Podcasts about Angry Planet

Recorded in May. Join angryplanetpod.com to hear episodes early and commercial free.America's war against Iran has gone on for more than two months and the United States has achieved none of its political objectives. American power has diminished, its munitions stockpile is low, and Iran now controls the Strait of Hormuz.Tehran has all the cards.To hear Robert Pape tell it, this was all predictable. Pape is a political scientist who teaches at the University of Chicago and specializes in the use of violence to achieve political goals. He's the author of Bombing to Win and a scholar of air power failures. On this episode of Angry Planet, Pape walks us through the uses of air power, why it never achieves victory on its own, and why the Pentagon keeps promising it will.How you become an air power expertLosing Vietnam after such perfect precisionMan as meme“You don't learn this by real estate deals.”There has not been a single case in history where air power alone has succeeded.“Our power is declining as a result of this.”The persistent myth of winning through air powerDumb bombs to precision weapons“It's a dismal record of failure.”NATO in KosovoWhat are America's definable political goals?Iran's political goalsIran says seized tanker in Gulf of Oman, as US ‘disables' two shipsPunishment, denial, and decapitationThe fragmenting GCCPape as CasandraBreaking Trump in the Strait of Hormuz“This will end up being America's worst defeat since Vietnam.”A grim predictionThe Escalation TrapThe Gulf States Just Voted on American PowerFrom Kosovo to Iran: The Smart Bomb Trap and the Risk of Catastrophic EscalationBuy Bombing to Win: Air Power and Coercion in WarSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the morning of April 21, Trump posted an image of eight women on Truth Social, claimed they were Iranian dissidents set to be executed, and demanded that Tehran release them. Detractors, and several Iranian sources, claimed the women were AI-generated. A day later Trump claimed the women would no longer be executed and that he'd saved them.The truth is that the women are real and many are still in danger. Trump's post made real Iranian women who protested the Iranian regime appear fake. The story speaks to a moment we're in where it's become impossible to parse truth from lies online. This was already difficult before AI-generated pictures and video. Now it feels impossible.On this episode of Angry Planet, Mahsa Alimardani is here to tell us the story. Alimardani is the Associate Director of Technology Threats and Opportunities at WITNESS.Eight real women turned into AI propagandaReal crimes bastardized into regime propaganda“We need to come to terms with the fact that our information environment is structurally different.”Content Credentials as a partial solutionHow AI is supercharging our chosen reality tunnelsThe cycle of uprising and repression in IranThe structure of Iran's internet and how its blackouts workDomestic intranet as an alternative form of communicationAI-generated Lego propaganda videosIran ReframedExplosive Media's deep connections to the Islamic RepublicPolitics as fandom, fandom as politics“Everything is becoming flattened.”“The onus on the person scrolling is a bit unfair.”Mahsa Alimardani's LinkedInThe Real Iranian Women Protesters Trump Made Look SyntheticIn the Room With Iran's Social Media SavantsHow AI Content Detection is Being Weaponized in the Iran WarIran Is Winning the AI Slop Propaganda WarSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi Gay, Happy Pride Month! Today we're kicking off the month of June with a festive introduction to Queer Sci-Fi. There are some big Sci-Fi heads in Amy &, so get ready for a journey through all of our favourite books, authors, and films in the beloved genre. We consider if and why Sci-Fi is on the rise lately (it's existential doom again, isn't it?) and discuss the inclusion and exclusion of queerness (or sex/sexuality in general) from the genre throughout history. Expect to hear about the women who pioneered Science Fiction, the LGBTQIA+ writers making it even more radical, and why it is time to subvert all the false binaries plaguing the category. Have a listen and please take a shot every time Abby has not engaged with a major film/TV franchise. This month we're reading Ida by Alison Evans. Grab your copy and read along with us ahead of book club on June 25! MENTIONS Books Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Dune by Frank Herbert Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (as discussed in the ep, Amy & hosts do not condone this author's views or recommend that listeners read his books) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir Hail Mary by Andy Weir Hex by Rhiannon Lassiter Highway Bodies by Alison Evans Ida by Alison Evans Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton Monk and Robot by Becky Chambers Neuromancer by William Gibson Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin The Long Way To a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers The Martian by Andy Weir The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells The Reindeer Hunters by Lars Mytting The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers Authors Carl Sagan Isaac Asimov Jules Verne N. K. Jemisin Octavia E. Butler Film/TV Alien franchise Andromeda Babylon 5 Battlestar Galactica Black Mirror Close Encounters of the Third Kind DC and Marvel superheroes Doctor Who franchise E.T. Lord of the Rings Matrix Signs Star Trek franchise Star Wars franchise LINKS

