants it. As you will hear, some of the topics Mark and I covered include the intent behind his journalism, his initial exposure to war and conflict in the Middle East, how ‘Killing Field’ and ‘Rogue Forces’ came about, the people who approached him, impact of the environment on our soldiers, impunity of politicians and much more.
On a personal note, this was by far the most difficult interview I have conducted because of the highly volatile and close-to-home subject. All I ask of my audience is that they take heed of my opening remarks before diving into the interview. This is an important topic that we need to talk about and do so respectfully.
Lastly, you can see my recently published article that I mention here.
 
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Mark Willacy. Mark has been a journalist for more than 25 years and has reported for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia’s national broadcaster, from more than 30 countries. Mark is a seven-time Walkley Award winner and in 2020 he was awarded Australia’s highest honour in journalism, the Gold Walkley, for exposing alleged Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan. His winning Four Corners report ‘Killing Field’ made headlines around the world and sparked a federal-police war crimes investigation. Mark’s investigations provided evidence for 12 cases named in the Brereton Report, the independent Australian Defence Force inquiry into war crimes in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016. Earlier in his career, as the ABC’s Middle East correspondent for four years, Mark also reported on the ground from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the 2003 war in Iraq. He was also the Japan correspondent in 2011 when the country was hit by its most powerful earthquake in more than a thousand years. Mark has twice been named Queensland Journalist of the Year and in 2019 he won a Logie Award for his Four Corners’ world exclusive on the Thai cave rescue.
Mark has authored several books, including ‘The View From the Valley Of Hell’ a book about his time in the Middle East in the early 2000s, ‘Fukushima’, which is an account of the 2011 earthquake and the twin catastrophes of the subsequent tsunami and nuclear meltdown. And more recently, he published the book ‘Rogue Forces: an explosive insiders’ account of Australian SAS war crimes in Afghanistan’. He joins me today to discuss this last book, how it came about and its impacts.
Some of the topics we covered:
Marks entry into investigative journalism
His time in the Middle East in the early 2000s
Motivation behind extreme violence in the Middle East
Lessons learnt about human nature
First encounters with the Australian SAS in Iraq
How ‘Killing Field’ and ‘Rogue Forces’ came about
Why Mark released the book when he did
The sources of information for Mark’s book
Impact of the environment on our soldiers
Impunity of politicians
Current state of the media
Narratives surrounding Mark’s book
Mark’s response to Heston Russell’s recent public complaint
The way forward
Lastly, you can see my recently published article that I mention here.

41. My reflections on the first year of The Voices Of War

In this final episode of 2021, I take a few moments to reflect on the origins of the show, the guests I've had the pleasure of interviewing, some emerging themes, what's in store for 2022 and to give a few important thanks to those who have made the show possible. 
We will return again on 21st of February 2022. Between now and then, I will be reposting a few of my favourite episodes that didn't get as much attention as I had hoped they would. 
I wish you all a safe festive season and a happy New Year! 
Much love,
Maz

