Podcasts about amarnath amarasingam

On this Memorial Day, we are proud to introduce the newest limited series from the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement and Axis Mundi Media. Miss Information is a podcast about how conspiracies and misinformation infiltrate wellness communities and religious spaces. Subscribe here: https://redcircle.com/shows/21b4b512-ceef-4289-b9fc-76f302f5bd22/episodes/3532f1b2-5f15-4302-82f6-8a281d676871 Misinformation is big news, but what does it mean and why does it matter? If misinformation is simply incorrect information, can it be solved simply by telling people the right answer?  In this episode, we learn how misinformation can prevent people from voting if they think they aren't eligible or can't vote by mail; how misinformation can convince people to take certain drugs to cure a disease even if it's not proven to be safe; and the ways misinformation can draw people into conspiracies like QAnon. But it's not as simple as dispelling all misinformation from our midst. That seems impossible. Rather, in dialogue with Dr. David Robertson from the Open University, what we will discover points to a different question: Why do people believe misinformation at all and what does it do for them? In other words, instead of focusing on what people believe, perhaps the phenomenon of misinformation directs us to ask what beliefs do - who they favor, who they put in power, who they marginalize, and who they leave vulnerable. And by understanding the mechanics, maybe we can mitigate the damage misinformation does to our public square. For more information about research-based media by Axis Mundi Media visit: www.axismundi.us For more information about public scholarship by the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement follow us @irmceorg or go to www.irmce.org Funding for this series has been generously provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.  Creator: Dr. Susannah Crockford Executive Producer: Dr. Bradley Onishi (@bradleyonishi)  Audio Engineer: Scott Okamoto (@rsokamoto) Production Assistance: Kari Onishi  Dr. Susannah Crockford (@suscrockford): Ripples of the Universe: Spirituality in Sedona, Arizona Further Reading Robertson, David G. UFOs, Conspiracy Theories and the New Age: Millennial Conspiracism. London: Bloomsbury, 2016. Robertson, David G., and Amarnath Amarasingam. “How Conspiracy Theorists Argue: Epistemic Capital in the Qanon Social Media Sphere.” Popular Communication 20 (2022): 193-207. https://doi.org/10.1080/15405702.2022.2050238. Howard, Philip N. Lie Machines: How to Save Democracy from Troll Armies, Deceitful Robots, Junk News Operations, and Political Operatives. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020. Bail, Chris. Breaking the Social Media Prism: How to Make Our Platforms Less Polarizing. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021.  Uscinski, Joseph E., and Joseph M. Parent. American Conspiracy Theories. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.  Byford, Jovan. Conspiracy Theories: A Critical Introduction. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Argentino, Marc-Andre. “The Church of QAnon: Will Conspiracy Theories Form the Basis of a New Religious Movement?” The Conversation, May 18, 2020, https://theconversation.com/the-church-of-qanon-will-conspiracy-theories-form-the-basis-of-a-new-religious-movement-137859  Hao, Karen. “How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation,” MIT Technology Review, March 11, 2021, https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/03/11/1020600/facebook-responsible-ai-misinformation/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday, Congresswoman Lori Trahan, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led a group of Democrats including Senator Ron Wyden and Representatives Katie Porter, Stephen Lynch, Susan Wild, Mondaire Jones, Kathy Castor, Adam Schiff, and Elissa Slotkin to sign letters requesting information from gaming companies about their efforts to combat hate, harassment, and extremism in online games. The letters were sent to companies including Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive, Riot Games, Epic Games, Valve, Microsoft, Sony, and Roblox. The letters followed a report issued by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) earlier this month that found that 77 percent of adults and 66 percent of teens have reported experiences of harassment while playing online games over the past year, and identified a number of other concerns about social gaming environments. Today, I'm joined by one of the authors of that report, ADL Center for Technology and Society Director of Strategy and Operations Daniel Kelley; as well as by Queens University professor Amarnath Amarasingam, coauthor of a report commissioned by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism on the intersection of gaming and violent extremism that was released in October.

