Podcast appearances and mentions of andrew liptak

Ionatan and Ravi are joined by Andrew Liptak, a historian and member of the 501st Legion, to discuss the history of cosplay. They break down 'Cosplay: A History,' his book detailing how cosplay became a mainstream force and what it says about the relationships fans have with the stories they love. Then, they talk about the intersection of cosplay and anime as well as his other work as a journalist and writer.

Vermont Author Andrew Liptak, whose recent book is Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life (Saga Press). This week's Write the Book Prompt won't surprise you, if you listened to the interview. Dress in costume and write about the person you see yourself representing. If you have a costume that works for a character you're working on, great. If not, try to change one thing about your appearance to help you access that character. Does he have a mustache and you do not? Stick on a fake, or draw one above your lip. Does she wear a tiara, pencil skirts, stilettos, sandals, penny loafers? Find something you can try on and see if it helps you embody the person you are trying to get right on the page. Maybe a character you're working on is on vacation, and he dresses like any number of other men - nothing really worthy of being labeled a costume. But as he's away from work for a while, you might try to write with a tie, to get a feel for what he's presently released from, and then wear a collared shirt with the top button undone. Maybe that will give you some idea of how he feels, physically, at this stage in his life. Good luck with your work in the coming week, and tune in next week for another prompt or suggestion. Music Credit: Aaron Shapiro 761

Andrew Liptak, a veteran of Gizmodo, Grist, io9, Kirkus Reviews, Pando Daily, Polygon, Slate, The Verge and many many others (seriously) joins us to discuss his book Cosplay: A History: The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life. 

Barre author Andrew Liptak speaks to host Mikaela Lefrak about his recently published book on cosplay.

Armor, uniforms, and superheroes, oh my! Shaun Duke and Brandon O'Brien are joined by cosplay enthusiast and historian Andrew Liptak to discuss his new book, Cosplay: A History (out now). Together, they talk about the task of putting together a history spanning over a century, the value and wonder of cosplay, some strange facts we […]

On this episode of Cosplay and Cocktails, Jessi and Paige sit down with historian, author, and sometimes stormtrooper, Andrew Liptak, to discuss his new book, Cosplay: A History.

Join us for an interview with Andrew Liptak, author of a new book 'Cosplay: A History' which is out now! We talk about the book, navigating cosplay through Covid, and his cool collection of Star Wars costumes! Andrew Liptak is a writer and historian based in Vermont. He graduated from Norwich University with a master's degree in military history and writes about history, technology, and science fiction in his newsletter Transfer Orbit. His work has appeared in Armchair General Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Gizmodo, io9, Slate, The Verge, and other publications. He coedited the anthology War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge Magazine and Curious Fictions. Learn more about Cosplay: A History: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cosplay-A-History/Andrew-Liptak/9781534455825 Andrew Liptak: https://www.andrewliptak.com/ Buy Cosplay: A History: https://www.andrewliptak.com/cosplay-a-history

Join us for an interview with Andrew Liptak, author of a new book 'Cosplay: A History' which is out now! We talk about the book, navigating cosplay through Covid, and his cool collection of Star Wars costumes! Andrew Liptak is a writer and historian based in Vermont. He graduated from Norwich University with a master's degree in military history and writes about history, technology, and science fiction in his newsletter Transfer Orbit. His work has appeared in Armchair General Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Gizmodo, io9, Slate, The Verge, and other publications. He coedited the anthology War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge Magazine and Curious Fictions. Learn more about Cosplay: A History: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cosplay-A-History/Andrew-Liptak/9781534455825 Andrew Liptak: https://www.andrewliptak.com/ Buy Cosplay: A History: https://www.andrewliptak.com/cosplay-a-history

Join us for an interview with Andrew Liptak, author of a new book 'Cosplay: A History' which is out now! We talk about the book, navigating cosplay through Covid, and his cool collection of Star Wars costumes! Andrew Liptak is a writer and historian based in Vermont. He graduated from Norwich University with a master's degree in military history and writes about history, technology, and science fiction in his newsletter Transfer Orbit. His work has appeared in Armchair General Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Gizmodo, io9, Slate, The Verge, and other publications. He coedited the anthology War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge Magazine and Curious Fictions. Learn more about Cosplay: A History: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cosplay-A-History/Andrew-Liptak/9781534455825 Andrew Liptak: https://www.andrewliptak.com/ Buy Cosplay: A History: https://www.andrewliptak.com/cosplay-a-history

Join us for an interview with Andrew Liptak, author of a new book 'Cosplay: A History' which is out now! We talk about the book, navigating cosplay through Covid, and his cool collection of Star Wars costumes! Andrew Liptak is a writer and historian based in Vermont. He graduated from Norwich University with a master's degree in military history and writes about history, technology, and science fiction in his newsletter Transfer Orbit. His work has appeared in Armchair General Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Gizmodo, io9, Slate, The Verge, and other publications. He coedited the anthology War Stories: New Military Science Fiction, and his short fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge Magazine and Curious Fictions. Learn more about Cosplay: A History: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cosplay-A-History/Andrew-Liptak/9781534455825 Andrew Liptak: https://www.andrewliptak.com/ Buy Cosplay: A History: https://www.andrewliptak.com/cosplay-a-history

I had the unique and exciting opportunity to interview Andrew Liptak about his new book, Cosplay: A History. We hit the ground running with Andrew giving us his full blown origin story and how Star Wars pretty much kick-started his love of pop culture and all things nerdy. From learning Star Wars themed music pieces in high school band, to even joining the 501st Legion. That latter part is the overall theme in this book as it takes a look at the history of cosplay from the very first cosplayer ever recorded back in the 1930s to people attending the World Fair and so much more. In this chat, Andrew frames his time around the 501st as the blueprint for charting cosplay's growth into the mainstream status it's at currently. From things like cosplayers going from hobbyists to pros, making their mark in the movie industry, to individuals like Yaya Han bringing foam and her own fabric line to retailers like Jo-Ann's. There's a lot more to be heard in this conversation I have so be sure to listen to the whole thing! Cosplay: A History is available now at your local bookstore and Amazon! Be sure to keep in touch with Andrew's adventures via the link below! https://linktr.ee/AndrewLiptak Follow me on Twitch! twitch.tv/blulightningcos --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/cosplaybytes/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cosplaybytes/support

On this Episode, I have Author and Writer, Andrew Liptak, on the show as a new guest!!Andrew and I discuss how he started his latest book, "Cosplay: A History", cosplaying at conventions and give our thoughts on the cosplay community! Andrew's newest book, “Cosplay: A History” is out TODAY! You can find more information in the links below! FOLLOW Andrew Liptak at:Website - https://www.andrewliptak.com/Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/liptakaa/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/andrewliptakFacebook - https://www.facebook.com/andrewjliptak/ JOIN THE SPOILER FORCE PATREON!! Patrons will have their names mentioned on episodes depending on which tier is selected!! For the First Ten Patrons, the First Five Patrons who Pledge to the Level 2 Tier will receive an Exclusive Spoiler Force T-Shirt. BUT! The following Five Patrons who Pledge to the Level 2 Tier will receive an Exclusive Spoiler Force Sticker and Print!!*Only ONE SPOT left for the Exclusive Spoiler Force T-Shirt!!https://patreon.com/spoilerforcepodcastLIKE, SHARE, RATE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT and FOLLOW Spoiler Force Podcast!! You can find more content at:https://linktr.ee/SpoilerForcePodcastYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/spoilerforcepodcastApple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spoiler-force-podcast/id1465655015Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/3edg2bpJPr85Qwry6kzvOrSoundCloud - https://www.soundcloud.com/spoilerforcepodcastAny kind of guest recommendations, comments, questions, concerns or criticisms can be sent to rickyvang92@gmail.com. I might even respond to your message in a future podcast episode!!Don't Forget to Join the Spoiler Force Discord Community!!Support Spoiler Force Podcast! ALL Tips and Donations will be used for podcasting needs such as Booking Guests, Equipment and Software!https://streamlabs.com/spoilerforcepodcast1/tipIf you want to start your very own Podcast, go tohttps://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1059248 and sign up for free!If you want a simpler way to record your Audio or Video Podcast, go to https://streamyard.com?pal=6037820492218368 and sign up to earn a $10 credit!Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/sensho/glow#SpoilerForcePodcast #AndrewLiptak #CosplayAHistory #Cosplay #Conventions #Anime #Manga #Movies #ComicBooks #Author #StarWars #Art #DigitalArt #Writing #Nerd #Travel #Media #Books #Writer #History #Costume #Design #Podcast #Tribe #CultureSupport the show