Recorded March 24, 2026. Subscribe at angryplanetpod.com to hear episodes first and commercial free.Last week an article published in Al Jazeera by an academic at the University of Doha in Qatar proposed something that felt crazy to some western war watchers: America and Israel's strategy in Iran is working.On this episode of Angry Planet, author Muhanad Seloom is here to explain his position. Seloom is an assistant professor of international politics and security at the University of Doha. He's also an Iraqi who lived through the Iran-Iraq war and both US invasions. From his perspective, the US has degraded Iran's ability to hurt its neighbors in the long term and changed the regime.What comes next is a more complicated question.Why did this war even start?Setting aside morality and legality to look at ground truths“Iran is much weaker”Missile production, missile rangeThe highly enriched uranium is in one place“The regime has changed. Whether we like it or not, the regime has changed.”The case against the new KhameneiWhat is it like to live nextdoor to Iran?There's a reason no one is standing up for IranWhy isn't the GCC doing more?What happens if we pick up and leave?What's the plan for what happens next?“It's not easy to rise up.”Charging tolls on Hormuz“I have to say this: I am against the war in any way.”What about the JCPOA?A great unanswered question of historyAir campaigns don't win wars…did America really lose in Afghanistan and Iraq?“War is hell.”Labelling Ethno-Political Groups as TerroristsThe US-Israeli strategy against Iran is working. Here is whySupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We welcome our longtime friend Costa (@notthatcosta, Costa's Bookshelf on Tiktok) to chat all things books, and we feel EXTRA smart today! We each bring ten formative books for us, and we promise, you are getting some recommendation GOLD here, people! We talked for two hours and could have kept going, but there will be much more of Costa in the future, we promise! Let us know YOUR favorite books! Enjoy!!!Amanda's Books:"Blubber" & "Just as Long as We're Together" by Judy Blume"The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett"The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes" by Diane Chamberlain"Prep & "The Man of My Dreams" by Curtis Sittenfeld"Shrinkage" by Bryan Bishop"Official Book Club Selection" by Kathy Griffin"Down the Rabbit Hole" by Holly Madison(Quitting drinking books) "The Chris Farley Show by Tom Farley Jr. & Tanner Colby, "Guts" by Kristen Johnson, & "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Mattew PerryCosta's Books:"I Who Have Never Known Men" by Jacqueline Harpman"Animal Farm" by George Orwell"The Stepford Wives" by Ira Levin"The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" by Becky Chambers"Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro"Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer"Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots" by Deborah Feldman"Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria?" by Beverly Tatum"White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind" by Koa Beck"Grief is for People" by Sloane Crosley"Nesting" by Roisín O'DonnellJodie's Books:“The Body Keeps the Score” by Bessel Van Der Kolk M.D.“I'll Be Gone in the Dark” by Michelle McNamara“Year Book” by Seth Rogan“Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David Sedaris“Alias Grace” by Margaret Atwood“Sharp Objects” by Gillian Flynn“The Last Flight” by Julie Clark“Greenwich Park” by Katherine Faulkner“The Red Tent” by Anita Diamant“The Seven Principles For Making Marriage Work” by John M. Gottman PH.D.LEAVE US A VOICEMAIL AND SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!https://www.speakpipe.com/lovetohateSnark and sarcasm is highly encouraged as we see what our favorite family is up to, as well as a dip into the latest pop culture news and highlights. Subscribe on YouTube, Patreon, and your favorite podcast app!Please like and subscribe on Youtube!Join our private Facebook Group "We Love to Hate Everything"Coming up this week on Patreon:patreon.com/lovetohatetv + patreon.com/trpod*THE ENTIRE BACKLOG OF AMANDA LOVES TO HATE TEEN MOM IS AVAILABLE FOR only $3*WE LOVE TO HATE TV*Tier 1+: 420 MONTH: How I Met Your Mother S7 E10 "Tick Tick Tick"*Tiers 2+: Sister Wives S16 E8 "Two Cliques"TRP BACKLOG: Tough LoveTOTAL REQUEST PODCAST420 MONTH: How I Met Your Mother S7 E10 "Tick Tick Tick"GIRL DINNERGIRL DINNER Episode 87 "BookTok" with Costa!!!CHECK OUT AMANDA'S OTHER PODCAST POD AND THE CITY!!! Available on Itunes/Spotify etc, Youtube, and Patreon! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America went to war in Iran, we're told, because the idea of the country developing nuclear weapons was intolerable. Nukes are complicated and technical weapons that require scientists and experts to build, maintain, and manage. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is core to the design and unless all of Iran's HEU is accounted for the threat of it becoming a nuclear power will linger.So what would it take to get rid of Iran's stockpile HEU?François Diaz-Maurin is on Angry Planet today to answer that question. Diaz-Maurin is editor for nuclear affairs at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists where he recently published an article outlining what it would take for US troops to neutralize Iran's highly enriched uranium.How a civil engineer becomes a nuclear journalist“You can't bomb away nuclear material.”“Technically, it's nearly Mission Impossible.”How much highly enriched uranium (HEU) was left after last year's strikes?Moving HEU around IranWhat we can learn from satellite photos and the International Atomic Energy AgencyWhy 60%?Managing scuba tanks full of gaseous toxins in a war zoneWhy blowing up the cylinders won't work“Let me throw something weird at you.”Downblending versus exportingWe're living in the third nuclear ageDeterrence works and that's, maybe, not great?Trump may send US troops to neutralize Iran's highly enriched uranium. There are no good optionsNetanyahu says Iran no longer has uranium enrichment capacityIran willing to dilute uranium stockpile as fresh protests eruptSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