Two Canadian women and two children have been repatriated from Syria, where they were being held at a detention camp for ISIS fighters' family members. Matt Galloway discusses what happens next with Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor in the School of Religion and Political Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.; and Dr. Cécile Rousseau, professor of the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal.

Libby Znaimer is joined by Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village, David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto and Ana Bailão, former Toronto Councillor for Ward 9 Davenport and Deputy Mayor This week: the Ford government introduced sweeping new legislation regarding housing that would cut the authority of Conservation authorities and give more leeway to developers. What does our panel think about that? Meanwhile, we recap the elections that took place and those who were voted back in including mayors John Tory, Patrick Brown and Bonnie Crombie. ---- NEW CENSUS DATA Libby Znaimer is now joined by Elise Herzig, Executive Director of JIAS Toronto and Dr. Sarah Wilkens-Laflamme, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate studies in Sociology at the University of Waterloo. In the news: According to new census data released by Statistics Canada, immigrants could  comprise between 29.1 per cent to 34 per cent of the population of Canada by 2041. Asian immigrants increased from just 12.1 per cent in 1971 to 62 per cent in 2021. And, India has been the lead source of Asian immigrants to the country and has contributed to 18.6 percent of total number arriving between 2016-2021. Meanwhile, as many as 34.6 per cent of Canadians do not affiliate with a religion. ---- ISIS BRIDES RETURN TO CANADA Libby Znaimer is now joined by Dr. Stephanie Carvin, Assistant Professor of International Affairs, Carleton University, and an expert on national security issues as well as Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam, Assistant Professor, School of Religion, Queen's University. In the news: at least two Canadian women and their kids are returning home to Canada from an ISIS detention camp in Syria. Our guests explain the implications of all of this. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Brian Hughes and Amarnath Amarasingam discuss the paper they co-wrote with David Jones, "Ecofascism: An Examination of the Far-Right/Ecology Nexus in the Online Space." The interview today was conducted by Sina Kashefipour and the show is produced by Chelsea Daymon and Sina Kashefipour. If you have enjoyed listening to The Loopcast please consider making a donation to the show through our Patreon. We greatly appreciate it.

The Ethics of Interviewing ISIS Fighters In this episode, Aden interviews Amarnath Amarasingam, who is an Assistant Professor in the School of Religion and is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies, at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. His research interests are in terrorism, radicalization and extremism, online communities, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the sociology of religion. He co-directed a study on foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, based at the University of Waterloo, for six years during which he conducted numerous social media and in-person interviews with current and former foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, as well as parents and close friends of those who travelled to fight. You can find him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam, and his published work is available at https://amarnathamarasingam.academia.edu/

This week on ‘The West Block,' host Mercedes Stephenson speaks with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino, who says Canada plans to ban ‘high-risk vendors' in other sensitive industries in the wake of barring Huawei from the nation's 5G infrastructure. Then, Stephenson speaks with former Wildrose Party leader Danielle Smith about her goal to lead Alberta's United Conservative Party following Premier Jason Kenney's shocking resignation. Plus, the racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket thrust a white supremacist conspiracy theory into the spotlight. Stephenson is joined by extremism research Amarnath Amarasingam on what needs to be done to address white supremacy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Extremism expert Amarnath Amarasingam told The World's host Marco Werman that the shooter was deeply influenced by the white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019.

Ben reviews the latest developments in Ukraine, including President Putin's shifting tone and President Biden's warning of the risk of war. Then he chats with the New Yorker's Moscow correspondent Joshua Yaffa on the ground in Kyiv amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion. Ben also talks with radicalization and extremism expert Amarnath Amarasingam about Canada's trucker protests, how American right-wing media helped fuel their momentum, and how they could impact Canada's politics longterm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To discuss the Canadian trucker protests and the relationship between topics networked activism, social media manipulation, extremism and law enforcement- as well as the potential for Canadian convoys to inspire similar actions in the US, where right wing media personalities have embraced the idea- we speak with two experts: Joan Donovan, Ph.D., the Research Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. Amarnath Amarasingam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the School of Religion at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. This interview was recorded on Monday, February 14th, 2022.