Welcome to Season 4 : Inferno!!Here to talk about his new book, Cosplay : A History – The Builders, Fans and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life, is author Andrew Liptak.  Andrew has an amazing book out in stores now and we're here to talk all about his writings, how he came to create this fantastic book, and his observations on Cosplay as a long time member of the 501st Legion. You may have seen him at conventions like DragonCon, and his extensive works extend beyond Cosplay, having his work published in Armchair General Magazine, Clarkesworld Magazine, Gizmodo, Slate, The Verge and others. His short fiction has appeared in Galaxy's Edge Magazine and Curious Fictions. We cover many topics, including several of those included in his book. Reenactments, masquerades, the evolution of cosplay, the current state of cosplay, and the importance that it has right now (and has historically), and it's impact on our cultures.A great read, overall - it kept me turning pages and I am grateful to have a talent such as Andrew Liptak as a guest on my show.  Please support the release of the book and get your copy today!Buy on AmazonDownload on AudibleSubscribe and Learn More about the Book hereVisit Andrew's WebsiteFollow him online! - Links are here

We'll spend the 9:00 hour with Vermont author and historian Andrew Liptak discussing his new book, “Cosplay: A History.” After that, Vermont State Police Captain Matthew Daley dives into the work of the VSP's SCUBA Team. And we finish the morning meeting WDEV All-Star Craig Ladd, currently at Radio Vermont's WLVB. 

Andrew Liptak is a journalist and historian with a passion for cosplay. This book was a great read and it was really fun seeing all the facets of the history of cosplay! Share your stories with us at www.cosplaystitchandseam.com

It's con season, so you will be seeing a lot of fans dressed as superheroes. But where did all this costuming begin? This week we talk to author Andrew Liptak about his new book Cosplay: A History. And 50 years ago, Jack Kirby was asked to come up with a new character for a new age of comics. His answer was The Demon, Etrigan. While his popularity waned after a few years, he has continued to be a periodically important character in the DC universe. Jay and Josh show the world how bad they are at medieval poetry on Superhero Suite.

Welcome to Episode 273 of WSTR! This episode's topics include: - Special Guest: author, historian, and 501st member Andrew Liptak! - A historical perspective on what makes cosplay possible - Disney announces new bounty hunter project - ...and much, much, more! For all your galactic news and talk needs, this is the podcast you've been looking for - tune in to WSTR Galactic Public Access! Email: mailbox@wstrmedia.com Voicemail: (630) 557-9787

Holly speaks with author Andrew Liptak about his upcoming book "The History of Cosplay," and the way that humans have used costume to play, tell stories and even protest throughout time.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The GET TO WORK HURLEY podcast is a monthly rant about the hustle of making a living as a writer of All of the Things. You can support this podcast each month as a Patron or make a one-time donation. EPISODE TWENTY ONE: Author and historian Andrew Liptak (Transfer Orbit) joins the podcast to talk about his upcoming book Cosplay: A … GET TO WORK HURLEY: Episode 21. With special guest Andrew Liptak! Read More » https://www.kameronhurley.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/June-Audio.mp3 Podcast: Play in new window | Download The post GET TO WORK HURLEY: Episode 21. With special guest Andrew Liptak! appeared first on Kameron Hurley.

We are excited to have with us  the internationally respected historian and writer, Andrew Liptak He is here to chat about his latest book ‘COSPLAY: A HISTORY - The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life' (On sale June 28, 2022; Saga Press) with a foreword by former MythBusters co-host Adam Savage. You can learn more about his book at: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Cosplay-A-History/Andrew-Liptak/9781534455825   You can see all of Andrew's work at: https://www.andrewliptak.com You can see all of Andrew's newsletters at: https://transfer-orbit.ghost.io/ Follow us: Curious to see the video version of this interview?  it's on our website too! www.storycomic.com www.patreon.com/storycomic www.facebook.com/storycomic1 https://www.instagram.com/storycomic/ https://twitter.com/storycomic1 For information on being a guest or curious to learn more about Storycomic? Contact us at info@storycomic.com   Thank you to our Founders Club Patrons, Marek Bennett and Matt & Therese Check out their amazing work at: https://marekbennett.com/ https://www.hexapus-ink.com/

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Andrew Liptak tells us about his new book Cosplay: A History. We geek out and talk about comic conventions, 3D printers, inclusion, fan culture and being the bad guy. Are you into cosplay?  Let us know! You can always find more Tales From The Bridge on Apple Podcasts or our website, you can also find us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to see what is happening on The Bridge.Check out our many links:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-the-bridge-all-things-sci-fi/id1570902818Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3MQuEYGQ3HD2xTewRag8KGTwitter: @BridgeTalesInstagram: @talesfromthebridgeFacebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/talesfromthebridge/Good Reads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/141864356-talesfrom-thebridge?shelf=readIMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17354590/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1Website: https://talesfromthebridge.buzzsprout.com/Email: talesfromthebridgepodcast@gmail.com#sciencefiction #sci-fi #podcast

Grab your bookmarks, it's time to take cover as we unleash the Canon Fodder over the Star Wars galaxy of literature. This episode we welcome journalist, historian and 501st Legion member Andrew Liptak to the show. In his forthcoming book 'COSPLAY: A HISTORY - The Builders, Fans, and Makers Who Bring Your Favorite Stories to Life'- on sale 28th June 2022 from Saga Press - he explores the history of cosplay in a photo-filled historical and cultural exploration of costumes and fandoms. It's packed with original photography and looks at this ever-growing fandom and conventions, its roots in 15th-century costuming, the relationship between franchises and the cosplayers they inspire, and the technology and skill that brings even the most intricate details in these costumes to life. Mark Newbold and Mark Mulcaster caught up with Andrew to discuss the book, costuming and much more. Remember to tune in to Good Morning Tatooine, LIVE Sunday evenings at 9.00pm UK, 4.00pm Eastern and 1.00pm Pacific on Facebook and YouTube and check out Fantha Tracks Radio on Fridays at 7.00pm UK for new episodes of The Fantha From Down Under, Planet Leia, Desert Planet Discs, Start Your Engines and Canon Fodder. You can contact any of our shows and send in your listeners questions by emailing radio@fanthatracks.com or comment on our social media feeds: www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ7LZotr3rQhVJwpO3b2ELw www.instagram.com/fanthatracks www.facebook.com/FanthaTracks www.twitter.com/FanthaTracks www.pinterest.co.uk/fanthatracks/ www.fanthatracks.tumblr.com/ www.tiktok.com/@fanthatracks

    The latest episode of Star Warsologies examines the "Wars" of "Star Wars"     Andrew Liptak, historian, writer, and sci-fi geek chats with us about how real world military history connects with the galaxy far, far away. How did 20th century conflicts shape what we see in Star Wars (and how does Star Wars in turn affect 21st century military thought? Why is it important to humanize the clonetroopers (and to a lesser extent, battle droids?) We also examine the importance of leaders seeing the big picture and even how comfortable stormtrooper armor is when trooping with the 501st Legion! Check out this episode on Star Wars & military history and find out!   In Star Warsologies, hosts James Floyd and Melissa Miller combine their love of Star Wars with their keen interest in all things academic, scientific, or technological by asking experts about how their field is represented in a galaxy far, far away. It's a monthly podcast about science and Star Wars!     Or listen on YouTube with relevant screen shots and photos!   https://youtu.be/tjUGf6PEPBo   Show Links   Author Andrew Liptak's website   https://www.andrewliptak.com/   Transfer Orbit, his sci-fi newsletter   The subtle ways the War on Terror has crept into Halo, an article by Andrew Liptak   Andrew Liptak on Twitter: @andrewliptak   Andrew Liptak's upcoming book: Cosplay: A History     Got follow up questions for us or a suggestion for an -ology or expert? Email us at starwarsologies@gmail.com   Subscribe and never miss an episode of Star Warsologies on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.

