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, Hatteras Hoops discusses business and national security considerations related to Human Domain Security. Current concepts around insider threat, insider risk, insider trust, insider fraud, critical people protection, personnel security and counterintelligence are broadly considered Human Domain Security. Evolved from over a millennia of documented models, practice, and theory, the terms insider threat and insider risk often have negative connotations around intention, despite the definitions being clearly inclusive of both intentional and unintentional insiders. Human Domain Security seeks to disarm and expand its value to more sensitive parts of the world, and through a more positive application.

Recording Date: 6 June 2024

Research Questions: Hatteras Hoops suggests interested students examine:

1. What empirical evidence exists across administrative, physical, and technical controls that proves changes in behavior can serve as retrospective indicators of human risk?
2. Based on history and technical advancements, what specific emerging human-centric disruptions should we expect in the next 10 years? How will it affect trust across teams and organizations? These are important topics because I don’t think we’ve fully thought through the extent of its impact from society to person

Resources:

Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #123 Jonathan Roginski on Insider Threats

Other resources:

• Quote from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago: “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts. This line shifts. Inside us, it oscillates with the years. And even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained”
• Human-Domain Security Evolution by Hatteras Hoops
• Cyber Crime: Insider Fraud & Extortion — The Sharp Case by Hatteras Hoops
• Global Challenges in Securing the Human-Domain, Part I:  by Hatteras Hoops
• MITRE Insider Threat TTP Knowledge Base
• Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking
• Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman and Greg Mckeown
• Hatteras Hoops Medium writings
• Hatteras Hoops LinkedIn

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Hatteras Hoops is a Senior Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton supporting the Commercial vertical in the European market based out of the Hague, Netherlands. He has over twenty years’ experience spanning defense, national security, and commercial cybersecurity missions. His current focus transcends strategic consulting, governance, and human-centric security solutions. He holds a Master of Engineering degree in Cybersecurity from the George Washington University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 discusses his ongoing concerns about the “American Maginot Line.” He is concerned that the United States is insufficiently and inappropriately funding the cognitive war that is bearing down on us. Moreover, the United States domestic political system hampers progress. Our gallop across the information landscape includes political hot button topics, sea stories, open source intelligence, and also some bright spots.

Recording Date: 29 May 2024

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
  • #187 Randy Rosin on Reflexive Control
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Deft9 Solutions
• Colour Revolution
• EU vs Disinformation
• Disinformation Governance Board
• Disinfo 2024 Conference
• Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui
• Has China Won?: The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy by Kishore Mahbubani
• Disinformation: The Nature of Facts and Lies in the Post-Truth Era by Donald A. Barclay

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Joshua “Bugsy” Segal is the Co-Founder & Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at Deft9 Solutions. A veteran of over 30 years in national security policy, strategy and operations, and intelligence, both military and civilian, Dr. Segal is an internationally recognized expert in arms control, countering foreign malign influence, and counter-WMD. Dr. Segal spent over a decade as a member of U.S. multilateral arms control delegations in Geneva, Vienna, and The Hague, including the negotiations to finalize the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention and establish the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. After leaving the federal government and then retiring from the military, Dr. Segal serves as an advisor to senior DoD leaders on operations in the information environment and teaches OSINT tradecraft.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Air Force Captain Jose Davis discusses his paper, which is entitled: "Leveraging AI for Operations in the Information Environment: 3 Demonstrations in Disinformation, Social Media, and Entropy." The paper focuses on the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the realm of Operations in the Information Environment (OIE), particularly for the Air Force. The paper presents three case studies demonstrating how AI can positively impact OIE and advocates for direct AI research in this area. Additionally, he’ll recap an information campaign that US Air Forces in Europe conducted to assure Baltic NATO Allies, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Recording Date: 24 April 2024

Research Questions: Jose Davis suggests as interested student examine: 

1. What other common metrics can be developed or researched for assessing the Information Environment, tailor-made for the national security needs and useful for IO and PA operators?
2. What are the practical outcomes in the Information Environment (a complex system) when entropy is influenced, pushed either higher or lower? e.g. Hypothetically, when high entropy is present, humans deploy simplifying heuristics, so this should help improve Key Leader Engagements’ (KLE) timing and improve KLE dossiers. Or with PA/IO, high entropy hypothetically may demand a simplified messaging campaign.
3. In what other ways can AI be leveraged to combat nefarious AI use for disinformation?
4. The ideas of watermarking or safeguarding content from manipulation from nefarious Generative AI are a form of  immunization, advancing Inoculation Theory as a whole. What other preventative measures along the lines of immunization can be taken to combat disinformation?

Resources:

• • Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
    • #46 Pat Ryder on Public Affairs and Strategic Communications
    • #174 Kara Masick on Assessment Insights from Program Evaluation
    • #183 Julie Janson on Air Force IO Talent and Strategy
  • Executive Order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence
  • Universal adversarial perturbations by Seyed-Mohsen Moosavi-Dezfooli, Alhussein Fawzi, Omar Fawzi, and Pascal Frossard
  • Pre-trained Adversarial Perturbations by Yuanhao Ban, Yinpeng Dong

• Automating OIE with Large Language Models by Cpt Alexander Sferrella, Cpt Joseph Conger, and Maj Kara Masick
• Claude Shannon
• AI 2041: Ten Visions for Our Future by former Google technologist Kai-Fu Lee and science fiction writer Chen Qiufan. I’m a huge advocate of using story to educate. For those new to AI or wanting to understand AI’s societal impact, this is my go-to book. Written in a series of fictional short stories with in-depth essay analysis at the end of each, the book teaches AI while making it entertaining.
• A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman. I think every Information Warfare professional should know who Claude Shannon is and read his “magna carta” of the Information Age, The  Mathematical Theory of Communication.  My intellectual hero, this exceptional biography brings the man to life — a polymath, a tinkerer, an innovator.
• “Attention is all You Need” by Ashish Vaswani et al. This is the seminal paper advancing the Transformer architecture which made Generative AI like ChatGPT possible. Liken this paper to Einstein’s book on Relativity or Newton’s Principia.
• Information Theory: Structural Models for Qualitative Data by Klaus Krippendorff

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Jose is a Public Affairs Officer for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. He has over 14 years of experience in integrated communications, both in the public and private sectors. He is accredited in Public Relations and Military Communications through the Public Relations Society of America. In his current role, he ensures the strategic communication of accurate and timely information about the command’s 104-country area of operations. He played a pivotal role at NATO in combating misinformation before, during and after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. He just finished a rigorous six-month fellowship at a DoD-sponsored AI Accelerator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gaining exposure to some of the brightest and best minds in AI and Machine Learning technologies. As part of his fellowship, Jose was required to apply his newly acquired AI foundational knowledge to produce a research paper addressing a problem or issue facing the U.S. Air Force. The paper is slated for publication in the U.S. Air Force’s Air and Space Operations Review journal.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, we learn about the US Army’s Command and General Staff College Information Advantage Scholar Program. Two officers from the 2024 IA Scholar cohort–Army MAJs Vincent Michel and Josh Keller–present their research and also discuss their overall experience. Additionally, Cognitive Crucible listeners are invited to the Command and General Staff College Information Advantage Symposium on 22 May 2024.

Recorded on: May 2, 2024

Research Questions: 

• MAJ Michel suggests as interested student examine: 
  • What are the necessary steps a unit must take to isolate a prevalent actor within the narrative space?
  • Are there additional factors that influence the narrative space and consolidation of gains?
• MAJ Keller suggests as interested student examine: 
  • Primary Research Question: How can Collateral Damage Estimation (CDE) adapt to accommodate nonlethal effects against satellite communication architecture?
  • Secondary Research Question: How can CJCSI 3370.01 Target Development Standards accommodate entity-level target development for satellite communication architecture on orbit? What are the resulting impacts to intelligence and targeting professionals?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #166 John Agnello on Information Advantage
• YouTube Channel: Information Advantage Scholars USArmyCGSC
• Command and General Staff College Information Advantage Symposium – May 22 | Command and General Staff College Foundation, Inc. (cgscfoundation.org)
• Army Space Vision Supporting Multi-domain Operations
• TE Lawrence
• Army Doctrine Publication 3-13, Information Advantage
• Dangerous Narratives: Warfare, Strategy, Stagecraft by Maan, Clark, Steed, Drohan, Nesic, Holshek, Straub, Ronfeldt, and Arquilla
• The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why by Richard E. Nisbett
• The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power by Jacob Helberg
• The Battle Beyond: Fighting and Winning the Coming War in Space by Paul Szymanski and Jerry Drew
• Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library (CARL) Digital Library

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bios:

Guest #1: Vincent Michel, U.S. ArmyInformation Operations,  Military Intelligence, Armor Thesis: The Other Side to the Story: Consolidation of Gains and the Narrative Space Education:2018, M.A. Criminal Justice, American Military University 2013, B.A. Criminology, University of New Mexico

Past Assignments:Mission Command IO Project Officer, MXCDID, Futures Concept Center, AFC, Ft. Leavenworth, KS Recruiting Company Commander, Evansville, IN Future Assignment: IO Team Leader, 11th Cyber BN

Guest #2: Joshua Keller, U.S. ArmySpace Operations, Field Artillery Thesis:ADAPTING TARGETING POLICY FOR NONLETHAL EFFECTS ON SATELLITE COMMUNICATION ARCHITECTUREEducation: 2012, M.A. Quantitative and Psychological Foundations, University of Iowa 2010, B.A. Psychology, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Past Assignments:Deputy OIC, SPCT #3, 1st Space BN, Ft Carson, CO Assistant Ops Officer, 1st Space BDE, Ft Carson, CO Future Assignment: 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) Space Operations Officer, Ft Liberty, NC

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Todd Wilcox discusses national security considerations related to publicly available information (PAI), open source intelligence (OSINT), and related regulations.

Research Question: Todd Wilcox suggests a valuable topic for academic research would be the application of regulatory framework around the collection, storage, manipulation and application of personally identifiable information (PII). With the comprehensive discretion of current regulatory requirements imposed by CCPA in US and GDPR in the EU, compare and contrast these two regulations and provide a proposed standard that could be used to build federal legislation to protect the privacy of digital device users in the US.

Recording Date: 16 April 2024

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Patriot Defense Group
• A History of Protecting Freedom Where Law and Technology Collide
• Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Todd Wilcox is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Patriot Defense. He founded Patriot Defense in 2005 with the purpose of Serving those who defend America. Todd is a decorated combat veteran, former CIA case officer, and a successful entrepreneur and business leader.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Joanna Siekiera discusses how China is integrating itself into global affairs from a lawfare perspective. 

Research Question: Joanna Siekiera suggests an interested student ask: “Why”? Students should always start research from this question as it will help you understand who is benefiting from certain actions and omissions. In which domain are they benefiting? What are the true interests? And who is paying for all of that? We must stay pragmatic in order to see the true, not anticipatory research outcomes.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #150 Jill Goldenziel on China and the Philippines
  • #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power
• Seafloor Mining
• Dragons in the West: Chinese Communist Party Threats in Europe and the Imperative of a Strategic Pivot by Joanna Siekiera
• What We Know About Deep-sea Mining — And What We Don’t
• "21st Century as the Pacific Century: Culture and Security of Oceania States in Great Power Competition" by Joanna Siekiera
• "Security in Indo-Pacific and development of Oceania: Commonwealth’s presence in the region" by Joanna Siekiera

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Joanna Siekiera is an international lawyer, legal advisor, Doctor of Public Policy. She is a fellow at the Marine Corps University and NATO Maritime Security Center of Excellence in Türkiye. Her areas of expertise are law of armed conflict (lawfare, legal culture in armed conflict, NATO legal framework) and the Indo-Pacific region, and Pacific law.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Randy Rosin returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss the “trippy” topic of reflexive control. Soviet influence practitioners favor an indirect approach. Reflexive control is the process of conveying the basis of decision-making from one person to another.

Research Question: Randy Rosin suggests an interested student examine: How can reflexive processes be applied in the creation of strategies to obtain desirable results in scenarios of either conflict, competition, or cooperation?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #7 Randy Rosin on Russia and Applied Cybernetics
  • #100 Rand Waltzman on the Metaverse and Immersive Virtual Reality
• Propaganda Universe: Propaganda has become the dominant form of public discourse in the information age. Propaganda Universe is dedicated to helping citizens, journalists, scholars, and policy-makers understand the nature of propaganda, disinformation, and information warfare in order to identify and resist manipulative communication. Preserving our ability to think independently, both as individuals and as a society, is crucial to being able to decide what is in our own best interests and not those of others.
• Norbert Wiener
• Heinz von Foerster
• Dialectical Materialism
• Digital Forensics Research Lab
• Diane Chotikul, The Soviet Theory of Reflexive Control in Historical and Psychocultural Perspective: A Preliminary Study, July 1986.
• Russian Operations in Georgia: Lessons Identified Versus Lessons Learned by Keir Giles
• Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President: What We Don't, Can't, and Do Know by Kathleen Hall Jamieson
• Structure of Awareness: Symbolic Language Human Reflection by Vladimir A. Lefebvre

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Dr. Randy Rosin is a faculty member of the National Intelligence University in Bethesda, Maryland who teaches courses in propaganda, foreign information and cyber strategy, cyber threat intelligence, denial and deception, and leadership. He is a 32-year active-duty Army veteran who has served in combat arms, psychological operations, information operations, as a middle eastern foreign area officer, and in human intelligence operations. Notably serving as the information operations chief in Iraq, at US Central Command, and as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché in Yemen.  His research interests are on the confluence of technology and manipulative communication with a particular focus on the development of information-based theoretical frameworks.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Vygotsky was a seminal figure in Soviet Psychology. His multi-staged—social learning theory of cognitive development—has influenced generations of cognitive psychologists.

Our discussion today focuses on Vygotsky’s frequently overlooked and generally under-estimated concept of inner speech: or the use of internal words (and their idiosyncratic meanings) that differ in structure & function from the same words used in external speech—which are developed for public consumption.

For Vygotsky, inner speech serves as an important catalyst and a dynamic process of adaptation linking  the “self” to society—not only for acquiring social or conventional word meaning in external language, but for eventually establishing private or personal word meaning—that fosters one’s self identity. For Vygotsky, inner speech is the primary tool for mentation—the ability to think conceptually through language.

Vygotsky’s internal language and inner speech mediate the differences between public and private thought. In this sense, inner speech is an indispensable, private tool of comprehension: a clandestine, personal shorthand that fires memory, evokes macro-concepts represented by word meanings, and serves as the catalyst for individual identity—through the continually developing concept of self.

Research Question: Rod Korda suggests an interested student investigate:  a participatory way of developing a framework to measure word meaning–especially in a cultural context. If successful, this kind of tool can become an input into measuring messaging effectiveness.

Resources:

• YouTube Presentation

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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.

Our conversation covers Two-Six’s analysis methodology for creating their biannual Media Manipulation Monitor (M3) report which chronicles China’s efforts and presents strategies for achieving information advantage.

Research Question: Becky and Hannah suggest an interested student examine how China’s influence online compares to everything else that’s influencing other people online. Because there’s a lot of evidence that China is doing a lot online to influence people’s minds, but not a lot of evidence that China has been successful except in a few cases and in a few countries.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #144 Nick Eberstadt on Demographics
• Chinese Politics in the Xi Jinping Era: Reassessing Collective Leadership by Cheng Li
• Middle Class Shanghai: Reshaping U.S.-China Engagement by Cheng Li 
• Censored: Distraction and Diversion Inside China's Great Firewall by Dr. Molly Roberts
• Intelligence Matters podcast: Chinese Cognitive Warfare

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Becky Fair is the Vice President of Information Advantage at Two Six Technologies. She spent a decade as a CIA officer in a variety of roles and brings a deep understanding of the national security community mission sets. She was the CEO and co-founder of Thresher, a software company acquired by Two Six Technologies, that uses unique data sets and machine learning to help decision makers in government and industry detect and measure information operations. She started her career working in Russia at the International Finance Corporation, a division of the World Bank.

