Best Russian Aggression Podcasts (2025)

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S8 Ep110: PREVIEW NATO Dilemma: Responding to Russian Aggression in Estonia (2028 Scenario) Jakub Grygiel Jakub Grygiel's book, If Russia Wins, explores a scenario years from now where Russia takes the ... 2:25

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1d ago2:25

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PREVIEW NATO Dilemma: Responding to Russian Aggression in Estonia (2028 Scenario) Jakub Grygiel Jakub Grygiel's book, If Russia Wins, explores a scenario years from now where Russia takes the city of Narva in Estonia after a frozen conflict in Ukraine. This action forces NATO to decide whether to invoke Article Five. Responding militarily is diffic…

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Lithuania's Foreign Minister: 'Western Restraint Invites Russian Aggression 22:18

5d ago22:18

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Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys joins Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly in Washington with a blunt warning: Western military restraint is encouraging, not deterring, the Kremlin. Budrys explains why Lithuania is raising defense spending to more than 5% of GDP by 2026—the highest in the democratic world—and pushing NATO toward offensive de…

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S8 Ep115: Dallas, Magpies, and Cockatoo Villains Jeremy Zakis Jeremy Zakis reports that his 11-year-old spoodle, Dallas, continues to be a friend to magpies and other birds, whose non-threatening demeanor ... 8:18

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Dallas, Magpies, and Cockatoo Villains Jeremy Zakis Jeremy Zakis reports that his 11-year-old spoodle, Dallas, continues to be a friend to magpies and other birds, whose non-threatening demeanor makes them comfortable. Meanwhile, the "villain" cockatoos remain nearby, having recently ripped nails out of a neighbor's roof. The neighbor repaired and …

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S8 Ep115: The Ashes Cricket Debate Jeremy Zakis Australia decisively won the first Ashes test by eight wickets against England in Perth. England's aggressive "Baz" batting strategy, aimed at hitting long ... 7:35

2h ago7:35

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The Ashes Cricket Debate Jeremy Zakis Australia decisively won the first Ashes test by eight wickets against England in Perth. England's aggressive "Baz" batting strategy, aimed at hitting long balls, spectacularly backfired on the quick, hot pitch, resulting in the quickest English team exit in Ashes history. Australia secured the win by shifting …

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S8 Ep115: DIY Snake Catching Classes Emerge Jeremy Zakis Due to a massive snake population boom and a forthcoming shortage of retiring professionals, a new industry offering DIY snake wrangling training ... 8:02

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DIY Snake Catching Classes Emerge Jeremy Zakis Due to a massive snake population boom and a forthcoming shortage of retiring professionals, a new industry offering DIY snake wrangling training has emerged in Australia. Courses, like one run by Dr. Christina Zenck in Queensland, teach people to safely handle dangerous species, such as brown snakes, …

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S8 Ep115: Cyclone Fenina Headed for Darwin Jeremy Zakis Cyclone Fenina, described as a one-in-twenty-year monster with 160 mph winds and a 200-mile width, is tracking toward Darwin, Northern Territory ... 9:05

2h ago9:05

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Cyclone Fenina Headed for Darwin Jeremy Zakis Cyclone Fenina, described as a one-in-twenty-year monster with 160 mph winds and a 200-mile width, is tracking toward Darwin, Northern Territory. Evacuation advice has been issued but not a mandatory order. After hitting the coast, it is expected to dissipate rapidly over the sparse interior. This weath…

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S8 Ep114: The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending ... 7:57

9h ago7:57

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The Fall of Communism: Top-Down Collapse and the Legacy of Violence in Modern Russia Professor Sean McMeekin The final segment discusses the collapse of communist regimes in 1989, contending that these regimes generally did not fall because of a rising from the bottom. Instead, the collapse was largely top-down, driven by the disappearance of Sovie…

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S8 Ep114: The conversation moves back to the USSR with Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 Secret Speech, which led to disruption in Eastern Europe. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) is analyzed as an act of traditional ... 11:37

9h ago11:37

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The conversation moves back to the USSR with Nikita Khrushchev's 1956 Secret Speech, which led to disruption in Eastern Europe. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) is analyzed as an act of traditional great power politics driven by the desire to prove Soviet superiority and overturn the strategic balance in intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 1979…

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S8 Ep114: The Nihilism of the Red Guards and Mao's International Maneuvers Professor Sean McMeekin 6:19

3h ago6:19

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The Nihilism of the Red Guards and Mao's International Maneuvers Professor Sean McMeekin This segment explores the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966) and the Red Guards, characterized by a "radical cult of youth" and a nihilistic side of communism involving the destruction of urbane, literate civilization and turning against education, bo…