Armor Party dives into the history of costuming with multi-armored 501st member Andrew Liptak. As an author, he's been able to explore, research and write about the long, unknown past of "costume-play" reaching all the way back to the 1930's. His book "Cosplay: A History" will be released next year and we were able to hear a bit about the process and his findings along the way. Follow his journey into publishing at https://twitter.com/andrewliptak?lang=en

Welcome to episode 20 of Season 12 of The Coode Street Podcast. It's just Jonathan and Gary again, eventually circling around an interesting question raised by Andrew Liptak in Transfer Orbit concerning the question of reading the right book at the right time, rather than being chained to the constant parade of new books and their publicity cycles. Along the way we pause to note the recent passing of Erle Korshak, one of the last survivors of 1930s fandom; the value and hazards of re-reading old favorites from Gene Wolfe to Dune; the way to arrange stories in an anthology or collection; some newer books by Lavie Tidhar, Joe Abercrombie, and others; the importance of context in reviewing, and, inspired by Matt Bell's My Le Guin Year: Craft Lessons from a Master on Tor.com, how Ursula Le Guin got some things right long before anyone else did, with her own Tehanu. In other words, our usual laser-like focus on whatever comes up in the moment. As always, we hope you enjoy the episode.

When Michael Wood-Lewis moved to Burlington, Vermont, he was excited to start a family and to meet his neighbors ... but they weren't as eager to get to know him and his wife Valerie. So – long before Facebook – Michael built a community-based social network. And not only did it introduce the Wood-Lewises to their neighbors, but it also transformed how most Vermonters interacted with each other in their own neighborhoods.Michael describes the events that led to his forming Front Porch Forum and how he, Valerie and their young family finally became members of the Five Corners community. We hear from Kathleen Cagney, a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago, who explains the behavioral science of social capital and the health risks of not knowing your neighbors (really!). We also meet Lauren Curry and Julia Andrews, who founded the food bank Westford Food Shelf ... and found a lasting friendship—all spurred by one message on the forum.  And finally, tech/sci-fi journalist Andrew Liptak provides a sense of the rise of social networking in the early 2000s.  To learn more about the podcast, head to  www.rocketmortgage.com/homemade.

Does "escapist" art and literature have a place during times as turbulent as these? I attempt to answer this question by considering what "escapist" literature encompasses and whether any form of literature can truly be considered "escapist." I also explore some of the benefits this type of literature may offer. ************************************************************************************************************************************************** Email me: marisadellefarfalle@gmail.com Twitter: @marisadee13 Please subscribe to this podcast wherever you'd listen to podcasts, & I'd really appreciate it if you could take a moment to rate and review it on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher! ************************************************************************************************************************************************** Helpful links: "What is Escapist Literature," by Hasa: https://pediaa.com/what-is-escapist-literature/ "A Brief History of the Romance Novel," by Amanda Pagan: https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/02/15/brief-history-romance-novel-recommendations "Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books with a Powerful Message of Social Justice," by Joel Cunningham: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sci-fi-fantasy/20-sci-fi-fantasy-books-message-social-justice/ "14 Sci-Fi Books about Climate Change's Worst Case Scenarios," by Andrew Liptak: https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/22/15386776/earth-day-best-sci-fi-books-bacigalupi-atwood-ballard "Science Fiction": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction "Jews in Comic Books: How American Jews Created the Comic Book Industry," by Arie Kaplan: https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/jews-in-comic-books/ "Stan Lee Used His Platform to Call Out Racism in the 1960s — and He Never Stopped," by Bethonie Butler: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2018/11/12/stan-lee-used-his-platform-call-out-racism-s-he-never-stopped/

  Bio   Michael J. Alkire (@AlkirePremier) is the President of Premier, Inc.. As President, Alkire leads the continued integration of Premier’s clinical, financial, supply chain and operational performance improvement offerings helping member hospitals and health systems provide higher quality care at a better cost. He oversees Premier’s quality, safety, labor and supply chain technology apps and data-driven collaboratives allowing alliance members to make decisions based on a combination of healthcare information. These performance improvement offerings access Premier’s comparative database, one of the nation’s largest outcomes databases. Alkire also led Premier’s efforts to address public health and safety issues from the nationwide drug shortage problem, testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives regarding Premier research on shortages and gray market price gouging. This work contributed to the president and Congress taking action to investigate and correct the problem, resulting in two pieces of bipartisan legislation. Prior to serving as President, Alkire was president of Premier Purchasing Partners, which offers group purchasing, supply chain and resource utilization services to hospitals and health systems. Premier remains among the top group purchasing organizations in the industry as the value of supplies purchased through its contracts has increased to more than $56 billion. Upon joining Premier in late 2003, Alkire worked closely with the Purchasing Partners team to develop and implement a three-year transformation plan designed to dramatically increase returns to the alliance’s shareholders while building stronger relationships with members and suppliers. Alkire is a past board member of GHX and the Healthcare Supply Chain Association. He recently was named one of the Top 25 COOs in Healthcare for 2018 by Modern Healthcare. In 2015, Alkire won the Gold Stevie Award for Executive of the Year and in 2014 he was recognized as a Gold Award Winner for COO of the Year by the Golden Bridge Awards. He has more than 20 years of experience in running business operations and business development organizations at Deloitte & Touche and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. Before joining Premier, he served in a number of leadership roles at Cap Gemini, including North American responsibilities for supply chain and high-tech manufacturing. Alkire graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science from Indiana State University and an MBA from Indiana University. Resources   Premier, Inc.   Advocacy @ Premier   Premier, Inc. and 10 Hospitals Launch Initiative to Improve Maternal and Infant Health (Press Release, July 11, 2019)     HEADLINES:   The FTC fines Facebook $5 billion—many say it’s not enough; Trump goes on a racist tirade on Twitter; and Michael Alkire is my guest.   News Roundup   FTC fines Facebook $5 billion   The Federal Trade Commission has fined Facebook some $5 billion with many saying it’s a slap on the wrist. One commentator on Twitter called it a parking ticket, although it was a record fine.  But the New York Times notes that the fine concludes just one of several investigations currently pending around the world. Facebook’s revenue last year was $56 billion.   Brian Stelter on Trumps racist tweets   You already know about Trump’s racist tweets over the weekend in which he told democratic, progressive Congresswomen of color, obviously including Representative Ilhan Omar, who fled to the U.S. from Somalia, to “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came”. Of course the other Congresswomen to whom he was clearly referring, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were born in the U.S. But Brian Stelter from CNN pointed out something interesting – media outlets like Fox News are avoiding calling the president’s tweets racist, and instead relying on third-party commentators to do that. Twitter even said that the president’s tweets didn’t violate its policies. Twitter though is in a difficult predicament since it’s currently under fire by Trump, along with several other tech companies, for allegedly having an anti-conservative bias.   Social Media Summit   The Trump administration held a social media summit with conservative content creators and politicians last week. The president told those in attendance that he would invite tech companies to the White House to explain their alleged anti-conservative bias. But the president didn’t provide any evidence.   Huawei plans massive U.S. layoffs   The Wall Street Journal reports that Huawei, the China-based company that’s been besieged by the Trump administration for allegedly sharing the confidential and sensitive information of U.S. companies with the Chinese government, will be laying off as many as 850 people in the U.S. The U.S. Commerce Department has blacklisted Huawei, which Huawei estimates will cost it some $30 billion.   U.S. Army to test armed, robotic vehicles   Andrew Liptak reported in the Verge that the U.S. government is planning to test armed, robotic vehicles beginning next year. The Army will conduct the live-fire tests in Colorado and Europe. The vehicles will be remote controlled.       First quantum entanglement photograph   Scientists at the University of Glasglow photographed, for the very first time, two photons interacting and sharing physical states for a brief moment. What does it mean? Well the photograph will advance the field of quantum mechanics because it proves that photons physically interact with one another—something that was theoretical before. Also, the process of taking the photograph was very involved, creating a model that scientists can use to capture other scientific phenomena that are difficult to observe.   Chris Lewis elevated to President & CEO of Public Knowledge   Christopher Lewis, a seven-year veteran of progressive tech policy think tank and advocacy group Public Knowledge, has succeeded Gene Kimmelman as President & CEO. Previously, Chris was a staffer in the late Ted Kennedy’s office.   Events Tues., 7/16 House Commerce Committee Our Wireless Future: Building a Comprehensive Approach to Spectrum Policy 10:30AM Rayburn, 2322   New America Paying for Our Privacy: What Online Business Models Should be Off-Limits? 3:00-4:30pm New America, 740 15th St., NW   Thurs., 7/18   New America The Future of Free Expression Online in America 12-2pm New America, 740 15th St., NW

