Traveling America’s ‘Murderland’

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe Pacific Northwest is known for its startling natural beauty, precocious rainfall, and propensity to birth serial killers. Why? Caroline Fraser has a theory and it’s a good one.This week on Angry Planet, Fraser takes us on a journey through the American past and into the dark heart of the PNW. Her new book Murderland weaves together memoir, true crime, history, and science into a compelling narrative that’s as beautiful and deadly as the forests around Tacoma.Lead in the time of serial killersCrazywall as mapAmerica’s ultra-leaded 1970sThe killer hubristic roadways of the Pacific NorthwestThe unique draw of Ted BundyThe beauty and horror of the PNW’s woodsLead poisoned psychos become pop culture geniusesAnne Rule and the different eras of true crime writingThe Olympic–Wallowa lineamentThe current state of the true crime genreMurdlerand: Crime and Bloodlust in the Time of Serial KillersTacoma Smelter Plume projectHouses of ButterfliesA look back at the I-90 floating bridges before light-rail work beginsThe Domesday BookSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comAll things move towards their end, even seemingly omnipotent political leaders, and authoritarian systems are shaped by the question of succession long before the leader dies. Xi Jinping is 72 years old and the Chinese Communist Party has started to consider what comes next. Those conversations are shaping the political reality of the country.On this episode of Angry Planet, Brown University professor Tyler Jost comes on the show to explain China is navigating what life may look like after Xi.How succession shapes politics in an authoritarian systemHow does China’s government actually work?The path to the Chinese presidencyAs always, it’s all about who you knowPrincelingsXi’s path to powerCorruption as influenceWhen the eye of the leader lands upon you“Cyberpunk hellscape”Some parting notes on American MaoismAfter Xi—The Succession Question Obscuring China’s Future—and Unsettling Its PresentBureaucracies at WarSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comIf the internet is a battlefield, does that mean the United States needs a new military force to dominate it?On this episode of Angry Planet, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Edward Charles Cardon and former House Armed Services Committee staffer Joshua Stiefel make the case for spinning off the Cyber Force into an independent branch. Both are part of a new commission at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — partnered with Jason’s new bosses at Foundation for Defense of Democracies — with the goal of preparing for a new branch that both feel is inevitable.It’s a wild and wandering conversation that touches on Neuromancer, AI, and fighting a cyber war against the Islamic State.“A Cyber Force is inevitable”How cyber works nowFrom Army Air Service to Air Force to Space ForceVolt Typhoon as warningIt’s hard to recruit hackersThe Goldwater-Nichols Act mentioned, drinkBasic training for hackers?A retired Lt. General at DefconThe weird nebulous thinking of AI and cyberThe Army has soldiers, the Space Force has Guardians, what about Cyber Force?Neuromancers? Hackers?“The leaders of this domain have to understand the people they’re talking to.”Change is only possible in the aftermath of something cataclysmic“AI is gonna put the offense on steroids”Glowing SymphonyIslamic State as the model conflictCSIS Launches Commission on Cyber Force Generation in Partnership With Cyber SolariumUnited States Cyber Force: A Defense ImperativeVolt TyphoonGoldwater-Nichols Act of 1986The Rise of ‘Vibe Hacking’ Is the Next AI NightmareRussia Is Suspected to Be Behind Breach of Federal Court Filing SystemOperation Glowing SymphonySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comJournalists and Nazis have changed a lot in the years since the end of World War II; journalists are on the outs while Nazis are having a bit of a moment. Across the U.S. and Canada, avowed fascists have committed murder, attempted to destroy the power grid, and actively recruit online and in person. As these extremists work to hide their identity, journalists and law enforcement use advanced tech to expose them. But at what cost?On this episode of Angry Planet, Jordan Pearson of the CBC’s visual investigations unit talks us through how he and his co-workers use open source intelligence to expose fascists. We also discuss the ethical struggles that come with using the tools of the surveillance state to track them down.Nazis hiding their facesExercise as a path to fascismWhat’s the public concern?Hate speech in Canada vs AmericaHow a journalist decides when to unmask a fascistWhen a journalist uses facial recognition and leaked data in the public interestFalling into OSINTUsing a boxing glove to find a specific gymThe lightswitch!A gazebo with a chipped toothCan AI help journalists? (yes)The nightmare of transcription“It’s trending towards Nazis”How a Northern Irish town descended into 3 days of anti-immigrant violenceMan accused of facilitating terrorism used quarry outside Quebec City for target practiceTracking Canada’s fascist fight clubsWhat’s an active club?Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe world is living with a Cold War hangover. The logic of deterrence, which dominates the minds of the people who plan nuclear wars, means that America must have enough nuclear weapons to credibly threaten to destroy the world should someone launch nukes at it. That thinking led to a world with tens of thousands of nuclear weapons, and that was just when the U.S. had the Soviet Union to think about. Now it’s facing the twin threats of Russia and China. Does that mean America needs twice the nukes to handle twice the threats?Some in the Pentagon seem to think so, and the world is embarking on a radical and expensive nuclear build up the likes of which it hasn’t seen in a generation.What if there’s another way? James Acton is here to pitch us on a world where Optimal Deterrence does not mean spending trillions of dollars on new world-ending weapons just to make sure everyone else doesn’t use theirs.Acton is a co-director of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nuclear Policy Program and the author of a new article that outlines the 21st century nuclear arms race and a new plan to stop it.Podcasting from an iPhone in a closetThe apocryphal camera lens storyThe nuclear teaseWhat are nuclear weapons pointed at?How to win a three-way nuclear warThe dread logic of counterforce targetingTrump’s nuclear reticenceHow many nukes are there anyway?How to spend a trillion dollars on nuclear weapons upgradesActon’s big idea“I don’t think we lose much by ceasing to target an adversary’s nuclear forces.”