Hannah Lincoln is the Analysis Lead for the M3 team at Two Six Technologies. She spent a decade in China during its late economic boom years (2008-2018), where she worked in consumer research for a variety of multinational companies. Research on Chinese consumers was a natural segue into China intelligence analysis. Ms. Lincoln moved back to the US in 2018 and switched to OSINT analysis with a focus on Chinese censorship, propaganda, and disinformation at Thresher, now part of Two Six Technologies. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Curtis Fox discusses his new book: Hybrid Warfare: The Russian Approach to Strategic Competition and Conventional Military Conflict. Curtis Fox utilizes a series of case studies on historic Russian operations to demonstrate that while Russia’s methods appear to be cloaked in a shadow of mystique, their strategic realities make them consistent and predictable.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #144 Nick Eberstadt on Demographics
• Hybrid Warfare: The Russian Approach to Strategic Competition and Conventional Military Conflict
• About Curtis Fox
• Hybrid Warfare: The Russian Approach to Strategic Competition and Conventional Military Conflict by Curtis Fox
• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared M. Diamond

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio:

Curtis Lee Fox is the son of a West Texas cotton farmer and a Kentucky kindergarten teacher. He was raised in Texas and Virginia, and studied Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, where he lived next door to his future wife Katie.

They eventually met after Curtis volunteered to help Katie’s roommates move furniture. Despite being accepted to the graduate engineering program at Virginia Tech under a research assistant-ship, Curtis chose to enlist in the Army. He was selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course, learned to speak Russian, won his Green Beret, and served in the 10th Special Forces Group.

After completing his time in service, Curtis studied at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, earning a Master’s of Business Administration. Curtis and Katie married in 2017, and they now reside in Northern Virginia where Curtis works as a systems engineer and project manager. They celebrated the birth of their daughter Ginny in 2021.

As believing Christians, Curtis and Katie are involved in their Church.

“We change the world by changing ourselves. It’s only by letting go of grand-scale visions, the need to re-make the world ‘as it should be’, and by focusing on the development of our own consciences that our families and communities begin to transcend the meager existence that is man’s inheritance on Earth. The alleviation from unnecessary suffering, or perhaps from the habits of mind that produce suffering, is a direct result of the redemption of each individual human heart.”

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Julie Janson discusses the founding of the US Air Force’s Information Operations (IO) career field, professional military education, sending a message, and the need to keep pace with the ever-evolving information environment. Julie observes that IO and PSYOP practitioners are continually evolving engagement tactics; accordingly, large, cumbersome acquisition programs tend to be too slow and ineffective for today’s fast-paced fight. Julie also encourages IO and PSYOP practitioners to think outside the box and consider tradecraft from non-traditional sources–like magicians. 

Research Question: Julie suggests an interested student examine: How might we develop tailored and actionable information strategies among the services while remaining integrated to account for a global information environment?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #22 James Mulvenon on Our Peer Adversaries
  • #174 Kara Masick on Assessment Insights from Program Evaluation
• US air force says fighter jet test is ‘coincidence’ after Trump’s Iran threat
• Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP)
• [3-min Youtube] The Wisdom of Psychopaths: Kevin Dutton
• The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success by Kevin Dutton
• F.I.R.E.: How Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained, and Elegant Methods Ignite Innovation by Dan Ward

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Julie Janson is a US Air Force Information Operations officer, planner and strategist. She is a subject matter expert in Operations in the Information Environment (OIE) and IO. One of the founders of the 14F IO specialization. Lead author and tiger team lead of the Air Force’s OIE Strategic Plan. Graduate of the Multi Domain Operations Strategist Program. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Ben Kessler discusses Meltwater’s methodology and models for Owned, Earned, Organic (OEO) measurement of activities within the information environment.

Research Question: Ben Kessler suggests an interested student ask the question: Where is the diaspora of opinion and content going as we mature as a digital society from centralized “town squares” to “closed door” networks? 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #148 Kalev Leetaru on GDELT
  • #115 Russ Burgos on Information Supply, Demand, and Effect
  • #174 Kara Masick on Assessment Insights from Program Evaluation
• Meltwater
• Carpe Datum
• Cambridge Disinformation Summit
• UK RESIST 2 Framework
• World Economic Forum

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Ben Kessler is the Head of Enterprise Strategy & Public Sector at Meltwater. He brings 11+ years of experience in the application and adoption of data and insights from the Information Environment.  Ben has supported Civilian, DoD, IC, and Joint Forces / Coalitions in leveraging Meltwater's world-leading media intelligence suite to enable contextualized mission decisions - from risk assessments to strategic communications, public affairs, mis/dis/malinformation, narrative analysis, and real-time critical workflows.  Over the past decade, Ben has seen first-hand the evolution of the Media Intelligence space to a critical decision making capability with direct impact to senior leadership.     

Meltwater’s goal is to harness PAI to deliver a unique capability measuring the impact of narratives, missions, audience cohorts, campaigns, and/or outbound efforts.  We provide access to the world’s largest corpus of PAI data across the global information environment, tracking over 300,000+ news sources (including online, print, broadcast, and podcasts), and over 300 million social media data points including Reddit, Meta (Facebook + Instagram), Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, Forums, Deep Web, Message Boards, Comments, Review Sites, and blogs.

Meltwater’s datalake spans Western and non-Western platforms, in over 100+ languages including character-based languages, and local in-market content. We process approx. 1.5B documents / day, each enriched with over 170+ AI and LLM powered metadata points for sophisticated analysis, detection algorithms, alerting workflows, network visualizations, and more. Meltwater has a commercial in-market presence in over 120+ countries that drives local requirements to support a global customer base.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Marine Corps Major Melissa Giannetto discusses her Master’s thesis, which is an analysis on the media literacy efforts of Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Major Giannetto is currently an exchange student with the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Resources:

• Media Literacy Index
• Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

US Marine Corps Major Melissa Giannetto is currently a Masters of Military Studies student at the Norwegian Defense College. Prior to this assignment, she was a Psychological Operations officer and Influence Cell OIC, Information Maneuver Branch, Information Environment Division, Marine Forces Pacific. She was also the PYSOPs officer for Pacific Fleet Command, US Navy. 

Her primary MOS is 6002 Aircraft Maintenance Officer. She is a native of Rochester, New York and graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in May 2010 with a BS in Aerospace Studies. She is currently working on her Masters of Military Studies at the Norwegian Defense College.

She has attended The Basic School, Aviation Maintenance Officer School, Expeditionary Warfare School (Blended Seminar), U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College (Non-Resident), the Psychological Operations Qualification Course and the Norwegian Defense Staff College 22-24.  She is also a graduate of the Joint Information Operation (IO) Planners Course, Intermediate MAGTF IO practitioner’s Course, Joint Aviation Supply Maintenance Management course.

Her service in the Operating Forces includes: Ground Support Equipment Division Officer in Charge (OIC), Airframes Division OIC, Aviation Life Support Systems OIC with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron-16 (MALS) , Production Control Officer with MALS-16 FWD, Maintenance Material Control Officer with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron  466 (HMH), Detachment OIC and Executive Officer with Psychological Operations (PSYOP) Company, Marine Corps Information Operations Center, Executive Officer with Marine Wing Support Detachment 24, Assistant Aviation Maintenance Officer with MALS-24, PSYOP Officer and Influence Cell OIC with Marine Forces Pacific and PSYOP Officer for Pacific Fleet. 

Maj Giannetto has deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 12.1 with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron-16 FWD and Operation ENDURING FREEDOM 14.1 with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-466. She deployed to Iraq in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE 16.2 as part of CJTF-OIR CJ39 Information Operations division overseeing an IO train and equip program in Baghdad and Erbil, Iraq.

Maj Giannetto’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (Gold Star in lieu of second award).

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Tanna Krewson discusses her research related to cognitive warfare, global conflict analysis, and resolution. Our conversation unpacks foundational brain science principles that underpin our susceptibilities to cognitive warfare, how those vulnerabilities manifest in society. how modern conflict evolved within societies due to the influence of cognitive warfare, and societal dynamics at play. 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #85 Josh Kerbel on Complexity and Anticipatory Intelligence
  • #176 Bob Jones on Special Operations at a Crossroads and Strategic Influence
• Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior by Leonard Mlodinow
• Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking by Leonard Mlodinow
• The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard
• Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects Our Minds and How to Build Immunity by Sander van der Linden

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Tanna M. Krewson, M.A. is a seasoned, senior-level cognitive security subject matter expert, researcher, and sociocultural psychologist specializing in cognitive warfare, the Information Environment, and the impact of narratives and group identity on conflict, violence, and decision-making.

Having accumulated expertise through work with several prominent international NGOs, universities, private sector companies, and the U.S. Army, Krewson has managed programming across various countries, collaborating with national governments, local populations, and indigenous communities in conflict and post-conflict settings. These efforts have included developing and leading research in partnership with universities, governments, and local populations focused on effective justice, the impact of economic initiatives on refugees, national identity, and social norms change. Her work in these contexts has emphasized non-violent community engagement; women, peace, and security; global conflict resolution, and the importance of understanding indigenous communities.

Currently, Krewson is making significant contributions to the growing field of cognitive security, leading the development and drafting of NATO’s cognitive warfare concept and wargame exercise. Krewson has also provided specialized training for U.S. and allied special forces on the sociocultural drivers of conflict, emphasizing the importance of understanding human factors and the role of cognition, emotions, and perception on behavior. She has been invited to guest lecture at Nova Southeastern University and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and recently served on the board of directors of the Peace and Justice Studies Association.

Academically, Krewson holds degrees in cognitive psychology (B.A.) and peace studies (M.A.) and is currently completing a Ph.D. (ABD) in Global Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She is presently completing her doctoral research, focusing on the impact of emerging and disruptive technologies on Ukrainian women’s participation in governance during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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.

Can archetypes be modeled, analyzed, and applied in support of national security? During this episode, Joseph Lee discusses Carl Jung, collective consciousness, and archetypes. Our wide ranging discussion covers a comparison between Jung and Freud, Joseph Campbell’s work on myth and the hero’s journey, the Marvel universe as a modern day collection of stories about gods, the power of rituals, and archetype emergence. 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #77 Paul Lopata on Quantum
• The Jungian Life Podcast
• Episode 179: The Archetype of War
• Joseph R. Lee’s Webpage
• DreamSchool
• The Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts
• Apotheosis of Washington Mural
• Century of the Self
• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

Guest Bio: 

Joseph R. Lee is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Southern VA. He is co-host and co-creator of This Jungian Life podcast, as well as the online learning program DreamSchool, where people learn how to interpret their own dreams. He is president emeritus of The Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts that provides analytic training.

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.

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 Russell returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss his latest article: The Tie that Binds – Cyberspace as the Core of All Domain Maneuver Warfare.

Research Question: Brian Russell asks the following: how to assess the effectiveness and risk of employing AI generated cyber weapons: AI on the AI so to speak. There are two resources:

1. Phoenix Cast Cyber Fires Episode
2. Dr. Christopher Whyte’s piece in the latest Cyber Defense Review titled Beyond "Bigger, Faster, Better:" Assessing Thinking About Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Conflict. 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #13 Brian Russell on Behind Enemy Lines
  • #132 Brian Russell on OIE Truths
• The Tie that Binds – Cyberspace as the Core of All Domain Maneuver Warfare by Brian Russell
• Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA)
• Expeditionary Cyberspace Operations, Paul Schuh, Cyber Defense Review
• Beyond “Bigger, Faster, Better:” Assessing Thinking About Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Conflict by Dr. Christopher Whyte
• Cyber Fires, Phoenix Cast
• PW Singer and Emerson T Brooking, Foreign Affairs) Gaza and the Future of Information Warfare 
• Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification by Gene Kim and Steven J. Spear
• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Brian Russell is the founder of Information Advantage and a Key Terrain Cyber Senior Fellow. He is a retired Marine Corps artillery officer, with previous assignments as the commanding officer of II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (II MIG) and 1st ANGLICO. His combat deployments include serving as the Military Transition Team Leader in Habbaniyah, Iraq, the executive officer of Brigade Headquarters Group in Helmand Province, Afghanistan and Plans Director in Bagram, Afghanistan. Some of his notable staff assignments include: Operations Directorate at Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Operations Directorate at United States Cyber Command, and U.S. Plans Directorate at Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command. He recently joined Peraton as a Cyber and Information Warfare subject matter expert.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Davis recaps Four Operational Rules of the Road, which are intended to prevent miscalculation and unintended escalation. John synthesized these Rules based upon many years experience in military uniform and after many conversations with global leaders and academics. Briefly, they are: transparency, SOPs for oversight, sharing threat intelligence, and banning third party actors. We also revisit some of the topics from John’s first Cognitive Crucible appearance.

Research Question: John Davis asserts that there's been a lot of recent reporting about China's onslaught of disinformation oriented toward Taiwan and in the run up to the January elections. Reporting indicates that there may be important lessons in how Taiwan has handled this onslaught, including public education efforts with support from international media literacy partnerships as well as more active countermeasures by mature communities of fact-checkers, government investments and law enforcement investigations. He believes it would be a great research project to examine the techniques and capabilities employed by Taiwan and analyze the effectiveness, or lack thereof, to assist the U.S. in preparation for the 2024 presidential elections as well as our overall national effort to combat the information warfare efforts aimed at the country by Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and all of their surrogates.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #24 John Davis on Modern Warfare, Teamwork, and Commercial Cognitive Security
  • #166 John Agnello on Information Advantage
• Army Doctrinal Publication 3-13 INFORMATION, Nov 2023
• Cybersecurity First Principles: A Reboot of Strategy and Tactics by Rick Howard 

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Retired U.S. Army Major General John Davis is the Vice President, Public Sector for Palo Alto Networks, where he is responsible for expanding cybersecurity initiatives and global policy for the international public sector and assisting governments around the world to prevent successful cyber breaches. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, John served as the Senior Military Advisor for Cyber to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and also served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy.  Prior to this assignment, he served in multiple leadership positions in special operations, cyber, and information operations. John earned a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, Master of Military Art and Science from U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and Bachelor of Science from U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 discuss his latest book: How Russia Loses: Hubris and Miscalculation in Putin’s Kremlin. Vladimir Putin’s efforts to build influence abroad have succeeded in many places, leading some to see him as a master tactician whose skills are practically unbeatable. “How Russia Loses” takes a more skeptical approach, arguing that Russian influence operations have also been plagued by overconfidence and misjudgments, often repeating themselves in case after case. Thomas Kent’s book looks at six case studies where Russian fortunes suffered temporary or long-term reversals, and the reasons for those setbacks – from Russia’s own weaknesses to nimble responses by pro-democracy actors. The book spans Russian operations in Ukraine, Ecuador, South Africa and North Macedonia, as well as Moscow’s efforts to promote the Nordstream 2 pipeline and its Sputnik COVID vaccine. Kent offers an extensive analysis of common threads that have weakened Russian influence operations, and how the West can use this knowledge to respond more effectively to future efforts by Moscow.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #10 Tom Kent on Striking Back
  • #105 Tom Kent on Persuasion in the Developing World
  • #25 Alan Kelly on Mapping the Strategies of IO Actors
  • #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power
• [Free Download] How Russia Loses: Hubris and Miscalculation in Putin’s Kremlin by Tom Kent
• Taxonomy of Influence Strategies

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-177

Guest Bio: 

Thomas Kent teaches and consults on Russian affairs, journalism, and the problems of propaganda and disinformation. President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty until 2018, he now teaches at Columbia University and consults for governments, NGOs, and news organizations. He is a senior fellow of The Jamestown Foundation and an associate fellow of Slovakia’s GLOBSEC. Previously, he was Moscow bureau chief for The Associated Press, head of AP’s international news coverage, and editor for standards and ethics. His first book, Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation, was published by Jamestown in 2020.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Bob Jones returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss strategic influence and how the United States is at a crossroads. Additionally, we revisit Bob’s previous Cognitive Crucible appearance and discuss the importance of governance and taking other people’s perspectives.

Research Question: Bob Jones suggests as interested student examine: 

• Is political conflict internal to a single system inherently different than political conflict between two or more systems; and if so, how, why and so what?
• How is the modern Chinese effort to expand their sovereignty to match their expanded power distinct from, or similar to, the US efforts to do the same in the 1890 to 1914 timeframe?
• If one expands the definition of unconventional warfare (UW) to the leveraging of foreign political grievances to advance or secure one’s interests, do al Qaeda and ISIS conduct UW?
• Does the presence of absence of violence lend strategic insight to the nature of a political competition/conflict?
• If one accepts that AQ and ISIS wage UW campaigns, how does one best disrupt, defeat, or render irrelevant their efforts?
• Is counterinsurgency best thought of as a purely domestic, civilian-led activity; where, as in all domestic emergencies, the military is always in support, last in and first out?
• It has been offered that internal, revolutionary insurgency differs from democracy only in legality; and that causation is rooted in how some distinct demographic feels about the governance affecting their lives.  How does this perspective affect counterinsurgency operations?