40. Samuel Moyn - On ‘Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War‘

Today, I spoke with Samuel Moyn, who is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and a Professor of History at Yale University. We discussed his latest book, Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, published in September this year. As you will hear, I found this book to be of immense importance and hope that its contents get attention far and wide, most notably amongst those who send us to war.
Some of the topics Sam and I covered are how the idea of humane war entered our collective conscience; the role the war in Vietnam had in a pivot towards humane war; abdication of diplomacy for the ‘cleanliness’ of war; the traps of the Just War doctrine and its selective interpretations; the role of lawyers in making war ‘just’; impact of 9/11 on making war more ‘humane’; future dangers and much more.  
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Samuel Moyn, who is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and a Professor of History at Yale University. He has written several books in his fields of European intellectual history and human rights history, including The Last Utopia: Human Rights in History (2010), and edited or coedited a number of others.
His most recent books are Christian Human Rights (2015), based on Mellon Distinguished Lectures at the University of Pennsylvania in fall 2014, and Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World (2018). His newest book, published in September this year, is titled Humane: How the United States Abandoned Peace and Reinvented War, and will be the focus of our conversation today.
Over the years, Samuel has written in venues such as the Boston Review, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Dissent, The Nation, The New Republic, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
I recently finished his latest book, Humane, and to say that it was a perspective-altering read would be a huge understatement. It is a deeply insightful and undoubtedly controversial book, and I hope it gets the global attention it deserves. For that very reason, I am truly humbled to have hosted Sam on the show. Some of the topics we covered include:
Sam’s introduction into the field of human rights
The genesis of humane war thinking
Outlawing war vs. humane war
Distinction between pacifism and being anti-war
Vietnam and the focus on the conduct of war
How ending conscription helped perpetuate humane war
Trade of diplomacy for humane war
Importance of 9/11 in evolution of humane war
The issue of terrorists and ‘associated forces’
The role of lawyers in making wars ‘just’
Jus in bello and it’s illusions
Ongoing trajectory of ‘safe’ and ‘clean’ war
Potential dangers of ongoing humane war

39. Toby Harnden - A deep dive into ‘First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11‘

My guest today is Toby Harnden, who is an author, journalist, and winner of the Orwell Prize, UK’s most prestigious prize for political writing. His most recent book, First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11, is the story of the first US team into Afghanistan post the attacks of September 11, 2001. A former Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist for the likes ofThe Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph who has subsequently reported from 33 countries, was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, and faced prosecution in Britain for protecting confidential sources, Toby is uniquely qualified to tell this story. Some of the topics we covered are: Toby’s journey into journalism, building credibility with the CIA, the story of Team Alpha, the battle of Qala-i Jangi, human terrain of Afghanistan as well as the scars of Team Alpha in the years to come.
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Toby Harnden, who is an author, journalist, and winner of the Orwell Prize, UK’s most prestigious prize for political writing. His most recent book is First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 and will be the main focus of our discussion today. A former foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times of London and The Daily Telegraph who has reported from 33 countries, he specializes in terrorism and war. Born in England, Toby was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, faced prosecution in Britain for protecting confidential sources, and was vindicated by a $23 million public inquiry in Ireland. A dual British and American citizen, he spent a decade as a Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist. He holds a First Class degree in Modern History from Corpus Christi College, Oxford and is the author of Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh (1999) as well as Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan (2009), for which he received the Orwell Prize. Previously based in London, Belfast, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Washington D.C., he now lives in Virginia.
Some of the topics we covered are:
Toby’s journey into war journalism
Building of credibility and trust with the CIA
How the CIA came to lead the first mission in Afghanistan post 9/11
The battle of Qala-i Jangi
Complexity of the human terrain of Afghanistan and our ultimate failure to recognise it
Lessons to be drawn from Afghanistan
Limited warfare and likelihood of its future use
Team Alpha scars of Afghanistan

38. Michael Vatikiotis - Southeast Asia and its peculiar role in global politics

My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia (SEA) since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts.
Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of SEA, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia’, which we focused on today. Some of topics we covered include: ‘delusion’ of democracy in SEA; power of the elites; question of SEA identity; Western misunderstanding of SEA; China’s influence and role; reality of regional circumstances; US/China contestation; Australia and AUKUS; reality of adjustment and accommodation as well as issues plaguing traditional and social media.   
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts.
Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of Southeast Asia, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia’, which we’ll focus on a lot today, as well as ‘Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree’. His latest book ‘Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant’ was published in August this year. In addition to his books, Michael regularly writes opinion pieces for international and regional newspapers and is a regular contributor to outlets such Al Jazeera and the BBC.
Michael is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and gained his doctorate form the University of Oxford.
He joins me today to discuss social, political and cultural dynamics of Southeast Asia and the role it plays, or is likely to play, in the complex world of modern geopolitics.  Some of the topics we covered include:
Michael’s background and journey to Southeast Asia
Why Western idea of democracy remains a ‘delusion’ in SEA
Power and influence of elites in SEA
Identity in SEA
Western misunderstanding of SEA and what makes it ‘tick’
Chinese influence and role in SEA
Diversity and values
Reality of ASEAN
US/China contestation and resulting friction in SEA
Peculiar reality of the region’s position
Sources of risks of conflict in SEA
Australia’s role and impact of AUKUS
Reality of ‘Easternisation’
Geopolitical struggle of adjustment and accommodation
Role of journalism and social media
Reasons behind Michael’s hope
 