“It doesn’t matter if they believe it or not.”Optimal DeterrenceRussia’s nuclear torpedoCarnegie Endowment for International PeaceSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes it’s good to back up and ask the basic questions: How do we know Iran was even developing nuclear weapons?On this episode of the show, the Arms Control Wonk Jeffrey Lewis walks us through the history of the Iranian nuclear (weapons and energy) program. It’s got it all: diplomacy, assassinations, cowardly politicians, and uranium fever.Lewis is a professor at the Middlebury Institute, member of the National Academies Committee on International Security and Arms Control, and former member of the State Department's International Security Advisory Board. He knows the tale well and he’s here to tell it straight.Damning the strikes with faint praise.“The hard part of a nuclear weapon is not the explodey part.”Making a nuclear weapon is a solved problem.The Iran-Iraq war and the origins of Iran’s nuclear weapons programThe ladders of Natanz, how they cascade downEnergy programs are always bigger than weapons programs.Unmasking the International Atomic Energy AgencyIsrael’s war on the programHow to enrich uraniumThe “torturous” process behind the Iran dealCongressional cowards“A new generation of suckers”The French movie goodbyeThe DealSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comPauline Shanks Kaurin PhD. was, until recently, the Stockdale Chair for Professional Military Ethics at the U.S. Naval War College. She’d been there since 2018, teaching philosophy and ethics to U.S. military officers and the occasional civilian. Then came Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth, and marching orders she said stifled academic freedom.So she resigned.On this episode of Angry Planet, Pauline talks us through her decision and tells us what she saw from the inside of one of the U.S. military’s most lauded academic institutions as the new administration seeks to restrict what’s taught in the classroom.Disclosures and caveats“A moral dilemma I couldn’t resolve”On ObedienceAdmiral James Stockdale“We’re all in vacation mode.”“The snitch line”Purging books, telling professors what not to talk about“I don’t want to be on Fox News”It happened fastSuggestions of pulling manuscripts at the editorWhat happens to a military that isn’t taught honor and ethics?Compliance versus deferenceAvoiding discomfort as a policy positionDisagreements as combatA heavy metal argumentThe cost of taking a moral stand“Everyday is ethics day”A Military-Ethics Professor Resigns in ProtestDisgraceful Pardons: Dishonoring Our HonorableSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can’t win a war with airpower alone, despite what the U.S. Air Force will tell you. For more than 100 years, the masters of the air have promised that military and political objectives can be achieved if you just let them drop enough bombs.It’s a theory that’s been tested, and fallen short, many times. Operation Midnight Hammer, the Trump administration’s use of 14 GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrators on Iranian nuclear sites, is just the latest test. The promise is that this has set back Iran’s nuclear program (it probably has) but Israel is hoping for much more—regime change in the Islamic Republic.Time will tell, but I’m not betting on it.On this episode of Angry Planet we zoom out and talk about the strategy behind airpower in the 21st century. Robert Farley, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kentucky, is on the show today to give us his thoughts on the Iran strikes, airpower in general, and the lessons to be learned from watching the war in Ukraine.Should we abolish the independent Air Force?Was Israel’s war on Iran a success?Has airpower ever forced regime change?Curtis LeMay mentionedBombing doesn’t create revolutionary fervorAirpower as theater“Israel-splaining”What’s a Golden Dome for anyway?Are FPV drones part of the air force arsenal or infantry weapons?Strikes on Iran Show the Force, and Limits, of AirpowerRobert on PBS in KentuckyBuy Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air ForceThe Five-Ring Circus: How Airpower Enthusiasts Forgot About InterdictionSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe ocean is vast, beautiful, and lawless. Thousands of miles from any coast, power belongs to those who seize it.On this episode of Angry Planet, journalist Ian Urbina stops by to discuss the Outlaw Ocean Project and the second season of its incredible podcast. Urbina and his team of investigative journalists are telling stories about human rights, labor, and the environment on the vast swaths of the planet covered in water.The hidden cost of the seafood supply chainWhy the ocean is such a lawless place“Crimes at the intersection of environment and human rights.”Libya is “hell on earth” for migrantsAliou’s journey to LibyaHow Europe enables Libyan militias to police its bordersThe migration to slavery pipelineA team of journalists at gunpointLife on a Chinese squid fishing vesselLow tech and high tech reporting gets the job done“That is what life is like in that niche of hell.”Listen to the Outlaw Ocean PodcastInside a migrant detention center in LibyaChina: The Superpower of SeafoodSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe futures of the past have curdled into the nightmares of the present. The richest and most powerful people the world has ever known want to colonize mars, live forever, and digitize human consciousness. To make these technological miracles come to pass, they say, will require people to dramatically change the way they live and work. Will it be worth it? Does science even say it’s possible?On this Angry Planet, astrophysicist and author Adam Becker joins us to explain all the problems with Silicon Valley’s dreams of the future. It’s not a short list. Much of the tech, and even the physics, don’t work the way techno-utopians say it does. Some of the people hawking robot slaves and immortality are chasing the impossible for tragic personal reasons. Others are just trying to sell you something. It’s all the subject of Becker’s new book: More Everything Forever.ShareFranics Fukuyama and the end of everything“Death is the ultimate limit, the ultimate loss of control.”Moore’s law, the singularity, and Ray Kurzweil’s fatherThe Face on Mars and large language modelsElizas all the way downThe false binaries of the tech bro futureSilicon Valley’s lost boys“Death is avoidable and taxation is theft.”Stasis for me but not for thee“Mars sucks”Against Life Extension by Francis FukuyamaMore Everything Forever on BookshopMore Everything Forever on AmazonSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.