Resources:

• • Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
    • #56 Bob Jones on Governance
  • Emerging Strategic & Geopolitical Challenges: Operational Implications for US Combatant Commands (Volume III)
  • U.S. Command Perspectives on Campaigning in Support of Integrated Deterrence (Volume IV)
  • Casebooks on insurgency
  • On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Tse-tung
  • Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice by David Galula
  • Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy by Colin Gray
  • The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick
  • The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented The Constitution by David O. Stewart
  • Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
  • How to Think Like Einstein: Simple Ways to Break the Rules and Discover Your Hidden Genius by Scott Thorpe
  • The Age of the Unthinkable:  Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It by Joshua Cooper Ramo
  • Guns, Germs, and Steele: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond Ph.D.
  • The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-176

Guest Bio: 

Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; a Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition, the character of conflict, deterrence and societal stability.

Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition, the character of conflict, deterrence and societal stability.

Mr. Jones’s principle focus is on the fundamental human aspects of political conflict. In a rapidly evolving strategic environment, good strategy is rooted in understanding what remains constant and why; while good tactics demands a realistic appreciation for what is different or changed. Successful campaigning demands a fusion of the two. He enjoys “wire brushing” concepts by routinely standing in front of tough audiences.  None of these is tougher than those he faces in his role as a fixture in the Joint Special Operations University’s Enlisted Academy, applying a commonsense perspective to bring our most experienced Special Operators strategic insights they can actually use. This is also the third consecutive year that Mr. Jones has addressed the Air War College class during the Operational Design phase of their curriculum, sharing practical insights gleaned from his experiences.

He has been a featured speaker at Universities as storied as Oxford, St Andrews, Stanford and Harvard; and has led professional development events with operational units across the SOCOM enterprise. Mr. Jones is also a Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS).

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Marine Corps Maj Ryan Ratcliffe discusses his recent article entitled: Cognitive Warfare: Maneuvering in the Human Dimension. Our discussion covers national security challenges at the intersection of technology and cognition, information maneuver, and emerging offensive/defensive needs.

Resources:

• • Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
    • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
    • #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information
    • #85 Josh Kerbel on Complexity and Anticipatory Intelligence
    • #47 Yaneer Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and the War on Ideals
    • #72 Noah Komnick on Cybernetics and the Age of Complexity
    • #121 Koichiro Takagi on East Asia Security
    • #37 Bill Vivian on MCDP 1-4 Competing
  • Cognitive Warfare: Maneuvering in the Human Dimension by Majors Andrew MacDonald and Ryan Ratcliffe, U.S. Marine Corps
  • New York Times Article: China Sows Disinformation About Hawaii Fires Using New Techniques
  • Marine Corps MCDP 1-4 Competing
  • Books mentioned:
    • The Age of AI: And Our Human Future by Kissinger, Schmidt, and Huttenlocher
    • Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari
    • On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis
    • Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Major Ratcliffe is an EA-6B electronic warfare officer and joint terminal attack controller assigned to the office of the chief of naval operations staff. Previously, he served in the office of the Deputy Commandant for Information, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. He holds a master of international public policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Air Force Major Kara Masick discusses her thought-provoking article: 12 (Mis)Steps from Sober Assessments: Confessions of a Failed OIE Assessor. Our discussion covers her OIE assessment recovery journey. Like an alcoholic seeking sobriety by first admitting they have a problem and acknowledging where they’ve gone wrong, this essay is 12 confessions of her OIE assessment failures. During the discussion, she presents a new assessment metric that she calls: Most Likely Cause (MLC). Assessors should learn to think like an IT Helpdesk professional; like detectives discovering clues to find the most likely culprit, we can weigh relative likelihoods that our OIE had the effect compared to other potential causes.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #83 Joseph Lee on Jung and Archetypes
  • #130 Teasel Muir-Harmony on Spaceflight, Foreign Policy, and Soft Power
  • #25 Alan Kelly on Mapping the Strategies of IO Actors
• IPA Blog Article: 12 (Mis)Steps from Sober Assessments: Confessions of a Failed OIE Assessor by Kara Masick
• The Iron Law Of Evaluation And Other Metallic Rules by Peter H. Rossi
• Evaluation: A Systematic Approach by Peter H. Rossi, Mark W. Lipsey, Gary T. Henry
• Foundations of Program Evaluation: Theories of Practice By Shadish, Cook, Levitan
• Scriven, M. (1974). Maximizing the power of causal investigations: The modus operandi method. In Evaluation in education (pp. 68–84). McCutchan Publishing
• Scriven, M. (2005). The Logic and Methodology of Checklists.
• McGuire’s Classic Input–Output Framework for Constructing Persuasive Messages. In Public Communication Campaigns (Fourth Edition, pp. 133–145). SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Decoding Crimea. Pinpointing the Influence Strategies of Modern Information Warfare by Alan Kelly and Christopher Paul

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Kara Masick is an Air Force 14F (Information Operations officer) with a passion for MISO/PSYOP who's worked mostly within Intel and Cyber organizations. She was the first 14F officially assigned to the J39 of the Information Warfare Numbered Air Force (16AF). She was sponsored by USSOCOM to study Psychology and is doing that within the Measurement Research methodology Evaluation and Statistics Lab at George Mason University (GMU) with the goal of improving her MISO operations and assessments contributions. Her dissertation research on persuasion uses Large Language Models to analyze text. Previously, she studied theology at the University of Oxford (certificate), Behavioral Science (BS) with Religious Studies and Arabic minors at the Air Force Academy, and Sociology (MA) at GMU.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. 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
  • #76 Yuval Levin on the Constitution & Institutions
• 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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Steve Hunnewell of Premise Data discusses geopolitical risk in Asia and the grey zone. Our conversation covers the rise of China and its implications for the global order, the growing strategic competition between China and the United States in Asia, the concept of hybrid warfare and how China and other countries use it, and the need for better integration of commercial solutions and implications for operations in the information environment. 

Research Question: Steve Hunnewell suggests an interested student examine the following:

• assess the “infinite game” and assess our positions of advantage? 
• How do we better integrate commercial solutions, public-private partnerships, etc to create an in-depth approach to creating resiliency?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #150 Jill Goldenziel on China and the Philippines
  • #166 John Agnello on Information Advantage
• Persuade or Perish by Wallace Carroll
• Spies and Lies: How China's Greatest Covert Operations Fooled the World by Alex Joske

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Before joining Premise Data, Steve Hunnewell was the Director of the Information Office for the United States Indo-Pacific Command. In this unique role, he served as the inaugural senior executive for strategic communications guidance and strategy, which focused on using data to improve the command's ability to engage within the information domain.

Hunnewell's previous public service supported a wide range of special operations, diplomatic, and strategic communications issues throughout the U.S. government, including serving as a Strategic Advisor for Information Operations on the NATO ISAF Counterinsurgency Advisory & Assistance Team (CAAT), U.S. DoD liaison for Afghan Reconciliation & Reintegration to the U.K. Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) & the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA); with additional roles and assignments in Ukraine, the Levant, Latin America, and Asia.

Hunnewell also has extensive experience in the private sector. He has held leadership positions at technology firms such as Novetta and Two Six Technologies. In these roles, he has worked on various issues, including leading product innovation and developing solutions that identify events, rhetoric, and behavior patterns, thus yielding actionable insights into relationships between messengers, messages, and audiences.

Steve's graduate studies and degrees include an MBA from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College and international affairs at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Molly Dwyer, Vice President of Analysis at Predata, discusses how she and her colleagues unlock the other side of the Internet. Predata is the only web-based platform that quantifies shifts in online attention–how audiences research and consume information–to provide a more complete picture of the geopolitical landscape. The Predata platform enables government and commercial organizations to incorporate insights from an often overlooked dataset into their strategy and operations.

Research Question: Molly suggests an interested student investigate ways to identify early signals or breadcrumbs on the Internet which indicate a shift in messaging before it happens?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• The 90-9-1 Rule for Participation Inequality in Social Media and Online Communities by Jakob Nielsen
• PreData
• FiscalNote
• Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism by Anne Applebaum 

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Molly is Vice President of Analysis at Predata, part of FiscalNote, an open-source intelligence company based in Washington D.C. Predata’s unique web-based analytics platform quantifies how online audiences consume and research information. The Predata platform enables users to analyze the “other side of the internet” beyond social media—understanding how web traffic patterns and online research behaviors help reveal the true reach of messaging, identifying the impact of disinformation, and uncovering early indicators of offline activity. In her seven-year career at Predata, Molly has played a key role in shaping the company’s data research, product development, intelligence analysis, and relationships with customers from the public and private sectors. As a Russia/Eurasia subject matter expert, she has spent several years living and traveling across the region—including a Department of State posting at the U.S. Consulate in Yekaterinburg, Russia and a year of immersive language study as a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship recipient. She is a graduate of Princeton University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Ben Zweibelson, Director, USSPACECOM Strategic Innovation Group (SIG), discusses his book 'Beyond the Pale: Designing Military Decision-Making Anew.' The discussion cover’s Ben philosophy related to managing the inter-war period we are experiencing, and his perspective on complexity.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #85 Josh Kerbel on Complexity and Anticipatory Intelligence
  • #47 Yaneer Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and the War on Ideals
  • #110 Sean McFate on The New Rules of War
  • #73 Ori Brafman on The Starfish, Spider, and Resilient Societies
• PART I: The Singleton Paradox: On the Future of Human-Machine Teaming and Potential Disruption of War Itselfby Ben Zweibelson, PhD
• PART II: Whale Songs of Wars Not Yet Waged: The Demise of Natural-Born Killers through Human-Machine Teamings Yet to Come by Ben Zweibelson, PhD
• Types and Forms of Emergence by Jochen Fromm
• Earth Liberation Front
• Understanding the Military Design Movement: War, Change and Innovation by Ben Zweibelson, PhD
• Beyond the Pale: Designing Military Decision-Making Anew by Ben Zweibelson, PhD
• Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Dr. Ben Zweibelson is the director of the U.S. Space Command’s Strategic Innovation Group at Peterson Space Force Base, CO. A retired Army infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, he earned the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Air Assault Badge, the Ranger Tab, four Bronze Star medals, and various awards and citations in his 22 years combined service. He previously worked for U.S. Special Operations Command for seven years, running all design education, theory, and outreach for the Joint Special Operations University. He has a doctorate in philosophy, three master’s degrees, and an undergraduate degree in graphic design. He has two design books forthcoming in the summer of 2023.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Adam Fivenson of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) discusses his co-authored piece: Shielding Democracy: Civil Society Adaptations to Kremlin Disinformation about Ukraine.

Research Questions: Adam Fivenson suggests an interested student examine 

• How will the many changes taking place in our information ecosystem impact the 50+ national elections coming between now and the end of 2024?
• Based on their prior actions and their efforts around the world, how might authoritarian actors take advantage of our evolving information space to spread divisive narratives that harm democracy?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power
• Shielding Democracy: Civil Society Adaptations to Kremlin Disinformation about Ukraine by Adam Fivenson, Galyna Petrenko, Veronika Víchová, and Andrej Poleščuk
• We Are Social 2023 Digital Report
• European Union Digital Services Act
• Russian War Report (Atlantic Council)
• Russian War Report: DFRLab releases investigations on Russian info ops before and after the invasion by the Digital Forensic Research Lab
• Other reports
  • German Marshall Fund’s Civic Information Handbook
  • DFRLab’s Narrative Warfare and Undermining Ukraine reports
  • Atlantic Council: Scaling Trust on the Web
• Ukrainian counter-disinfo organizations
  • Detector Media-Ukrainian journalists focused on countering Russian info ops
  • StopFake-Ukrainian fact checkers
  • Vox Ukraine-Ukrainian fact checkers and news organization
  • Ukraine Crisis Media Center-Ukrainian news organizations
• Other European organizations doing work to counter disinformation
  • European Values-Czech advocacy group
  • Political Capital-Hungarian think thanks and advocacy group
  • Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights-Polish advocacy group
  • GLOBSEC-Slovakian think tank
• LAC-based organization: Chequeado-Argentine fact checkers with LAC-wide network
• Counter Disinfo Networks
  • National Democratic Institute’s (NDI) Disinformation Hub
  • International Republic Institute’s (IRI) BEACON project
  • Zinc Network’s Open Information Partnership
  • German Marshall Fund’s Black Sea Trust

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Adam Fivenson is the senior program officer for information space integrity at the National Endowment for Democracy’s International Forum for Democratic Studies, where he conducts research on the integrity in the information space and countering authoritarian information activities. Prior to joining the Forum, Adam advised political figures, governments, and international non-profits on communication, technology and data strategy, and led ethnographic research missions on the impact of new technologies on societies across four continents. He holds an MS from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a BA from the University of Michigan. Follow him on Twitter: @afivenson.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Mike Vera discusses health-related propaganda and personal standard operating procedures (SOP) which minimize bad health habits and malign influence effectiveness.

Research Question: Mike Vera suggests research into crowd psychology and the ability for AI to change minds on deeply held beliefs.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #91 Denver Dill on the Arts
• Mike Vera’s Website
• Deindividuation
• Edward Bernays
• The Crowd: A study of the Popular Mind by Gustave Le Bon
• The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
• The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
• Propaganda by Edward Bernays

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Mike Vera is a Board-Certified Health Coach holding a Master's of Science degree specialized in Sport Psychology, Performance Enhancement, and Injury Prevention. As the founder of Red Pill Health & Wellness, he is fervently dedicated to debunking health myths and empowering individuals with scientifically accurate information. Beyond this, Mike is the creator of the 'Red Pill Your Health' program and the host of the 'Healthy & Awake' podcast. His unparalleled approach centers on understanding the influence of propaganda, guiding clients in controlling their environment and thoughts to achieve their health objectives. A staunch advocate for critical thinking, Mike's philosophy stands as a beacon for those eager to assert control over their well-being.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Mr. Kevin Gates discusses IPA’s accomplishments over the past few years during his tenure as IPA’s President. He also discusses IPA’s search for his replacement. Find a link for more information about IPA’s President search on IPA’s homepage; applications are due no later than 15 Oct 2023. IPA will announce the new President in Dec 2023.

Research Question: Kevin Gates suggests an interested student examine how strategic culture affects our approach to operating in the information environment (MISO, persuasion, deception, marketing, everything)?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #76 Yuval Levin on the Constitution & Institutions
  • #62 Jonathan Rauch on the Constitution of Knowledge
• Global Psychological Conflict by Ralph Sanders and Fred R. Brown
• A Psychological Warfare Casebook by Professor William E. Daugherty
• Cooperation and Competition Among Primitive Peoples by Margaret Mead
• Cocaine and Rhinestones podcast with Tyler Mahan Coe
• Propaganda Universe Youtube Channel

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio:

Kevin Gates is a Professional Staff Member with the Senate Armed Services Committee since March 2022, with a portfolio that includes DoD S&T programs and acquisition policy. Prior to that since December 2017, Kevin Gates was serving as the Vice President for Advanced Concepts at Strategic Analysis, Inc, a professional technology services and consulting company. In that role, he is responsible for managing a corporate division with contracts across the Navy, Defense Health Agency and Office of the Secretary of Defense. He had day-to-day responsibility for managing contracts and workforce across the division, as well as articulating and pursuing a strategy for maintaining high standards of customer service, and growth into new technology sectors and customer sets. He also provided direct client support to the Director of the Defense Laboratories & Personnel Office in USD(R&E), the Defense Science Board, and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane in the areas of microelectronics, spectrum warfare, hypersonics and strengthening the innovation ecosystem. 

Prior to that role, he worked as a Professional Staff Member for the House Armed Services Committee since March 2007, responsible for the Information Technology (IT) and cyber operations portfolio, as well as the Science and Technology (S&T) portfolio. He previously worked for 8 years at Strategic Analysis, Inc of Arlington, Virginia for a variety of clients within the DoD science & technology community (including DARPA, ONR and the Defense Science Board), as well as the Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency within DHS(S&T) and the intelligence community. 

He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with BAs in History and International Studies, and has a MA from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program. He is the co-author of a chapter on critical infrastructure protection in Volume III of Homeland Security: Protecting America’s Targets, James Forest (ed.), 2006. He also served as an industry advisor to the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (since January 2021), a member of the Laboratories Assessment Board for the National Academy of Science (since March 2021), Engineering and Medicine, and President of the Board of Trustees for the Information Professionals Association (since December 2018), a 501(c)(6) supporting education and workforce development for the information warfare and cognitive security community.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army COL John Agnello discusses the Army’s pursuits related to Information Advantage. Our conversation traverses the meaning of Information Advantage, the functions of Information Advantage, how Information Advantage fits within the larger Information Environment, as well as related initiatives. One such initiative is the Theater Information Advantage Detachment (TIAD) concept which will be Army theater-level teams that influence and inform–especially during the competition continuum phase of operations.