The Warhosts sit in the lees of the starships while the sky grows less flushed with dawn, playing cards. At the same time, the regulators within the Red emissary and our own play their own game across a moist medium of flesh, chemical brew, and stench to determine where the next battle will be fought. We---the Purples---have been fighting the Reds for possession of this moon, jigsaw piece by slow jigsaw piece, as deliberately as a pavane or carved ice. The Reds have grown increasingly desperate. The moon has a certain strategic importance, and the Reds are very close to having to cede it entirely. | Copyright 2014 by Yoon Ha Lee. Originally published in War Stories, edited by Jaym Gates and Andrew Liptak. Reprinted by permission of the author. Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki.

Stay awhile and listen to the Greetings From podcast. Listen to Rebecca Fay, Olivia Quinn and Tyler Smith talk about what they are playing, what is new in the world of video games. Summary Welcome to the hypnospace travelers. This week we discuss the games we’ve been playing, our favorite Pokemon, the life and death of the vita, and the games we would like to get the remake treatment. Works Discussed Pokémon Sword And Shield by Game Freak Space Jam directed by Joe Pytka Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! by Game Freak Pokémon Sun And Moon by Game Freak Pokémon X and Y by Game Freak Sound Shapes by Queasy Games Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation by Ubisoft Uncharted: Golden Abyss by SIE Bend Studio Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster by Square Enix and Virtuos Persona 4 Golden by Atlus Fortnite by Epic Games and People Can Fly The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Nintendo Super Mario Odyssey by Nintendo Gravity Rush by SIE Japan Studio (Team Gravity) Gravity Rush 2 by SIE Japan Studio (Team Gravity) Tearaway by Media Molecule God of War (2018) by SIE Santa Monica Studio The Last of Us by Naughty Dog Marvel's Spider-Man (2018) by Insomniac Games Bloodborne by FromSoftware LittleBigPlanet Karting by United Front Games, SIE San Diego Studio and Media Molecule Horizon Zero Dawn by Guerrilla Games The Elder Scrolls Travels by Vir2L Studios Ryse: Son of Rome by Crytek Dance Central by Harmonix Darkest Dungeon by Red Hook Studios Cultist Simulator by Weather Factory SOMA by Frictional Games The Division 2 by Ubisoft Devil May Cry 5 by Capcom Sunless Sea by Failbetter Games Sunless Skies by Failbetter Games Fallen London by Failbetter Games Riverdale (2017 TV series) developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018 TV series) developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Hypnospace Outlaw by No More Robots Resident Evil 2 (2019) by Capcom The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D by Nintendo and Grezzo Twisted Metal (1995) by SingleTrac Rocket League by Psyonix Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning by 38 Studios and Big Huge Games Arx Fatalis by Arkane Fable by Big Blue Box Studios and Lionhead Studios Oregon Trail by MECC Rust by Facepunch Studios Euro Truck Simulator by SCS Software Knights of the Old Republic by BioWare Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords by Obsidian Entertainment The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind by Bethesda Game Studios Salutations Olivia: “The Black Lotus” by Rhystic Studies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAvLC3fz068 Rebecca: Hypnospace Outlaw by No More Robots: https://store.steampowered.com/app/844590/Hypnospace_Outlaw/ Tyler: Riverdale (2017 TV series) developed by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa: https://www.cwtv.com/shows/riverdale/ Links “Pokemon Sword And Pokemon Shield - Official Reveal Trailer,” by Gamespot, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3LsQYENpGg “Pokemon: Art Direction & History,” by Sam Santala, Twitter: https://twitter.com/samsantala/status/1101533939074777090?s=21 “‘Is that a monkey?’ ‘HE'S GOT A GUN!’, Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom, by Mike Mignola, Pat Brosseau, Dave Stewart and Scott Allie: https://imgur.com/C4cIv “Major newspaper duped by ‘Pokémon Gun’ meme from Twitter,” by Joseph Knoop, The Daily Dot: https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/pokemon-gun-meme-twitter-mexican-newspaper/ “Sony has officially stopped producing the PS Vita,” by Andrew Liptak, The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/2/18247864/sony-playstation-vita-officially-stopped-producing-rip “‘New’ Wii U hardware prices have skyrocketed,’” by Ben Kuchera. Polygon: https://www.polygon.com/2019/1/7/18171998/wii-u-price-new-unopened-ebay “Microsoft is reportedly planning an Xbox One without a disc drive for 2019,” by Gabe Gurwin, Digital Trends: https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/report-xbox-one-no-disc-drive-2019/ “TES Renewal Project”: https://tesrenewal.com/ “Sony patent hints at PlayStation 5 backward compatibility,” by Sean Keane, CNET: https://www.cnet.com/news/sony-patent-hints-at-playstation-5-backwards-compatibility/ Questions? Comments? Email us at GreetingsFromCast@gmail.com Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/greetingsfrompc Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greetingsfromcast/ Tumblr at https://blog.greetingsfrom.zone/ Discord at https://discord.gg/fn8hVeh Or individually at: Olivia: https://twitter.com/Livjq Rebecca: https://twitter.com/Rebeccafay Tyler: https://twitter.com/Worldjumpin Visit us at http://www.greetingsfrom.zone/ for more episodes or to subscribe Our intro and outro music is an edited version of “Deep Fried Space Food” by SubstituteSandwiches under a Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode) Download the song at: https://soundcloud.com/substitute_sandwiches/deep-fried-space-food