Over the past few weeks, Canada has been living through its own insurrectionary moment, as a series of trucker convoys have used tractor trailer trucks to occupy much of downtown Ottawa, launch protests in other major Canadian cities, and block points of entry along the country's southern border with the United States. While nominally objecting to Canadian vaccination mandates, particularly as applied to truckers, the convoy movement has at times made even more ambitious demands, including the dissolution of the Trudeau government, and it has close ties to far right-wing nationalists and ethno-nationalist organizations, both in Canada and the United States. While the convoy movement began in Canada, there are signs that is beginning to spread, with similar efforts appearing in Australia and New Zealand and intelligence reports suggesting the same may soon happen in the United States. To put these recent developments in context, Scott R. Anderson sat down with three Canadian national security experts who have been following the convoy crisis closely: Amarnath Amarasingam, assistant professor at Queen's University; Stephanie Carvin, associate professor at Carleton University; and Jessica Davis, president of Insight Threat Intelligence. They discussed the origins of the convoy movement, its relationship with domestic violent extremism and what it might mean for both Canada and the rest of the world.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Protests in Ottawa have entered their second week, with Mayor Jim Watson declaring a state of emergency. Matt Galloway discusses what happens next with Amarnath Amarasingam, an associate fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation; Regina Bateson, an assistant professor in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa; and Michael Kempa, a professor of criminology at the University of Ottawa.

Amarnath Amarasingam is an Assistant Professor at Queen's University. He is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, and an Associate Fellow at the Global Network on Extremism and Technology. His research interests are in radicalization, terrorism, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the sociology of religion. He is the author of "Pain, Pride, and Politics: Sri Lankan Tamil Activism in Canada" (2015), and the co-editor of "Sri Lanka: The Struggle for Peace in the Aftermath of War" (2016). He has also written several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has presented papers at over 100 national and international conferences, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Politico, The Atlantic, and Foreign Affairs. He joins Ara on this week's episode of The Tamil Creator to discuss who his top 5 rappers of all time are, receiving death threats as a result of his journalistic profession, the increasing divide between people & their governments and why you should stay out of the comment section on all social platforms.Follow Amarnath:- Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/thatamarguy/)- Twitter (https://twitter.com/AmarAmarasingam)Timestamps00:19 - Ara introduces this week's guest, Amarnath Amarasingam02:01 - Being born during the Sri Lankan war and immigrating to Toronto shortly after03:07 - Amarnath's love for hip-hop; breakdancing, battle rap08:38 - What's more appealing: a short but legendary run, or long but relatively average one10:40 - The violence that Scarborough fostered while Amarnath was growing up15:15 - Getting verified on Twitter, and receiving death threats19:07 - The lost art of people being able to disagree with one another23:30 - How COVID contributed to political polarization27:06 - The increasing divide between the people and the government30:32 - How does Amarnath describe what he does to people36:23 - Monetization in the academia world38:21 - What is the impact of Twitter on journalistic credibility?45:15 - Amarnath's favourite books and podcasts47:00 - How does one go about securing a book deal? (advances, agents, and more)50:54 - Personal legacy: how does Amarnath want to be remembered?52:43 - Amarnath's biggest insecurity: being insignificant53:38 - Inspirations from the Global Tamil community and non-Tamil community56:49 - Advice Amarnath would give to fellow aspiring Tamil creators1:00:40 - Creator Confessions1:03:02 - The Wrap UpIntro MusicProduced And Mixed By:- The Tamil Creator- YanchanWritten By:- Aravinthan Ehamparam- Yanchan Rajmohan      

