Episodes
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In this episode, we speak to former CIA Chief of Disguise Jonna Mendez about faking identities in the world of espionage and intelligence.
Jonna was recruited into the CIA in 1966, where she lived and worked undercover in multiple countries across Europe and Asia. Jonna’s work included denied area operations in complex and high risk locations such as Moscow, East Germany, and Cuba. During her 25 years' experience with the CIA, Jonna was awarded the agency’s Intelligence Commendation Medal, and she is a founding member of the Board of Advisors at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. With her late husband, Tony Mendez, Jonna is the best-selling co-author of Argo, The Moscow Rules, and Spy Dust. Her latest book, In True Face, recounts how determination (and some good fortune) helped her build her incredible career in the face of limited opportunities and misogynistic expectations when it came to women in front line intelligence work, and is available now from PublicAffairs books.
If you like this show, help fund hosting fees by supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we speak to Theresa Campobasso about the threats facing supply chains across the world.
Theresa Campobasso is Senior Vice President of Strategy at Exiger, a Supply Chain Security software company, where her operational and technical strategies drive success for both federal government organisations and private industry. She has spent over 15 years in supply chain security, and prior to her time with Exiger, she led the Critical Asset Protection program at KPMG, where she developed a microelectronics supply chain software solution that was selected as a winner in the U.S. Air Force’s 2019 AFWERX Challenge. In addition to her private sector experience, she served as a Marine Corps Intelligence Officer and, after leaving active duty, provided counterintelligence support to DIA’s Office of Counterintelligence, where her CI work included Research, Development, and Acquisition CI and helping establish DIA’s first Acquisition Risk Task Force. She completed her graduate studies at the Georgetown Security Studies Program, where she focused on Technology and National Security. She’s a former Rumsfeld Foundation Fellowship Recipient and a current member of the foundation’s Alumni Board. She was recently named as a "Top Supply Chain Executive to Watch in 2023" by Washington Executive Magazine.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we talk about misinformation, disinformation, and troll farms in the 21st century with Olga Belogolova and Regina Morales.
Olga Belogolova is the Director of the Emerging Technologies Initiative at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She is also a professor at the Alperovitch Institute for Cybersecurity Studies at SAIS, where she teaches a course on disinformation and influence in the digital age. At Facebook/Meta, she led policy for countering influence operations, leading execution and development of policies on coordinated inauthentic behaviour, state media capture, and hack-and-leaks within the Trust and Safety team. Prior to that, she led threat intelligence work on Russia and Eastern Europe at Facebook, identifying, tracking, and disrupting coordinated IO campaigns, and in particular, the Internet Research Agency investigations between 2017-2019. Olga previously worked as a journalist and her work has appeared in The Atlantic, National Journal, Inside Defense, and The Globe and Mail, among others. She is a fellow with the Truman National Security Project and serves on the review board for CYBERWARCON.
Regina Morales is the principal of Telescope Research, where she conducts investigations on behalf of law firms, multinational corporations, financial institutions, and not-for-profit organisations. She has subject matter expertise in Latin American politics, corruption issues, extremism, and disinformation. In particular Regina specialises in investigating disinformation campaigns waged on social media platforms, forums, and certain messaging apps. These campaigns include online harassment, corporate disinformation relating to securities, conspiracy theories, and politically or ideologically driven campaigns. She has seen, often in real time, how the theoretical components of disinformation and propaganda are used in practice. Prior to founding Telescope Research, Regina worked for two top-tier, Chambers and Partners-ranked global investigative firms where she conducted and managed complex, multi-jurisdictional investigations on behalf of white shoe law firms and multinational companies.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we speak to Max Hess and Nicholas Michelon about economic warfare.
Maximilian Hess is a political risk analyst and consultant, as well as a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Max is the founder of Enmetena Advisory. Max speaks German, Russian, Georgian and Spanish, and has written for the Financial Times, the New Statesman and Foreign Policy, alongside a regular column for Al Jazeera. Max’s book, Economic War, is available from Hurst & Co.
Nicolas Michelon is a 20-year veteran of emerging market entry strategies, financial markets & geo-economics research. A Partner at Confluence Consultants and the editor of Asiapowerwatch.com, he has previously served as an Indo-Pacific economist at the French Ministry of Finance, financial analyst at KPMG Hong Kong, and a portfolio manager at Schroders Singapore. Nicolas is a lecturer in business Intelligence, geopolitics and geo-economics at ESCP Business School & EM Lyon Business School in France, the International University of Monaco, and the Paris School of Economic Warfare.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In today's episode we speak to Dr. Maria Robson-Morrow and Holden Triplett about the fascinating world of corporate espionage.