Since the 2016 election, our country has been questioning whether our elections are secure, fair, and accurate. In this episode, we examine the threats to our election administration, both real and overblown. Please Support Congressional Dish - Quick Links Click here to contribute a lump sum or set up a monthly contribution via PayPal Click here to support Congressional Dish for each episode via Patreon Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Use your bank’s online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North Number 4576 Crestview, FL 32536 Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes CD175: State of War CD172: The Illegal Bombing of Syria CD167: Combating Russia (NDAA 2018) LIVE CD108: Regime Change CD041: Why Attack Syria? Additional Reading Report: Dramatic increase in voters purged from voter rolls between 2014 and 2016 by Adia Robinson, ABC News, July 24, 2018. Article: Mueller's latest indictment suggests Russia's infiltration of U.S. election systems could get worse by Lawrence Norden, Slate, July 26, 2018. Article: State election officials didn't know about Russian hacking threat until the read it in the news, emails show by Sam Biddle, The Intercept, June 20, 2018. Article: Supreme court upholds Ohio's purge of voting rolls by Adam Liptak, The New York Times, June 11, 2018. Article: What we know and don't know about election hacking by Clare Malone, FiveThirtyEight, April 10, 2018. Report: America's voting machines at risk - An update by Lawrence Norden and Wilfred U. Codrington III, Brennan Center for Justice, March 8, 2018. Article: The dark roots of AIPAC: America's Pro-Israel Lobby by Doug Rossinow, The Washington Post, March 6, 2018. Article: Wyden presses leading US voting machine manufacturer on potential hacking vulnerabilities by Olivia Beavers, The Hill, March 6, 2018. Article: They myth of the hacker-proof voting machine by Kim Zetter, The New York Times, February 21, 2018. Article: No instant profits in US electronic voting machines, Financial Times, 2018. Article: Virginia is replacing some of its electronic voting machines over security concerns by Andrew Liptak, The Verge, September 10, 2017. Report: It took DEF CON hackers minutes to pwn these US voting machines by Iain Thomson, The Register, July 29, 2017. Article: Russian hackers broke into elections company used in Miami-Dade, Broward by Tim Elfrink, Miami New Times, June 6, 2017. Report: Exclusive: Trump says Clinton policy on Syria would lead to world war three by Steve Holland, Reuters, October 25, 2016. Article: The best Congress AIPAC can buy by L. Michael Hager, Foreign Policy Journal, March 22, 2016. Article: AIPAC-linked group launches $5 million ad campaign against nuke deal by Adam Kredo, The Washington Free Beacon, July 17, 2015. Article: The non-pliticians who profit from Election Day by Megan McCarthy, Fortune, November 4, 2014. Report: Diebold indicted: Its spectre still haunts Ohio election by Bob Fitrakis, Columbus Free Press, October 31, 2013. Article: The mysterious case of Ohio's voting machines by Kim Zetter, Wired, March 26, 2008. Letter: Elections: Federal efforts to improve security and reliability of electronic voting systems are under way, but key activities need to be completed, GAO, September 2005. Article: Ohio's odd numbers by Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair, March 2005. Article: Diebold's political machine by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, Mother Jones, March 5, 2004. Resources Brennan Center for Justice: The Help America Vote Act Congress.gov: S.2261 - Secure Elections Act GovTrack: H.R. 3295 (107th): Help America Vote Act of 2002 Internet Research Agency Indictment: Mueller John Husted, Secretary of State of Ohio Report: President/Vice President Voting Report: November 2, 2004 Justice.gov: New Indictment of Mueller Source Watch: Ashcroft Group Info Sound Clip Sources Hearing: Election Security Preparedness, Senate Rules and Administration Committee, C-SPAN, June 20, 2018. Witnesses: Matthew Masterson - National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security Jim Condos - Vermont Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft - Missouri Secretary of State Steve Simon - Minnesota Secretary of State Connie Lawson - Indiana Secretary of State Shane Schoeller - Clerk for Greene County, Missouri Noah Praetz - Director of Elections for Cook County, Illinois 2:40 Senator Roy Blunt (MO): January of 2017, the Department of Homeland Security designated our country’s election infrastructure to be critical infrastructure. This designation began the formalization of information sharing and collaboration among state, local, and federal governments through the creation of a Government Coordinating Council, some of our witness this day are already sitting on that newly formed council. More recently, in the 2018 omnibus, Congress appropriated right at $380 million to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to help states enhance their election infrastructure. As of this week, 38 states have requested $250 million of that money, and about 150 million of it has already been disbursed to the states. 6:45 Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN): So, we have a bill, Senator Lankford and I along with Senator Harris and Graham and Warner and Burr, Heinrich, and Collins. It’s a bipartisan bill called the Secure Elections Act, and we have been working to make changes to it along the way and introduce it as amendment, but it really does four things. First of all, improves information sharing between local election officials, cyber-security experts, and national-security personnel. Second, providing for development and maintenance of cyber-security best practices. We all know, I think there’s five states that don’t have backup paper ballots, and then there's something like nine more that have partial backup paper ballots. And while we’re not mandating what each state does, and we do not want each state to have the exact same election equipment—we think that would be a problem and could potentially lend itself to more break-ins—we think it’s really important that we have some floor and standards that we set that given what we know, I don’t think we’d be doing our democracy any good if we didn’t share that and we didn’t put in some floors. Third, the bill will promote better auditing our election’s use of paper backup systems, which I mentioned, and finally, it’s focused on providing election officials with much-needed resources. As you all know, we were able to get $380 million to be immediately distributed to the state, not play money, money that’s going out right now to states across the country, based on populations. We didn’t have some complicated grant process that would have slowed things down. The money went directly to state election officials as long as the state legislature authorizes it to get accepted and get to work to update their systems. 11:50 Jay Ashcroft: But before we move forward, we should briefly look back to the impetus of why we are all here today: allegations that outside actors threaten the integrity of our elections during the 2016 election cycle. While these are serious allegations, it is vitally important to understand that after two years of investigation, there is no credible—and I could strike “credible” and just put “evidence”—there is no evidence that these incidents caused a single vote or a single voter registration to be improperly altered during the 2016 election cycle. It was not our votes or our election systems that were hacked; it was the people’s perception of our elections. 30:50 Matthew Masterson: For those voters who have questions or concerns regarding the security or integrity of the process, I implore you to get involved. Become a poll worker; watch pre-election testing of the systems, or post-election audits; check your registration information before elections; engage with your state- and local-election officials; and most importantly, go vote. The best response to those who wish to undermine faith in our democracy is to participate and to vote. 1:08:00 Senator Roy Blunt (MO): Should the federal government make an audit trail, a paper audit trail, a requirement to have federal assistance? Jay Ashcroft: I don’t think so. Jim Condos: I do think so. Steve Simon: I think there is a federal interest in making sure that there's some audit process. Sen. Blunt: Well, now, what I’m asking about is, should there be a way to recreate the actual election itself? And I don’t know quite how to do that without paper, even if you had a machine that was not accessible to the web. Jay Ashcroft: I believe states are moving to do that, without federal legislation. So that’s why I don’t think that federal legislation needs to be done to that. 1:23:30 Shane Schoeller: I do want to address one area that concerns Secure Elections Act, that is on page 23, lines three, four, and five. It says, “Each election result is determined by tabulating marked ballots, hand or device.” I strongly recommend for post-election auditing purposes that a state-marked paper ballots, because I believe the opportunity for fraud in electronic ballot-casting system that does not have a paper trail’s too great. *1:32:00 Shane Schoeller: Even if you do a post audit with the machine, how would you know if something’s been compromised if you can’t at least compare the results of the paper ballot. And I think that’s the assurance it gives. Clearly, the machine, when you have an accurate election, does do a better job of counting the ballots. I’m talking about in the case where clearly fraud has occurred, then the paper ballot is going to be the evidence you need in terms of if your system inside that machine is compromised. 1:32:30 Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN): I think for a while people were talking about, well, why doesn’t everyone just vote from home, which is great when you can mail in a ballot, we know that, but vote from home just from your computer, and that would mean no paper records of anything. Could you comment about that? Noah Praetz: I think that’s 100% inappropriate for civil elections. Sen. Klobuchar: Got it. Shane Schoeller: I find it ironic because this is my first term, although I ran for this office in 2014, that was actually a common theme that I heard. Sen. Klobuchar: Right. I was hearing it, and I was—I kept thinking— Schoeller: Mm-hmm. Sen. Klobuchar: —about our state with, they’re not going to keep dwelling on it, with that high voter turnout. But, you know, that involved a paper ballot— voice off-mic: incredible integrity. Sen. Klobuchar: —and incredible integrity. But it involved people—they could vote by mail, and we’ve made that even easier, but they had actual paper ballots that they did, and then they were fed into this machine to count, with auditing. But you’re right. That’s what people were talking about. Why can’t you just do it from your home computer and have no backup, right? Schoeller: Right. And that was one of the things I actually had to disagree when that viewpoint was put forth, particularly in one city that I remember. And even after I became elected, I went to a conference of other elected officials, and there was a group of speakers, and they all were talking about this, and there was actually one speaker— Sen. Klobuchar: Like voting from Facebook. Schoeller: Correct. Sen. Klobuchar: Just kidding... Schoeller: But they actually disagreed, and I went up, and I think I was the only election official that day—this was prior to 2016—that didn’t think that it was a good idea. But I think we have evidence now from 2016 that clearly—that’s a convenience that we just can’t afford. 1:35:05 Noah Praetz: We’ve got a piece of paper that every voter looked at. Senator Amy Klobuchar: Mm-hmm. Praetz: So worst-case scenario, a Sony-type attack with full meltdown of all systems, we can recreate an election that’s trusted and true. Hearing: Election Security, Senate Judiciary Committee, C-SPAN, June 12, 2018. Witnesses: Adam Hickey - Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division at the Department of Justice Matthew Masterson - National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security Kenneth Wainstein - Partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, LLP Prof. Ryan Goodman - New York University School of Law Nina Jankowicz - Global Fellow at the Wilson Center 9:00 Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA): We know that Russia orchestrated a sustained and coordinated attack that interfered in our last presidential election. And we also know that there’s a serious threat of more attacks in our future elections, including this November. As the United States Intelligence Community unanimously concluded, the Russian government’s interference in our election—and I quote—“blended covert intelligence operations, such as cyber activity, with overt efforts by the Russian government agencies, state-funded media, third-party intermediaries, and paid social-media users or trolls.” Over the course of the past year and a half, we’ve come to better understand how pernicious these attacks were. Particularly unsettling is that we were so unaware. We were unaware that Russia was sowing division through mass propaganda, cyber warfare, and working with malicious actors to tip scales of the election. Thirteen Russian nationals and three organizations, including the Russian-backed Internet Research Agency, have now been indicted for their role in Russia’s vast conspiracy to defraud the United States. 39:40 Senator Mike Lee (UT): First, let’s talk a little bit about the integrity of our election infrastructure. We’ll start with you, Mr. Masterson. Were there any known breaches of our election infrastructure in the 2016 election? Matthew Masterson: Thank you, Senator. Yes, there was some publicly discussed known breaches of election infrastructure specifically involving voter-registration databases. Sen. Lee: Are there any confirmed instances of votes being changed from one candidate to another? Masterson: There are no confirmed instances of that. Sen. Lee: And were any individual voting machines hacked? Masterson: No, not that I know of. 42:55 ** Senator Mike Lee**: One approach to some of this, to the threat, the possibility of election infrastructure or voting machines being hacked from the outside is to go low-tech. Some states have gravitated toward that. For example, some states have started making moves back toward paper ballots so that they can’t be hacked. Is this something that’s helpful? Is it something that’s necessary that you think more states ought to consider? Matthew Masterson: Yeah. Senator, the auditability and having an auditable voting system, in this case, auditable paper records, is critical to the security of the systems. In those states that have moved in that direction have implemented means by which to audit the vote in order to give confidence to the public on the results of the election. In those states that have non-paper systems have indicated a desire—for instance, Pennsylvania—to more to auditable systems. And so at this point, resources are necessary to help them move that direction. Sen. Lee: By that, you mean either a paper-ballot system or a system that simultaneously creates a paper trail. Masterson: An auditable paper record. Correct, sir. 1:22:08 Senator Kamala Harris (CA): Will you talk a bit about what you have seen in terms of the risk assessments you’ve been doing around the country? I believe 14 states have been completed. Is that correct, 14? Matthew Masterson: I believe it’s 17 states have been completed— Sen. Harris: Right. Masterson: —thus far, as well as 10 localities. Sen. Harris: And what generally have you seen as being the vulnerabilities— Masterson: Sure. Sen. Harris: —in those assessments? Masterson: Thank you, Senator. Generally speaking, within the election’s infrastructure sector, we’re seeing the same typical vulnerabilities you’d see across IT systems, so managing software updates, outdated equipment or hardware, as well as general upgrades that need to take place as far as what configuration management within systems to limit the damage that could be done if something were to take place. And so— Sen. Harris: Resilience. Masterson: What’s that? Sen. Harris: Their resilience. Masterson: Yeah, their resilience. Sen. Harris: Mm-hmm. Masterson: Exactly. Thank you, Senator. And so this sector is no different in what we see in the work we’re doing with them. 2:15:00 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI): But what I want to talk about in my time is the problem of shell corporations, because for all of the emphasis that the witnesses have put on policing and prosecuting foreign influence in our elections, you can neither police or prosecute what you cannot find. And at the moment, we have both a shell-corporation problem, which was emphasized by Mark Zuckerberg in his testimony when he said their political advertisement-authentication program would only go to the first shell corporation and not seek any information about who was actually behind it. I don’t think Putin is stupid enough to call it Boris and Natasha, LLC. It’s going to sound more like Americans for Puppies and Peace and Prosperity. But it’s a front group, and it’s got Putin or whomever else behind it, and until we can know that, we cannot enforce effectively, period, end of story. Similarly, when our election system has these colossal channels for dark money, anonymized funding, if you can’t find out what special interest is behind anonymous money, you can’t find out if there’s a foreign interest behind that money. Darkness is darkness is darkness, and it hides malign activity, both foreign and domestic. And I’d like to ask each of you to comment on that. We’re concerned about trolling. Obviously, that’s facilitated by shell corporations. You talked about general propaganda campaigns. Obviously, facilitated by shell corporations. Campaign finance laws, you’ve called out for a need for effective disclosure. You can’t have effective disclosure if the only thing you’re disclosing is a front corporation and you don’t know who’s really behind it. So, if I could ask each of you three on that, then that’ll be the end of my time. Kenneth Wainstein: Sure, I’ll go first, Senator Whitehouse. And thank you for kind words, and good to work with you again. Always is. Sen. Whitehouse: We were good adversaries. Wainstein: We were. Adversaries who were working for the same goal. Sen. Whitehouse: Yes. Wainstein: Look, as a prosecutor, former prosecutor, looking at this issue, of course you want to know more about the corporations than less. There are obviously First Amendment issues and other concerns out there in the election context, but absolutely, there’s no way to sort of resist your logic, which is we’ve seen the use of corporations in a variety of contexts, whether it’s money laundering or otherwise, but we’ve seen here in the election interference and disinformation context, and a lot of that— Sen. Whitehouse: In fact, they’re widely used in the criminal context for money-laundering purposes and to hide the proceeds of criminal activities, correct? Wainstein: Absolutely. Sen. Whitehouse: So to the extent that what Putin is running is essentially a criminal enterprise of himself and his oligarchs. Why would they not look to what criminal enterprises do as a model? Wainstein: Yeah, it’s meat-and-potatoes criminal conduct. Sen. Whitehouse: Yeah. Wainstein: No question. And all intended to hide the fact of the source of this malign activity. Hearing: Election Security, Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, C-SPAN, February 13, 2018. Witnesses: Robert Butler - Co-Founder and Managing Director, Cyber Strategies LLC Heather Conley - Director of the Europe Program Center for Strategic and International Studies Former Dep. Asst. Sec. of State for EU & Eurasian Affairs in GWB admin, 2001-2005 Richard Harknett - Professor of Political Science and Head of Political Science Department, University of Cincinnati Michael Sulmeyer - Director, Cyber Security Project, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University 7:15 Senator Ben Nelson: First, the department has cyber forces designed and trained to thwart attacks on our country through cyberspace, and that’s why we created the Cyber Command’s National Mission Teams. A member of this subcommittee, Senator Blumenthal, Senator Shaheen, we all wrote the secretary of defense last week that they, the department, ought to be assigned to identify Russian operators responsible for the hacking, stealing information, planting misinformation, and spreading it through all the botnets and fake accounts on social media. They ought to do that. That’s—the Cyber Command knows who that is. And then, we ought to use our cyber forces to disrupt this activity. We aren’t. We should also be informing the social-media companies of Russia’s fake accounts and other activities that violate those companies’ terms of service so that they can be shut down. 18:20 Heather Conley: You asked us what role DOD could play to protect the U.S. elections, and I think, simply, DOD working with Congress has got to demand a hold of government strategy to fight against this enduring disinformation and influence operation. We don’t have a national strategy. Unfortunately, modernizing our nuclear forces will not stop a Russian influence operation. That’s where we are missing a grave threat that exists in the American people’s palm of their hand and on their computer screens. 19:05 Heather Conley: As one of the most trusted institutions in the United States, the Department of Defense must leverage that trust with the American people to mitigate Russian influence. Simply put, the Department of Defense has to model the bipartisan and fact-based action, behavior, and awareness that will help reduce societal division. This is about leadership, it’s about protecting the United States, and as far as I can see, that is in the Department of Defense job description. Hearing: Cybersecurity of Voting Machines, House Oversight Subcommittee and Government Reform Subcommittee on Intergovernmental Affairs, C-SPAN, November 29, 2017. Witnesses: Christopher Krebs - Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary National Protection & Programs Directorate, Department of Homeland Security Tom Schedler - Secretary of State of Louisiana Edgardo Cortes - Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Elections Matthew Blaze - Associate Professor, Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania 4:24 Representative Robin Kelly (IL): In September of this year, DHS notified 21 states that hackers affiliated with the Russian government breached or attempted to breach their election infrastructure. In my home state of Illinois, the hackers illegally downloaded the personal information of 90,000 voters and attempted to change and delete data. Fortunately, they were unsuccessful. 5:05 Representative Robin Kelly (IL): Earlier this year, researchers at the DEF CON conference successfully hacked five different direct-recording electronic voting machines, or DREs, in a day. The first vulnerabilities were discovered in just 90 minutes. Even voting machines not connected to the Internet still contained physical vulnerabilities like USB ports that can be used to upload malware. Alarmingly, many DREs lack the ability to allow experts to determine that they have been hacked. Despite these flaws, DREs are still commonly used. In 2016, 42 states used them. They were more than a decade old, with some running outdate software that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. 20:30 Tom Schedler: In terms of voting-machine security, remember that with the passage of the Help America Vote Act in 2002, states were required to purchase at least one piece of accessible voting equipment for each polling place. 23:55 Edgardo Cortes: Virginia has twice has been put in the unfortunate position of having to decertify voting equipment and transition to new equipment in a condensed timeframe, based on security concerns of previously used DREs. These steps outlined in detail in my written testimony were not taken lightly. They place a financial and administrative stress on the electoral system. They were, however, essential to maintain the public’s trust and the integrity of Virginia elections. The November 2017 general election was effectively administered without any reported voting-equipment issues. Thanks to the ongoing partnership between the state, our hardworking local election officials, and our dedicated voting-equipment vendors, the transition to paper-based voting systems on a truncated time line was incredibly successful and significantly increased the security of the election. 25:45 Edgardo Cortes: To ensure the use of secure voting equipment in the future, Congress should require federal certification of all voting systems used in federal elections. This is currently a voluntary process. Federal certification should also be required for electronic poll books, which currently are not subject to any federal guidelines. 28:20 Matthew Blaze: Virtually every aspect of our election process, from voter registration to ballot creation to casting ballots and then to counting and reporting election results, is today controlled in some way by software. And unfortunately, software is notoriously difficult to secure, especially in large-scale systems such as those used in voting. And the software used in elections is really no exception to this. It’s difficult to overstate how vulnerable our voting infrastructure that’s in use in many states today is, particularly to compromise by a determined and well-funded adversary. For example, in 2007 our teams discovered exploitable vulnerabilities in virtually every voting-system component that we examined, including backend election-management software as well as particularly DRE voting terminals themselves. At this year’s DEF CON event, we saw that many of the weaknesses discovered in 2007, and known since then, not only are still present in these systems but can be exploited quickly and easily by non-specialists who lack access to proprietary information such as source code. 38:40 Matthew Blaze: The design of DRE systems makes their security dependent not just on the software in the systems but the hardware’s ability to run that software correctly and to protect against malicious software being loaded. So an unfortunate property of the design of DRE systems is that we’ve basically given them the hardest possible security task. Any flaw in a DRE machine’s software or hardware can become an avenue of attack that potentially can be exploited. And this is a very difficult thing to protect. Representative Gary Palmer: Do we need to go to, even if we have some electronic components to back it up with paper ballots because your fallback position is always to open the machine and count the ballots? Blaze: That’s right. So, precinct-counted optical-scan systems also depend on software, but they have the particular safeguard, but there is a paper artifact of the voter’s true vote that can be used to determine the true election results. DRE, paperless DRE systems don’t have that property, and so we’re completely at the mercy of the software and hardware. 47:00 Christopher Krebs: When you characterize these things as attacks, I think that is perhaps overstating what may have happened in the 21 states, as was mentioned, over the course of the summer. The majority of the activity was simple scanning. Scanning happens all the time. It’s happening right now to a number of probably your websites. Scanning is a regular activity across the web. I would not characterize that as an attack. It’s a preparatory step. 58:15 Matthew Blaze: There is no fully reliable way to audit these kinds of systems. We may get lucky and detect some forensic evidence, but ultimately the design of these systems precludes our ability to do a conclusive audit of the voter’s true intent. That’s why paperless systems really need to be phased out in favor of things like optical-scan paper ballots that are counted at the precinct but backed by an artifact of the voter’s true intent. 1:02:42 Tom Schedler: The system that we’re looking at, we’re not out for bid yet, would be one that would produce, even though you would vote on an electronic machine, it would produce an actual paper ballot that you could hold in your hand—Representative Paul Mitchell (MI): My concern with that— Schedler: —and then cast ballot only with that point when you put it into a secure box. Rep. Mitchell: My concern with that, and Dr. Blaze makes the point, is that if you produce a paper result after you put something into the machine, if in fact the machine is tampered with, you could in fact end up with just confirming the tampered information. Schedler: Yes, sir. Speech: Hillary Clinton on National Security and the Islamic State, Council on Foreign Relations, November 19, 2015. 12:35 Hillary Clinton: So we need to move simultaneously toward a political solution to the civil war that paves the way for a new government with new leadership and to encourage more Syrians to take on ISIS as well. To support them, we should immediately deploy the special operations force President Obama has already authorized and be prepared to deploy more as more Syrians get into the fight, and we should retool and ramp up our efforts to support and equip viable Syrian opposition units. Our increased support should go hand in hand with increased support from our Arab and European partners, including Special Forces who can contribute to the fight on the ground. We should also work with the coalition and the neighbors to impose no-fly zones that will stop Assad from slaughtering civilians and the opposition from the air.   Hearing: Electronic Voting Machines, House Administration Committee, C-SPAN, September 28, 2006. Witnesses: Edward Felton - Computer Science Professor at Princeton University Keith Cunningham - Board of Elections Director of Allen County, Ohio Barbara Simons - Association for Computer Machinery, Public Policy Committee Co-Chair 19:54 Edward Felten: Two weeks ago my colleagues, Ari Feldman and Alex Halderman, and I released a detailed security analysis of this machine, the Diebold AccuVote-TS, which is used in Maryland, Georgia, and elsewhere. My written testimony summarizes the findings of our study. One main finding is that the machines are susceptible to computer viruses that spread from machine to machine and silently transfer votes from one candidate to another. Such a virus requires moderate computer-programming skills to construct. Launching it requires access to a single voting machine for as little as one minute. 1:45:23 Keith Cunningham: Can they be improved? Absolutely, and I think throughout my comments I was very definite to say that these machines, as they currently sit, are not reliable. My question back to you, though, in that regard is, who’s going to pay to fix it, because one of the problems we have right now is in the last 24 months every election jurisdiction in this country has spent the $3 billion we spoke about earlier on new election equipment, and that’s what’s in place. So without somebody stepping forward to fund that enterprise, I don’t know how we’re going to improve them ourselves. 1:51:00 Barbara Simons: I wanted to remind the panelists of what happened in Carteret County, North Carolina, in, I believe it was, ’04, where paperless DREs were used and over 4,000 votes were lost. I mean, there's this concern about being able to reprint paper ballots or paper VVPATs. When you lose votes in a DRE, which has no paper, there is nothing you can do, and in fact, there was an election for—the statewide election—for agricultural commissioner, where the separation between the two candidates was such that the results could have been reversed by those missing votes. And it went to court, it went to two different courts, where they first tried to hold a recount just for the county itself. That was thrown out. Then it went for a statewide recount, and that was thrown out because we had no laws to deal with what happens when DREs fail. And finally, there were a number of people who submitted subpoenas or petitions say they had voted for one of the candidates, and based on those submissions, it looked like the judge was going to declare that candidate the winner, and so that was how the election was decided. This is not a way to hold elections in this country. Community Suggestions See more Community Suggestions HERE. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)  