Over the weekend, news broke about U.S. prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia indicting Mohammed Khalifa, a Canadian who traveled to Syria in 2013 and later joined the Islamic state where he became the English language voice for a series of Islamic State propaganda videos. The indictment is a big deal, both because of the person it implicates and because it's a U.S. court trying a Canadian man for crimes committed in Iraq and Syria. To break it all down, Jacob Schulz spoke with Leah West of Carleton University in Canada, and with Amarnath Amarasingam of Queen's University in Canada. The two are experts on Canadian foreign fighters leaving Canada to go join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and they're also in the unique position of having interviewed Khalifa at a Syrian Democratic Forces prison. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When news of the Toronto-18 Case broke in 2006, Canadians were stunned. It seemed as though the “War on Terror” had been brought to Canadian soil as a group of young men, allegedly inspired by Al Qaida, were accused of a serious bomb plot in downtown Toronto. After a high-profile news conference, however, a series of publication bans descended on the Toronto-18 cases, leaving the more complex issues and nuances of the case out of the public eye. What is the significance of the Toronto-18 attack 15 years later? What lessons should be learned from it? Jessica Davis sits down with Michael Nesbitt, Kent Roach and Amarnath Amarasingam to discuss these issues, and a new (free!) open access book: Canadian Terror: Multidisciplinary Perspectives and the Toronto 18 Terrorism Trials. Available from Manitoba Law Journal Robson Criminal Edition Collection.

Today's episode features two discussions on negative impacts of social media- including censorship of marginalized voices and dangers to kids. First, we talk with Thusiyan Nandakumar, an editor at the Tamil Guardian and Amarnath Amarasingam, a professor and extremism researcher at Queen's University, who tell the story of how social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are are censoring Tamil activists and other activists around the world who being targeted by governments. And second, we focus on kids and social media, with reactions to hearing in a Senate Subcommittee titled “Protecting Kids Online: Internet Privacy and Manipulative Marketing”, from tech policy experts Sara Collins, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge and previously a Policy Counsel on the Future of Privacy Forum's Education & Youth Privacy team, as well as Joseph Jerome, Director, Platform Accountability and State Advocacy at Common Sense Media, where he focuses on legislative and policy solutions related to children and digital media. 

During the pandemic we have heard a lot about state actors engaging in threat-related activity. But what are non-state actors up to? In this episode, Stephanie sits down with Alex Wilner and Casey Babb to discuss their forthcoming chapter on this very question. Wilner and Baab identify three major activities that non-state actors are engaging in online: delegitimation, recruitment and incitement. After describing these activities, the three discuss what might be done about this problem. At a time when Parliament is investigating the regulation of social media companies, are there options for both the government and private sector to curb the risk of violence? Note - Wilner and Babb's chapter will be appearing in Leah West, Thomas Juneau, and Amarnath Amarasingam, eds. Stress Tested: The COVID-19 Pandemic and Canadian National Security. Calgary: University of Calgary Press – open source and out this spring! Stay tuned to the podcast and Intrepidpodcast.com for more information.

The terrorist, a 28-year-old Australian man, wrought havoc in Christchurch in an attempt to show that nobody is safe anywhere, especially in a sleepy South Island town. He became radicalised online and preached white supremacy and hate speech. This episode zooms out again to examine the shooter's backstory. We employ the help of international terrorism expert Amarnath Amarasingam on understanding how people become radicalised in the first place and how social media and Trump have played a role in mainstreaming extremism.  CREDITS Reporter & writer: Ashleigh StewartScript & story consultation: Popsock MediaProducers: Bashar Najjar and Basel Anabtawi 'Our Darkest Day' is a Rising Giants Network production.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week's episode features a discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab titled Reclaiming Reality: De-radicalization and Rehabilitation After the January 6 Attack that includes https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/people/fellows/amarnath-amarasingam (Amarnath Amarasingam), an Assistant Professor in the School of Religion at Queen's University, https://datasociety.net/people/lopez-g-cristina/ (Cristina López G), a Senior Research Analyst with Data and Society, QAnon Anonymous co-host https://twitter.com/travis_view (Travis View), and the DFRLab's Research Fellow, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/expert/jared-holt/ (Jared Holt). We also hear related Congressional testimony from Emily Bell, Founding Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School, at a House subcommittee hearing titled "Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media."

