Things That Go Boom

One night In 1968, Ed Meagher was finishing his last shift at Clark Airways, which included authenticating and repeating messages for the nuclear-armed B-52 fleet in Southeast Asia. Then his phone lines started dinging, with signal after signal — and he couldn’t figure out why none were a match. This monologue is the second in our series with The War Horse. Additional ResourcesWe Were at DefCon 2 — One Step From Nuclear War — and I Was Checking My Work, Ed Meagher, The War Horse, 2024 

This month on Things That Go Boom, we’re passing the mic to three veterans to share their memories in their words. In this first entry: When paratrooper Bill Glose came home from the Gulf War after leading his platoon, silence was his fortress. That all changed when a friend suggested he start writing poetry. The story is part of a new partnership with the news site The War Horse. The site publishes real stories from veterans that look war in the eye, rough edges and all. If you haven't heard of them, be sure to check them out. And tune in all month for more monologues. Additional Resources Silence Was My Father’s Fortress. I Shared It for a Time Until Poetry Set Me Free, Bill Glose, The War Horse, 2024

After a season spent examining feminist foreign policies around the world, we turn our attention back to the US. Will the US adopt a feminist foreign policy? And what would that mean? In this episode, three remarkable activists, organizers, and academics share their perspectives on where we are in the process, what the obstacles are, and what gives them hope for the future.Listen and subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get your podcasts to receive a new episode every two weeks.GUESTS: Janene Yazzie, Director of Policy and Advocacy for NDN Collective; Lyric Thompson, Founder and CEO of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative; Margo Okazawa-Rey, Professor Emerita San Francisco State UniversityADDITIONAL RESOURCES:NDN CollectiveFeminist Foreign Policy CollaborativeInternational Women’s Network Against MilitarismPoverty Draft by Al ScorchWe are the Ones by Sweet Honey in the RockSpecial thanks to The Gender Security Project

Political Scientist Cynthia Enloe is, arguably, the reason we’re all here. She was one of the first to explore gender in international relations, and the first to ask, “Where are the women?”But what she meant when she asked that question? It’s been lost in a sea of nuances around feminism and feminist foreign policy. Leading to misunderstandings like so many we’ve seen this season on Things That Go Boom. Misunderstandings like the sense among some that feminism is just about turning things around and subjugating men. Or that a man could never be a feminist, let alone carry out a feminist foreign policy.On this episode of Things That Go Boom, where are the women, really?And where do we go from here?GUESTS: Cynthia Enloe, Clark UniversityADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics, Cynthia EnloeTwelve Feminist Lessons of War, Cynthia EnloeThe Invisible Frontline: How the Fight for Women’s Rights Changes in Times of War, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

As civilian casualties mount in Gaza and many more conflicts around the world kill and displace vulnerable people, we ask, "What can feminist foreign policy do about war crimes?"The international community doesn’t have a great track record of timely intervention to stop atrocities. But one-sided military intervention can also be a recipe for disaster. In this episode, we hear from activists in Rwanda and Afghanistan about how their work protects the vulnerable and what they wish international feminists would do differently. And we hear from an expert on international hierarchies about how feminist foreign policy fits into the long history of attempts to end genocide — and who intervention has historically served.GUESTS: Mary Balikungeri, Director and Founder of Rwanda Women’s Network; Dr. Toni Haastrup, Chair in Global Politics at the University of Manchester; Salma, activist with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of AfghanistanADDITIONAL RESOURCES:The Rwanda Women’s NetworkThe Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)Statement of Intent on Feminist Informed Policies Abroad and at Home, The African Feminist Collective on Feminist Informed PoliciesThe Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, UNBackground on the Responsibility to Protect, UNWomen Peace and Security Agenda (UN Resolution 1325), UNOn May 19, 2024 there was an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the government there alleges that American citizens were involved in the plot. (DRC army says it stopped attempted coup involving US citizens, Reuters) The incident appears to be largely separate from the conflict on DRC’s eastern border that we discuss in this episode and the US has denied any involvement in the attempted coup. 

