#173 John Gentry on Active Measures, Reflexive Control, and Useful Idiots
Release Date: 11/07/2023
#223 Paul Buvarp on the Demand-side of Disinformation
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...
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#222 JD Maddox on Emerging IO Opportunities
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, 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...
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#221 Carrick Longley on Influence Automation
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, 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...
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#220 Tom Kent on US International Broadcasting and Soft Power
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, 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...
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#219 Dr. Josh Segal on Are We Losing the War? Lethality, Deterrence, and Information
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, 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...
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#218 Chris Greenway on BBC Monitoring
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, 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...
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#217 Janne Riihelainen on the EU Influence Operations Course
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, 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...
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#216 John Cappello on the Balkan Security Network
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, 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...
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#215 Brian Hamel on the Special Operations Forces, Cyberspace, and Space Triad
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, 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...
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#214 Jon Roginski and Stephanie Jaros on Insider Threat and Workforce Protection
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, 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, Dr. John Gentry discusses long-term influence strategies employed by the former Soviet Union, which remain ongoing today. The conversation covers a wide range of related topics including reflexive control, useful idiots, institutions, diaspora, plus more.
Research Question: John Gentry suggests that an interested student examine vulnerabilities that attackers identify, what causes them, and how to ameliorate them. For starters, he describes three general categories: ideology, gullibility, and interests (for example: financial).
Resources:
- Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- Influence Operations of China, Russia, and the Soviet Union: A Comparison – Nipp
- John A. Gentry, Information Operations against the United States: Defensive Actions are Needed, No. 556, June 12, 2023 – Nipp
- Russia and China expected to renew their espionage vigour by Dries Putter and Sascha-Dominik Bachmann
- Russia and China Expected to Renew their Espionage Vigour
- The Red Atlas: How the Soviet Union Secretly Mapped the World by John Davies, Alexander Kent, and James Risen
- Neutering the CIA: Why US Intelligence versus Trump Has Long-Term Consequences by John Gentry
Link to full show notes and resources
Guest Bio:
Dr. John A. Gentry is an adjunct professor with the School of Defense and Strategic Studies, Missouri State University. He writes regularly on intelligence topics and security issues more generally. Dr. Gentry has an economics background and received a Ph.D. in political science from the George Washington University. His most recently published book is Neutering the CIA: Why US Intelligence versus Trump Has Long-Term Consequences.
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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