Information War – Details, episodes & analysis

Will democracy survive another Trump presidency? How do we navigate the post-truth era?

In this episode, Liz Wahl speaks with Vlad Vexler, a Political Philosopher whose YouTube commentaries on Russian politics and Western democracy have garnered over 30 million views. Born in Soviet Moscow and emigrating to the West at age 9, Vlad brings a unique perspective shaped by his upbringing and a debilitating neurological condition he has lived with since his time as a research student at Oxford.

They explore America's drift toward authoritarianism, the radicalization of young men by the populist right, Russian media's response to Trump, and the rise of oligarchy in the United States.

A former member of Ukrainian Parliament and expert in energy security discusses how Russia is using food as a weapon. Ukraine grows enough food to feed 400 million people worldwide. Because of the war, crops won’t be planted and Russia has disrupted supply chains, possibly setting the conditions for a global food crisis.

Liz and Jessikka speak to former member of Ukrainian Parliament, Ukrainian energy expert and environmental activist Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska about the war’s significance in the global battle between democracies and autocracies.

A Ukrainian politician tells us about life in Kyiv, Ukraine as Russia threatens to invade.

Energy expert Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska, a former member of Ukrainian Parliament, tells us how citizens have worked to expose Russian lies in its information war, and the weaponization of energy in the region.

Since Russia’s 2014 invasion and annexation of territory in Ukraine, fake news and a complex information war has been key to its political and military strategy. Today, as Russian troops mobilize on Ukraine’s borders, it’s churning out false narratives that Americans on political extremes are falling for.

A digital intelligence analyst discusses the current effort to turn Americans towards Authoritarianism.

Dr. Bandy X. Lee, a forensic psychiatrist, Yale Law School professor and editor of New York Times bestseller The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Asses a President examines the shared psychosis and deep psychiatric pathology that has infected and radicalized millions of Americans.

Liz speaks to Timothy Wilson, Director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at the University of St. Andrews about the “incel” movement, the link between sex and far-right extremism, and why the rage of men that are unlucky at love is a political story.

Liz Wahl speaks to Political Scientist Paul DJupe about the role of religion in the embrace of conspiracy, authoritarianism and partisan admiration for the Taliban.

A former Republican that now tracks extremism in his former party warns that instead of a January 6th style attempted coup, former Trump officials are working on the grassroots level by encouraging anti-vaxxers and other conspiracy theorists to target local officials such as school board members.

Tucker Carlson goes abroad to praise authoritarians and a QAnon father kills his two kids. A conversation with a former Republican that left the party he says is now a cult.

Liz Wahl speaks to Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro about her battle to hold online trolls and disinformation superspreaders accountable in the courtroom. After years of investigating foreign propaganda campaigns targeting the U.S., we examine the evolution of an information war that pushed Americans to alternate realities and political extremism.