Defiance

“Putin’s government doesn’t murder Russian journalists, but he will kill you if you’re a former spy.” — Aric Toler Location: New York Date: Wednesday, Oct 23rd 2019 Role: Researcher & Trainer In the 1990s Sergei Skripal was an officer for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). He operated as a double agent for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service between 1995 and 2004. In 2006, Sergei was convicted of high treason in Russia and thanks to a 'spy swap' settled in Salisbury, England...

“The surveillance state and what’s going on in Xinjiang and all of the things that Huawei and related companies are doing. It really just puts the fear of God in you, not just for how that impacts China, but how that is spilling over and impacting values around the world.” — Christopher Balding Location: New York Date: Wednesday, Oct 23rd 2019 Role: Professor The CCP's ever-expanding surveillance state is eroding the limited freedom left in China. Tactics such as facial recognition,...

“It’s not called the World Cup, it's called the FIFA World Cup. So of all the actors who have been involved in this issue, concerned about workers rights, my feeling is that they have been the least active, the least effective.” - Pete Pattisson - - - - - Location: Skype Date: Thursday, Nov 7th 2019 Role: Journalist With Qatar's successful 2022 World Cup bid there were allegations of corruption and bribery during the bidding process. There were also concerns as to whether the Gulf...

“For this very small city of 7 million people being able to stand up to this ruthless machine, for sure it is inspiring to other people in different countries.” - Denise Ho - - - - - Hong Kong has a complicated political history, which must be understood to understand the current protests. For 156 years, Hong Kong was under British rule, but on June 1st 1997, it was returned to Chinese sovereignty. As part of the handover negotiations, it was agreed that Hong Kong would operate under...

“If you're not politically confused at the moment, you're not paying attention.” — Bret Weinstein - - - - - Since the 1970's Evergreen State College in Washington has held a Day of Absence. On this day, Evergreen students and staff from minorities choose not to attend the college to highlight their contribution. In 2017, the college proposed new plans for the day. Instead of minority students and faculty voluntarily choosing not to attend campus, the change would flip the event with...

“There's nothing better for self-reflection than just brutal honesty, right? I call it radical transparency. Just being totally honest about exactly what happened and making yourself live through that. Every time you have to say it, you re-punish yourself for the decisions you didn't make back then.” — Brittany Kaiser - - - - - In March 2018, The Guardian broke the news of one of the most massive data breaches of all time. Cambridge Analytica was harvesting the data from as many as 87...

Everybody is just going like, Hang on, I'm sick of this. I'm sick of being told what to think. I'm sick of having a fucking political spin on everything." — Jake Hanrahan - - - - - The internet has transformed traditional media with newsgroups becoming reliant on advertising as readers are reluctant to pay for news online. The advertising model has led to the rise of clickbait news organisations such as Buzzfeed, with content and headlines designed for sharing and reach. Some argue that...

“Suicide is what you do when you don't have any cards to play.” — Mike Cernovich - - - - - When the news broke of Jeffrey Epstein's apparent suicide, eyebrows were raised. The disgraced hedge fund manager was embroiled in one of the most high profile cases of recent times. Accused of sex trafficking, Epstein was believed to hold damaging information on some of the worlds most influential people. Just a month before Epstein's death he was found unconscious in his cell with marks on his...

“It is this much darker, more sinister basket of things that are not just standard political tactics.” — Molly McKew - - - - - Information warfare is a tactic used to push misleading or persuasive information to a large group of people. Propaganda, a type of information warfare, has forever been used by states, religions and governments to promote views, incite hatred and manipulate opinion. In the digital age, information warfare is more prevalent than ever. With the growth of social...

“Oh, first of all, I think the only change in North Korea could be made upon educating the North Korean people.” — Thae Yong-ho - - - - - Following World War II Korea divided. The Soviet Union took control of northern Korea, and the United States took control of the south. With the onset of the cold war, negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States design to unify Korea broke down, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was born. Since the inception of the People's...

“Voting someone into power is kind of like the cherry on top of the democratic system. First, you need free expression, then you need separation of powers, then you need civil society.” — Alex Gladstein - - - - - Alex is Chief Strategy Officer at The Human Rights Foundation and a human rights activist. In this interview, we discuss the extent of authoritarianism around the world, how absolute power corrupts and how Bitcoin supports financial freedom. - - - - - Show notes and...