AI enthusiasts love to say that the technology is as revolutionary and important as nuclear weapons. Even the Trump administration has adopted the metaphor. The President and the Department of Energy have repeatedly referred to the development of AI in the US as “Manhattan Project 2.0.”But is the buildout of LLMs and machine learning systems really as important as the development of the atom bomb? And what are the lessons from the atomic age that AI scientists should then learn? Do we need an AI Non Proliferation Treaty? An AI International Atomic Energy Agency?On this episode of Angry Planet, Ankit Panda comes on to talk about the uses and limitations of the “AI as nuclear weapons” metaphor. Panda is an expert in nukes and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He's been sharing his extended thoughts on the AI-nuclear connection at his Nukesletter Substack.Stanislav PetrovAI as nuclear weaponsWhy nuclear weapons resonate with people in the AI fieldThe Strategic Air Command storyThat time we spilled nuclear material all over Greenland and SpainNNSA and AnthropicAI as the next Manhattan ProjectA massive infrastructure projectFissile material as siliconWhat's the AI version of an NPT and IAEA?AI and nuclear are both dual useOn AI wintersWhat AI is actually being used for, what it might be used forThe socialization around AI will change.AI Arms and Influence: Frontier Models Exhibit Sophisticated Reasoning in Simulated Nuclear CrisisSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things have gotten very surreal in the dark corners of the internet. AI-generated prophets are preaching jihad in Facebook groups, Minecraft servers host digital caliphates, and school shooting fandoms gather to study their heroes and plot how to up beat their score. It's a double bill on this episode of Angry Planet as two experts from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), a nonprofit that studies and works to mitigate violent extremists, discuss the brave new world of online-born violence.First up is Milo Comerford, the co-author of a study about nihilistic violence. Then we've got Moustafa Ayad to talk about how the Islamic State is circumventing bans and pushing its message on social media.Staying sane on the internetViolence without ideologyThe Comm764True Crime CommunitySaints CultureWhen fandom becomes a killingAn aesthetics driven movementOnline and offline have mergedModeration is impossibleYou don't have to hand it to ISISBroken text postingCopyright strikes and the Islamic StateFacebook professional as the gold standardAI resurrects dead influencersJihad influencersEven IS is obsessed with the Epstein filesVirtual caliphates in Roblox and Minecraft“We must be careful about what we pretend to be.”Once again, it all comes back to 4chanSaying nice things about twitter dot comBeyond Extremism‘The Comm': The Group Linked to a Nationwide Swatting RampageHow the True Crime Community generates its own killersSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greenland fever has faded for now but it will return. The world's polar region, you see, is pretty damn important. As the planet heats and the ice melts, what was once an impassible warren of ice and snow has become a geopolitical opportunity.On today's Angry Planet, we host journalist Kenneth R. Rosen who just published the book Polar War. He's spent the past few years among the ice and snow, embedding with troops, yearning for snus, and smoking cigarettes with morticians in the long dark.Rosen knows what makes the Arctic so important and can see the truths that undergird the obsession with Greenland.Getting bombastic and angry about Greenland“We already have Greenland”How is Turkey “near Arctic?”The Greenland obsession as proof of climate changeWhat makes a good Arctic forceAccession to NATOServicing subs in the ArcticTrying to embed on a nuclear submarineMispronouncing place namesThe most powerful navy in the world doesn't have an icebreakerSpies in the polar regions“It should have been an article.”Smoking under a tree in the darkSnus vs ZynThe death drive of the penguinBuy Polar War: Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting ArcticUS Army Poorly Prepared for Arctic Operations: Finnish Troops Forced Them to Surrender During Exercises in NorwayCan we just appreciate the fact State secrets were just leaked on this sub?Life Aboard a Nuclear Submarine as the US Responds to Threats Around the GlobeSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the last Angry Planet of 2025, novelist and Marine Corps veteran Phil Klay returns to reflect on a year of spectacle and cruelty.Between the Pentagon's boat strikes and the administration's constant barrage of grotesque memes, it feels like America is a crueler and cruder place. For better and worse, the Presidency sets a moral standard for the country and Trump has lowered that standard. Klay wrote about all this in a piece at The New York Times and he's here with us today to talk through it.“It's too easy to condemn.”The project is spectacles of cruelty“You're not supposed to be joining a gang of thugs.”What is this doing to us as a nation?The lust for cruelty and dominationKlay's review of Hegseth's first yearWar vs. Defense“Read long things.”Living in the Hell of opinionsEnding on a high noteWhat Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat StrikesTrump Admin's Racist Halo Memes Are ‘A New Level of Dehumanization of Immigrants'Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuancedSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another week and another Angry Planet about the horrifying systems that rule our lives.Is there a depressive theme running through the work right now? Possibly. I promise we'll soon replace it with rage.This week on the show we have Sven Beckert to talk about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Beckert is a professor of history at Harvard and his tome is an attempt to capture the entire history of an economic system in one book. It's a doorstop, but it's also readable and clear-eyed. Some come with me on a journey that runs through the plantations of South Carolina to the tech markets of Shenzhen.Cotton as an entry point to the history of capitalismThe economic big bangIndustrial Revolution as mutation“It's still being born.”Human data is oil to be frackedThe Quaker Oats metaphor“The market is God.”Ascribing morality to economicsWhen Gary Hart ushered in Neoliberalism“Capitalism is a series of regime changes.”Moments of great change offer opportunitiesCapitalism: A Global HistoryThe Old Order Is Dead. Do Not Resuscitate.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The White House is portraying the race to adopt AI as an existential crisis. It's the next Manhattan Project, they say, a technology so important it will require an unprecedented build out of energy infrastructure and massive data centers. But the Manhattan Project was a government-led technological drive whereas AI is led by salesmen and corporations.What could possibly go wrong?On this episode of Angry Planet, Ben Buchanan is here to tell us about the government's role in fostering AI. Buchanan was an AI advisor during the Biden administration where he helped write the policy that paved the way for private-public partnerships between DC and AI companies. Now he's a professor at John Hopkins and, though he's still an AI advocate, he's got concerns. Slop, public land use, and autonomous weapons. We get into it all on this episode of Angry Planet.AI as an arm's raceNukes are cheaper than AIGovernment's role in the construction of AI infrastructureWhat are the stakes of the AI competition between the United States and China?“More powerful AI systems will enable more powerful cyber operations.”“It's the hardest thing we do as a species.”Turning over federal lands to data centersHow Trump is shooting himself in the foot regarding AI“We're just chasing power all across the country.”“We're going to be building data centers for a very long time.”How the AI expert uses AI“There's a long list of concerns.”Accident reports and autonomous weaponsThe AI Grand BargainBen BuchananDOE on federal lands for data centersAnthropic Has a Plan to Keep Its AI From Building a Nuclear Weapon. Will It Work?DoD Direction 3000.09 Autonomy in Weapons SystemsSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brownie taste test time! (12:30 to skip). If anyone is trying to find good gift ideas for us, can we suggest a Leviathan Bone sword? Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Next week we’ll be starting The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers. Special thanks to VOLO for the intro and outro music.The post The Tainted Cup: Part Two first appeared on Don't call it a book club..