Dr. Maria Robson-Morrow is the Program Manager at the Harvard Kennedy School's Intelligence Project. She worked as a global security intelligence analyst at Nexen Energy in Canada and then as an independent security intelligence consultant before returning to academia to study public-private intelligence cooperation. She earned a PhD in Political Science in 2021 from Northeastern University and holds a Master’s in Military and Strategic Studies from the University of Calgary and a BA in International Relations, Economics, and History from the University of Toronto. Maria's research has been published in Intelligence and National Security, Harvard Business Review, and the Journal of Intelligence History. She teaches courses on Intelligence at Johns Hopkins University. Maria serves on the Board and Education Committee for the Association of International Risk Intelligence Professionals.
Holden Triplett is the founder of Trenchcoat Advisors, where he advises clients facing sophisticated nation-state risks. He spent nearly 15 years with the FBI and has extensive international and domestic risk intelligence and security experience. He also spent several years in overseas assignments, notably leading the FBI’s offices in Russia and China. Holden is conversant in Mandarin and Russian, and has unique understanding of the objectives, capabilities, and methodologies of the Chinese and Russian intelligence services. During his time in Russia, Holden coordinated U.S. government security efforts of the Sochi Winter Olympics, including establishing a first of its kind joint threat intelligence unit with the Russian security services. While in Beijing, he worked closely with People’s Republic of China security services to plan for the joint security of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Upon his return to the United States, he served as the Director for Counterintelligence at the National Security Council, at the White House. In his last government position, Holden was the FBI Faculty Chair at the National Intelligence University, where he taught courses in Counterintelligence, National Security Law and Intelligence, and Chinese Intelligence and Information Warfare. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we speak with Dr. James Patton Rogers on how to conduct a drone attack.
Dr. James Patton Rogers is the Executive Director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University. An expert on disruptive technologies and the history of weaponry and war, James currently advises the United Nations and NATO on the global proliferation of drones and 4IR systems. James also works with the BBC, Netflix, History Hit, PBS America, and the History Channel as a presenter, subject matter expert, and historical advisor. James' Warfare podcast has over 12 million listens in over 180 countries. Dr Rogers' new book, 'Precision: A History of American Warfare', is published by Manchester University Press, 2023.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we talk to Vitaly Fedchenko on nuclear security.
Vitaly Fedchenko is a Senior Researcher with the SIPRI Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme. He has worked at SIPRI since 2005 and has 20 years of experience in nuclear security research and nuclear security assistance program implementation. He received a Master’s degree in nuclear materials protection, control and accounting in 2002. Between 2005 and 2015 Vitaly consulted for and helped implement Swedish government’s nuclear security assistance programs. Vitaly has been focusing on a discipline contributing to nuclear security, called nuclear forensics, since 2006 and is a member of the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG). Since 2009 Vitaly has been a contributor to the work of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Security in drafting regulatory documents on nuclear forensics and nuclear security, developing and delivering training courses on nuclear forensics, and contributing to advisory missions. Vitaly is an author of multiple publications on nuclear forensics, including the book The New Nuclear Forensics: Analysis of Nuclear Materials for Security Purposes (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 2015).
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we speak to Anne Devaud, global head of product security at one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms, about the threats posed by pharmacrime gangs. She has spent the last 25 years in both the private sector, and in France’s customs enforcement agency combating crimes such as smuggling and counterfeiting. Anne holds a Masters in political science from the Institute Etudes Politique in Bordeaux, and a degree in crisis management from France’s national security and justice college.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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Today, we discuss money laundering in the modern and everchanging world. Yaya is an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security where his research focuses on crypto, blockchain, and central bank digital currencies. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years as both an economic and counterterrorism analyst in the CIA, where he regularly briefed federal law enforcement, U.S. military personnel, and White House-level policy makers—including President George W. Bush whom he personally briefed on terrorism threats. In 2009, he spent three months in Afghanistan providing analytic support to senior military officials. After leaving government service, Yaya worked for a small consulting firm on a global financial asset recovery investigation of a kleptocratic regime. Later, he joined the think tank world and as Director of Analysis at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Center on Sanctions and Illicit Finance, Yaya led research on sanctions evasion and terrorist financing threats.