37. Dr Douglas Fields - On ‘Why We Snap‘ and our neural wiring for Violence

Today, I spoke with Dr Douglas Fields, who is a neuroscientist and author of numerous books and articles about the brain. We discussed his excellent and important book, Why We Snap: Understanding the Rage Circuit in Your Brain, which focuses on the neuroscience that triggers rage and violence. It turns out, evolution has endowed every single one of us with nine neural pathways that, when activated, will lead to a violent and oftentimes involuntary and non-conscious response. During our chat, Doug explained these circuits—captured in the mnemonic LIFEMORTS—and how they relate to many important issues, including: their applicability to our interpersonal relationships; origins in threat detection; their unconscious nature and subsequent voluntary expression; impact of social media and technology; disproportionate effect of stress; power of genes and the environment; manifestations of violence in different genders; utility in peacebuilding; training of responses; role in PTSD and, perhaps most-importantly, geopolitics and war.
Several previous episodes that link to the topics we discussed include:
Role of the environment:
Gregg D. Caruso - On the Illusion of Free Will, Myth of Meritocracy and the need to rethink our Justice Systems
Arjan Verdooren - ‘Cultures don‘t meet, people do‘
LTCOL Dave Grossman - On killing, combat, sleep, ‘blind spots’ and everything else in between
Geopolitics:
John Blaxland and Qinduo Xu - On AUKUS, US/China relations and growing tensions
Hasan Aygun - The Pragmatic Diplomat
PTSD and trauma
Tom and Jen Satterly - The All Secure Foundation
Steve Dennis - On getting shot, kidnapped and the court case that sent tremors through the humanitarian aid industry
Will Yates and Joe McCleary - On Trial for War Crimes: A Soldier’s Experience
Ashley Judd – On combat, mental health and the road to recovery
I also mentioned an article I recently published on the state of Western democracy, grey zone warfare by authoritarian states and how social media is contributing to a build-up of tension in our societies. You can view the article here.
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Dr Douglas Fields, who is a neuroscientist and author of numerous books and articles about the brain.  He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, University of Maryland adjunct professor, and Chief of the Nervous System Development and Plasticity Section at the National Institutes of Health.  He received advanced degrees at UC Berkeley, San Jose State University, UC San Diego, and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford and Yale University. 
He writes about science for Scientific American, Quanta, Outside Magazine, Huffington Post, Undark Magazine, Psychology Today, and similar prestigious outlets.  His neuroscience research has been featured on national television, radio, NPR, the National Geographic and others, and he speaks about neuroscience for the general public on mediums like NPR, World Science Festival, TEDex and Google Talks. 
He is the author of three books about neuroscience for the general reader, The Other Brain, about glia, which are brain cells that communicate without electricity, Why We Snap, about the neuroscience of rage, and his new award-winning book, Electric Brain, about brainwaves, brain-computer interface, and brain stimulation. Some of the topics we discussed today include: 
Doug’s personal experience with sudden aggression
Evolutionary reason why we need triggers for sudden aggression
Unconscious nature of this mechanism
Explanation of LIFEMORTS
Voluntary expression of unconscious mechanisms
Our volition and culpability for violence
Impact of social media and technology
Disproportionate effect and impact of stress
Link between violence and gender
The ‘lizard brain’ debunked
LIFEMORTS in geopolitics
The role and impact of stress
Utility of LIFEMORTS in peacebuilding
Training the conscious and unconscious responses
Impact of genes and environment
Role in PTSD