Whether you like ripping page turners, incredible characters, books that make you laugh out loud, exploring unforgettable new worlds, or literary books that will make you see the world in a new way, there's a great intro to scifi out there for everyone!Join the Hugonauts book club on discord to tell us about your favorite time travel booksOr you can watch the episode on YouTube if you prefer videoIf you want to jump around, here are the timestamps for all the books we talked about: 00:00 Intro 00:38 Incredible Characters - Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold 3:07 A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers 4:04 Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes 4:52 Unforgettable Worlds - The Expanse by James S.A. Corey 6:58 Hyperion by Dan Simmons 8:24 House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds 9:20 Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 10:56 The Forever War by Joe Haldeman 12:22 Funny SF - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 13:36 Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson 14:50 Old Man's War by John Scalzi 16:01 Page turners - Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 17:43 Dark Matter or Recursion by Blake Crouch 18:52 All Systems Red by Martha Wells 20:01 Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card 21:35 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 22:34 Literary SciFi - The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin 24:55 Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro 26:26 The Road by Cormac McCarthy 27:49 Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut 28:40 Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThis week on Angry Planet we're taking a break from the horrors of the present to explore horrors of a past distant enough now that they're entertaining. But then, America found those horrors pretty entertaining at the time, too. Even when it was still a thriving community and a going concern, the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, was the subject of dimestore novels and tall tales.Peter Cozzens is here with us to talk about his new book Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American West. Cozzens is a historian who has written 17 books that focus on the U.S. Civil War, the Wild West, and the American Indian Wars. His latest work is all about Deadwood and the wild cast of characters who inhabited it. Come sit with us a spell and learn about the real Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and Al Swearengen.“Power comes to any man who has the color.”Black Elk and how the West Was LostConflicting perceptions of Wild Bill HickockProfessional gamblersCreating Calamity JaneSoftening George Hearst“In the West, women didn't wear underwear.”Deadwood burnsHow history becomes a dime store novel“The most diabolical town on the face of the earth.”Deadwood: Gold, Guns, and Greed in the American WestSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThis week on Angry Planet we have returning guest and former judge advocate Dan Maurer. The last time he was on the show, Maurer walked us through the consequences of a Supreme Court ruling that asked the question: is it illegal for the President to order SEAL Team Six to kill people? It was a surreal question that now feels more pressing.A US Carrier Strike Group is moving into South American waters to support America's highly kinetic War on Drugs. Military lawyers might have advised the Trump administration that extra-judiciously executing alleged criminals in international waters is, in fact, illegal. But Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is no fan of military lawyers and fired the Judge Advocate General (JAG) of both the Army and the Air Force. The Pentagon plans to turn as many as 600 of the remaining military lawyers into immigration judges.The second Trump administration is perverting the law and sidelining anyone that might tell them it's a bad idea. Since he was last on the show, Maurer has retired from the Army and is now a professor at Ohio Northern University's college of law. He's here to tell us how bad things are and how much worse they might get.The terminal parent metaphorA story that only ends one wayWhat's a JAG?Hegseth's JAG hateLaw as perversionAre these strikes legal? “No.”“It can be lawful, but not moral.”Legally speaking, you can't be a combatant and a criminal.When Truman tried to take over the steel industry.Can state authorities arrest the feds?Life after Trump timeAre Military Lawyers Being Sidelined?Defining ‘Rebellion' in 10 U.S.C. § 12406 and the Insurrection ActOn Treason and Traitors“Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here.”Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, in honor of Halloween, we're presenting two classic stories about facing fears for science.Part 1: As a newly minted PhD student in geology, Erik Klemetti starts to question his decisions when Aucanquilcha, a 20,000-foot volcano in Chile, proves difficult to tame. Part 2: Explorer George Kourounis finds himself growing increasingly anxious as he prepares to enter a fiery sinkhole known as the “Doorway to Hell.” Erik Klemetti is an associate professor of Geosciences and volcanologist at Denison University. He works on volcanoes all over the planet, from Chile to New Zealand to the Cascades of Oregon and California. His research focuses on how crystals record the events inside a volcano before and between eruptions. For the past 9 years, he's been teaching all the “hard rock” classes at Denison. He also writes for Discover Magazine. His blog, Rocky Planet, have been running since Fall 2017. Before that, he wrote Eruptions, a blog about volcanoes, for Wired Science for 9 years. You can also find him on Twitter (@eruptionsblog), variously tweeting about volcanoes, baseball (mostly Red Sox and Mariners) and his love of punk. George Kourounis is a renowned global explorer and storm chaser who specializes in documenting extreme forces of nature including: tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, deserts, caves, avalanches and more. He is an Explorer In Residence for The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, served as the Chairman of the Explorers Club Canadian Chapter, and has received several awards and medals for his efforts. He frequently finds himself driving into the eye of fierce storms, or descending ropes into actively erupting volcanic craters, often while hosting television programs including “Angry Planet” and others. He has given five TEDx talks, and has addressed the United Nations Environmental Emergencies Forum. George's expeditions have taken him to over 80 countries on all seven continents to such far-flung places as: Madagascar, Turkmenistan, Vanuatu, Greenland, North Korea, Myanmar, and Antarctica.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listeners of the Frenemy Trivia Podcast know that there are four hosts of that show - Tim, Brittany, Baney, and Sara. Listeners of this show may have noticed that one of those hosts has never appeared on Tangents…until now. We finally collected them all! I thought maybe I'd exact some revenge here since Sara thoroughly stumped me on my last appearance on her show, but she came ready to play. No spoilers here, but no revenge was achieved. Yet!Stuff from the episode:What's she been up to? Just returned from a professional development trip with very little sleep and a lot of alcohol.What can she recommend?The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky ChambersAnd of course, Frenemy Trivia - the podcast she hosts along with Tim, Brittany, and Baney.What's she looking forward to?SporcleCon 2025! (Note from the present: She did go, and by all accounts, had a blast.)Where does she quiz?Learned League online and the occasional pub quiz with the folks at Pour House Trivia.What did she plug?Besides Frenemy, remember that teachers often spend their own money on their classroom supplies, so support your local teachers however you can, and check out Donors Choose to make that easy.#######New Start Time for the Tuesday Night Live StreamStarting October 14, 2025, we'll be moving the Trivia Workshop Tuesday night stream up one hour to 7pm Central. Unless the bottom falls out for viewership, we'll probably stick with this time.Thank You Patreon Crew!This podcast wouldn't be possible without your support. Thank you all - and welcome to our newest member, Wendy Curtis! If you'd like to join, it's easy! Just go to https://www.patreon.com/TriviaWorkshop for your options.And as always, thanks to the entire Patreon Crew - Andrew Buxbaum, Anne Putnam, Asha Ouseph, Brandon Fellows, Brian Irving, Brock Kwiatkowsky, Bryan Nash, cheyenne fletcher, Chris Collins, Christian Hernandez, Claire Bancroft, Dalton McGhiey, Danielle Fields, Ian Schulze, Jane Hansen, Jay Borsom, Jeff Clear, Jillian Hawkins, JJaz, John Liu, Kevin Kuschel, Leslie Hyman, Luc Leavenworth, Madeleine Garvey, Martin Ebert, Matt Lamia, Nabeel Bader, Nanci Skinner, Nicole Bates-Rush, Paul Paquet, Quizmaster Caleb, Samantha Kuchar, Sarah Collins, Scott Barber, Shaun Bernstein, Skilletbrew, Steven Beningo, StitchinStacey, Tamara Morgan, The Professional Left, Tim Robert Gomez, Tony Schmit, Wendy Curtis, and Will GilbertWant to build your own game of Tangents?All you have to do is pick a date that works for you: https://calendly.com/triviaworkshop/ And be sure to check out the other Trivia Workshop links here:https://linktr.ee/TriviaWorkshop