With tens of thousands of social media accounts being deplatformed, Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam joins to explain if this is actually a good move, or if it could increase the risk of radicalization. For more than twenty years, Derek Brower has covered the international energy beat. The Financial Times US energy editor checks in from England with a look at the energy relationship between Canada and a Biden-led United States, including the future of pipeline projects key to Alberta's bottom line. Investigative climate journalist Geoff Dembicki shares his findings around a conspiracy-laden report commissioned by the Alberta government, targeting climate journalists. Dawn Harsch of ExquisiCare and Wendy King of Canterbury Foundation air their concerns around a perceived double standard in the vaccinations of seniors and staff in public and private long term care facilities.

Emily, David and John talk about impeachment, whether Americans can be deradicalized, and guest Juliette Kayyem joins in to discuss vaccine distribution. Here are some notes and references from this week’s show: Emily Bazelon for the New York Times Magazine: “People Are Dying. Whom Do We Save First With the Vaccine?  Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America by John Sides, Michael Tesler, and Lynn Vavrek  Amarnath Amarasingam’s Twitter thread on de-platforming extremists.  Amarnath Amarasingam, Shiraz Maher, and Charlie Winter for the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats: “How Telegram Disruption Impacts Jihadist Platform Migration” The music of Ludovico Einaudi The music of Joan Armatrading The music of John Prine The music of M.I.A. The music of Joan Jett The music of Maren Morris The music of Joni Mitchell The music of Bob Mould and Husker Du The music of Nick Thompson Nicholas Thompson for Wired: “To Run My Best Marathon at Age 44, I Had to Outrun My Past” “Iko Iko” performed by the Grateful Dead  “You’ll Never Walk Alone” performed by Gerry and the Pacemakers Tusk by Fleetwood Mac Desire by Bob Dylan In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust Here are this week’s cocktail chatters:  John: Nathaniel Popper for The New York Times: “Lost Passwords Lock Millionaires Out of Their Bitcoin Fortunes” Emily: Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell  David: The Dancing Bird of Paradise Scene from “Our Planet” Listener chatter from Richard Medlicott: Steven Levy for Wired: “A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?” Slate Plus members get a bonus segment on the Gabfest each week, and access to special bonus episodes throughout the year. Sign up now to listen and support our show. For this week’s Slate Plus bonus segment David, Emily, and John talk about the music they turn to in order to clear their heads. You can tweet suggestions, links, and questions to @SlateGabfest. Tweet us your cocktail chatter using #cocktailchatter. (Messages may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) The email address for the Political Gabfest is gabfest@slate.com. (Email may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise.) Podcast production by Jocelyn Frank. Research and show notes by Bridgette Dunlap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My next guest is Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor in the School of Religion at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. Amar is also a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, both in London, England. His research interests are in radicalization, terrorism, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the sociology of religion. He is the author of Pain, Pride, and Politics: Sri Lankan Tamil Activism in Canada, published by the University of Georgia Press in 2015, and co-editor of Sri Lanka: The Struggle for Peace in the Aftermath of War, published by Hurst in 2016.Amar and I talk about religion and terroris, about Canadian foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, and far right terrorism, and about... Eminem!

From the fringes of the dark web to Christian influencers on Instagram - why are some followers of QAnon motivated to run for office while others are stockpiling weapons and ammunition preparing to fight the Deep State?

A growing number of Christians are dealing with QAnon and struggling to understand what it is and why so many were falling under its sway.

The cosmic war between good and evil, a hero in the White House, and the threat of election day violence -- why we cannot ignore the spread of the conspiracy network QAnon.

On September 25, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a Canadian man for faking his involvement in the Islamic State. It’s a strange charge, but the situation is made more complicated by the fact that the man—who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Huzayfah—was the primary subject of “Caliphate” a popular New York Times podcast series about the Islamic State. In that series, Abu Huzayfah talked at length about spending time with the Islamic State and rehashed in great detail his involvement in the executions of prisoners detained by the group. It’s a complicated set of facts with a lot to unpack. Do we have any real sense of what happened? What features of the Canadian national security apparatus might have contributed to the bizarre situation? And what does the whole ordeal reveal about the challenges and pitfalls of telling stories about the war on terror? To talk through everything, Jacob Schulz spoke with Leah West, a lecturer at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and a fellow at the McCain Institute, and Amarnath Amarasingam, an assistant professor in the School of Religion at Queen’s University.

