Things That Go Boom

Latest Episodes:

Lost in Translation Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

Greg is an artist whose clients include Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. And much like a lot of the folks striking in Hollywood right now, he’s ticked off about AI.

It’s a story we hear a lot these days: AI is having an impact on everything in our lives, and it’s killing creators’ livelihoods.

What we don’t hear, though, is what that story has to do with the people seeking asylum in the United States every day.

In this episode, we’ll show you how their lives can be forever changed by similar large language models to the ones used to copy Greg’s art.

GUESTS: Greg Rutkowski, visual artist; Ariel Koren, founder and CEO, Respond Crisis Translation; Uma Mirkhail, Afghan languages team lead, Respond Crisis Translation; Andrew Deck, reporter, Rest of World

THANKS ALSO TO: Leila Lorenzo, policy director, Respond Crisis Translation

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

AI Translation Is Jeopardizing Afghan Asylum Claims, Andrew Deck, Rest of World

Seeking Asylum at the u.s.-Mexico Border? You’d Better Speak English or Spanish, Andrew Deck, Rest of World

Learn about Respond Crisis Translation here.

See more of Greg Rutkowski’s art here.

Can You Hack a Nuke? Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

In the age of Oppenheimer, nuclear weapons didn’t have much to do with computers. And, for a long time, most nukes were running on 1970s-era floppy disk systems. But as technology has advanced the US — and all the other nuclear weapons states — have started putting military communications, early warning systems, and even control of nuclear missiles themselves online. So, in this episode, we ask, “Could our nuclear weapons systems… be hacked?”

We talk to researchers, policy experts, a top UN official, and a hacker about how a nuclear cyber attack might go down. And what we can do to stop it.

GUESTS:

Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow, Nuclear Information Project; Allison Pytlak, Program Lead of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center; Page Stoutland, Consultant at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Maddie Stone, Security Researcher at Google Project Zero; Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Flying Under The Radar: A Missile Accident In South Asia, Federation of American Scientists

Addressing Cyber-Nuclear Security Threats, Nuclear Threat Initiative

Glitch disrupts Air Force nuke communications, NBC News

A 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack: The Untold Story Of The SolarWinds Hack, NPR

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference, UNODA

The Failsafe Review, Nuclear Threat Initiative

The Internet Is at the Bottom of the Sea Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

We need the internet. No, seriously. In 2023, the digital realm isn’t so much a portal as it is the undercurrent of our lives: The web carries our culture, our communication, our bank accounts — and, yes, our global security.

But all of that traffic flows through a series of cables at the bottom of the ocean. And lately, we’ve been worrying a lot about it up on dry land: Asking what happens when something — or someone — cuts those cables. Should we really be so worried?

This is a story about volcanoes and sharks, entrepreneurs and politicians. It’s also about none of those things. Welcome back to Things That Go Boom.

GUESTS: Nicole Starosielski, New York University; Marian Kupu, Broadcom Broadcasting; Ryan Wopschall, ICPC; Darren Griffiths, Optic Marine; Camino Kavanagh, King’s College London

ADDITIONAL READING:

Inside the Subsea Cable Firm Secretly Helping America Take on China, Joe Brock, Reuters

The Undersea Network, Nicole Starosielski, Duke University Press

Wading Murky Waters: Subsea Communications and Responsible State Behavior, Camino Kavanaugh, United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research

Decoupling is Already Happening Under The Sea, Elisabeth Braw, Foreign Policy

Coming Soon: Troubleshooting Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

You know the internet — that big, vast, expanse that powers our lives and every single thing we do. It’s all we seem to talk about these days: spyware, malware, phishing attacks, TikTok bans, Russian disinformation, and beyond.

But how much do you really know about the internet? Or the threats that wait to greet you there? And how much of that story is wrong?

This season on Things That Go Boom, we dig into nuclear hacking, bug hunting, cable cutting… and for some reason, a whole lot of stories about fish, in “Troubleshooting.”

9 new cyber-stories about this vast digital world, what it means for how we fight wars, and how we make sense of it all here at home.

How a US Reporter Was Imprisoned in Putin’s Russia Jun 09, 2023

Show notes

We’re hard at work on Season 8 of Things That Go Boom, coming your way July 10. But in the meantime, we wanted to drop in and share a special episode with you from our friends at Project Brazen.

How did Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich end up in prison in Russia, and what happens now?

On March 29, Russian authorities arrested Evan and accused him of spying on Russia on behalf of the US government. He remains in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison today.

Evan is the first American reporter to be charged with espionage in Russia since the Cold War. The charge, which The Journal vehemently denies, can carry a sentence of up to 20 years.

In this report by Project Brazen producer Neha Wadekar, you’ll hear from people close to Evan — his friends, newsroom colleagues, even his former soccer coach — about his shocking arrest, the efforts to bring him home, and how he became the journalist he is today.

Enjoy, and we’ll see you back here soon!

Getting L-A-O-D Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

America’s war on communism in southeast Asia dragged the entire region into the fray, and the impacts are still an ever-present danger. (You might remember our episode this season on landmines and clusters.)