Research Question: John Agnello suggests an interested student examine ways to help commanders “see” the information dimension; take every piece of information, bring them together into a decision space which enables speed and accuracy.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #24 John Davis on Modern Warfare, Teamwork, and Commercial Cognitive Security
  • #125 Journey from conception through JP 3-04
  • #131 Brian Burbank on the Ghost Team, Transparent Battlefield Concepts and Multi-Domain Operations
• FM 3-0 Operations 3.0 (October 2022)
• Like War by Peter Singer
• Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War by Paul Scharre
• Art of Invisibility: The World's Most Famous Hacker Teaches You How to Be Safe in the Age of Big Brother and Big Data by Kevin Mitnick

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Colonel John Agnello is a United States Army Cyber Branch officer currently stationed at the United States Army Cyber Center of Excellence (CoE), at Fort Gordon, GA, as the Director of the Army Program Office for Information Advantage, where he oversees the development and implementation of Information Advantage across elements of DOTMLPF-P for the CCoE. Prior to that assignment, COL Agnello was the Director of the Commander’s Planning Group, where he was responsible for Public Affairs, Protocol, strategic engagements and planning on behalf of the Commanding General. Prior to his assignments to the Cyber CoE, COL Agnello was assigned to United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), in Fort Meade, MD, as the Chief of the Development Branch in USCYBERCOM’s Acquisition and Technology Directorate (J9), responsible for all offensive and defensive tool development as well as data science and data analytics. Prior to that, he was a Joint Cyber Operations Team Leader in USCYBERCOM; responsible for supporting Combatant Commanders' objectives include planning, coordinating, directing, and executing daily cyber missions through four separately focused cyber teams, in addition to maintaining infrastructure, training, capability development, mission execution, and support services. 

Prior to his assignments at USCYBERCOM, COL Agnello was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany as the Research & Development subject matter expert for the Defense Science and Technology Center – Europe, where he reviewed international technologies on behalf of the US DoD; followed by the Deputy Director of the Ground Intelligence Support Activity – East; where he was responsible for managing nine different networks at over 45 various locations throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, and established the first Intelligence Support Cell for Defensive Cyberspace Operations in US Army Europe (USAREUR). 

Prior to his cyber specific roles, COL Agnello was a Field Artillery Officer and spent nine years in the 3rd Infantry Division in roles including Sustainment Automation Systems Management Officer, Rear Detachment Commander, Company Commander, Assistant Operations Officer, Battalion Fire Direction Officer, and Division Fire Control Officer. Prior to his assignments at Fort Stewart, GA, COL Agnello was a Battalion Fire Direction Officer, and a Battery Executive Officer at Fort Sill, OK.

John is a combat veteran of Operations Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn, and his various military decorations include the Bronze Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, the Combat Action Badge, and Basic Parachutist Badge. His military training includes the Joint Network Attack Course, Joint Computer Network Operational Planners Course, the Information Systems Management Course, and many more.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Aaron Schmidt shares his perspective and constructive critique related to incorporating the information environment into military exercises.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #131 Brian Burbank on the Ghost Team, Transparent Battlefield Concepts and Multi-Domain Operations
  • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
  • #153 Andy Whiskeyman and Mike Berger on the Importance of Dedicated Resources
  • #81 Cassandra Brooker on the Effectiveness of Influence Activities
• PMESII-PT stands for Political, Military, Economic, Social, Information, Infrastructure, Physical environment, and Time
• UK Influence Wargaming Handbook
• How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything by Rosa Brooks
• Challenging the Application of PMESII-PT in a Complex Environment (dtic.mil)

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-165

Guest Bio: Aaron Schmidt is a Psychological Operations Specialist in the United States Army Reserve. After studying Secondary English Education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, his ten-year career in education brought him from classroom education to public policy to higher education administration. He joined the Reserve in 2016, and has been recognized for excellence in professional military education, joint service initiatives, and impact on exercises, most recently as part of an Army Campaign of Learning with the Theater Information Advantage Detachment.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, 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.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #83 Joseph Lee on Jung and Archetypes

• Thesis: Back to the Future: Political Paralysis Cost Britain America, What Will it Cost the United States? By Shane Rutherford

• DeLorean time machine

• Robert Walpole

• South Sea Company

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Jake Siegel of Tablet Magazine discusses his thought provoking piece:A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century: Thirteen ways of looking at disinformation. Jake asserts that elites in government and the media are trying to control and centralize free speech and open inquiry as evidenced by Russiagate investigations and COVID-related national discourse.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #149 Jon Askonas on Technology, Homogeneity, and Influence

• A Guide to Understanding the Hoax of the Century: Thirteen ways of looking at disinformation by Jacob Siegel

• 'Disinformation' Is the Hoax of the Century by Jacob Siegel

• Jake Siegel Tablet Page

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Jacob Siegel is senior editor of News and The Scroll, Tablet’s daily afternoon news digest.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Meredith Wilson of Emergent Risk International discusses the increasingly complex world that companies are navigating today. Our conversation touches upon Chinese export controls, the Russia/Ukraine War, environmental-social-governance (ESG) dynamics, and government policies regarding sharing classified material.

Research Question: Meredith suggests an interested student examine how Western companies go forward in today’s shifting global landscape with a dual-structured economy.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #85 Josh Kerbel on Complexity and Anticipatory Intelligence

• #110 Sean McFate on The New Rules of War

• Emergent Risk International

• International Traffic in Arms Regulations

• Political Risk: How Businesses and Organizations Can Anticipate Global Insecurity by Condoleezza Rice and Amy Zegart

• Scary Smart: The Future of Artificial Intelligence and How You Can Save Our World by Mo Gawdat

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-162

Guest Bio: 

Meredith Wilson has over 20 years experience in intelligence, government, corporate and international environments. She started Emergent Risk International with the belief that, with the proper strategy and mindset, risk intelligence could add more than worry to an organization’s bottom line. As a former Defense Intelligence Officer as well as an oil and gas industry veteran – first building a risk intelligence function for ConocoPhillips and then for Kosmos Energy – Ms. Wilson has seen how intelligence can function well in both environments, but also how differently these functions operate within their organizations. With that knowledge and an extremely talented and adventurous team, since its founding in 2014, ERI has grown into a multi-national company with offices in the United States (Dallas, Austin, Washington DC and greater Boston), the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Singapore; serving some of the world’s most valuable brands.

Ms. Wilson was a founding member of the Private Sector Intelligence Council (PSIC) and a Founding Board Member of the Association of International Risk and Intelligence Professionals (AIRIP). She previously served on the Business Intelligence Advisory Council for the National Intelligence Officer for Science and Technology. She spent much of her early career abroad, living in Southeast Asia and Europe. She, her family, and her three furry coworkers currently call Rhode Island home.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Marine Corps Maj Max Nauta discusses his Master’s thesis from the US Army Command and General Staff College entitled: Multinational Operations in Strategic Competition: Leveraging the Inherent Informational Aspects through Culture and Narrative. Strategic competitors have significantly increased their influence in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in ways that jeopardize US influence and threaten democratic governance. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia do this by exploiting the ambiguity of gray zone activities, such as predatory, opaque lending practices and the spreading of disinformation. US Forces, Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) builds resiliency against these gray zone activities through transparency, which it promotes through cooperation activities to strengthen partnerships and build trust in LAC. SOUTHCOM accomplished this, in part, through Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force – Southern Command (SPMAGTF-SC), whose mission was to conduct mutually beneficial engagements with partner nations (PN) to address shared challenges in the region. SPMAGTF-SC 15, 16, and 17 were US-only task forces. SPMAGTF-SC 18, however, became the first multinational task force. SPMAGTF-SC 19 grew on this by integrating ten PN officers from Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Belize, and the Dominican Republic. The author found that integrating PN officers into SPMAGTF-SC 18 and 19 exponentially strengthened partnerships in LAC at a relatively insignificant cost. This paper examines the degree to which integrating PN officers into SPMAGTF-SC 18 and 19 strengthened partnerships, and then compares those findings with theories on narrative and culture. In conclusion, the author presents the concept of a shared regional narrative and illuminates asymmetric characteristics of strategic competition in LAC.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #37 Bill Vivian on MCDP 1-4 Competing
  • #89 Ajit Mann and Paul Cobaugh on Narrative
  • #137 Vic Garcia and Mike Berger on Information Operations and Intelligence
  • #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power
  • #148 Kalev Leetaru on GDELT
• Video Presentation: Multinational Operations in Strategic Competition: Leveraging the IIA through Culture and Narrative
• The Village by Bing West
• The Role of Information in U.S. Concepts for Strategic Competition. A RAND study by Chris Paul, Michael Schwille, Michael Vasseur, Elizabeth Bartels, and Ryan Bauer
• Artificial Intelligence Basics: A Non-Technical Introduction by Tom Taulli

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Major Maxwell Nauta grew up in Chester Country, Pennsylvania, graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, and commissioned in the United States Marine Corps on March 18, 2011.  After Officer Candidate School, he attended The Basic School, Infantry Officer Course, and Light Armored Reconnaissance Leaders Course.

In January 2012 he reported to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) Battalion, MCAGCC, 29 Palms, CA, where he served as an LAR Platoon Commander from February 2012 to June 2013.  In April 2012 Maj Nauta deployed as the senior Infantry Marine to New Zealand for the six-week joint, multinational exercise, Exercise Alam Halfa.  From December 2012 to June 2013 he and his platoon independently deployed to Okinawa, Japan reporting to 3rd Combat Assault Battalion under the Unit Deployment Program.  In June, he and his LAR platoon deployed to the Republic of Korea to participate in Exercise Ssang Yong 13, forming a multination LAR platoon with Australian Cavalry Soldiers. Upon returning from Okinawa, Japan, Maj Nauta served as the Assistant Operations Officer for 3rd LAR Battalion until March 2014 when he augmented into the Selected Marine Corps Reserve (SMCR).

In the SMCR, Maj Nauta first reported to Company C, 4th LAR Battalion, Salt Lake City, Utah serving as a Platoon Commander from March 2014 to March 2015.  He then transferred to Headquarters Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 453 (CLB-453) in Aurora, Colorado, serving as the Headquarters Company Executive Officer until attending Supply Officers Course at Camp Johnson, North Carolina in August 2015.

In January 2016, Maj Nauta activated to serve as the Supply Officer for Special Purpose Marine-Air Ground Task Force – Southern Command (SPMAGTF-SC) 16, deploying to Honduras.  Upon re-deployment in January 2017 he served as the Current Operations Officer, CLB-453.

In January 2018, Maj Nauta activated to serve as the Liaison Officer to the U.S. Embassy in Honduras for SPMAGTF-SC 18. In March 2019, he reactivated as the Key Leadership Engagement Coordinator for SPMAGTF-SC 19, deploying throughout the Southern Command area of responsibility.  In preparation for this final SPMAGTF-SC deployment he attended the Civil Affairs Officers Course in March 2019. 

Upon completion of SPMAGTF-SC 19 in February, 2019, he transferred to U. S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa (MARFOREUR/AF) and activated as an Individual Mobilization Augmentee (IMA) serving as a Logistics Planner, G-4 and the Prepositioning Officer, MARFOREUR/AF. In October, 2021, he deactivated and was hired by Valiant Integrated Services as a Program Analysit in support of Africa Future Operations, G-35, MARFOREUR/AF. Maj Nauta is participating in U.S. Army Command and General Staff College’s Information Advantage Scholars Program and is expected to transfer to Marine Corps Information Operations Center upon graduation.

Maj Nauta’s awards and decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with three Gold Stars in lieu of fourth award.  His formal education includes Infantry Officer Course, Light Armored Reconnaissance Leaders Course, Supply Officer Course, and Civil Affairs Officer Course and Expeditionary Warfare School.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Christopher Paul and Mike Williams discuss the new Journal of Cognitive Security–a double-blind peer reviewed publication concerned with influence and protection from influence of large groups of media users and consumers both online and offline. Cognitive Security focuses on (1) the exploitation of cognitive biases in large public groups, (2) social influence as an end unto itself and (3) formality and quantitative measurement.

The Journal of Cognitive Security will address the impact of the increasing volume and variability of information available to anyone with a handheld device, the speed with which information is replicated, spread, and processed to anyone with the means to access the internet-protocol driven world and the ubiquity of handheld telecommunications and the resulting interactions of those pressures on societal change.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #20 Christopher Paul on the Firehose of Falsehood

• #128 Matt Armstrong and Christopher Paul on the U.S. Information Agency and Foreign Policy

• Website: Journal of Cognitive Security

• Questions or comments please email Mike Williams: [email protected]

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-160

Guest Bio: 

Michael Williams is a retired Army Information Operations officer.  Following his retirement in 2006, Mike became an advisor to the Information Operations policy office in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence then the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy and worked on Secretary Gates’ program review of IO among many other projects over a seven year period.  Since leaving his advisory position, he has become a Senior Analyst for Cognitive Performance Group which focuses on analyzing decision-making and developing models of expertise in support of training and leader development in DoD.  Mike was the Executive Director of IPA during its formative period and currently supports IPA’s efforts to build a new journal and the planning and execution of events for IPA members and the Cognitive Security community. Mike also owns a real estate brokerage in a small town in the Finger Lakes region of central New York where he makes his home.

Dr. Christopher Paul is a Senior Social Scientist at the RAND Corporation. He also teaches in the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Christopher provides research support related to operations in the information environment, information warfare, counterpropaganda, cyber operations, and related policy to a range of Department of Defense and U.S. Government offices, organizations, and commands. His work has influenced defense doctrine and policy in the United States and internationally. Prior to joining RAND full-time in July of 2002, he worked at RAND as adjunct staff for six years. Chris received his Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA in 2001; he spent academic year 2001-02 on the UCLA statistics faculty. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army MAJ Steve Schiavoni discusses his Master’s thesis from the US Army Command and General Staff College entitled: Lying, in Wait: Competitive Deception in the Indo-Pacific. The United States faces its stated pacing adversary, China, in competition in the Indo-Pacific region. As the Joint Force reorients, deception has re-emerged in updated doctrine as a competitive tool. The updated doctrine encourages the use of deception but provides little unclassified guidance on training or implementation of deception outside of tactical engagements. This thesis analyzes the foundations of strategic deception applied to the context of current US and Chinese competition in the Indo-Pacific region. Deception is modeled as a competitive wargame focused on the Indo-Pacific theater. Fundamental aspects of deception tied to US and Chinese strategic cultural lenses and objectives form the basis for the game’s model. Analysis of the wider concept of deception reveals challenges and opportunities for the US in employing strategic deception below the level of armed conflict. This thesis offers an avenue for training deception planning using an experiential learning method.

Research Question: 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #146 Sebastian Bae on Gaming
  • #90 Dave Acosta on Informationally Disadvantaged
• The Tao of Deception by Ralph Sawyer
• Lever of Power by Ralph Sawyer
• A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster
• Counterdeception Principles and Applications for National Security by  Michael Bennett, Edward Waltz
• Information Warfare and Organizational Decision-Making by Alexander Kott

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-159

Guest Bio: 

MAJ Steven Schiavoni commissioned in 2010 from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, IN. He started service as an Infantry Officer in the Pennsylvania National Guard where he served as a rifle platoon leader and battalion mortar platoon leader. In 2016 he transferred to the Army Reserve and became a Functional Area 30 - Information Operations officer. Since then he has served and deployed in multiple roles including company commander, sensitive activities planner, and information operations planner. He is a graduate of Infantry Basic Officer Leader's Course, Maneuver Captain's Career Course, FA-30 Qualification Course, and Basic Airborne Course among others. He is currently part of the Information Advantage Scholars Program at the Army's Command and General Staff Officers Course. In his civilian life, MAJ Schiavoni works as a Department of the Air Force civilian conducting Defense Cyber Operations as part of the 412th Communications Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, CA.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army Brian Godwin discusses his thesis: From Perception to Protection: Countering Cognitive Warfare in the U.S. Army. His study seeks to address the critical question of how the U.S. Army can protect the force against cognitive warfare, with a specific focus on understanding the strategies and tactics employed by China and Russia. It employs a qualitative comparative case study method, examining China’s cognitive warfare campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The study reveals significant gaps and limitations in the Army’s existing Doctrine, Training, Leadership and Education, and Policies (DTLP). These areas provide minimal defense against cognitive warfare, indicating a vulnerability of the force. In response to these findings, this thesis proposes several key recommendations to strengthen the Army’s resilience against cognitive warfare, including the prioritization of media literacy in Army training and education, revisions of DTLP to effectively counter cognitive warfare, the application of inoculation theory to boost psychological resilience, and the cultivation of active relationships with Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) partners.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #29 Jan Kallberg and Stephen Hamilton on Force Protection in the Cognitive Domain
• Media Warfare: Taiwan’s Battle for the Cognitive Domain by Kerry Gershaneck
• Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
• The Art of Insubordination: How to dissent and defy effectively by Todd Kashdan
• The Social Dilemma – Netflix Documentary

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

MAJ Brian Godwin is a native of Tampa, Florida. Commissioned in 2011 from the University of Tampa in Tampa, FL, MAJ Godwin has served in a range of duty positions in both Field Artillery and Signal branches including Fire Direction Officer, Fire Support Officer, Special Operations Battalion S-6, Brigade S-6, Division Information Assurance Manager, Signal Advisor to Afghan forces in Helmand, Afghanistan, and as a Staff Officer in the NATO Communications and Information Agency in Mons, Belgium. He is a graduate of the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leaders’ Course, the Signal Captain’s Career Course, and Basic Airborne Course. He is currently an Information Advantage Scholar at the Army’s Command and General Staff Officer Course.