The story was chronicled in detail in the mega-hit New York Times podcast Caliphate: a young Canadian man who claimed he had travelled to Syria to join ISIS, committing executions on behalf of the group before becoming disillusioned and fleeing. Now, Shehroze Chaudry, a.k.a. "Abu Huzaifa al-Kanadi" has been charged by the RCMP not for being a member of ISIS, but for allegedly lying about it. He's now facing a terrorism hoax charge. Today, terrorism and radicalization expert Amarnath Amarasingam shares his perspective on the story. He's been in contact with Chaudhry for about four years, at first as part of his research into ISIS fighters and returnees, and later as someone who works to help reintegrate former extremists.

Things in Syria are moving at a dizzying pace. Today is the second part of our conversation with Global News investigative journalist Stewart Bell, who recently returned from a reporting trip with Prof. Amarnath Amarasingam of Queen’s University, and Leah West, a national security law expert at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Host Tamara Khandaker is joined by both Stewart and Leah to discuss the Canadians they met while in Syria  ⁠— Canadians who left to join ISIS ⁠— and their families, who have since been captured by Kurdish forces and are now stuck in limbo, waiting to be set free or for Canada to bring them home. If you missed it on Friday, you can listen to the first part of our conversation with Stewart here, or scroll back in your feed.

Jack Letts — known to some as “Jihadi Jack” — is a British-Canadian accused of joining ISIS as a teenager. He is being held in a jail in northern Syria after being captured by Kurdish forces in 2014. But over the weekend, we learned that the U.K. has stripped him of his citizenship, meaning that the only country he now legally belongs to is Canada. Host Tamara Khandaker talks to extremism researcher Amarnath Amarasingam, assistant professor in the School of Religion at Queen’s University. They unpack the issue around Jack Letts’ citizenship and what the government should do about Canadians accused of being ISIS fighters in Syria — and if they should bring them here.

Amarnath Amarasingam discusses his latest article "Terrorism on the Teardrop Island: Understanding the Easter 2019 Attacks in Sri Lanka." The interview today was conducted by Chelsea Daymon, and the show is produced by Chelsea Daymon and Sina Kashefipour. If you have enjoyed listening to The Loopcast please consider making a donation to the show through our Patreon. We greatly appreciate it.

Sri Lanka is both returning to normalcy and struggling with last week’s Easter attacks. Roel Raymond provides an update from Colombo and Amarnath Amarasingam explains how nations can battle extremism without violating human rights. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Almost 300 people were killed in a string of bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. Roel Raymond reports from Colombo and Amarnath Amarasingam explains how this attack was both familiar and unprecedented. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Dawson is a Full Professor in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies and the Department of Religious Studies. He has served as the Chair of both departments. He has published three books, four edited books, and sixty-nine academic articles and book chapters. Until 2008 most of his research was in the sociology of religion, in particular the study of new religious movements. Since then terrorism has become the primary focus of his research, in particular the process of radicalization leading to violence. In 2012 he co-founded the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS). He is the current Project Director (see www.tsas.ca) of this partnership. TSAS operates with funds competitively awarded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Public Safety Canada, Defence Research and Development Canada, and other organizations. Dr. Dawson regularly makes invited presentations to a wide variety of government, academic, and public groups about various aspects of terrorism and counter-terrorism, and is frequently interviewed by the media on these topics. He also has been involved in the supervision of over thirty PhD students. Three of Lorne's publications: Lorne L. Dawson, “Discounting Religion in the Explanation of Homegrown Terrorism: A Critique,” in James R. Lewis, ed., Cambridge Companion to Religion and Terrorism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017: 32-45. Lorne L. Dawson, “Sketch of a Social Ecology Model for Explaining Homegrown Terrorist Radicalisation,” The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague 8, no.1 2017. DOI: 10.19165/2017.1.01. Lorne L. Dawson and Amarnath Amarasingam, “Talking to Foreign Fighters: Insights into the Motivations for Hijrah to Syria and Iraq,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Vol. 40, No. 3, 2017: 191-210. DOI 10.1080/1057610X.2016.1274216. Three publications that influenced Lorne: Martha Crenshaw, “The Subjective Reality of the Terrorist: Ideological and Psychological Factors in Terrorism.” In Robert O. Slater and Michael Stohl, eds., Current Perspectives on International Terrorism. London: Macmillan Press, 1988: 12-46. Quinton Wiktorowicz, Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005. Simon Cotteem and Keith Hayward, “Terrorist (E)motives: The Existential Attractions of Terrorism.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 34 (12), 2011: 963-986.