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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On this episode, we discuss combat reporting, warzones, and how to survive them with Rosie Garthwaite. Rosie is an executive producer at BBC World Service's Investigations Unit, and is currently based in London making documentaries and interactives about the Middle East and North Africa. She founded Mediadante, producing the Emmy-nominated, “The Workers Cup”, that premiered on the opening night of Sundance 2017. In 2023 she exec produced “Under Poisoned Skies” that helped secure a pledge to reduce gas flaring emissions from the Iraqi government and won the RTS for best international documentary of the year. The International Emmy-award winning film “Escaping ISIS” she developed was referenced by the UK Prime Minister in a key speech and shown to the U.S. Congress. Prior to this, in 2003 Rosie joined the first English-language newspaper in post-invasion Baghdad, The Baghdad Bulletin, living amongst Iraqis far away from the Green zone. While in Basra freelancing for Reuters, The Times and the BBC she exposed the first British torture case, the death of Baha Moussa while he was in the custody of the British army. In 2006, Rosie joined Al Jazeera preparing for the launch of its English language channel and helping to set up the Baghdad bureau - even evacuating it one day after several colleagues were kidnapped. She is a former British army officer and author of the award-winning book How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone, published by Bloomsbury in 2011.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In this episode, we discuss the security of deep-sea internet cables with Dr. Bruce Jones. Bruce Jones is a senior fellow with the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution; he also works with the Center for East Asia Policy Studies, and is a consulting professor at the Freeman Spogli Institute at Stanford University. His current research focus is on U.S. strategy, international order, and great power relations. His most recent books on the topic are “To Rule the Waves: How Control of the World’s Oceans Shapes the Fate of the Superpowers” (Scribner, 2021); “The Marshall Plan and the Shaping of American Strategy,” (Brookings Institution Press, 2017); and “Still Ours to Lead: America, Rising Powers, and the Tension between Rivalry and Restraint” (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). Dr Jones has extensive experience and expertise on intervention and crisis management. He served in the United Nations’ operation in Kosovo, and was special assistant to the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process. He was also a senior advisor to Kofi Annan on U.N. reform and served as deputy research director to the U.N.’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, as well as lead scholar for the International Task Force on Global Public Goods. Dr Jones holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics, and he was the Hamburg fellow in conflict prevention at Stanford University.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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On this episode, we speak to former CIA operative Marc Polymeropoulos on how to recruit a spy. Marc retired from the Senior Intelligence Service ranks in 2019 after serving for 26 years in the Intelligence Community in operational field and leadership assignments. He is an expert in counterterrorism, covert action, and human intelligence collection. Marc is one of the IC's most highly decorated field officers and has honed a unique leadership style based on decision making under pressure, inclusivity, camaraderie, and competition. His book "Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA" was published in June 2021 by Harper Collins. Marc is a sought after speaker, and travels the world providing leadership guidance to both public and private sector clients. He also is an intelligence and foreign policy contributor for MSNBC and appears frequently on “Morning Joe,” and also is a non resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Most recently, Marc served as the technical advisor for the movie “Equalizer 3” starring Denzel Washington.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In our next episode, we interview Dr. Neil Bradbury on poisons and their uses. Dr Bradbury is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and the University of Wales School of Medicine, with degrees in Biochemistry and Medical Biochemistry. Although he grew up in the UK, he now lives and works in Illinois, USA, where he’s a scientist, teacher and writer. His first book “A Taste for Poison” will appeal to true-crime fans, sciencey types, and history buffs. He has spoken at national and international meetings to present his research, and authored numerous scientific manuscripts and book chapters.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In the first episode of our second season, we interview Mick Ryan on how to invade a country. Mick Ryan is a retired major general in the Australian Army. A graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the U.S. Marine Corps University Command and Staff College and School of Advanced Warfighting. He has commanded at platoon, squadron, regiment, task force, and brigade level. General Ryan was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his leadership of Australia’s first reconstruction task force in Afghanistan. He completed his 35-year career with the Australian Army and transitioned to the Army Reserve in 2022. He is an adjunct fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC and a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute. He is also the author of War Transformed, released in 2022, and White Sun War, released in 2023, with a book on Ukraine coming in 2024.
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica
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In the Season 1 finale, we discuss the threats posed to journalists around the world with Dr Mark Grant. Dr Grant is the head of high risk, safety and security at Sky News, and has operated in high-risk environments around the world for nearly 2 decades and has supported and directly managed security for the BBC and CNN. Mark holds a doctorate in security risk management, with a focus on journalism security. His thesis, "Reporting Safety; An assessment of risk management practices employed by news organisations operating in areas of conflict 2009 - 2019, is the first study of its kind, allowing news organisations to learn from the most pivotal decade for journalism, in modern times. Mark is also the co-founder and Non-Executive Director of MiRiskMedia, an app-based solution to ensure news and other organisations have direct access to vetted, qualified and experienced safety and security consultants, with the aim to create consistency of advisors across the industry.