MAJ Godwin's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (1OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (2 Stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NATO Medal (1 Star), Combat Action Badge and Parachutist Badge. He also holds a Parachutist Badge from Germany.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Lieber and Janis Butkevics discuss their co-authored article: Searching for AI Best Practice in DoD: The Great Camp Divide and Lessons from A Commercial Setting. Paul and Janis assert that DoD AI strategy and execution must be thoughtfully considered and best practices from commercial and other lab-like environments at minimum must be observed and noted. There is simply no good means of calculating risk/reward for particular pathways involving AI adoption and process insertion without these steps.

Research Questions:

• Referencing Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, Paul Lieber suggests an interested student examine how does a specific social media environment/platform nuance - considering but not directly guided by content within - shape ultimate discourse, decision making and influence outcomes for a Target Audience? ("The Medium is the Message.") Where/how can AI-driven automation tangibly impact such outcomes...and what mass communication/social psychology theory can potentially explain such impact?

• Janis Butkevics asks the question: can large language models (LLM) craft emotionally resonant content on par with humans?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• #9 Mike Jackson and Paul Lieber on Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?

• Searching for AI Best Practice in DoD: The Great Camp Divide and Lessons from A Commercial Setting by Paul Lieber and Janis Butkevics

• Introduction to Programmatic Advertising by Dominik Kosorin

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bios: 

Dr. Paul Lieber is the Chief Data Scientist for Peraton's Cyber Mission Sector and Associate Research Faculty at UMD-ARLIS. In these roles, he shapes overall technology and strategic direction for a number of mission areas to include information warfare, cyber, and OSINT. His research emphasis focuses on the intersection of data modeling and decision making, specifically how to build valid and complex data systems to solve challenging problems. Dr. Lieber possesses nearly 100 combined peer reviewed publications, invited presentations and university lectures on this and related topics. Most recently, he co-led the Assessments Working Group for Phoenix Challenge 23-2. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Information Professionals Association.

Mr. Janis Butkevics is a data analytics and planning professional with a strong passion for solving complex problems, collaboration, and innovation. His experience includes working in fast paced, multi-organizational environments towards national policy goals. Janis’ primary focus is the application of emerging web technologies, social media, quantitative analysis, machine learning, and long term planning. He has led and contributed to a vast array of projects to include: course development, instruction, operational framework design, cost-benefit analysis, network analysis, social media analysis and analytics, long term planning, regression analysis, risk analysis, and programming.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Air Force MAJ Chris Mesnard discusses his Master’s thesis from the US Army Command and General Staff College entitled: Describing and Forecasting Relevant-Actor Attitudes, Actions, and Behaviors via Narrative-Based Decision-Making. Planners at all echelons seek to transition the present state into one more desired and advantageous. This study explores the topic of transitioning to desired future states through the use of measurable story elements which can influence relevant actor attitudes, actions, and behaviors. Story is a well-researched cognitive process with unique elements enabling planners to use story elements as a framework in operational planning and assessment. Additionally, during the discovery phase of this study, the research identified a doctrinal gap in how joint planning doctrine describes the term narrative. The key takeaway from this study is that the mind thematically aligns stories and their elements into narratives, demonstrating a cognitive process that assists in an individual’s understanding of reality and the possible decisions which logically fit into that reality. Using the understanding of stories and their elements, planners can better describe and forecast narrative-based decision-making exhibited through relevant actor attitudes, actions, and behaviors.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #89 Ajit Mann and Paul Cobaugh on Narrative
• Watch and listen to the research presented here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Xx3WMwQOE
• Communication models
• Transactional communication
• Thesis placeholder
• YouTube link of thesis defense: 
• Decision making: Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow
• Gary Klein's Seeing What Others Don't
• Narrative and story: Kendall Haven's Story Smart
• RAND 2021 study on Command Narrative --
• Doctrine: MCDP-8

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: 

Maj Christopher Mesnard received his BA in History in 2010 from The University of Texas at Austin where he also commissioned into the United States Air Force through the university’s Reserve-Officer Training Corps program.

A career public affairs officer, Chris has advised Air Force and Joint Force commanders and their staffs at all levels of command from tactical up through geographic and functional combatant commands. His major milestone experiences include communicating and planning on behalf of the Department of Defense’s nuclear enterprise at both wing and headquarters assignments, multilateral missions on the Korean Peninsula and in Japan, U.S. Southern Command missions in Central America, U.S. Northern Command and multi-agency response to COVID-19 and later vaccine distribution, air refueling and multi-national air operations in U.S. European and Africa Commands, and support to U.S. Transportation Command’s household goods contract renewal. 

Chris is a 2015 graduate of George Washington University with a Masters in Strategic Public Relations. He has also attended the NATO Information Operations course at Oberammergau Germany; the Joint Intermediate Public Affairs Course at Fort Meade, MD; and the Joint Enabling Capability Command’s Joint Planner’s Course at Naval Station Norfolk, VA. Currently, Chris is finishing his Masters in Military Art and Science at the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff College. 

Chris has an interest in topics ranging from human cognition and decision making, strategy and plans development, public communication, and the symbiotic civil-military relationship that uniquely strengthens the U.S.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Luke Shabro, Deputy Director of the US Army Mad Scientist Initiative and Senior Futures Analyst, discusses first principles thinking and the Mad Scientist initiative. Luke spearheads a community of action that continually explores the future through collaborative partnerships and continuous dialogue with academia, industry and government. Through this initiative, the Army shapes future multi-domain (i.e., Land, Air, Sea, Cyber, and Space) operations in its role as a thought leader in the future of warfare. The program consists of an All Partners Access Network (APAN) community of action, a monthly on-line speaker series, conferences with world class experts at the Nation’s premier academic institutions, and now, this blog — envisioning the Operational Environment!

Research Question: Luke Shabro suggests an interested student examine the dynamics and characteristics and consequences related to brain-computer interface (BCI).

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #33 August Cole on FICINT and the Cognitive Warfighting Domain
  • #8 Doowan Lee on COVID Disinformation
• US Army Tradoc Mad Scientist Laboratory
• Luke Shabro LinkedIn
• Think Like a Rocket Scientist: Simple Strategies You Can Use to Make Giant Leaps in Work and Life by Ozan Varol
• The Long Game: China's Grand Strategy to Displace American Order by Rush Doshi

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-155

Guest Bio: Luke Shabro is a futurist, writer, intelligence analyst, and Deputy Director for the Army Mad Scientist Initiative and Senior Futures Analyst at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command G-2. He served for eight years as an active duty Intelligence Specialist in the United States Navy, deploying aboard the USS JOHN C STENNIS (CVN-74) and instructing basic and intermediate Navy intelligence students. He has worked extensively in all-source intelligence, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, global security, and futures analysis. He graduated with a BA in International Studies from Old Dominion University and an MA in Political Science from Virginia Tech. He is also a volunteer soccer and flag football coach.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Todd Leventhal recaps his many years of experience countering disinformation with the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State–including AIDS disinformation, child organ trafficking rumors, exaggerated fears about depleted uranium, and Iraqi propaganda and disinformation during the 1991 Gulf War. Todd recently worked with the Global Engagement Center and he suggests ways for the Department of State to improve public diplomacy in the 21st Century.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
  • #105 Tom Kent on Persuasion in the Developing World
  • #128 Matt Armstrong and Chris Paul on the U.S. Information Agency and Foreign Policy
  • #106 Mike Taylor on the Global Engagement Center
• The need to up our game in countering disinformation by Todd Leventhal
• Soviet Active Measures in the "Post-Cold War" Era 1988-1991: A Report Prepared at the Request of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations by the United States Information Agency June 1992

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-154

Guest Bio: Todd Leventhal has some 25 years of experience in countering Russian, Soviet, Iraqi, and other disinformation, conspiracy theories, and false stories, mainly for the U.S. Information Agency and the U.S. Department of State, starting in 1987.  He was the sole or main U.S. government official countering disinformation from 1989 to 1996, 2002 to 2010, and in 2015. He received an “Exceptional Performance Award” from the Director for Central Intelligence for his contributions to the 2003 White House report Apparatus of Lies: Saddam’s Disinformation and Propaganda 1990-2003.

After retiring from 33 years of U.S. government service in May 2018, Mr. Leventhal served as a Senior Counter-Disinformation Advisor in the Russia Division of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) from late 2018 to April 2022, where he wrote 14 GEC Counter-Disinformation Dispatches, which summarize lessons learned about disinformation and how to counter it based on the experiences of frontline counter-disinformation practitioners.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Andy Whiskeyman and Dr. Mike Berger return to the podcast to discuss the importance of adequately resourcing operations in the information environment (OIE) activities. Financial disparities beget capability disparities and ultimately information effects disparities. To solve the problem, Mike Berger recommends leaders start with a mindset shift. Andy Whiskeyman believes that leaders need to modify expectations related to information effects; Andy also believes there’s an organizational component to solving the problem.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #139 Austin Branch and Andy Whiskeyman on Phoenix Challenge London
  • #137 Vic Garcia and Mike Berger on Information Operations and Intelligence
  • #151 Daniel Runde on Chinese Soft Power
  • #150 Jill Goldenziel on China and the Philippines
• Axis of Disinformation: Propaganda from Iran, Russia, and China on COVID-19 by Andy Whiskeyman and Mike Berger
• Analogies at War: Korea, Munich, Dien Bien Phu, and the Vietnam Decisions of 1965 by Yuen Foong Khong

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-153

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Andrew Whiskeyman, COL USA(ret.), CHEP is an associate professor at the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace where he teaches and researches on the topics of leadership, disruptive technology, information warfare, deception, and strategic foresight. He is a professor of practice with the University of Maryland (UMD)’s Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS), where is helps coordinate the Phoenix Challenge Series of international Information conferences.  He has lectured internationally on the use of information as an element of power. He is also the CEO and co-founder of JASSA Professional Services, providing expert advice on organizational leadership, strategic foresight, and disruptive innovation. 

Prior to his retirement from Active Duty, he served as the Chief of the Information Operations Division (J39) within the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Operations Directorate J3 located at Macdill AFB, Florida.  

His penultimate assignment was as the Chief of Cyber Strategy for the CENTCOM Joint Cyber Center (JCC). COL Whiskeyman served as an active-duty Army officer for over 28 years. His first assignment was to Misawa AB, Japan as an enlisted military intelligence Soldier. He then went to Officer Candidate School (OCS) and commissioned into the basic branch of Air Defense Artillery. In 2007, he transitioned to the Information Operations functional area (FA30). He has deployed five times: Kosovo (KFOR 3B - 2001/02), Afghanistan (3 times - 2004, 2006/07, and 2012/13), and Iraq (2008/09). He also has numerous shorter trips into the Middle East theater of operations including return trips to Iraq and Afghanistan. 

He is a graduate (and plank owner) of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS - 2004), Air Command and Staff College (ACSC - 2011 in residence), and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS XXI - 2012). He is the first Soldier with the Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program (ASP3) to earn his PhD (Military Strategy, Air University 2015).

In the community, he has been active in Parish ministry for over 15 years, he is a past Grand Knight with the Knights of Columbus, and has started and led multiple Exodus fraternities (in person and virtual) for the past 5 years. He is a co-founder of the Tampa Bay Catholic Business Forum.

He has been married for over 28 years and has four children, three dogs, and a turtle.

Dr. Mike Berger is Chief of Research for the Information Warfare organizational unit (OU) in Peraton’s Cyber Mission Sector. In this capacity, he serves as the lead for analysis and assessments for the Operational Planning, Implementation, and Assessment Services (OPIAS) contract—the largest information warfare support contract in the US Government (USG). Dr. Berger oversees primary source research, personnel, and operational assessments supporting information operations (IO) / irregular warfare (IW) activities across OPIAS’s supported Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) and USG agencies. Through the course of his work, Dr. Berger has established and successfully managed the most expansive foreign audience opinion research portfolio in the Department of Defense, including over 700,000 survey interviews, 600 focus groups, and 2,000 elite interviews in a variety of sensitive locations across the globe. A central focus of his research includes illuminating the current challenges faced by America and its partners in the information environment. Dr. Berger holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland, United Kingdom). He enjoys establishing new research projects, leveraging new technologies to enhance data analysis, and developing operational assessment teams in support of forward deployed warfighters.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Marine Corps LtCol Dennis Katolin, who is the Commanding Officer of Marine Wing Communications Squadron 28 (MWCS-28), discusses his squadron’s Standard Operating Procedures for Information Maneuver. Our wide ranging conversation covers emerging talent and integration requirements, communications-related contributions to the outcomes of the information warfighting function, and early lessons learned related to the Ukraine War.

Research Question: Dennis Katolin suggests an interested student; Power projection, cultural paradigms, and legal shifts that inhibit full appreciation and adaptation into the information space. Analogous to the cultural shift in the military at the dawning of flight.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
  • #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information
  • #132 Brian Russell on OIE Truths
  • #59 Mark Moffett on Societies, Identity, and Belonging
• LtCol Dennis Katolin
• The Nature of Information - Information is instantaneous by LtCol Dennis W. Katolin
• Information Defined – A Whole of Force Approach by LtCol Dennis W. Katolin
• Military Ethics by Dennis Katolin

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-152

Guest Bio: 

Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Katolin is the Commanding Officer of Marine Wing Control Squadron 28 (MWCS-28).

Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Katolin graduated from Truman State University in 2002 and was commissioned that same year.

Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to The Basic School in January 2003, and upon completion, attended the Communications and Information Systems Officer Course, graduating in 2003.

In January 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin moved to MCAGCC 29 Palms and reported to 3rd LAR Battalion to serve as the S-6A until May 2004. He then became the S-6 for 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and was the Communications Platoon Commander. In September, 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin deployed with 1/7 to Al Qaim, Iraq (along the Iraq/Syrian border) and again in 2006.

After returning from Iraq in October of 2006, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin executed orders to Second Fleet Command in Norfolk, Virginia to serve as the Marine C4 Officer on the N-6 staff.  He was also designated as the Joint C4 planner as Second Fleet was becoming a Joint Task Force (JTF SOUTH) for SOUTHCOM.

In the summer of 2009, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to EWS and later attended the Advanced Communication Officers Course (ACOC) 2010. After EWS, he reported to 9th Communication Battalion where he assumed command of C Company and, in May, 2011, became the Commanding Officer of B Company which deployed to Afghanistan and facilitated communications for the I MEF (FWD) CE for RC(SW).

Upon returning from Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin reported to I MEF G-6 as the Assistant Operations Officer, where he was the primary C4 planner for I MEB and supported Pacific Horizon 2012, Dawn Blitz 13.1 and 13.2, coordinating with the MEF staff as well as ESG-3.

After serving on the MEB staff, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin received orders to serve as a Faculty Advisor at Expeditionary Warfare School from 2013 to 2016. He was the course director for the MCMAP program, ethics, amphibious C4, and Communications Occupational Field Exercise modules of instruction. He received the Elihu Rose Award for teaching excellence in 2016.

In 2016, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin was assigned to 9th Communication Battalion and served as the Operations Officer. He planned 5 Battalion level exercises in support of the I MEF Commanding General and also provided C4 detachments for MEB level exercises Pacific Horizons, Dawn Blitz, and Native Fury. He planned the reorganization of the Battalion in accordance with HQMC’s Force Modernization 2025 as well as established the first Defensive Cyber Operations cadre organic to I MEF. 