Over the past few years we have experienced the notable reemergence of a white nationalist movement within the public sphere. From the Emanuel AME shooting to Charlottesville, VA and beyond, white nationalism seems to be undergoing a rebranding of sorts - moving out of the darkness of the internet and into the limelight of public discourse. While many political leaders continue to condemn activities of these so-called "alt-right" - or alternative right - groups, others have provided those who feel that they have been treated unfairly by years of social policy with a sense of legitimacy and authority for their grievances. Indeed, it is clear that while white nationalism has never fully gone away, it is perhaps more powerful and pervasive today than in recent memory.  In this week's episode, Derek has a chat with three experts working on various issues related to the emergence of the alt-right, reemergence of white supremacist hate groups, and political violence more generally. Guests of the show include Dr. Ryan Scrivens, a HORIZON Postdoctoral Fellow at Concordia University and expert in right-wing extremism online and in public, Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo who has published numerous articles and reports on engagement in and disengagement from extremist groups, and Bradley Galloway, former leader of BC's Volksfront skinhead organization who was part of the Canadian white supremacist movement for 13 years who is now studying criminology at the University of Fraser Valley. Brad is also the focus of a CBC documentary called "Skinhead," which traces the Canadian white nationalist movement over the past several decades. Special thanks to @UOIT @UOITCrim and the International Network for Hate Studies for putting on such a wonderful biennial conference for hate studies at which this episode was recorded. Please feel free to follow the network for more information! You can find Amar, Ryan, and Brad on Twitter! Don't forget to follow the show on Twitter!   Follow your co-hosts: @Derekcrim | @Thomasncooke Email us: wtncast@gmail.com Subscribe for updates: https://wtncast.podbean.com/feed/ Follow us on iTunes: What's That Noise?

Amarnath Amarasingam is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a Fellow at The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, and Co-Directs a study of Western foreign fighters based at the University ofWaterloo. He is the author of Pain, Pride, and Politics: Sri Lankan Tamil Activism in Canada (2015). His research interests are in radicalization, terrorism, diaspora politics, post-war reconstruction, and the sociology ofreligion. He is the editor of Sri Lanka: The Struggle for Peace in the Aftermathof War (2016), The Stewart/Colbert Effect: Essays on the Real Impacts of Fake News (2011) and Religion and the New Atheism: A Critical Appraisal (2010). He is also the author of several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, has presented papers at over 100 national and international conferences, and has written for The New York Times, Politico, The Atlantic, Vice News, Foreign Affairs, and War on the Rocks. He tweets at @AmarAmarasingam. Some research that has influenced Amarnath's career Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckman, T. (1967). The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Anthony Giddens (1991). Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern Age. Ziad W. Munson (2009) The Making of Pro-Life Activists: How Social Movement Mobilization Works. Some of Amarnath's key research Pain, Pride, and Politics: Social Movement Activism and the Sri Lankan Tamil Diasporain Canada. (2015) Talking to Foreign Fighters: Insights into the Motivations for Hijrah to Syria and Iraq. With Lorne L. Dawson (2016) Where do ISIS Fighters Go When the Caliphate Falls? With Colin P. Clarke (2017)

Guest: Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam, Post-Doctoral Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Waterloo

Guest: Dr. Amarnath Amarasingam, Post-Doctoral Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Waterloo

In this episode, Intelligence Analyst Angie Gad talks with Amarnath Amarasingam about his interviews with foreign fighters. Mr. Amarsingam provides meaningful insights and helps debunk commonly held misperceptions about the drivers that motivate foreign fighters to travel to Iraq and Syria to join Salafi-jihadist groups.