Angry Planet

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Why Navalny Went Back to Russia Feb 05, 2021

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After surviving a poisoning attempt, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny returned to his home country and was arrested. Now he’s been sentenced to serve a 3 and a ½ year prison sentence. After Navalny’s arrest in mid-January, people took to the streets of Russia’s cities to protest. We’ve seen this before, but there is a sense that this time is different.

Is it?

Here to help us answer that question is Mark Galleotti. Galeotti is a frequent guest on the show, a Russia expert, and is currently the director of the consultancy firm Mayak Intelligence. His most recent books are We Need To Talk About Putin, and A Short History of Russia.

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TEASER: The Cold War Conspiracy That Shaped the Modern GOP Feb 04, 2021

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Spartans, Confederates, and the Cult of the Loser Jan 29, 2021

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State Houses across the country are filled with monuments to losers, traitors, and terrorists. General Robert E Lee and Benjamin Tillman are lauded alongside figures like George Washington. The reasons why are complicated, but they’re bound up in something called The Myth of the Lost Cause. If you’ve never heard of this or don’t understand why it’s so critical to understanding American history well, honey, you probably ain’t from the South.

Here to help us understand what’s going on is Dr. Robert Thompson. Thompson is a historian working for Army University Press and the author of the forthcoming book Clear, Hold, and Destroy which is about the American war in Vietnam.

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Turning QAnon QAnoff Jan 22, 2021

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Please blame Jason Fields for that headline.

Human trafficking and modern slavery are at the top of the news in the United States in the form of the QAnon conspiracy theory. It links together Democrats, child sex trafficking and a pizza place about a mile from my house.

The pizza at Comet Ping Pong is just OK, but don’t ask to see the basement. There isn’t one.

QAnon is one of the more whacko things going on in this country. Today we’re going to talk about the reality of human trafficking and how it actually works.

We’re joined by Kieran Guilbert who covers human trafficking and modern slavery for the Thomson Reuters foundation. I worked for Kieran and learned a lot from him.

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Free Speech Vs. the Big Lie Jan 13, 2021

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It finally happened. Twitter finally suspended Trump’s account. After the capitol riots on January 6, tech companies such as Google, Apple, and Twitter took the unprecedented step of invoking their first amendment rights and removing several users from their various platforms. I just want to remind everyone that the 1958 Supreme Court Decision in NAACP v. Alabama outlined an implied part of the first amendment—that of Freedom of Association.

Is this big tech censorship? Are private companies silencing conservative voices or merely deciding who they want to do business with? Is Twitter the new townsquare or just another site among a sea of websites.

Here to help us figure some of this out is Dr. Alexi Drew. Drew is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Policy Institute at King’s College London. On Monday she published the policy paper “Disinformation Kills. Now what are we going to do about it?”

recorded 1/12/21

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Democracy on the Run in Belarus Jan 09, 2021

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Sometimes referred to as Europe’s last dictator, Aleksandr Lukashenko has ruled Belarus since shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Lukashenko, formerly in charge of a collective farm, has kept a tight grip on power and on the past. Belarus has kept Soviet symbols and economic policies long after they’ve gone out of favor elsewhere.

Elections have been held regularly in the country, but have been neither free nor fair. The latest, in August 2020, is considered to be the least fair of all. Since then, there has been a cycle of lies, protests and repression.

To help us understand the situation, we are joined by journalist and advocate Serge Kharytonau.

Recorded 1/9/21

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UNLOCKED: How 3D Printed Guns Will Rewrite Our Laws Dec 24, 2020

Show notes

Ghost guns. Untraceable weapons manufactured in the home. They’ve been with us forever, but they’ve taken on a new menace in the age of 3D printers and digital distribution.

Here to walk us through the new phenomenon is Mark A Tallman. Tallman is an Assistant Professor of Homeland Security & Emergency Management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He’s also the author of Ghost Guns. Ghost Guns is an in depth, data driven, and dare I say nerdy deep dive into homemade weapons in the post-industrial age.

You can buy Ghost Guns here.

Recorded on 8/25/20
The second amendment
Cody Wilson and his terrible gun
Working on guns is like working on cars
“Most gun nerds are low risk”
Why ban the bump stock?
Additive manufacturing and the DIY weapons of mass destruction
Recycling plastics into weapons
The security implications of the fourth industrial revolution
Raytheon has 3D printed a missile
The tech backlash
The costs of compliance only hit the open sectors, but don’t halt illicit activity
The rise of the surveillance state

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ICYMI: The Highs and Lows of U.S. Special Operations Forces Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

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The Life and Death of Iran's Shadow Commander Dec 10, 2020

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If you’ve ever heard the phrase one-man wrecking crew, they might well have been talking about Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s Shadow Commander.

Soleimani’s first fight was against Iraq in the war that started right after Iran’s revolution and lasted until 1988. He went on to great success fighting bandits and drug lords, eventually taking over Iran’s Quds Force - Iran’s tool for diplomacy by other means.

For more than 20 years, Soleimani helped Ayatollah Khamanei project power around the region-becoming a force to be reckoned with in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and more.

In January, Qassem Soleimani was killed by the United States.

Today, we’re joined by Arash Azizi, who literally wrote the book on Soleimani. It’s called The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US and Iran’s Global Ambitions, and it was published in November.

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The Lingering Aftertaste of Fascism Dec 03, 2020

Show notes

What’s a fascist anyway?

It’s a word we heard a lot over the past few years. If you’re on one side of the political debate you probably used this word earnestly. If you’re on the other side, you probably think people use it because they’re too embarrassed to call their political opponent Hitler.

But it’s an important word with several very real definitions. Musolini is not Hitler is not, dare I say it, Tr0ump. But, from a certain point of view, all these men are fascists. Worth noting at the top here that Jason doesn’t agree with me on this point. Or, at least, doesn’t always agree with me. With all this baggage around the term fascist, is it even worth using?

Here to help us figure that out is Jason Stanely. Stanley is a professor of Philosophy at Yale and the author of the book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. Sir, thank you so much for joining us.

11/23/20

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