The Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Paul Buvarp contrasts disinformation as a human demand-side problem with the typical supply-side perspective. Additional discussion threads include thinking about online and real-world environments as differently as forests and tropical environments are different, how young people...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, JD Maddox discusses new influence opportunities borne out of necessity. JD suggests that listeners consider radical-sounding concepts for, such as letters of marque, indemnification, task-based organization, public-private operations, and new authorities as viable influence pathways...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Carrick Longley discusses Large Language Models (LLM) and influence. Key topics include: LLM 101 Usage and changes in prompt engineering Improving influence resonance and speed The recent DeepSeek model controversy Bias in foundational models and Software development Recording...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Tom Kent returns to the Cognitive Crucible to share his concerns related to the United States recent withdrawal from international broadcasting. Topics include: US soft power, abandoning pro-democracy initiatives, impact on international relations, international broadcasting...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Dr. Josh “Bugsy” Segal asks the provocative question: Are We Losing the War? Josh discusses the importance of understanding the impact of the nation's investments in soft power assets and programs, emphasizing the need for a strategic approach and a broader national security...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Chris Greenway discusses the origins and evolution of BBC Monitoring, a service that gathers news from various sources. BBC Monitoring began in the 1930s as a response to the BBC's external broadcasts, with the initial focus on Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. The British...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Janne Riihelainen discusses the Information Operations Course funded by the European Union, which aims to enhance security by educating individuals on their role in providing security. Janne also expressed concern regarding the current cultural and political climate and risks...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, John Cappello emphasized the importance of collaboration and sharing experiences in the Western United States to combat disinformation and influence social dynamics. He suggested several research areas, including the use of disinformation in the Western Balkans, the impact of...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Brian Hamel discusses his 2023 Army Command and General Staff Theses entitled: . Brian delves into the complex and evolving landscape of modern warfare, focusing on the intersection of Special Operations Forces (SOF), cyberspace, and space. The "Triad" emphasizes the synergistic...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible
The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Jon Roginski and Stephanie Jaros discuss the strategic landscape for insider threat and workforce protection programs, emphasizing the need for a more holistic approach that considers both technical and human factors. They also explored the importance of balancing the use of...
info_outlineThe Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.
During this episode, Wing Commander Shane Rutherford discusses his Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS) thesis entitled: Back to the Future: Political Paralysis Cost Britain America, What Will it Cost the United States? His thesis received the Paul Cerjan distinguished writing award from the National Defense University.
The year is 1763 and despite presiding over a vast commercial and political empire, Britain’s. parliament has failed to embrace the buds of what will eventually become understood as collective responsibility. Instead, the British government is characterized by paralysis and polarization. Worse, the government has been exposed by separate internal factions that are infatuated with economic speculation, personal power, wealth, status, and estate.
Consequently, the common ground could only be found in a common enemy, leading to strategic mistakes, such as the mistreatment of allies and partners that would prove catastrophic at Yorktown some two decades later. The Colonies are mistaken as a periphery issue, debated infrequently in the Houses of Parliament, and in 1765, it elects to pass a taxation law without deliberation, known as the Stamp Duty Act, that lights the tinderbox of rebellion in America. Concurrently struggling with the application of a constitutional monarchy, a deteriorating political situation set the stage for the abuse of executive power. The conditions were set for catastrophic strategic failure.
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Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
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Thesis: Back to the Future: Political Paralysis Cost Britain America, What Will it Cost the United States? By Shane Rutherford
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio: Wing Commander Rutherford is prior-enlisted, joining the Royal Air Force in November 1999, and later commissioned in January 2007. His command assignments include Director of Operations and Executive Officer, No 39 Squadron, and Deputy Head of Strategy Division at the Combined Air Operations Center, Shaw AFB. In March 2021 he led the execution of Red Flag 21-3 as Chief of Combat Operations. He is a former Tornado GR4 WSO and MQ-9 Reaper operator. He flew combat missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. His staff assignments include Programme Management positions in rapid capability and traditional procurement, specializing in RPAS. Wing Commander Rutherford is a Master of Business Administration and Master of Science in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy. He recently graduated from the U.S. Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School (JAWS).
About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.
For more information, please contact us at [email protected].
Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.
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