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comPolitical assassins often have incoherent politics and Tyler Robinson is no different. The young man who killed Charlie Kirk inscribed the shell casings of his bullets with obscure memes that say less about what he believed and more about where he spent time online. Robinson isn't alone. Earlier this year the Annunciation Church shooter showed off a rifle inscribed with similar memes pulled from the internet. The Christchurch shooter in 2019 livestreamed their killing and left behind a meme laden manifesto.So what the hell is going on? On this episode of Angry Planet, Michael Senters—a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech—has some unsatisfying answers. Senters painstakingly walks us through each message on Robinson's bullets and explains the online spaces from whence they came.If you don't know a gropyer from a Helldiver or have never heard “OwO” said aloud, this episode is for you.It will not make you feel better.4,000 hours in seven gamesA painfully specific explanation of every shell casing meme“It can't be Helldivers”“This kid has probably fried his brain online.”Hearts of Iron IV's place in online fascist discourseSon, what's a groyper?There's no compelling evidence Robinson was a GroyperThe terrible embarrassment of explaining memes out loudThe 10 year old meme on the shell that killed KirkConstructing an ideology here is a Sisyphian taskBeing online is about irony and performanceHow a moment in time becomes a memetic hieroglyphAssassination as performanceGamergate as a “critical junction” in the Republican partyHow GG spread the irony-poisoned posting style like a virusFilming a TikTok video at an assassinationRe-evaluating our relationship to the internetA little bit about working in a bookstoreThe charging documents drop at the end of our conversationWhat the shell casings in the assassination of Charlie Kirk do – and don't – tell usYes, It's the Guns. It's Also the Phones.Read the Charges Against Tyler RobinsonExclusive: Leaked Messages from Charlie Kirk AssassinThe “Notices Bulge OwO” videoThe “Loss” comicSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Danika talks about queernorm sci-fi and fantasy books. Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify and never miss a book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Ready for a cozy, bookish autumn? Let Tailored Book Recommendations help you find your next favorite read with handpicked suggestions from professional book nerds. Get started today from just $18! Books Discussed: The Unbroken by CL Clark Of Fire and Stars Duology by Audrey Coulthurst A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar Always Human by Ari North Links Discussed: Queernorm Universes: Sci-Fi Books Where Homophobia and Transphobia Don't Exist Queernorm Worlds: 35 Fantasy Books With No Homophobia or Transphobia This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comOn September 2, 2025 the United States escalated its decades long War on Drugs with a tactic borrowed from the War on Terror. It used a drone to blow up a boat it said was full of drugs then said the 11 people killed in the strike were terrorists.Is this legal? Does that matter?On this week's Angry Planet, journalist Mike LaSusa of InSight Crime comes on the show to walk us through the ins and outs of America's long-running War on Drugs and how War on Terror tactics are shaping the fight.What's Tren de Aragua?The real connections between Tren de Aragua and the government of VenezuelaIs this legal?How America's drug interdiction worksDoes violence deter?On narcoterrorismCartel as misnomerViolence isn't sustainable“We don't even know these people's names.”America's partners in the War on Terror on Drugs“Motivations matter.”How do you solve a problem like illicit drugs?How the Trump admin hurt its own cause in the drug warPoppies in AfghanistanDrug use as a moral failing11 is a lot people for a drug boatThe Cartel of the SunsHow War-on-Terror Tactics Could Change the Fight Against Organized CrimeBoat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs Is Said to Have Turned Before U.S. Attacked ItRand Paul Reveals Venezuela Boat Attack Was a Drone StrikeTren de Aragua: Fact vs. FictionHow Trump's Anti-Money Laundering Rollback Could Help LatAm CriminalsSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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