In 2018-2019, Lieutenant Colonel Katolin attended the School of Advanced Warfighting. His last assignment was as the MAGTF Planner assigned to the Plans and Strategy Division for the Deputy Commandant for Information.

Lieutenant Colonel Katolin is a 3rd Degree Black Belt Martial Arts Instructor Trainer in MCMAP and was a winner of the Commandant’s Innovation Challenge in 2017 for writing a proposed doctrinal publication on ethics. 

Lieutenant Colonel Katolin’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Services Medal w/gold star, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal w/gold star, and the Combat Action Ribbon.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Dan Runde of CSIS discusses various ways China deploys soft power strategies in pursuit of geopolitical goals. Dan touches upon vaccine diplomacy, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Elections, and other multilateral organizations such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the State Department’s Bureau for International Organizations (DOS IO).

Research Question: Dan Runde suggests interested students read Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise by Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell, which upacks human capital and demographics challenges in China.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #74 Elham Tabassi on NIST, Technology Standards, and Trust
  • #130 Teasel Muir-Harmony on Spaceflight, Foreign Policy, and Soft Power
  • #144 Nick Eberstadt on Demographics
• Dan Runde’s CSIS Webpage
• The American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership through Soft Power by Daniel Runde
• United Nations International Telecommunications Union
• US State Department Bureau of International Organization Affairs
• Soft Power
• Invisible China: How the Urban-Rural Divide Threatens China’s Rise by Scott Rozelle and Natalie Hell

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-151

Guest Bio: Daniel F. Runde is a senior vice president, director of the Project on Prosperity and Development (PPD), and holds the William A. Schreyer Chair in Global Analysis at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a leading global think tank. Mr. Runde also served as the acting director for the CSIS Americas Program from 2020-2022. His work is oriented around U.S. leadership in building a more democratic and prosperous world. Among his many other contributions, Mr. Runde was an architect of the BUILD Act, contributed to the reauthorization of the U.S. EXIM Bank in 2018, and was an architect of Prosper Africa, a U.S. government initiative to deepen the United States' commercial and development engagement in Africa. He has been a leading voice on the role and future of the World Bank Group and U.S. leadership in the multilateral system. Prior to CSIS, Mr. Runde held leadership roles at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank Group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Runde worked in commercial banking at Citibank in Argentina and in investment banking at Alex. Brown & Sons. Mr. Runde was granted the Officer’s Cross in the Order of Isabel la Católica, a Spanish civil order. Currently, he serves on the board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF), Spirit of America, and the Ashesi University Foundation. Mr. Runde is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bretton Woods Committee. He is also a columnist for The Hill and hosts a CSIS podcast series, Building the Future: Freedom, Prosperity, & Foreign Policy with Dan Runde. Mr. Runde is also the author of the book The American Imperative: Reclaiming Global Leadership through Soft Power (Bombardier Books, 2022). He previously chaired two U.S. government advisory committees: the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at USAID and the Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee at the U.S. EXIM Bank. Fluent in Spanish, he graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and holds a master’s in public policy from Harvard University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Jill Goldenziel of the National Defense University discusses information lawfare and uses ongoing dynamics between the Philippines and China as a case study. Our conversation also traverses the INDOPACOM Counter Lawfare program, the Belt and Road Initiative, institutional lawfare, global legal domination, and the 21st Century space race.

Research Question: Jill Goldenziel suggests interested students examine the legal basis for the defense of Taiwan, which includes understanding scenario modeling.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #74 Elham Tabassi on NIST, Technology Standards, and Trust
• Recent articles:
  • The Truth About The Philippines’ New Strategy Against China by Jill Goldenziel
  • Law as a Battlefield: The U.S., China, and Global Escalation of Lawfare by Jill Goldenziel
  • Information Lawfare: Messaging and the Moral High Ground by Jill Goldenziel
• Jill Goldenziel’s Website
• INDOPACOM Tactical Aids (TACAIDS)
• China’s Law of the Sea: The New Rules of Maritime by Isaac B. Kardon

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-150

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Jill Goldenziel is a professor at the National Defense University-College of Information and Cyberspace and a speaker, consultant, and arbitrator. At NDU-CIC, she teaches courses in International and Constitutional Law, Leadership, Strategy, Lawfare, and Information Warfare to senior civilian and military leaders from the United States and allied and partner nations. She is also an Affiliated Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fox Leadership International program and Penn’s Partnership for Innovation, Cross-Sector Collaboration, Leadership, and Organization.  She is a Forbes.com contributor on National Security. She has spoken at the United Nations and dozens of events throughout the world.

Dr. Goldenziel’s award-winning scholarship focuses on international law, U.S. and comparative constitutional law, human rights, refugees and migration, lawfare, and information warfare. She is working on a book on how politicization of refugee crises threatens national security, an article on lawfare and Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing (IUU F), an essay on leadership and gender that builds on her popular TEDx talk, and several projects on the use of law as a weapon of war. In 2022, NATO ACO/SHAPE Legal Office awarded her the Serge Lazareff Prize for her work as a scholar-practitioner of legal operations (lawfare).  

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Askonas discusses how technology may be leading us towards a homogenization and a cultural dead end where creativity is stifled by market forces. This homogenization process may also, inadvertently, make societies more susceptible to cybernetic influence techniques such as reflexive control.

Research Question: What is the relationship between homogeneity & heterogeneity in memetic systems? (For ex: The research of Rene Girard).

Resources:

• Jon Askonas’ Catholic University Webpage
• Recent podcast appearance: WHAT’S HAPPENED TO CONSENSUS REALITY?
• Marshall Mcluhan quote: "There is no difference that does not difference make."
• YouTube: Axis of Awesome - 4 Four Chord Song (with song titles)
• Ted Gioia Music Substack
• The Culture of Military Innovation: The Impact of Cultural Factors on the Revolution in Military Affairs in Russia, the US, and Israel by Dmitry (Dima) Adamsky
• Wikipedia: Rene Girard
• Tablet: Jacob Siegel

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-149 

Guest Bio: Jon Askonas is an assistant professor of Politics at the Catholic University of America, where he works on the connections between the republican tradition, technology, and national security. He is currently working on two books: A Muse of Fire: Why the U.S. Military Forgets What It Learns in War, on what happens to wartime innovations when the war is over and The Shot in the Dark: A History of the U.S. Army Asymmetric Warfare Group, the first comprehensive overview of a unit that helped the Army adapt to the post 9/11 era of counterinsurgency and global power competition. His writing has appeared in Russian Analytical Digest, Triple Helix, The New Atlantis, Fare Forward, War on the Rocks, and the Texas National Security Review.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Kalev Leetaru discusses the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (or GDELT) project, global risk management, and open source intelligence.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #130 Teasel Muir-Harmony on Spaceflight, Foreign Policy, and Soft Power
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• The GDELT Project
  • https://www.gdeltproject.org/
• Kalev Leetaru’s webpage
  • https://www.kalevleetaru.com/
• Open Source Intelligence in a Networked World by Anthony Olcott

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-148

Guest Bio: Dr. Kalev Leetaru is a global advisor to governments, NGOs and the world’s largest corporations to help them solve tomorrow’s greatest challenges in an ever more uncertain world. His GDELT Project fundamentally transformed modern global risk forecasting, becoming one of the most iconic and largest realtime open graphs over Planet Earth. For more than a quarter-century his landmark studies have been at the forefront of reimagining how we understand our world through some of the largest datasets and computing platforms on the planet.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Nita Farahany discusses her cognitive liberty concept, as well as her book: The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology.

Research Question: Prof. Farahany asks what can we do individually to tell fact from fiction, safeguard against manipulation, engage critical thinking skills, and develop greater mindfulness so that we may flourish in the Digital Age. What are the limits of the human mind to protect against distortion of cognitive freedoms?

Resources:

• The Battle for Your Brain: Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology by Nita Farahany
• Prof Nita Farahany’s Webpage
• https://law.duke.edu/fac/farahany/
• Recent news article: “We need a new human right to cognitive liberty”

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-147

Guest Bio: 

Nita A. Farahany is a leading scholar on the ethical, legal, and social implications of emerging technologies. She is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy at Duke Law School, the Founding Director of Duke Science & Society, the Faculty Chair of the Duke MA in Bioethics & Science Policy, and principal investigator of SLAP Lab.

Farahany is a frequent commentator for national media and radio shows and a regular keynote speaker. She presents her work to diverse academic, legal, corporate, and public audiences including at TED, the World Economic Forum, Aspen Ideas Festival, Judicial Conferences for US Court of Appeals, scientific venue including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Society for Neuroscience, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy, and by testifying before Congress.

Her current scholarship focuses on the implications of emerging neuroscience, genomics, and artificial intelligence for law and society; legal and bioethical issues arising from the COVID-19 pandemic; FDA law and policy; and the use of science and technology in criminal law. In addition to publishing in legal and scientific journals, as well as edited book volumes, Farahany is the author of the forthcoming book The Battle for Your Brain: Defending Your Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology (St. Martin’s Press 2023).

In 2010, Professor Farahany was appointed by President Obama to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues and served until 2017. She is an appointed member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke, an elected member of the American Law Institute and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, past President of the International Neuroethics Society, an ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) advisor to the NIH Brain Initiative and to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an appointed member of both the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders and the Standing Committee on Biotechnology Capabilities and National Security Needs for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and a member of the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and Expert Network for the World Economic Forum. She served as Reporter for the Study Committee and later Drafting Committee on updating the Uniform Determination of Death Committee for the Uniform Law Commission. In 2022, she was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the NC Delegation for the Uniform Law Commission, and currently serves in that capacity. Farahany is a co-editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences and on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American. She also serves on scientific and ethics advisory boards for corporations.

Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy. In 2004-2005, Farahany clerked for Judge Judith W. Rogers of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, after which she joined the law faculty at Vanderbilt University. In 2011, Farahany was the Leah Kaplan Visiting Professor of Human Rights at Stanford Law School.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Sebastian Bae discusses games in a national security context. Games help leaders understand decisions and consequences in a synthetic environment. Sebastian also describes his newest game, Malign, which is designed in collaboration with NATO’s Hybrid Center of Excellence for college students, foreign service officers, and policy makers to better understand the power of misinformation and malign influence.

Research Questions: 

• Sebastian suggests to an interested student investigate how we measure or assess educational progress relative to gaming? How does the synthetic experience of games change depending upon the medium being used, for example: table top versus digital versus AR versus VR, etc.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #140 Tom Ferris on Cognitive Ergonomics
• Sebastian’s Georgetown Page
• Sebastian’s CNA Page
• NATO’s Hybrid Center of Excellence
• Game: Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific
• Emily Yoder's YouTube presentation on Malign
• Georgetown University Wargaming Society
• Leeroy Jenkins Youtube
• You Said This Would Be Fun: What makes a game good and how to make a good game by Jeff Warrender
• On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines by B. A. Friedman

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-146

Guest Bio: 

Sebastian J. Bae’s work principally focuses on wargaming, emerging technologies, the future of warfare, and strategy and doctrine for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

In addition to his work at CNA, Bae serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University, where he teaches a graduate course on designing educational wargames. He has taught similar courses at the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. He is also the faculty advisor to the Georgetown University Wargaming Society, the co-chair of the Military Operations Research Society Wargaming Community of Practice, and a nonresident fellow at the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Creativity. 

Before joining CNA, he served six years in the Marine Corps infantry, leaving as a sergeant. He deployed to Iraq in 2009.

Bae received a Master of Arts in security studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in peace and conflict studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Whitlock and Frank Strickland discuss the importance of AI Education for Leaders. Drawing upon three decades of leading hundreds of advanced analytics and AI programs and projects in government and industry, Chris and Frank address the primary variable in the talent deficit – large numbers of qualified AI leaders. Whether you are a senior or mid-level leader who lacks hands-on experience with AI, or an AI practitioner who lacks leadership experience, Frank and Chris unpack the dynamics between AI programs, projects, people, and technology. 

Research Questions: 

• Chris Whitlock suggests a question related to Large Language Models (LLM); how will LLMs perform with contemporary data feeds, novel, emergent topics? For example: intelligence summarizations?
• Frank Strickland believes that simulation technologies are ascendant and should be studied more.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Ai Leaders
  • https://aileaders.mykajabi.com
• Winning the National Security AI Competition: A Practical Guide for Government and Industry Leaders by Chris Whitlock and Frank Strickland
• Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller
• T-Minus AI: Humanity's Countdown to Artificial Intelligence and the New Pursuit of Global Power by Michael Kanaan and Braden Wright

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-145

Guest Bio: 

Frank Strickland enlisted in the Marine Corps, graduating as the Honor Man of my platoon. During his 22 years of government service, he helped lead innovations including: evaluating and transitioning to production the nation’s first long endurance unmanned aerial system; delivering intelligence to the tactical edge using narrow and wide-band technologies; and agile prototyping of big data analytics. The Director of Central Intelligence awarded him the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement in recognition of these accomplishments. He was the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) Legislative Director, and a member of CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, where he received the NRO’s Medals of Distinguished and Superior Service. In the private sector he co-founded Edge Consulting and helped lead Edge's growth resulting in an acquisition by IBM. As a partner in IBM and subsequently Deloitte, he led large practices providing AI and analytics solutions and services to national security clients including innovations in massive scale property graphs and agent-based simulation. 

Chris Whitlock completed undergrad in Oxford – Oxford MS – and began service as an Army infantry officer, then military analyst at CIA. He spent the majority of his 40-year career providing advanced analytics, AI, and management consulting services primarily to national security clients in the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and Department of State. He helped pioneer the rapid prototyping and integration of advanced algorithms with software applications starting in the early 1990s. In the past 10 years his work has emphasized machine learning and artificial intelligence applications. He led a large market offering in Deloitte Consulting focused on Mission Analytics and AI in addition to leading large programs for cabinet level departments. He co-founded an analytics company, Edge Consulting, personally leading the development of algorithmic approaches to quantify the value of intelligence. After an acquisition by IBM, he served as a Partner in IBM. If you notice parallels between Frank’s and his careers, we are twins who were separated at birth. We found each other in 1991 and have done some cool stuff since including our most recent venture, aiLeaders.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute discusses demographic forces which have national security implications. Specifically, Nicholas recaps population dynamics which are unfolding in China, Russia, the United States, and the greater Middle East and broadly construed Islamic community.

Research Question: Dr. Eberstadt believes interested students should investigate the paradox that exists between greater human population and the inflation-adjusted price of natural resources. What’s the answer to this paradox?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #138 Matthew Canham on Cognitive Security
  • #76 Yuval Levin on the Constitution & Institutions
• Nicholas Eberstadt’s AEI Profile
• The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu and Ken Liu

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-144

Guest Bio: Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he researches and writes extensively on demographics and economic development generally, and more specifically on international security in the Korean peninsula and Asia. Domestically, he focuses on poverty and social well-being. Dr. Eberstadt is also a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR).

His many books and monographs include “Poverty in China” (IDI, 1979); “The Tyranny of Numbers” (AEI Press, 1995); “The End of North Korea” (AEI Press, 1999); “The Poverty of the Poverty Rate” (AEI Press, 2008); and “Russia’s Peacetime Demographic Crisis” (NBR, 2010). His latest book is “Men Without Work: America’s Invisible Crisis” (Templeton Press, 2016).

He has offered invited testimony before Congress on numerous occasions and has served as consultant or adviser for a variety of units within the US government. His appearances on radio and television range from NPR to CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

Mr. Eberstadt has a PhD in political economy and government, an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government, and an AB from Harvard University. In addition, he holds a master of science from the London School of Economics.

In 2012, Mr. Eberstadt was awarded the prestigious Bradley Prize.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Conrad Dungca of the Naval Information Warfare Command Pacific (NIWC Pacific) discusses Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). Conrad discusses each component of ISR, and how ISR fits into information operations. 

Research Question: Conrad suggests two research questions: 1) how has ISR evolved and what is ISR, and what is the right direction for ISR; 2) how has ISR impacted people and the world?

Resources:

• Fleet Tactics And Naval Operations by Wayne Hughes and Robert Girrier
• The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do by Erik J. Larson

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-143

Guest Bio: Conrad Dungca grew up in Los Angeles, CA.  He graduated with merit from the US Naval Academy earning a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering, with an emphasis in Communications and Computer Engineering in May 1991. Upon graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign as a Student Naval Aviator.