But here’s what we didn’t get into before: The legacy of that violence here — in our own communities.

Today, much of the nationwide push to preserve and highlight southeast Asian heritage is being led by a younger generation, raised in America by refugees. They’re opening restaurants, taking over family businesses… and embracing their own definition of true southeast Asian food.

In Philadelphia, we ask: How much can a weekend market — and its long road to protection — tell us about America’s relationship with its refugees?

GUESTS: Aleena Inthaly, Legacies of War; Catzie Vilayphonh, Laos In The House; Saijai Sabayjit, Saijai Thai

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The Originals, Legacies of War

Thip Khao Talk, Legacies of War

Our Story, The Southeast Asian Market at FDR Park

Mr. Fonio Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

There are tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of edible plants in the world. But humans only cultivate a couple hundred of those at any significant scale. And when we eat, we tend to stick to just a few: More than half of the calories that humans consume around the world today come from just corn, soy, wheat, and rice. But that narrow focus on food is putting us in danger.

As climate change, the COVID pandemic, and conflict in “breadbasket” regions like Ukraine continue to disrupt agriculture, it may be time for forgotten crops to make a comeback. On this episode, Chef Pierre Thiam explains how one of these ancient grains might just save the world.

GUEST: Pierre Thiam, Chef, author, & entrepreneur

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Where to find some fonio: Yolélé

How to cook fonio: The Fonio Cookbook by Pierre Thiam

Will the world’s breadbaskets become less reliable?, McKinsey (charts and maps!)

Looking at other grains (millet and fonio) to help feed the world, Foreign Policy

Explore stats on crop and livestock production around the world, The UN Food and Agriculture Organization

What’s Next for Brazil After Bolsonaro? Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

Just two years ago, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in prison. It’s a fairytale-like comeback story. But his life is also a food story. From a hungry childhood raised by sharecropper parents, Lula made ending hunger a major part of his first two highly popular terms as president.

Now, as he settles into the Presidential Palace once again – he has big plans for strengthening Brazil’s democracy and positioning the country as a diplomatic powerhouse.

Those plans will depend on reaching people through their stomachs.

GUESTS: Cassia Bechara, International Relations Committee Spokesperson, Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra/Landless Workers’ Movement; Michael Fox, Independent Journalist; Fabio de Sa e Silva, Assistant Professor of International Studies and Wick Cary Professor of Brazilian Studies, University of Oklahoma; Fabiane Ziolla Menezes, Business and Technology Journalist, Brazilian Report

Thank you to Larissa Packer, Rafael Soares Gonzales, and James MacDonald.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

“Lurching From Food Crisis to Food Crisis,” GRAIN

“The Rise of Congress Will Have Consequences for Brazil’s Victor,” Lucas de Aragão, Americas Quarterly

Check out the Brazilian Report’s newsletters here.

Can Cluster Bombs Show Us How To Stop a Nuclear War? Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

Despite being banned, anti-personnel landmines and unexploded submunitions still litter fields from Bosnia to Bangladesh. And they’re even being used in Ukraine. Does that mean the treaties that ban their use aren’t working? Experts say the story isn’t so simple, and that, actually, the treaties to ban these weapons have shown a new way forward: one where norms stigmatize the return to these weapons and constrain even the biggest superpowers.

But what will it take to clean up the mess left behind? And can anti-nuclear activists repeat the party trick?

GUESTS: Treasa Dunworth Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland; Matthew Breay Bolton, Professor of Political Science, Pace University; Sera Koulabdara, Executive Director, Legacies of War; Alex van Roy, Chief Operations Officer, FSD

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

How War Changes Land: Soil Fertility, Unexploded Bombs, and the Underdevelopment of Cambodia, Erin Lin, American Journal of Political Science

Political Minefields: The Struggle Against Automatic Killing, Matthew Breay Bolton, Bloomsbury Academic

Humanitarian Disarmament: An Historical Inquiry, Treasa Dunworth, Cambridge University Press

Legacies Library: Resources on the Secret War in Laos

How Xi Jinping Plans to Fill China’s ‘Rice Bowl’ Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

One morning in the 2010s, a rural midwestern farmer called the cops. There was a guy in a suit sniffing around a field near town. A big SUV dropped him off.

And the story of how the man got there? That can tell us a lot about Xi Jinping’s past, present, and future.

China’s seen incredible growth over the last 50 years — and with that, major changes in the country’s diet and agriculture. With 1.4 billion people to feed and a party narrative to upkeep, President Xi Jinping is pushing the country to invest in its own food security.

During a time when tension between the US and China are rising, we look at how Great Power Competition is unfolding in America’s cornfields.

GUESTS: Sue-Lin Wong, The Economist; Wendong Zhang, Cornell University; Arthur Kroeber, Gavekal Dragonomics

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The Prince, The Economist

How Has China Maintained Domestic Food Stability Amid Global Food Crises?, World Economic Forum

China’s Interests in US Agriculture: Augmenting Food Security through Investment Abroad, US-China Economic and Security Review Commission