Warax and Natasha

Dylan Park is an Air Force veteran, author, television writer, director — and the dude who uncovered one of the most batshit insane stolen valor stories you will ever come across. We’ve seen some shit. But even we weren’t prepared for THIS shit.

He's a hard-hitting political journalist, the author of two upcoming books and he.... really knows how to bend. On this episode, Terrell J. Starr discusses the circus trip on mescaline that is the presidential race — we specifically focus on the mystique of Marianne Williamson — his upcoming two-book project, and his embrace of yoga after coming to terms with his difficult childhood. If you're a big, tough dude who's seeking inspiration on how to get to a better place, Terrell's Instagram just might be for you: https://www.instagram.com/terrelljstarr/ Non-big, non-tough dudes should also take a look. Non-dudes too. Really, this applies to everyone

The Donner Party was a group of optimistic American pioneers who trusted a charlatan — and paid dearly for it. In the Trump era, their story could not be more relevant. This is why, on our latest episode, Warax and Natasha sit down to talk with Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger, a pulse-pounding reimagining of the Donne Party's fate. Among other things, we discuss how the horror genre is important to our both daily lives and our politics — and why you shouldn't listen to snobs who tell you otherwise. We also discuss and recommend some of our favorite works of horror, so make sure to listen to the very end!

Our guest today is the brilliant and glamorous Nina Jankowicz — Russian disinformation expert, Kennan Institute Global Fellow, writer, and karaoke goddess. We will be discussing exciting new political developments in Ukraine and how they relate back to the dumpster fire of the Trump administration.

It was a tragic tale of two soldiers who were lovers. One was killed in Iraq. The other was heartbroken. Except... Was it all made up for attention? Either way, it was told without any regard for the Gold Star family left behind. Stolen valor hunter Red Devil, a veteran perhaps rightly described as "the scariest man on the internet," joins us to talk about this bizarre Twitter scandal, the general controversy over stolen valor and stolen valor hunting, the slippery nature of truth in the social media, and more.

The President wants to send more troops to the southern border. This episode is dedicated to untangling what this alleged “border crisis” really means - and how we should respond to it. Featuring intrepid journalist and USMC veteran James LaPorta.

Why does stolen valor matter? The issue is more complex than it looks. Joining us to talk about it it — and other exciting topics, such as our society's odd stance on lying and how the military-civilian divide ultimately helps grifters in our society — is Derek Gannon, former conflict journalist, veteran of U.S. Army Special Forces, badass researcher on conflicts in the Middle East, West Africa, North Africa, and Horn of Africa terror networks.

Joe Kassabian, veteran, author of “The Hooligans of Kandahar,” and noted Twitter personality stops by the podcast to discuss Afghanistan, what it’s like to be deployed, how our political leaders are failing us, and all of the bullshit left-leaning veterans are forced to put up with (including from people on the left)

Investigative journalist James Laporta joins us to discuss government claims regarding the migrant caravan and the deployment of the US military to confront them. Later, James discusses challenges he faced while transitioning to journalism from his life as a US Marine infantryman. Join us to hear how he overcame those challenges on his way to becoming one of our nation's best national security journalists.

What's the deal with Bellingcat? Why is open source investigation in the news so much as of late? Now that Natasha has joined the Bellingcat staff as editor, she has decided to demystify her mysterious colleagues at this open source investigation platform, famous for everything from its work on what really happened to flight MH17 to helping unmask a couple of Russian operatives who were recently in Salisbury to murder some people. Joining us on this episode is Natasha's colleague, award-winning investigative journalist and famed hitchhiker-across-the-galaxy Christiaan Triebert. We discuss everything from claims that Bellingcat "is a front for Western intelligence" (and why that's total BS) to how nerding out on the internet can help catch a spy.

A woman's place is in the military, and if you disagree with that, our guest former US Navy intelligence officer Andrea N. Goldstein is here to set you straight.

The sky is falling! ... Literally so. Martin Pfeiffer is an academic, a cool Twitter personality (check him out: @NuclearAnthro), and a firm believer in educating people on the nuclear threat using cats. On this episode, we discuss our impeding nuclear doom - while having a lot of fun, actually. Nothing quite like a chat with an anthropologist who specializes in our beliefs about nuclear weapons to remind you that life is short.

Are we living in the future? ARE RUSSIAN ROBOTS GOING TO KILL US ALL? Samuel Bendett of the American Foreign Policy Council is here to say that yes, we are and no, probably not, as far as those two questions are concerned. We discuss military artificial intelligence, Russia, China, the future of war, and our favorite dystopias. Natasha channels her inner Sarah Connor, while Warax and Samuel geek out over tanks.

Making Afghanistan fabulous again: Queer artist Shamayel Shalizi started designing everything from "halal" booty shorts to rings shaped like AK-47s in Kabul. Now she's in California and has a lot to say about everything - be it Warax's shore leave antics (oh my) or sympathy for the Soviets. Tune in for a strange and hilarious conversation about war, intersectionalism, being queer in places that aren't LGBTQ friendly, and boobs (because where would we be without boobs?).

Navy vet turned porn producer Brick Yates drops in to talk porn, the military, the military in porn & some of the actual dangers of getting off to videos online. Warax shares his van kidnapping fantasy. Natasha reveals the shocking scientific truth about our slutty ancestors.