He attended primary flight training in Corpus Christi, TX, and advanced rotary wing flight school in Florida, earning his Naval Aviation wings of gold in 1994.  His service in the Navy was primarily flying the H-46 Sea Knight helicopter.  His other Navy tours included:

• Tutoring inner city high school students as a Navy Upward Bound Mentor at UCSD, 
• Engineer duty at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico,
• Assistant Operations Officer at the Joint US Military Advisory Group in the Philippines,
• Navy Recruiting Duty in San Diego,
• Officer In Charge of a Counter IED Unmanned Aerial Vehicle detachment in support of Operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom, and
• Commanding Officer for two Navy Reserve Units supporting NAVAIR in the rapid research and development of naval aviation systems.

Conrad Dungca served over 30 years in the US Navy, retiring at the rank of Navy Captain.  He is currently working at Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific (NIWC Pac) as the Lead Systems Engineer of the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Department supporting the engineering processes of over 180 department projects.  Prior to Conrad’s assignment to the ISR Department, he was involved with multiple communications related projects in NIWC Pac’s Communications and Networks Department, focusing mostly with the Navy afloat and ashore communications architectures and systems.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Murphy discusses issues surrounding ethics related to foreign disinformation–including difficult tradeoffs related to freedom and security.

Research Question: Brian believes that we need more clearer criteria for what is disinformation and misinformation. There are no adequate definitions and there is too much subjectivity in current definitions. For example, relevant to disinformation, what is the difference between legitimate statecraft and propaganda?

Resources:

• Some of Brian’s Publications:
  • Book release Spring 2023 Russian Disinformation in America and the U.S. Government’s Ethical Obligations to Respond, Springer Nature Publishing.
  • The Impact of Social Media Conveyed Russian-Backed Disinformation in a Polarized America: An Examination of the Executive Branch’s Ethical Responsibility to Respond (Georgetown University)
  • The US Needs a Center to Counter Foreign Malign Influence at Home - Defense One
  • Ukraine's History Shows Where Russian Disinformation Can Take Hold (logically.ai)
  • Making Sense of Russian Disinformation and Propaganda (logically.ai)
  • “Decaying National Security: Understanding the Implications of Imagined Tribalism and its Connection to the Decay of Nationalism in a Radically Changed Information Context” - RUSI Journal | Royal United Services Institute.
  • Chapter:  Introduction to T&S and Law Enforcement - Trust & Safety Professional Association (tspa.org)
  • The Ever-Shrinking Worlds of National and Homeland Security by Brian Murphy
  • Brian Murphy PhD Dissertation: THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA CONVEYED RUSSIAN-BACKED DISINFORMATION IN A POLARIZED AMERICA: AN EXAMINATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH’S ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPOND

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-142

Guest Bio: Since September 2021, Brian Murphy has been the Vice President of Strategic Operations for Logically.  In his role, he assisted in developing and implementing advanced Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence solutions to find harmful threat content at scale and across languages and platforms on social media.   Before joining Logically, Mr. Murphy served as both the Principal and Acting Under Security for Intelligence for the Department of Homeland Security (2018 to 2021).  In these roles, he served as the Chief Intelligence Officer, Chief Information Sharing Officer, and Chief Counterintelligence Officer for the department.  In this capacity, he provided intelligence leading to more than 250K personnel. Mr. Murphy led intelligence analysis, data integration, and program management for 22 component organizations within the department.  Mr. Murphy was a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for over 20 years.  While there, he performed duties from street agent up to roles as a national manager.  While in the senior executive service at the FBI, he served as the primary point of contact for federal, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism programs.  During his career, he served in New York, Afghanistan, Algeria, Tunisia, Niger, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington, DC.  Murphy began his federal service in 1994 as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.  He would later return to this role in 2004 after he was recalled to active duty for service in Iraq. Mr. Murphy’s academic credentials include a PhD from Georgetown University; Master of Arts in Islamic Studies from Columbia University; Bachelor of Arts in Government College of William and Mary.  He is a certified U.S. Intel Community Intelligence Officer and Joint Duty Certified and maintains a Top Secret clearance.

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.

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, George Pullen discusses the space economy through a national security lens. Along the way, he answers some basic economic questions like: what is an economy, and what is GDP and why does it matter?

Research Question: George Pullen believes the following questions should be studies more:

• How does space-based solar power plays into our energy future?
• What are the impacts of economic activities happening in and around space ports?
• How does blockchain fit into the space economy?

Resources:

• George Pullen’s MilkyWayEconomy Website
• https://www.milkywayeconomy.com/
• Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space by Namrata Goswami and Peter Garretson
• The United States Space Force: Space, Grand Strategy, and U.S. National Security by Lamont C. Colucci
• Tailoring Deterrence for China in Space by Krista Langeland, Derek Grossman
• Spacepower Ascendant: Space Development Theory and a New Space Strategy by Joshua Carlson
• Blockchain and the Space Economy by George Pullen

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-141

Guest Bio: 

Prof. George Pullen is a free-market economist, who for the last decade has been refining his economic philosophies as a Senior Economist at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, DC. Previous to that he worked as a trader, portfolio manager, and banker. He is driven by a curiosity and passion for convergence, connecting people and ideas across diverse disciplines and finding new questions that need answers. He is the author and co-author of six books on economic topics related to deep tech and a Partner and Chief Economist for MilkyWayEconomy. - Forecasting and Strategy for the 5th Industrial Revolution of the Space Economy.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Tom Ferris discusses his fascinating research related to cognitive ergonomics.

Research Questions: Tom thinks the following questions need additional study:

1. Human sensing and cognitive insights obtrusive physiology; making inferences during human studies; finding ways of measuring workload, stress and emotional workload in humans.

2. Design for what we know about humans; sensing and detecting emotional states and having machines respond accordingly; control science and getting machines to work better based upon human cognitive sensing.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• • #71 Hasard Lee on the F-35 and Cognitive Load

• Tom Ferris

• The Design Of Everyday Things by Don Norman

• IPA Monthly Brown Bag Meetings

• Calling Authors & Thought Leaders: LLMs and GPT-3

• IPA Blog Submission Guidelines

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-140

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Thomas Ferris is an Associate Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering at Texas A&M University. Dr. Ferris' research interests are in human factors and cognitive ergonomics, and can be described as the study of cognition in human-machine engineered systems. His primary focus involves human information processing and design to support attention and interruption management. In particular, he investigates novel interface design techniques, employing alternative display modalities such as the sense of touch. Other research interests include human error, decision making under time pressure and human-automation interaction. He has interest and experience in applying his research to the domains of medicine (anesthesiology), military operations (command and control, UV control and operations), aviation (cockpit automation and air traffic control) and ground transportation.

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.

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.

Austin Branch and Andy Whiskeyman, both professors of the practice at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS), discuss the recent Phoenix Challenge Conference which was held in London from Feb 27th to Mar 3rd 2023. The Conference was meant to bring together: Academia, Industry, and Government. Those three communities are vital to success in the information field.

The first two days were plenary sessions meant to orient the group and ensure common focus for the day three working groups.

The day three working groups were split into three:

1. Industry/Government: creating a forum for dialog and creating shared solutions.

2. Academia: preparation for the Academic Phoenix Challenge. Creating an environment to harness academic excellence in support of common obstacles and opportunities.

3. Government session: Integrated deterrence, Narrative, Assessment.

These were all the initial working groups designed to create the initial conditions for future success. These themes will continue throughout the year. Conference outputs will work to develop solutions, recommendations, etc. for key leaders in Government (in the information field, specifically OIOP (OSD), and for Head MSE (MoD).

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-139

Guest Bio: 

Austin Branch is Professor of the Practice at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS).

Andy Whiskeyman is Professor of the Practice at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security; Associate Professor at the College of Information and Cyberspace at National Defense University, and a non-resident fellow at Joint Special Operations University

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Matthew Canham discusses the importance of cognitive security, and his neurosecurity framework.

Research Question: Are there a finite and discoverable set of Principles of Influence for AI analogous to the Principles of Influence in humans? (Reference: Dr. Robert Cialdini’s Seven Principles of Influence in Humans which form the basis of (most) social engineering attacks: Reciprocity, Social Proof, Liking, Authority, Commitment & Consistency, Scarcity, Unity)

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #113 Jeff Engstrom on Chinese Systems Warfare
  • #135 Dave Maxwell on North Korea and Influence Operations
  • #110 Sean McFate on The New Rules of War
• Matthew’s personal website
• Cognitive Security: Exploring the Human Layer w/ Dr. Matthew Canham | CSI Talks #1
  • https://youtu.be/OGmvoj5Dj_A
• Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui
• AntiFragile, 2014, Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America, 2015, Qiao Liang & Wang Xiangsui
• War Without Rules: China's Playbook for Global Domination, 2022, Robert Spalding
• The New Rules of War: How America Can Win--Against Russia, China, and Other Threats, 2020, Sean McFate
• The Weaponisation of Everything: A Field Guide to the New Way of War, 2022, Mark Galeotti
• The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age, 1997, James Dale Davidson & Lord William Rees-Mogg
• The Network State: How To Start a New Country, 2022, Balaji Srinivasan
• What Technology Wants, 2010, by Kevin Kelly
• Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion, 2021, Robert B Cialdini PhD
• Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade, 2016, Robert Cialdini Ph.D.
• Security risks of ChatGPT and other AI text generators Paul Wagenseil January 17, 2023

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-138

Guest Bio: Dr. Matthew Canham is a security consultant and researcher dedicated to understanding and addressing the human element in cybersecurity. His research focuses on human susceptibility to mis-dis-mal (MDM) information operations and remote online social engineering attacks. He is also the host of the Cognitive Security Institute, an organization which holds monthly online meetings to discuss topics in cognitive security. You may watch past presentations here: https://www.youtube.com/@cognitivesecurityinstitute579/videos

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Vic Garcia and Mike Berger of Peraton give a deep dive into IO-related challenges facing the United States and allied nations, plus dynamics between the intelligence and the operations communities, and the importance and current state of IO assessments.

Research Question: 

• Vic Garcia suggests: How are the Chinese leveraging the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in order to build influence across the globe? What are the implications on US foreign policy?
• [Expanding off of the question above] Mike Berger asserts: What are examples of strategic competitor (Chinese and Russian) efforts to build influence* in different information environments across the globe? How successful have they been in these efforts, and what challenges do they present to US national interests?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #82 John DeRosa and Alex del Castillo on Measuring Effectiveness of Operations in the Information Environment
  • #81 Cassandra Brooker on the Effectiveness of Influence Activities
  • #115 Russ Burgos on Information Supply, Demand, and Effect
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Axis of Disinformation: Propaganda from Iran, Russia, and China on COVID-19 by Andrew Whiskeyman, Michael Berger
• The Hundred-Year Marathon: China's Secret Strategy to Replace America as the Global Superpower by Michael Pillsbury and Malcolm Hillgartner
• Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences by Alexander George and Andrew Bennett (2004).
• Like War: The Weaponization of Social Media by P.W. Singer and Emerson Brooking (2018).
• Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment, by RAND—authors include Michael Schwille, Anthony Atler, Jonathan, Welch, Christopher Paul, Richard C. Baffa (2020).

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-137

Guest Bio: 

Colonel (Ret) Vic Garcia culminated his 30-year Army career after having served as the J39 Information Operations Division Chief at two separate combatant commands: U.S. Special Operations Command (2016-20) and U.S. Central Command (2013-16). During his tenure at SOCOM he oversaw the creation of the Joint MISO Web-operations Center (JMWC), and helped lead organizational change for the PSYOP, Civil Affairs, Cyber and Space communities within the SOF enterprise. Prior to this, while at CENTCOM, Vic led the command’s IO efforts against ISIS/Daesh propaganda, leading to improved web operations including development of a team directly supporting JSOC. Vic served in a variety of infantry and PSYOP assignments, including command of information warfare task forces in Iraq for Multi-National Forces -Iraq, and in Qatar for Special Operations Command – Central. He also saw service in Kandahar, Afghanistan as an infantry deputy Brigade commander; and as a MIST Team leader supporting Joint Task Force Liberia, created to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in that country. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal (2 awards), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2 awards), the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, Ranger Tab, Senior Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and others. His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy, West Point; a Master of Science in International Relations from Troy University; and a Master’s of Science in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. Vic currently works for Peraton supporting information warfighting capability development.

Dr. Mike Berger is Chief of Research for the Information Warfare organizational unit (OU) in Peraton’s Cyber Mission Sector. In this capacity, he serves as the lead for analysis and assessments for the Operational Planning, Implementation, and Assessment Services (OPIAS) contract—the largest information warfare support contract in the US Government (USG). Dr. Berger oversees primary source research, personnel, and operational assessments supporting information operations (IO) / irregular warfare (IW) activities across OPIAS’s supported Geographic Combatant Commands (GCCs) and USG agencies. Through the course of his work, Dr. Berger has established and successfully managed the most expansive foreign audience opinion research portfolio in the Department of Defense, including over 700,000 survey interviews, 600 focus groups, and 2,000 elite interviews in a variety of sensitive locations across the globe. A central focus of his research includes illuminating the current challenges faced by America and its partners in the information environment. Dr. Berger holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews (Scotland, United Kingdom). He enjoys establishing new research projects, leveraging new technologies to enhance data analysis, and developing operational assessment teams in support of forward deployed warfighters.

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.

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 Vicki Nash discusses the Oxford Internet Institute, Internet governance, and regulation related to children.

Research Question: What are the benefits of technology use in children or young people; for example: benefits related to forming one’s own identity, one’s own sense personality, self-efficacy?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned

• • #18 Tom Sear on Xenowar

  • #41 Toomas Ilves on the Estonian Perspective

• Victoria Nash’s OII Webpage

• Unicef Growing Up in a Connected World report

• OfCom Children and Parents Media Users survey

• It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens by danah boyd

• Cloud Empires: How Digital Platforms Are Overtaking the State and How We Can Regain Control by Vili Lehdonvirta

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-136

Guest Bio: Victoria Nash is Director of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). Her research interests draw on her background as a political theorist, and concern the normative policy implications of evidence characterising children’s use of Internet technologies. Recent research has included an analysis of age verification policies as a tool for balancing the interests of children and adults online, and an examination of the data risks posed to children by connected toys and the Internet of Things. She holds several digital policy advisory roles, including membership of the UK Government’s multi-stakeholder UK Council on Internet Safety (UKCIS) Evidence Group, and serves on the Advisory Board of Internet Matters. She is frequently called on to give expert evidence in UK and EU policy consultations on broader issues such as platform governance and Internet regulation.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Dave Maxwell discusses the importance of human rights upfront, influence campaigns, the pursuit of a free and unified Korea, resting on a foundation of deterrence and defense in the context of countering North Korea.

Research Questions: Dave suggests technologies be developed which help Western governments access and penetrate North Korea. Also, he believes the potential succession in North Korea is an important research area, as well as mapping out the entire human terrain of key personalities and communicators. He also asks: how can we use defectors and escapees to help with the above research projects and bridge the North and the South. Finally, Dave thinks these “big 5” questions related to North Korea are important:

1. What do we want to achieve in Korea?
2. What is the acceptable durable political arrangement that will protect, serve, and advance US and ROK/US Alliance interests on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia?
3. Who does Kim fear more: The US or the Korean people in the north? (Note it is the Korean people armed with information knowledge of life in South Korea)
4. Do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the seven decades old strategy of subversion, coercion-extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and use of force to achieve unification dominated by the Guerrilla Dynasty and Gulag State in order to ensure the survival of the mafia like crime family cult known as Kim family regime?
5. In support of that strategy do we believe that Kim Jong-un has abandoned the objective to split the ROK/US Alliance and get US forces off the peninsula?  Has KJU given up his divide to conquer strategy - divide the alliance to conquer the ROK?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #99 Roger Carstens on Hostage Negotiations & Diplomacy
• National Strategy for Countering North Korea by Robert Joseph, Robert Collins, Joseph DeTrani, Nicholas Eberstadt, Olivia Enos, David Maxwell, and Greg Scarlatoiu
• Otto Warmbier
• Unified Republic of Korea
• Marked For Life: Songbun: The North Korean Social Classification System by Robert Collins
• Army of the Indoctrinated: The Suryong, the Soldier, and Information in the KPA by George Hutchinson
• Becoming Kim Jong-un: A Former CIA Officer’s Insights into North Korea’s Enigmatic Young Dictator by Dr. Jung H. Pak
• See IPA’s website at the link below for many other book and online resource suggestions related to North Korea

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-135

Guest Bio: David Maxwell is a retired US Army Special Forces Colonel and has spent more than 30 years in Asia as a practitioner and specializes in North Korea and East Asia Security Affairs and irregular, unconventional, and political warfare. He is the Editor of Small Wars Journal. He is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Senior Fellow at the Global Peace Foundation (where he focuses on a free and unified Korea), and a Senior Advisor to the Center for Asia Pacific Strategy.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Air Force LtCol Dan “Plato” Morabito discusses his theory of information warfare. Plato takes what may be considered a first principles approach by defining objectively information, knowledge, and problems with knowing. Then, he assembles a novel taxonomy of information warfare which combines trust, access, and cognition–all of which are required for knowledge creation. After discussing “problems of knowing,” he defines information warfare and a theory for victory.