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In the penultimate installment of the first season of the podcast, we discuss the threats to global shipping posed by piracy, state actors, and other dangers with two members of the Encyclopedia Geopolitica team. Cormac Mc Garry is an Associate Director at the specialist risk consultancy Control Risks, where he heads up their maritime security intelligence and analysis services. Most of his work involves helping shipping companies and others in the maritime community be prepared for security issues they may face from piracy and armed robbery at sea to drug smuggling, war and terrorism. He previously worked in the National Maritime College of Ireland as a research project manager and has also worked across the spectrum of risk management consulting, having worked in East and West Africa before being currently based in France. Anthony Clay is a former US Navy Surface Warfare Officer, serving all over the world, with specialties in security and operations. He is currently serving in a civilian role as a strategic planner for the DoD.
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In the latest installment of our new podcast, we sit down with Dr Muhammad Fraser-Rahim to discuss radicalisation and extremism, and how individuals find themselves recruited into extremist groups. Dr. Fraser-Rahim currently is Vice President, Global Intelligence, Resilience and Response Operations at Salesforce and is on faculty at the Citadel and Yale University as a Visiting Assistant Professor where he teaches a range of courses on intelligence, counterterrorism and deradicalization issues domestically and worldwide. He is also the former Executive Director, North America for Quilliam International, the world’s oldest counter-extremist organization, where he oversaw policy issues centering around rehabilitation, demobilization and deradicalization against violent extremism. He is an expert on violent extremism issues both domestically and overseas. He previously worked for the U.S. Institute of Peace leading their Horn of Africa programs as an expert on extremism. Dr. Fraser-Rahim worked for the U.S. government for more than a decade, including the Department of Homeland Security; Director of National Intelligence; and the National Counterterrorism Center providing strategic advice and executive branch analytical support on countering violent extremism issues. He also worked for the White House and the National Security Council where he was the author or co-author of Presidential Daily Briefs and strategic assessments on extremist ideology and counter-radicalization. Dr. Fraser-Rahim has conducted research in more than 40 countries on the African continent, and has worked and studied throughout the Middle East and is a Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project. He completed his Ph.D at Howard University with a focus on African studies, Islamic intellectual history and security studies and is the author of the award winning book, Americas Other Muslims: Imam WD Mohammed, Islamic Reform and the Making of American Islam.
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In the latest installment of our new podcast, we sit down with a kidnapping historian and author and an executive protection and kidnap & ransom expert, to discuss the topic of executive kidnappings. Philip Jett is a retired attorney who has represented multinational corporations, CEOs, and celebrities from the music, television, and sports industries. He is the author of The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty, which was named one of the best true crime stories of 2017 by The New York Times. He followed that book with another true crime story titled Taking Mr. Exxon: The Kidnapping of an Oil Giant’s President. His newest book, a work of historical nonfiction, is called Stranded in the Sky and will be released in May 2023. He is joined on the show by Scott Stewart, the Vice President of Intelligence at TorchStone Global, and Stratfor's former VP of Tactical Analysis. Prior to this, Scott was a Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) special agent and Protective Intelligence coordinator for the technology company Dell. He was the lead DSS investigator assigned to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the follow-up New York City bomb plot. As part of the US government's Hostage Locating Taskforce, Scott interviewed a number of high profile kidnapping victims such as Terry Waite, and as the US embassy's deputy regional security officer In Guatemala, Scott investigated numerous kidnappings of American civilians and the kidnapping of Rigoberta Menchu's daughter.
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In the first installment of our new podcast, we sit down with Professor Rory Cormac to discuss coups, subversion, and covert influence. Professor Cormac teaches International Relations at the University of Nottingham, and specialises in secret intelligence and covert action. Rory is the author of "Disrupt and Deny: Spies, Special Forces, and the Secret Pursuit of British Foreign Policy", and the co-author of "The Black Door" and "The Secret Royals". Recently, Rory has published "How to Stage a Coup", which examines covert action and influence.
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In the third installment of our new podcast, we sit down with Fred Burton to discuss threats to diplomats around the world. Fred is a former police officer, special agent and New York Times best-selling author. He has served on the front lines of high-profile investigations like the hunt for and arrest of Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind behind the first World Trade Center bombing; the 1988 plane crash of PAK-1 that killed U.S. Ambassador Arnold Raphel and Pakistani President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq; and the search for Americans kidnapped by Hezbollah in Beirut, Lebanon. As Executive Director of the Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence, Fred now spearheads strategic consulting to physical security leaders at major corporations, advising how to keep their people safe. His best-selling books include Ghost: Confessions of a Counterterrorism Agent, Chasing Shadows: A Special Agent's Lifelong Hunt to Bring a Cold War Assassin to Justice, Under Fire: The Untold Story of the Attack in Benghazi and Beirut Rules: The Murder of a CIA Station Chief and Hezbollah’s War Against America.
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