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

What are the best self-published fantasy and science fiction novels of the last decade-plus? From The Martian and Wool to The Sword of Kaigen and Waybound, indie authors have proven they can go toe-to-toe with the biggest names in traditional publishing.In this episode, Jim walks through four standout indie releases from every year between 2011 and 2024—one of the most successful and one of the most popular in both fantasy and science fiction. You'll hear how these books rose from self-published beginnings to fan favorites, bestsellers, and in some cases, major publishing deals.If you've ever wondered which indie books deserve a spot on your TBR, this is your guide!

On this episode, Blake Chastain, author and podcaster, talks about how reading has helped him slow down through the difficult times we live in now, how technology helps and hurts his reading life, and some really excellent book recommendations. He will likely make you want to read comics and if that's new for you, go for it!!    Exvangelical and Beyond: How American Christianity Went Radical and the Movement that's Fighting Back  Find Blake on Substack  Hear me on Let's Talk About Text on Apple and Spotify   Books mentioned in this episode:    What Betsy's reading:  Phantasma by Kaylie Smith What Happened to Lucy Vale by Lauren Oliver    Books Highlighted by Blake: A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers  A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy by Katherine Stewart  Females by Andrea Long Chu Devotions by Mary Oliver  Too Like the Lightning by Ada Palmer  House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman  The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson  Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting by Shannon Vallor  The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking by Shannon Vallor  Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage by Stephanie Coontz   All books available on my Bookshop.org episode page.   Other books mentioned in this episode: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien  The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien  Fantastic Four: Solve Everything by Jonathan Hickman  Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman  God Is Disappointed in You by Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler Apocrypha Now by Mark Russell & Shannon Wheeler  Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer  The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers  The Power Worshippers by Katherine Stewart  The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Luke and Juliane revisit The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and discuss why writing a cozy story is incompatible with writing a traditionally good science fiction novel. See every book/episode of the SFBRP here: https://www.sfbrp.com/episode-lists-3 See the SFBRP Must-Read List here: https://www.sfbrp.com/must-read Support Luke and Juliane financially via Patreon.com/lukeburrage Luke […]

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

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

In this episode of Wrecked by Art, I tell the story of how a single sentence in a novel led me to sharks, burnout, and the most exhilarating chapter I wrote in my memoir, Art Is About Being Whole. This story is about creative trust, synchronicity, and the magic that only shows up when you're deep in the work.You'll hear about: A quote from Remarkably Bright Creatures that cracked me openThe Jaws poster painting and why it became the perfect metaphor for my burnoutHow your subconscious is always gathering the pieces you needThe deep connection between creative process and life itselfAnd why you don't get clarity by forcing it—you get it by staying present in the fogMentioned in this episode: (the book links below are affiliate links)Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltThe Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (more on that in a future episode)The Jaws movie poster (art by Roger Kastel)Big Magic by Elizabeth GilbertYou Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith✨ If you're working on your own big creative project and want support—coaching, collaboration, or creative midwifery—reach out. I help people through the messy middle. A new program is coming in September.