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S8 Ep114: The focus shifts to Mao Zedong and Chinese communism, which was highly influenced by sharp anti-imperialism and xenophobia, blending the Marxist binary struggle with resentment of foreign exploitation ... 11:10

3h ago11:10

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The focus shifts to Mao Zedong and Chinese communism, which was highly influenced by sharp anti-imperialism and xenophobia, blending the Marxist binary struggle with resentment of foreign exploitation. After Stalin's death, Mao began to "experiment," resulting in the Great Leap Forward, which aimed to rapidly "catch up and surpass the West" by radi…

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S8 Ep114: The discussion turns to Joseph Stalin and his relationship with the legacy of Leninism. Stalin was a more "ideologically flexible" and savvy political operator than Trotsky, who was relentlessly ... 9:03

3h ago9:03

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The discussion turns to Joseph Stalin and his relationship with the legacy of Leninism. Stalin was a more "ideologically flexible" and savvy political operator than Trotsky, who was relentlessly focused on immediate and continuous revolution. While both Lenin and Trotsky employed political violence, the terror under Stalin was a different phenomeno…

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S8 Ep114: This segment addresses Vladimir Lenin's adoption of Marx's ideas, particularly the aspect of Marxism requiring political violence. Lenin's major innovation, often called "vanguardism," involved ... 10:25

9h ago10:25

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This segment addresses Vladimir Lenin's adoption of Marx's ideas, particularly the aspect of Marxism requiring political violence. Lenin's major innovation, often called "vanguardism," involved a top-down party of professional revolutionaries leading the workers. Inspired by Marx's reaction to the Franco-Prussian War, Lenin developed "revolutionary…

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S8 Ep114: Professor McMeekin states clearly that communism, specifically Marxist-Leninism, prospers only in conjunction with extreme violence and the disintegration of governance norms. The discussion ... 7:23

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Professor McMeekin states clearly that communism, specifically Marxist-Leninism, prospers only in conjunction with extreme violence and the disintegration of governance norms. The discussion covers the French revolutionary Babeuf, who advocated for the overturning of private property, centralized rationing, and "cleansing political violence" agains…

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S8 Ep114: Tiananmen Square, the Unmasking of Communism, and Karl Marx's Hegelian Roots Professor Sean McMeekin Professor Sean McMeekin's book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism ... 10:16

9h ago10:16

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Tiananmen Square, the Unmasking of Communism, and Karl Marx's Hegelian Roots Professor Sean McMeekin Professor Sean McMeekin's book, To Overthrow the World: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Communism, begins with the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989 as the "tearing off of the mask" of communism, revealing raw force and brutality. The discussion trace…

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S8 Ep114: Legacies in Modern Asia: China's Judge and Japan's Shrine Controversy Professor Gary Bass Chinese Judge May Ruo centered the suffering of Asian peoples but chose to return to Mainland China ... 6:43

10h ago6:43

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Legacies in Modern Asia: China's Judge and Japan's Shrine Controversy Professor Gary Bass Chinese Judge May Ruo centered the suffering of Asian peoples but chose to return to Mainland China, making him vulnerable as a "bourgeois" intellectual. Modern tensions persist regarding the Yasukuni Shrine, which has enshrined 14 Class A war criminals. Forme…

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S8 Ep114: Indian Judge Rabhabinod Pal wrote a massive dissent, arguing the court lacked legitimacy due to the dominance of imperial powers. Pal, who focused heavily on racism and colonialism, questioned ... 12:57

10h ago12:57

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Indian Judge Rabhabinod Pal wrote a massive dissent, arguing the court lacked legitimacy due to the dominance of imperial powers. Pal, who focused heavily on racism and colonialism, questioned the evidence of Japanese atrocities at Nanjing. During the 1948 executions, army defendants chanted "Banzai" (Long live the Emperor). The US Supreme Court up…

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S8 Ep114: The conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, was awkward given the rivalries within the splintered Japanese government. The legal foundation for Class A (aggressive war) relied on treaties ... 7:58

4h ago7:58

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The conspiracy charge, borrowed from Nuremberg, was awkward given the rivalries within the splintered Japanese government. The legal foundation for Class A (aggressive war) relied on treaties like the Kellogg-Briand Pact. This 1928 pact made aggressive war illegal but failed to establish individual criminal responsibility or penalties. All survivin…

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S8 Ep114: As the Cold War set in (1948), George Kennan urged MacArthur to halt progressive liberalization policies. Kennan argued that extensive democratization risked communist subversion, emphasizing ... 9:52