Emma tells Emlyn about the first American woman and LGBTQ+ astronaut in space, Dr. Sally Ride, and Emlyn tells Emma about mammals going nocturnal and narwhal sounds!   Sources: Main Story - Sally Ride Article by astronaut and engineer Dr. Bonnie J. Dunbar: https://theconversation.com/astronaut-sally-k-rides-legacy-encouraging-young-women-to-embrace-science-and-engineering-97371 Interview by Rebecca Wright for NASA in 2002: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/oral_histories/RideSK/RideSK_10-22-02.htm Interview by Gloria Steinem in 1983 after Sally’s first space flight : https://blankonblank.org/interviews/sally-ride-space-shuttle-first-woman-space-nasa/#read-more Obituary in the NY Times by Denise Grady https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/science/space/sally-ride-trailblazing-astronaut-dies-at-61.html?pagewanted=all Article by Dr. Rhea Seddon: http://astronautrheaseddon.com/the-first-six-american-women-astronauts/ Review and summary of Lynn Sherr’s book by Andrew Liptak: https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-secret-life-of-sally-ride-the-first-american-woman-1586255004 (Extra reading) Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space  http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sally-Ride/Lynn-Sherr/9781476725772 Sally Ride Science Website: https://sallyridescience.ucsd.edu/about/    Sally Ride’s UCSD research page: http://casswww.ucsd.edu/archive/personal/sride.html   Women who werk Shoutout #1 Gaynor, K. M., Hojnowski, C. E., Carter, N. H. & Brashares, J. S. The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality. Science 360, 1232–1235 (2018).    Shoutout #2 Here’s what narwhals sound like underwater: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/what-narwhals-sound-underwater?tgt=nr Blackwell SB, Tervo OM, Conrad AS, Sinding MHS, Hansen RG, et al. (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of sound production in East Greenland narwhals. PLOS ONE 13(6): e0198295. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198295   Music “Mustang Sally” by Wilson Pickett “Work” by Rihanna “Mary Anning” by Artichoke