When news of a new disaster seems to roll in every day… it can feel like there’s little hope. But what if we had… another option? Not just to reverse course on climate change, but to set the course for a better future. Carol Cohn and Claire Duncanson think we do. GUESTS: Carol Cohn, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Claire Duncanson, University of Edinburgh ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals, Carol Cohn Feminist Roadmap for Sustainable Peace and Planet The Past, Present, and Future(s) of Feminist Foreign Policy, Columba Achilleos-Sarll, Jennifer Thomson, Toni Haastrup, Karoline Färber, Carol Cohn, Paul Kirby

When does something as deeply personal as abortion become a matter of foreign policy? Maybe when it becomes a stand-in for national values and belief systems. Or maybe when it becomes a clever wedge to divide societies. Today, Polish abortion activists are on the cusp of a huge change. After 30 years of some of the strictest abortion laws in the country, it looks like some liberalization could be on the way. But it wasn’t easy to get here. And a new trove of documents suggests that Kremlin meddling may have been part of the reason why. GUESTS: Rebecca Gomperts, abortion activist/medical doctor; Hanna Muehlenhoff, University of Amsterdam; Wiktoria Szymczak, abortion doula; Klementyna Suchanow, organizer, Polish Women’s Strike; Anna Gielewska, Editor in Chief of V Square BACKGROUND: Lucy Hall, University of Amsterdam; Tom Meinderts, University of Amsterdam; Bethany Van Kampen Saravia, Ipas Partners for Reproductive Justice A spokesperson for Poland’s Law and Justice party, which formerly led the country’s government, replied to our questions with a statement excerpted below: “The Constitution of Poland defends the right to life and Poland's position concerning abortion is based on the Polish Constitution which was adopted in 1997. Polish law allows for abortion in cases where the pregnancy is a result of a criminal act or when the woman's life or health is in danger. The Law and Justice government followed established procedures when employing staff and will not comment on individual appointments.” ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Anti-Abortion International Under the Tutelage of the Kremlin: We Are Disclosing the Emails of the Group in Which Ordo Iuris Operates, Klementyna Suchanow for Onet (Machine translation from Polish by Google at the link; we are not responsible for errors) A Dying Baby, a Trump Tweet: Inside Network Setting Global Right-Wing Agenda, Sian Norris for Open Democracy Conservatives AKA Russia: How a Polish Left Wing Activist Spins Conspiracy Theories, Zuzanna Dąbrowska for Do Rzeczy (republished by Ordo Iuris) Tip of the Iceberg: Religious Extremist Funders against Human Rights for Sexuality & Reproductive Health in Europe, European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Mexico's gotten a lot of praise for its feminist foreign policy — despite ongoing femicide in the country. But Mexican women are doing more than just pointing out the hypocrisy. They're using these new foreign policy tools to fight back at home in the war against their own bodies. On this episode, we travel to Mexico to talk with, and march alongside, some of the women fighting for change. GUESTS: Daniela Garcia Philipson, Ph.D. Candidate, Monash University; Martha Delgado Peralta, Former Undersecretary for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Andrea Samaniego Sánchez, UNAM; Marcela, Activist; Lidia Florencio, Activist ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Internacional Feminista Mexico’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Martha Delgado Feminist Foreign Policy Index: A Qualitative Evaluation of Feminist Commitments, International Center for Research on Women

It took two years, after holdups from Turkey and Hungary, but Sweden has officially joined NATO. A move not everyone in Sweden is super psyched about. But this country’s history isn’t quite so peaceful as it might seem. So, can a peace-loving nation with a war-loving legacy keep the peace… when someone starts a war in its backyard? And how does feminist foreign policy really play out when defense is center stage? GUESTS: Dr. Patrik Höglund, historian and maritime archaeologist; Dr. Brian Palmer, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, Uppsala University; Dr. Annick Wibben, Professor of Gender, Peace & Security at the Swedish Defence University; Margot Wallström, former Foreign Minister of Sweden ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, New World Encyclopedia The Vasa Museum Vrak - Museum of Wrecks Speech by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the Conference on Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy, Federal Foreign Office of Germany Handbook on Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Government of Sweden Sweden ends weapons deal with Saudi Arabia, Associated Press

This season on Things That Go Boom, we’re on a mission to figure out this new thing spreading like wildfire across the world: feminist foreign policy. But to even begin to understand what it is and where it’s going, we had to start in the place where it failed. We’re calling this season, “The F Word.” And on this episode and the next, we take a deep look at the chasm that caused Sweden’s feminist foreign policy to break in two. And we ask: If this thing can’t succeed in Sweden, can it succeed at all? GUESTS: Dr. Brian Palmer, Senior Lecturer/Associate Professor, Uppsala University; Dr. Elin Bjarnegård, Professor, Uppsala University; Margot Wallström, former Foreign Minister of Sweden ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Antigone's Diary becomes a mural when youth in the suburb of Husby tell about their lives, Stockholm University Handbook on Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy, Government of Sweden Sweden’s New Government Abandons Feminist Foreign Policy, Human Rights Watch Jantelagen: Why Swedes won’t talk about wealth, BBC Special thanks to all of our guests, including our anonymous panel participants and Dr. Brian Palmer who went above and beyond to help our team understand and connect with folks in and around Stockholm.