10h ago9:52

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As the Cold War set in (1948), George Kennan urged MacArthur to halt progressive liberalization policies. Kennan argued that extensive democratization risked communist subversion, emphasizing the need for a strong, stable, anti-communist Japan. This marked a major shift, recognizing Japan, rather than China, as the crucial strategic anchor for Amer…

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S8 Ep114: Truman's "crony-like" approach led to the appointment of Chief Prosecutor Joseph Keenan, who was incompetent and struggled with alcoholism. Keenan was far inferior to Nuremberg's Robert Jackson ... 6:20

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Truman's "crony-like" approach led to the appointment of Chief Prosecutor Joseph Keenan, who was incompetent and struggled with alcoholism. Keenan was far inferior to Nuremberg's Robert Jackson. The trial transcript reached 50,000 pages over two and a half years. Chief Judge Sir William Webb was overly cranky and seemed to favor the prosecution, al…

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S8 Ep114: The American occupation began amidst vast ruins; Japanese officials burned evidence regarding atrocities like Nanjing. Class A crimes focused on aggressive war, targeting senior leaders like ... 13:13

4h ago13:13

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The American occupation began amidst vast ruins; Japanese officials burned evidence regarding atrocities like Nanjing. Class A crimes focused on aggressive war, targeting senior leaders like Tojo Hideki. Crucial prosecution evidence was found in the detailed diary of the emperor's advisor, Kido Koichi. The US Supreme Court ruled against jurisdictio…

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S8 Ep114: Japan's nominal unconditional surrender was conditional on retaining Emperor Hirohito, who was deemed helpful for managing troops and legitimizing the US occupation. General MacArthur, haunted ... 7:19

4h ago7:19

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Japan's nominal unconditional surrender was conditional on retaining Emperor Hirohito, who was deemed helpful for managing troops and legitimizing the US occupation. General MacArthur, haunted by the Bataan Death March, conducted immediate, swift trials via military commissions against two former enemies. MacArthur initially planned a short, six-mo…

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S8 Ep114: Truman Takes Command: Unconditional Surrender and the Brutality of Final Battles Professor Gary Bass Harry Truman assumed the presidency unprepared for the war in Asia or foreign policy. He ... 10:31

4h ago10:31

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Truman Takes Command: Unconditional Surrender and the Brutality of Final Battles Professor Gary Bass Harry Truman assumed the presidency unprepared for the war in Asia or foreign policy. He inherited the demand for unconditional surrender. The immense casualties at Okinawa terrified him about a ground invasion. Before the atomic bombs, US firebombi…

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S8 Ep113: Rommel was increasingly critical of Hitler's flawed personality and his callousness regarding troop lives, ultimately dying because he was a respected military professional who commanded the ... 5:54

4h ago5:54

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Rommel was increasingly critical of Hitler's flawed personality and his callousness regarding troop lives, ultimately dying because he was a respected military professional who commanded the loyalty of the Wehrmacht. Patton repeatedly displayed abusive behavior toward subordinates, physically and verbally, dating back to WWI. While this behavior wa…

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S8 Ep113: Montgomery, commanding ground forces for D-Day, gave a "scintillating" and persuasive briefing on his revised Overlord plan. He set objectives in Normandy, like capturing Caen, that were perhaps ... 14:44

10h ago14:44

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Montgomery, commanding ground forces for D-Day, gave a "scintillating" and persuasive briefing on his revised Overlord plan. He set objectives in Normandy, like capturing Caen, that were perhaps beyond the means of his exhausted British troops, worsening his relationship with American generals. Montgomery's Operation Market Garden failed to achieve…

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S8 Ep113: Bernard Montgomery, supported by his patron Alan Brooke, took command of the demoralized Eighth Army in August 1942. He immediately planned an attack at El Alamein, believing the best defense ... 7:45

4h ago7:45

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Bernard Montgomery, supported by his patron Alan Brooke, took command of the demoralized Eighth Army in August 1942. He immediately planned an attack at El Alamein, believing the best defense was attack. Rommel was suffering from chronic health issues, including high blood pressure and stomach problems, stemming from exhaustion and poor self-care d…

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S8 Ep113: Pre-WWII US exercises, influenced by Patton and his peers, successfully showcased armored warfare. Patton was eccentric, boring audiences with detailed lectures on Roman generals and claiming ... 11:00

4h ago11:00

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Pre-WWII US exercises, influenced by Patton and his peers, successfully showcased armored warfare. Patton was eccentric, boring audiences with detailed lectures on Roman generals and claiming to be the reincarnation of Napoleon, which disconnected him from his troops. Montgomery, leading the Third Division, trained his men endlessly and formed a co…