Technology Reporter at Observer.com Interview starts at 10:30 and ends at 42:19 "That's why I call this whole printed book thing fetishism. What's more important? Is literature and writing important or is this object more important? I think literature is more important, and writing is important. I don't really care how people read it. I just really want to push back on this idea that there's something sad that we've lost because print books are fading, when what I care about is not print or first editions. I care about people reading and the act of writing and that creative work." News “Amazon Alexa Voice Service Coming to DTS Play-Fi” - September 28, 2017 “Why Amazon is the World's Most Innovative Company of 2017” by Noah Robischon at Fast Company - February 13, 2017 “Amazon.com Takes Aim at Victoria's Secret With Its Own $10 Bras” by Khadeeja Safdar and Laura Stevens at The Wall Street Journal - February 10, 2017 “AWS Announces Amazon Chime” - press release February 14, 2017 Amazon Chime Tech Tip “Owners of first and second generation Kindles can't register them” by Andrew Liptak at The Verge - February 11, 2017 “Amazon Tap's new hands-free Alexa update means it's actually useful” by Lauren Goode at The Verge - February 9, 2017 Interview with Brady Dale “Despite What You Heard, The E-Book Market Never Stopped Growing” by Brady Dale at Observer.com - January 18, 2017 “Titans of Kindle” series by Brady Dale Podiobooks “How to reach me secretly and securely” by Brady Dale at Medium - February 12, 2017 Google Authenticator Mailbox.org Sync.com ProtonMail “On Twitter, Users Shouldn't Need a Name” by Brady Dale at Observer.com - February 14, 2017 Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD. Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Coming Up… Main Fiction: “Redemption Awaits” by Mike Brooks Originally published in Grimdark Magazine Issue #4 Mike Brooks was born in Ipswich, Suffolk and moved to Nottingham when he was 18 to go to university. He’s stayed there ever since, and now lives with his wife, two cats, two snakes and a collection of tropical fish. He is the author of the Keiko novels, sci-fi adventures that follow the escapades of those crewing the spaceship of the same name: DARK RUN was released on June 4th, 2015, and DARK SKY is set to follow on Nov 5th. When not writing he works for a homelessness charity, plays guitar and sings in a punk band, watches football (soccer), MMA and nature/science... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin by addressing listener feedback about high fantasy and narratives of power which followed on from the discussion at the end of the last episode recorded at Continuum 10. They would also like to draw your attention to some Links of Relevant Interest: Amberlin Kwaymullina's Guest of Honour speech from Continuum 10 Jim C. Hine's Guest of Honour speech from Continuum 10 An Indigenous Speculative Fiction Reading List provided by Amberlin Kwaymullina Ian then provides a brief but thoughtful (and spoiler-free) review of War Stories: Modern Military Science Fiction, a crowd-funded anthology edited by Jaym Gates and Andrew Liptak, which he highly recommends. The two books up for critique on this episode are We See a Different Frontier: A Postcolonial Speculative Fiction Anthology edited by Fabio Fernandes and Djibril al-Ayad (beginning around 22:05) and Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older (1:01:35). The reviews and articles mentioned during the discussion can be found via the following links: Review of Long Hidden by Katherine Farmer on Strange Horizons "Reviewing the Other: Like Dancing about Architecture" by Nisi Shawl on Strange Horizons "Inclusive Reviewing: A Discussion" on Strange Horizons "Escaping Ethnocentricity?" by Samuel R. Delany on Strange Horizons Response to "Literary Trick" comment by Troy L. Wiggins "MFA vs POC" by Junot Diaz on The New Yorker If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:53:05 for final remarks. For the next episode, Kirstyn has chosen We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler while Ian is recommending Dust Devil on a Quiet Street by Richard Bowes. Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!