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Perfect is the Enemy of the Good, where we will be going over pages 360 through the end of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. Here is the link to the Isaiah Berlin essay Will Referenced For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: The Interdependency Trilogy by John Scalzi

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

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Legality Is Not Morality, where we will be going over pages 312 through 360 of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: Neva OST

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

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; When You're Here, You're Family, where we will be going over pages 246 through 312 of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: Cloudward Ho!

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

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

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Mind the Ketlings, where we will be going over pages 191 through 246 of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: Murderbot

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Everyone Has A Bad Day Now And Again, where we will be going over pages 125 to 190 of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: Monk and Robot

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comPalantir, Anduril and a suite of other Tolkien-inspired tech nightmares want to integrate artificial intelligence into every aspect of the U.S. military. Both companies have software suites they're pitching as agents that will help make command decisions during combat. An AI general, if you will.Yes, that's a terrible idea.On this episode of Angry Planet, Cameron Hunter and Bleddyn Bowen will tell us why. Hunter is a researcher at the University of Copenhagen and Bowen is a professor of Astropolitics at Durham University. They've just written a paper that skewers the idea that AI will ever be able to make command decisions.The narrow definition of AIThe folly of the AI generalThe games AI can't win“Targeting things is a command decision”The IDF's use of Microsoft's use of AI systems“The enemy gets a vote”Killing more doesn't mean winning moreAmerican military as a “glass tank”Matthew gets lost in a rant“They don't even have an animal's intelligence”The very real military uses of AIWe'll never have a model of an AI major-general: Artificial Intelligence, command decisions, and kitsch visions of warPalantir's pitchPalmer Luckey on 60 MinutesScientists Explain Why Trump's $175 Billion Golden Dome Is a FantasyOpenAI Employees Say Firm's Chief Scientist Has Been Making Strange Spiritual ClaimsEastern Europe Wants to Build a ‘Drone Wall' to Keep Out RussiaHow Palantir Is Using AI in UkraineSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThe Pentagon has been trying to pivot to the Pacific for years now. Under President Donald Trump 2.0, who is focused on China, it just might happen. It's a complicated body of water with dozens of players and a bloody history. One where Beijing is increasingly asserting itself.Here to walk us through some of it is Angry Planet producer and Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Knodell. He's just back from the Philippines where he spent two weeks reporting on a joint exercise between the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific.BalikatanTraining exercises as signallingHow 40 years of Balikatan tells the story of U.S.-Philippines relations“There are definitely some places where it is about the fish.”The Chinese Maritime MilitiaDuterte vs Marcos in 2025Why America doesn't understand ChinaRussia's imperial history in the Pacific (Kevin misspoke here, it's Fort Elizabeth not Fort Alexandria)Why people like Pete HegsethThe Nine-Dash lineThe century of humiliationChecking up on Red HillHawaii troops forge alliances in PhilippinesArmy, allies ponder Pacific roleSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Road Trip Time!, where we will be going over pages 67 to 125 of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord! https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: The Pitt

Welcome to Tales from the Waystone; Summer Reading Program - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Start of the Road, where we will be going over the first 67 pages of Becky Chambers' cozy road-trip sci-fi novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. For Apple Podcast listeners, please consider rating the show and leaving us a review! It'll help us be seen by more people! We have a Patreon! Patreon.com/waystonepod! Also!!! Join our Discord to get our recipe for cinnamon rolls: https://discord.gg/ebDBWfrU9V   Recommended Thing of the Week: Everybody's Live with John Mulaney