With more than 50 elections set to take place around the world, 2024 will be a battle for democracy. It will also be a battle for peace. Because after doing things the same way for, pretty much ever, countries in Europe and Latin America have been experimenting with something called “feminist foreign policy,” and feeling the backlash. After all, there’s a lot in a word. But that word is really just the best way folks have come up with to describe this thing that some people think could begin to break up the boys club that dictates how we wage war, and peace. So, can it survive? That’s what we set out to find out on this season of Things That Go Boom.

Click Here is a podcast, hosted by Dina Temple-Raston, that tells true stories about the people making and breaking our digital world. Earlier this year, the FBI added Mikhail Pavlovich Matveev to their Most Wanted hacker list for his alleged role in a number of ransomware attacks against U.S. targets. In a rare interview shortly after the FBI announcement, he talked about being added to the list and what he plans to do as an encore.

What do swarms of autonomous drones, facial recognition, and nuclear test site monitoring have in common? They are all things we were still curious about as we wrapped up this internet and security season of Things That Go Boom. In this mailbag episode, experts weigh in to help answer some tough questions from you, our audience! GUESTS: Lauren Kahn, Senior Research Analyst at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology; Dr. Eleni Manis, Research Director at the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project; Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, Director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Hicks Discusses Replicator Initiative, US Department of Defense Ground Rules for the Age of AI Warfare, Foreign Affairs Madison Square Garden Uses Facial Recognition to Ban Its Owner’s Enemies, The New York Times Nuclear Test Sites Are Too Damn Busy, Arms Control Wonk The Reason We’re All Still Here, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis

On Sunday, the people of Poland cast their votes in an election that some have called a battle for the country’s soul. When we released this episode, we were still watching for the various parties to confirm the parliamentary coalitions that would lead to the final result. But experts tell us no matter who wins, one thing is likely to stay the same: Poland's hardline approach to refugees from its eastern border with Belarus. So today, we head to that border, where scientists are studying the impact of rising militarization and anti-refugee activity on the region. It's not always easy — because the Polish border guard isn't always keen to hand out the answers these scientists would love to add to their analysis. But Eliot Higgins, the founder of investigative website Bellingcat, says civilians have an edge these days when states won’t answer our questions. We have an unprecedented amount of information at our fingertips — and we're using it to challenge our governments around the world in all kinds of ways. A NOTE: We’re heartbroken by the sudden Hamas attack on Israelis and by the Israeli airstrikes and devastation in Gaza. Donate to Doctors Without Borders as it continues to offer impartial medical care to those most impacted by war. GUESTS: Katarzyna Nowak, University of Warsaw; Michał Żmihorski, Mammal Research Institute; Maciej Kisilowski, Central European University; Eliot Higgins, Bellingcat ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Threats to Conservation From National Security Interests, Katarzyna Nowak, Dinah Bear, Anwesha Dutta, Myles Traphagen, Michał Żmihorski, and Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Conservation Biology Recognizing Opposition Movements is Riskier Than It Seems, John Reid Wilcox, Inkstick Media Monitoring the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine, Jon Letman, Inkstick Media Can National Reconciliation Defeat Populism? Maciej Kisilowski, Anna Wojciuk. Project Syndicate. Thanks to Sławomir Makaruk for additional field production.

We’re about a year out from a presidential election, and former President Donald Trump is leading the Republican pack in spite of his supporters’ attack on the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The attack reflected the anger and violence that can be stoked by misinformation. But the issue of misinformation has become heavily politicized since the 2016 election and Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook data to target divisive messages at segments of the American population. As a result, researchers like Boston University’s Joan Donovan have found themselves subject to intense political and funding pressures. In this episode, we talk with Dr. Donovan about the parallels between Big Tobacco and Big Tech, and what the online misinformation landscape looks like heading into the 2024 elections. GUESTS: Dr. Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor, Boston University College of Communication, Division of Emerging Media Studies ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Harvard Misinformation Expert Joan Donovan Forced to Leave by Kennedy School Dean, Sources Say, The Harvard Crimson Here Are 4 Key Points From the Facebook Whistleblower’s Testimony on Capitol Hill, National Public Radio Factsheet 4: Types of Misinformation and Disinformation, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Social Media Misinformation and the Prevention of Political Instability and Mass Atrocities, The Stimson Center

