Angry Planet

Great powers don’t always go great together, often viewing each other as rivals, if not enemies. After the Cold War, the United States was viewed as the last superpower standing. But not only has Russia and its nuclear arsenal stubbornly refused to go away, China has kept on rising.Now, people at the highest levels of government are trying to figure out whether China and the United States can play nice together, but whether the 21st will be the Chinese Century.Joining us to help understand the situation is Matthew Kroenig. Kroenig is both a political scientist and national security strategist at the Atlantic Council. He is also the author of the Return of Great Power Rivalry: Democracy Versus Autocracy from the Ancient World to the U.S. and China Matthew Kroenig.Recorded 8/21/20The innovatorsInnovating with government moneyWhere China’s labor comes fromChina’s soft power strategyA coming generational struggleSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many people may not realize, but Turkey is a relatively new country--just shy of 100 years old. It was created as a republic out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, largely by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who stuck around as president until 1938.Since then there have been elected governments, military coups and now a -- well, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reshaped the country in his own likeness - or at least how he likes.To help us make sense of it all, we’ve invited Andrew Finkel onto the show. Finkel has been a journalist based in Istanbul since 1989, corresponding and freelancing for a variety of print and broadcast media that has included The New York Times, The Times, TIME, The Economist, The Guardian, the Observer, CNN, and the Financial Times as well as Turkish language media. His popular handbook: Turkey What Everyone Needs to Know” is published by OUP (2012).Recorded on 7/8/20Is Turkey a free country? “No.”Who is Erdogan?What went down during the coup of 2016The Gülen of it allThe state of Turkish journalismThe fight over social mediaThe immunity of Western mediaHow Covid is effecting thingsStrangling the economyWhat are the lessons of Turkey’s rise of authoritarianism? War College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, the CHAZ, the CHOP. It had many names, but from about June 8 to July 1, protesters occupied a portion of the Capitol Hill neighborhood in Seattle Washington. A utopia to some, a nightmare to others, the CHAZ became a symbol to the left and the right. The reality on the ground, as is always the case, is far more complicated.With us today to talk about that messy reality is Nikki West. West is a freelance journalist and former Congressional staffer who lives in Capitol Hill in Seattle. She catalogued life in the CHAZ on her Instagram.Recorded on 8/10/20Daily life in the CHAZViolence in the autonomous zone“The worst Coachella ever”The CHAZ’s well organized systemsRing wing violenceCompeting activist agendasHow to build a city overnightDecolonization cafeWhite WokesStruggle sessionsWhat’s a tankie?Violence and the endThose aren’t fireworksWar College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few weeks ago, two nuclear-armed neighbors got into a fistfight. Actually, there were some clubs and other handheld weapons, too. It was bizarre and people died, more than 20 on the Indian side. The Chinese have been more coy about their numbers.To get a grip on what happened and what it means for the future, we have Maria Abi-Habib of the New York Times on the show. Abi-Habib is a South Asia correspondent who is based in India’s capital of Delhi.Recorded 7/22/20India’s army focusHow the battle went downHow to project power without even tryingHow to lose friends and influence your enemiesWar College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://angryplanet.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. 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.Recorded 7/17/20Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a special double feature. We here at War College think that the deployment of Federal officers to American cities is one of the most important stories of 2020 and we booked two different guests to discuss it.First, we speak with Robert Evans. Evans is a conflict journalist whose work has appeared in Bellingcat. His most recent article there is What You Need to Know About the Battle of Portland and is required reading on this topic. He’s also the host of the Behind the Bastards podcast, and a Portland resident who has been on the street of the city covering the events for weeks now.We also spoke with Alan Chin. Chin is a photographer, professor, and writer. He’s covered conflict in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia … and now, the United States. He gives us a broader perspective on the protests and what’s happening outside of Portland.Oh, and he and Jason are childhood friends.Robert Evans recorded 7/23/20Evans report on the Battle of PortlandWho are the Portland protests?The rhythm of nightly street combatThe history of the Portland Police DepartmentTear gas, flash bangs, and murder holesAlan Chin recorded 7/22/20The stress of the pandemicBurning police cars in NYCLessons learned from Occupy Wall StreetChina’s protestsWar College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://warcollege.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Afghanistan. U.S. troops have been leaving for years, fast, then slowly, then fast again. There is some kind of peace deal between the United States and the Taliban, but it doesn’t involve peace. The Afghan government isn’t even a party to it.Russia—which lost its own war in Afghanistan a generation ago--may have been paying the Taliban to kill U.S. troops.Soon, though, Afghanistan will ostensibly be on its own again. What’s next, aside from more war, of course.To help us understand all of this, we have Kathy Gannon. She is a veteran reporter with the Associated Press based in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She witnessed the Taliban’s victory in 1996, the U.S. invasion in 2001, and has won numerous awards for her work. She is the author of I is for Infidel: From Holy War to Holy Terror in Afghanistan.Recorded 7/21/20The lay of the landWhat the Taliban wantsTaliban VS Kabul The strength of Afghanistan’s warlordsRumors of bounties on U.S. soldiersNo one wants chaos in AfghanistanWar College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://warcollege.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week The Daily Beast broke some bizarre news. Several news outlets, including The Washington Examiner, RealClear Markets, and The National Interest, had been running op-eds of journalists that did not exist. AI generated photos attached to profiles and credentials that, once scrutinized, collapsed. It was a massive effort at digital propaganda and questions still remain about its provenance and purpose.Here to explain just what is going on is Marc Owen Jones. Jones is an assistant professor in Middle East Studies and Digital Humanities at Hamad bin Khalifa University and an expert in social media disinformation who helped sound the alarm about this campaign.Recorded 7/13/20Fake journalists have joined the frayTracking response of the dupe outletsThe difference between misinformation and disinformationMedia literacy in Estonia and FinlandA website that generates people who don’t existWar College has a substack! Join the Information War to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict.https://warcollege.substack.com/You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cocaine is the second most popular illicit drug in the world and it’s controlled by a black market regulated by violence. As America’s drug war edges close to its fiftieth birthday, there is no end in sight, the conflicts it fuels have expanded to an unprecedented scale and cocaine remains incredibly profitable.Here to talk to us about cartels and cocaine is Toby Muse. Muse is a journalist and documentarian whose work has appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, and CNN. He’s just published the book Kilo: Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels—From the Jungles to the Streets.Recorded on 7/6/20We’re living in the golden age of cocaineHow cocaine shaped Colombian politicsWhat happened when the FARC negotiated peaceThe myth and reality of the sicarioWhat happens with a Hitman retires“As long as cocaine is illegal, Colombia will never know peace.”It never ends. It never ever endsYou can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we’re joined by P.W. Singer, co-author of Burn-In: A Novel of the Real Robotic Revolution.The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed.Stray thoughts on the Bonus Army.The future of policing might be AI and that’s terrifying.Domestic terrorism is about to get even weirder than it already is.War has already changed.You can listen to War College on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play or follow our RSS directly. Our website is warcollegepodcast.com. You can reach us on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/warcollegepodcast/; and on Twitter: @War_College.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.