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comWe're living in a bizarre age of technofascism. The richest man who has ever lived, a man who dreams of colonizing Mars with his children, is America's CEO. Donald Trump, the man people voted for, is just the chairman of the board.What does Elon Musk believe? Is there a playbook for DOGE? How bad are things going to get? On this episode of Angry Planet journalist Gil Duran, author of The Nerd Reich newsletter, walks us through what's coming.Over on The Shatter Zone, journalist and former Angry Planet guest Robert Evans has published a document that Democratic think tanks are passing around. It gives extra context to Duran's reporting. All the major players and themes we talk about in this episode are there: Curtis Yarvin, Nick Land, the Butterfly Effect.If you want to understand why so many federal workers are getting fired and the Silicon Valley ideology that's infected D.C., then give us a listen.Curtis Yarvin's unimpressive programming career“Democracy doesn't work”Bullshit and cherriesRAGE and RebootThe Chairman of the BoardIt's always about the money“Move fast and break things” comes to D.C.The Engineer's DiseaseNick Land is mentioned and I'm sorry“Trump is more intellectual property than man.”The horror of comedySelling the Nerd Reich to the Religious RightThe Nerd ReichAI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVsTrump's AI Gaza Video Is the Tip of a Horrifying ‘Gaz-A-Lago' IcebergTechno-Fascism Comes to AmericaCurtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening.'Reboot' Revealed: Elon Musk's CEO-Dictator PlaybookSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comU.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is the interim head of USAID, for however much longer the agency lasts. For 60 years, the massive bureaucracy was a vehicle for American soft power abroad. Trump, Elon Musk, and all their creatures don't like it. It might soon be gone.Nicole Widdersheim is the deputy Washington director of Human Rights Watch with a long history of humanitarian work. She's here on Angry Planet today to walk us through this new era of the American Empire.A brief history of USAIDThe size and cost of USAIDCritiquing a bureaucracyPeople like you when you give them stuffDefense, diplomacy, developmentThe real world consequences of the ending of foreign aidA mallet, not a scalpelSupporters need to get cynicalUSAID did a bad job of defending itselfAmericans don't care about the human costThe Glorious Republic of Jasonvania wants food aidCongressionally approved rice to North KoreaIt turns out the cruelty is, in fact, the pointAt USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs DeepNo one read those reports on AfghanistanHow China's “Belt and Road” actually worksThe end of USAID will screw over American farmersTrumpism is a lack of consistency Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comBetween the idea and the reality falls the shadow. Marine Corps veteran J.D. Vance will soon be vice president. Pete Hegseth, a man with a Crusader Kings tattoo who doesn't want women to serve in combat roles, is probably going to be confirmed as secretary of defense. Over New Years, two members of the U.S. military committed domestic terror attacks.Today on Angry Planet we get into the highs and lows of the American military with Marine Corps vet and author Phil Klay. What are the limits of amoral pragmatism?“Most troops are opposed to murder.”A rant about Crusader Kings.Vance's view.Trump, Hegseth and the Honor of the American MilitaryAsking Pete Hegseth how many pushups he can do during a confirmation hearingThe Cult of ‘Sicario'Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALs Who Turned In Edward GallagherSen. Ted Cruz insulted a ‘woke, emasculated' U.S. Army ad. Angry veterans fired back.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThis week on Angry Planet writer David Faris joins us to talk about his time in Syria and life in America.David's travels from Lebanon to SyriaWhen people hoped Bashar al-Assad would change SyriaWhat a real totalitarian state feels likeThe nightmare that follows the collapse of a dictatorshipOnce again, the ugly legacy of colonialism rears its headThe post-Assad playersAfter 15 years, everyone is tired of warTurning to domestic politicsDon't panic“Trump will govern very corruptly.”Talking politics with childrenThe Trump Cinematic Universe“We need billionaires to fight billionaires.”The collapse of the liberal intelligentsiaThe McDonald's bombing in BeirutSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comThis week Angry Planet turns its attention to Canada. Global News investigative journalist Stewart Bell joins us to walk through his two latest pieces and give Matthew a crash course on Canadian history. What do outlaw motorcycle gangs, extrajudicial assassinations, an Indian separatist movement, and a resurgent Islamic State all have in common?Canada.Bell is here to explain it all.The pros and cons of extremists recruiting on social mediaAre you talking to a fed?Remembering Air India Flight 182 or Matthew learns Canadian historyThe Khalistan movementWhat makes a 14-year-old interested in Islamic State?Eric Hoffer on what makes a True BelieverSpreading ideologies with an answering machineThe budding new era of political violenceVisas as a tool of foreign interferenceUsing gangs to assassinate your political enemiesThe ups and downs of hiring biker gangs for intelligence workIndia's superpower glow upISIS arrests are spiking in Canada and youths are driving the resurgenceInvestigation: Visas have become an Indian foreign interference toolSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if Earth were furious with humanity? What if revolutionaries took their cues from an unruly planet? Anne Stewart examines depictions of terrestrial upheaval and grassroots rebellion in Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, Leslie Marmon Silko's Almanac of the Dead, and other works. (Encore presentation.) Anne Stewart, Angry Planet: Decolonial Fiction and the American Third World University of Minnesota Press, 2022 The post Angry Planet appeared first on KPFA.

Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.comNorth Korean troops are fighting alongside Russian ones in Ukraine. Bringing the two together hasn't all gone smoothly. There are language barriers, cultural barriers, and a whole lot of Russian territory to recover. The results have been mixed, but the partnership points to a deepening of the special relationship between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation.On this episode of Angry Planet, Jenny Town is here to explain the deepening ties between Russia and North Korea. Town is a Senior Fellow and Director at the Stimson center and writes at 38 North.Initial reactions to the “ICBM attack” in UkraineThe special relationship between Russia and North KoreaThe growing anti-western sphere of influenceWhat the North Korean military is doing in Ukraine100,00 more North Korean troops in Ukraine?Is Kim Jong Un preparing for war?North Korea's brand new uranium enrichment photos.What would it take for South Korea to get a nuclear weapon?Making use of the Kaesong Industrial ComplexIs Kim Jong Un Preparing for War?First Look at North Korea's Uranium Enrichment CapabilitiesKaesong Industrial Complex: A Tortured History and Uncertain FutureQuick Take: North Korea's Coverage of Russian War Against UkraineSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you ever feel you're living in a world where all the good stuff happened to the previous generation? Does it seem like America's best days are behind it? Were you born into an empire just as it began to collapse?Listen to this episode commercial free at https://angryplanetpod.com/We'd like to tell you about King Arthur.The story of Arthur has been told hundreds of times in everything from song to story to movie. That makes it a pretty big deal when someone can tell the story of the ancient British king with freshness and originality.Lev Grossman, author of the well-known The Magicians series, has done just that with The Bright Sword. While the characters may be familiar in large part, Sword will still keep you guessing all the way through.Angry Planet got a chance to speak with Grossman who shared insights into the book, how it was written and Arthur himself. Take a listen.“These stories about a lost golden age are a way of processing grief…grief, not over an apocalypse, but over massive change…I think that's what stories like King Arthur are about.”We can't stop talking about Station 11 for some reasonYes, Excalibur is the best Arthur adaptationWhy the fay are importantRadical social change and the apocalypseBuy The Bright Sword here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.