When we say that we’re going to store something “in the cloud” it sounds like an ethereal place somewhere in the atmosphere. But the online cloud is generated by computer servers in data centers all over the world. Thousands of them. And AI is likely to ramp up demand. These data centers don’t employ a lot of people, and each one can hoover up the resources of a small town. So what happens when our need for more, better, faster cyber capability collides with our need for land, water, and power? GUESTS: Dr. Anne Pasek, Canada Research Chair in Media, Culture and the Environment, Trent University, Canada; Todd Murren, General Manager, Bluebird Network Data Centers; Kelly Gallaher, activist, A Better Mount Pleasant, WI; Mike Gitter, Water Utility Director, Racine, WI ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: The Cloud’s Heavy Toll on Natural Resources, Marketplace Tech A New Front in the Water Wars:  Your Internet Use, The Washington Post It’s Not Easy Going Green, Reveal Data Center Site Selection:  Why Midwestern US Is So Attractive to Hyperscalers, Data Center Knowledge Presentation on Microsoft’s Data Center Plan for Mount Pleasant, WI, Microsoft. The Risk of AI Power Grids, Radiolab The Pros and Cons of Underground Data Centers, Data Center Knowledge

Internet blackouts — when internet service is shut down in a country or region — have become much more common over the last decade. But who gets to decide when these disruptions are necessary? From thwarting political protests to preventing cheating on school exams, we’re diving into the who, what, and why of internet blackouts around the world. And we’re asking… what exactly are the rules here in the US? GUESTS: Mazin Riyadh, student at the University of Mosul; Dr. Patricia Vargas, Fellow for the Information Society Project and Fellow for the Internet Society; Zuha Siddiqui, Journalist ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Internet Shutdowns During Exams, Access Now Political Factors that Enable an Internet Kill Switch in Democratic and Non-Democratic Regimes, Yale Information Society Project Pakistan’s 4-day internet shutdown was the final straw for its tech workers, Rest of World

It’s one of our biggest problems in 2023, and it can feel distinctly human. But it's not. All sorts of animals deal with all sorts of misinformation every day, including some of our oldest ancestors — like the humble fish. This week on Things That Go Boom, we exit the human world entirely to see what we can learn. Special thanks this week to Christina Stella for pinch-hitting for our engineer, Robin Wise! GUESTS: Ashkaan Fahimipour, Florida Atlantic University; Jimmy Liao, The University of Florida ADDITIONAL READING: Wild Animals Suppress the Spread of Socially Transmitted Misinformation, Ashkaan K. Fahimipour, Michael A. Gil, Maria Rosa Celis, and Andrew M. Hein, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Navigating Turbulent Waters, Jimmy Liao, This I Believe

Greg is an artist whose clients include Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons. And much like a lot of the folks striking in Hollywood right now, he’s ticked off about AI. It’s a story we hear a lot these days: AI is having an impact on everything in our lives, and it’s killing creators’ livelihoods. What we don’t hear, though, is what that story has to do with the people seeking asylum in the United States every day. In this episode, we’ll show you how their lives can be forever changed by similar large language models to the ones used to copy Greg’s art. GUESTS: Greg Rutkowski, visual artist; Ariel Koren, founder and CEO, Respond Crisis Translation; Uma Mirkhail, Afghan languages team lead, Respond Crisis Translation; Andrew Deck, reporter, Rest of World THANKS ALSO TO: Leila Lorenzo, policy director, Respond Crisis Translation ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: AI Translation Is Jeopardizing Afghan Asylum Claims, Andrew Deck, Rest of World Seeking Asylum at the u.s.-Mexico Border? You’d Better Speak English or Spanish, Andrew Deck, Rest of World Learn about Respond Crisis Translation here. See more of Greg Rutkowski’s art here.

In the age of Oppenheimer, nuclear weapons didn’t have much to do with computers. And, for a long time, most nukes were running on 1970s-era floppy disk systems. But as technology has advanced the US — and all the other nuclear weapons states — have started putting military communications, early warning systems, and even control of nuclear missiles themselves online. So, in this episode, we ask, “Could our nuclear weapons systems… be hacked?” We talk to researchers, policy experts, a top UN official, and a hacker about how a nuclear cyber attack might go down. And what we can do to stop it. GUESTS: Matt Korda, Senior Research Fellow, Nuclear Information Project; Allison Pytlak, Program Lead of the Cyber Program at the Stimson Center; Page Stoutland, Consultant at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, Maddie Stone, Security Researcher at Google Project Zero; Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Flying Under The Radar: A Missile Accident In South Asia, Federation of American Scientists Addressing Cyber-Nuclear Security Threats, Nuclear Threat Initiative Glitch disrupts Air Force nuke communications, NBC News A 'Worst Nightmare' Cyberattack: The Untold Story Of The SolarWinds Hack, NPR Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - Preparatory Committee for the Eleventh Review Conference, UNODA The Failsafe Review, Nuclear Threat Initiative