Research Question: What is the role of the US Government to counter malign influence when the enemy is fighting for a strategic advantage directly with America's center of gravity, the American people, and can this be accomplished while preserving freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and other democratic principles?

Resources:

• How We Lost the Information War of 2028 (December 2021) by Dan “Plato” Morabito
• National Security and the Third-Road Threat: Toward a Comprehensive Theory of Information Warfare (Fall 2021) by Dan “Plato” Morabito
• Cyber Persistence Theory: Redefining National Security in Cyberspace by Emily Goldman, Michael Fischerkeller, and Richard Harknett
• Why America Loses Wars: Limited War and US Strategy from the Korean War to the Present by Donald Stoker

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-134

Guest Bio: 

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel “Plato” Morabito, commander of the 834th Cyberspace Operations Squadron, 67th Cyberspace Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, holds a master of science in leadership and information technology from Duquesne University, a master of science in cyberspace operations from the Air Force Institute of Technology, a master of military operational art and science from the USAF Air Command and Staff College, and a master of arts in military operations from the US Army Command and General Staff College.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army MAJ Joe Littell discusses his recent article: the Future of Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations–including emergent technologies, disinformation, and implications for democracy. Joe also presents some of the things we can do to protect ourselves.

Research Question: How did China use social media to control the COVID narrative within China? How was Chinese state media messaging oriented, both in frequency and content, prior to their invasion of COVID19 Lockdown Protests? 

• Was Chinese messaging uniform, both in frequency and content, across languages and regions, or was it tailored by either? 
• Did Chinese messaging change, either in frequency or content, in response to increased publicity from Western outlets?  

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #41 Toomas Ilves on the Estonian Perspective
  • #86 Nick Starck and David Bierbrauer on Vulnerabilities in the Military Use of AI
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Littell, Joseph, "The Future of Cyber-Enabled Influence Operations: Emergent Technologies, Disinformation, and the Destruction of Democracy" (2022). ACI Books & Book Chapters.

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-133

Guest Bio:

Joe Littell enlisted in the Army in 2003 as an infantryman and attained the rank of Sergeant before commissioning in 2010. Upon commission, Major Littell has served as a Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, and Battalion Logistics Officer while assigned to the 83rd Chemical Battalion. As a 1LT, MAJ Littell applied for, assessed, and completed the Psychological Operations Qualification Course and served within the ARSOF community as a Tactical Detachment Commander and Company Commander with 9th PSYOP Battalion (Airborne). MAJ Littell currently serves as a research scientist at the Army Cyber Institute at West Point on the Information Warfare team working on computational propaganda, narrative warfare, radicalization, and microtargeting through publicly and commercially available data. He holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of South Florida and a MS in Data Science from Duke University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Russell returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss what he calls: “OIE Truths.” Based on his extensive information operations experience, these truths represent the best advice he can give to commanders and service members on how to embrace and exploit emerging OIE doctrine and capabilities.

Research Question: Brian asks: How do we establish a model for conditions-based command and control? Can we have a construct where a force is trained and certified to a certain standard which can quickly chop to a command with the authority to implement that capability?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #13 Brian Russell on Behind Enemy Lines
  • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
  • #102 Brian Schweers on the All Domain Effects Team Concept
  • #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information
  • #126 Edgar Hollandsworth on Talent Development and Intelligence Support for OIE
  •  
• The Five OIE Truths: What it takes to be successful in the information environment by Col Brian Russell
• Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
• Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less by Joseph McCormack
• Marine Corps Gazette Editorial Policy and Writers’ Guidelines

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-132

Guest Bio: Brian Russell is a recently retired colonel in the United States Marine Corps. After commissioning from North Carolina State University, he served the earliest parts of his 27 year career as an artillery officer with multiple combat deployments including service as a Military Transition Team Leader in Habbaniyah, Iraq, the executive officer of Brigade Headquarters Group in Helmand Province, Afghanistan and Plans Director in Bagram, Afghanistan for a combined joint special operations task force. After giving up command of 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in Camp Pendleton CA, he was selected to attend the College of Information and Cyberspace at National Defense University as the sole Marine student in the inaugural resident cyberspace strategy war college program. This educational opportunity earned him a set of orders to US Cyber Command where he served in Fires and Effects division and subsequently served as the J5 Plans Director of Joint Task Force ARES. Most recently he commanded II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (II MIG) in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he provided joint all domain effects for the MEF commander, 2d and 6th Fleets and multiple key allies and partners. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army LTC Brian Burbank discusses the Ghost Team’s immersive information operations training capability at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California. The Ghost Team challenges brigade-sized units with multi-domain dynamics so that we can win the first battle of the next war.

Research Question: Brian Burbank observes that everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence and how it’s going to change modern warfare.  The real question is how, and how do we make it useful to help a Commander win? Lots of value to automate the science of Leadership, so Commanders can apply the Art to enhance our information dominance (Our OODA loop is faster than our adversaries).  But if it doesn’t help Commanders win, then it won’t be of value.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #129 Eliot Jardines on Open Source Intelligence
• Army FM 3-0 OPERATIONS
• Sooner Than We Think: Command Post Survivability and Future Threats with COL John Antal (USA, Ret.)
• Stratagem: Deception and Surprise in War by Barton Whaley
• Alchemy: The Dark Art and Curious Science of Creating Magic in Brands, Business, and Life by Rory Sutherland

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-131

Guest Bio:

LTC Brian Burbank is a lifelong Maniac (born and raised in Maine) and enlisted in the United States Army Reserves in September 1998.  He served in the 94th Military Police Company until 2003 and deployed to Bosnia in 2000-2001.  He also briefly served in the Maine Army National Guard prior to commissioning.  LTC Burbank commissioned from the University of Maine Army ROTC program in 2003 and was branched Aviation and became a qualified UH-60 pilot.  He mostly flew a desk, despite a deployment to Afghanistan (2006-2007) and to Iraq (2008-2009), which led him to transfer into Information Operations (Functional Area 30) in 2013.

As an Information Operations Officer, LTC Burbank served on the I Corps staff, participating in exercises in Thailand, Japan, and Australia, and numerous CONUS locations.  In 2016, LTC Burbank was assigned to 1st Information Operations Battalion, 1st Information Operations Command at Fort Belvoir, VA where he served as a Field Support Team Leader during a deployment in support of a JTF in Afghanistan (2017), Battalion Executive Officer, Force Management Officer, and Social Media Detachment Chief.  He then was assigned to III Corps and immediately deployed to Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve in Kuwait (2020-2021).  

LTC Burbank is currently assigned as the Ghost Team Chief within the Operations group at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.  Ghost Team is comprised of key enablers to support Information Advantage, specifically Civil Affairs, Cyber Electromagnetic Activities, Public Affairs, Psychological Operations, and Space Operations.  Ghost Team is responsible for simultaneously coaching rotational training units and adjusting the scenario to provide a controlled, realistic, and contested training operational environment for the Army.  Ghost Team derives its heritage from the World War Two famed unit, the 23rd Headquarters, Special Troops, better known as “Patton’s Ghost Army”.

LTC Brian Burbank has been married to the lovely Olivia Burbank for almost 20 years and they share two children, Abby (16) and Evan (12).  They collectively enjoy shenanigans wherever they go.  Brian enjoys working on his 1969 Volkswagen Beetle (Herbie), brewing beer, gardening, terrorizing children and the neighborhood in his inflatable T-Rex costume, and most recently, dabbling with his wood pellet smoker.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Teasel Muir-Harmony of the Smithsonian discusses her book, Operation Moonglow. She argues that its primary purpose wasn't advancing science; rather, it was part of a political strategy to build a global coalition. Operation Moonglow paints a riveting picture of the intersection of spaceflight, geopolitics, propaganda, and diplomacy during the Cold War.

Research Question: Dr. Muir Harmony believes more work is needed for evaluating the impact of information dissemination in a public diplomacy context.

Resources:

• Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony
• Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo by Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony
• Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
  • How to Build a Dyson Sphere - The Ultimate Megastructure
  • How to Move the Sun: Stellar Engines

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-130

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony is a historian of science and technology and the curator of the Apollo Collection. Before coming to the Smithsonian, she earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She has held positions as a visiting scholar at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden (KTH), an Associate Historian at the American Institute of Physics, and as a curator at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago.

Muir-Harmony researches and writes on the history of exploring the Moon, from debates about lunar governance to the use of spaceflight as soft power, the topic of her award-winning book, Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo (Basic Books, 2020). She is the author of Apollo to the Moon: A History in 50 Objects (National Geographic, 2018) and an advisor to the television series Apollo’s Moon Shot. Her scholarship has been featured by CBS, the New York Times, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and numerous other media outlets. Muir-Harmony’s research and writing have been supported by the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Foundation, the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, the MIT Presidential Fellowship, the Smithsonian Institution Graduate Research Fellowship, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and the National Science Foundation. 

At the Air and Space Museum, she is the lead curator for the One World Connected gallery and serves on exhibit teams for Destination Moon and the Allan and Shelley Holt Innovations Gallery. Her collection comprises over 2,000 artifacts related to the Apollo program, the Skylab program, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 

Muir-Harmony co-organizes the Space Policy & History Forum, serves on the Executive Council of the Society for the History of Technology, is a member of the American Astronautical Society History Committee, and participates in the US State Department’s Speakers Program. In addition, she teaches in Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Eliot Jardines describes the world of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), publicly available information (PAI), and why it matters to national security.

Research Questions: Eliot suggests interested students and researchers take a look at the following questions:

1. The growing prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI) content on social media and other publicly available information (PAI) sources represents a challenge for open-source intelligence (OSINT) practitioners – what new tradecraft (or tactics, techniques, and procedures) is required?
2. Does the experiential nature of the virtual reality environment (such as Meta) differ sufficiently from traditional social media that different exploitation tradecraft (or tactics, techniques, and procedures) is needed?

Resources:

• OSINT Foundation
• WSJ Article: Rise of Open-Source Intelligence Tests U.S. Spies

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-129

Guest Bio: 

Eliot Jardines is the founder of the OSINT Foundation and serves as the Director of Operations and Treasurer. He is President of Gnosis Solutions, Incorporated, a veteran and minority owned small business focused on training and intelligence consultancy. Prior to Gnosis, he was a Senior Consulting Director at Oracle, and Chief Knowledge Officer of CENTRA Technology, Incorporated.

In late 2005, Dr. Jardines was appointed as the inaugural Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source. As the senior open-source intelligence official, he was responsible for developing a strategic direction, establishing policy, and oversight of fiscal 

resources for social media monitoring efforts across all 17 intelligence agencies. In addition, he served as the Intelligence Community’s senior document and media exploitation (DOMEX) officer, as well as provided oversight to the Open Source Center, the National Media Exploitation Center and the National Virtual Translation Center.

From 1996 to 2005, he was founder and President of Open Source Publishing, Incorporated. The firm provided open-source intelligence support to the military, law enforcement and intelligence communities. The company was the 2002 runner-up for the George C. Marshall Award, and subsequently acquired in 2005.

Dr. Jardines served eleven years in the US Army (Reserves and on active duty), including assignments at the US Army Intelligence Center and School, US Central Command, the National Ground Intelligence Center and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He was deployed to the 66th Military Intelligence Group in Augsburg, Germany in support of Operation Joint Guard during the late 1990s, where he served as the unit’s first OSINT coordinator.

He has testified before the US Congress on intelligence and homeland security issues. He has been published or featured in a number of professional journals, national newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Washington Post. He has done numerous media appearances to include C-SPAN and the CBS Evening News.

Dr. Jardines graduated from the University of New Mexico with a dual degree in political science and Latin American studies. He received a Master of Arts in international studies from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Science in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University, where he was recognized with the NCOA award for excellence in leadership and academics. He holds a doctorate in human and organizational learning from the George Washington University. Heavily involved in the community, Dr. Jardines is head coach of a USA Shooting club which trains athletes in the 25-meter air and sport pistol Olympic events, and coordinator of the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office reserve deputy program. He was recently appointed to the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation board of directors. He resides in Loudoun County, Virginia with his wife Teresa and their three sons.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, previous podcast guests, Dr. Chris Paul and Mr. Matt Armstrong discuss their recent article: The Irony Of Misinformation: USIA Myths Block Enduring Solutions. There was productive dialogue related to Cold War-era USG structure and how today’s policy makers can develop foreign policy, public diplomacy, and a talent pipeline relevant for today’s continual competition.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #20 Chris Paul on the Firehose of Falsehood
  • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
• The Irony Of Misinformation: USIA Myths Block Enduring Solutions by Chris Paul and Matt Armstrong

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-128

Guest Bios: 

Matt Armstrong is a former Governor of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, now the US Agency for Global Media, a former executive director of the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, was made an Honorary Member of the PSYOP Regiment, and is working on a PhD at King’s College London writing on US views of political warfare in the early cold war.

Christopher Paul is a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation and professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Prior to joining RAND full-time in July 2002, Paul worked as an adjunct at RAND for six years and was on the statistics faculty at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Paul has written over a dozen monographs related to operations in the information environment.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Robert Redfield discusses the health of the United States public health institution, which he believes is grossly underfunded and damaged in the wake of the COVID pandemic. Moreover, Dr. Redfield believes that the biggest societal risk we face is an avian influenza, which is likely to have a much higher mortality rate than the COVID pandemic. Our conversation also touches on ways to prepare societies for the next pandemic, as well as Dr. Redfield’s perspective on damage to public trust.

Resources:

• Robert Redfield
• AM LLC: Empowering Community Health Leaders with Innovative Solutions
• The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History by John M. Barry

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-127

Guest Bio: Dr. Robert Redfield has had a distinguished career in service to the United States. Most recently, Dr. Redfield was the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2018 - 2021. He also served in the Army medical service as a physician and medical researcher before retiring as a Colonel in 1996. Dr. Redfield is currently the senior medical advisor to AM LLC. AM empowers leaders and communities with innovative solutions and insights to deliver mission critical services to address a variety of global and local public health challenges.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Ed Hollandsworth of the Joint Forces Staff College shares his observations related to career-level US military officer education and the recently released joint doctrine: JP 3-04 Information in Joint Operations. 

Research Question: Ed suggests that researchers consider a cluster of inter-related questions that could be considered as a research agenda. This means each question by itself could be the focus of a separate research effort.  Building on the podcasts of Major Cassandra Brooker (#81) and John DeRosa and Alex DelCastillo (#82), Ed challenges scholars to ask “How can the US Government validly, accurately, and rapidly measure the effectiveness of its operations in the information environment in time to influence leader decisions about future plans and operations?  What social science methods and performance measurement models are well-suited to this complex task?  How should the Intelligence Community posture itself to support OIE performance measurement?  Downstream, what are the implications of integrated OIE strategies, and the measurement of their effectiveness, for future changes in intelligence collection, predictive analysis, and training and education curriculum development?”

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
  • #20 Chris Paul on the Firehose of Falsehood
  • #125 JP 3-04 Information in Joint Operations
• Joint Forces Staff College
• Book Recommendations:
  • Joshua A. Sipper.  (2021).  It’s not just about cyber anymore:  Multidisciplinary Cyber Education and Training Under the New Information Warfare Paradigm, Joint Forces Quarterly, Spring 2021, pp. 49-56.
  • Mark M. Lowenthal, Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy, 9th edition, 2023.
  • Amy B. Zegart, Spies, Lies and Algorithms:  The History and Future of American Intelligence, 2022.
  • Martin C. Libicki, Cyberspace in Peace and War, 2d edition, 2021.

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-126

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Edgar “Ed” Hollandsworth reported to the Joint Forces Staff College in September of 2021 as the DIA Academic Chair, a 3-year rotational assignment.  In September 2022, National Defense University appointed him as an Assistant Professor.  He teaches lessons on intelligence studies, information warfare, space and cyberspace operations, and national defense organization in all three JFSC colleges.

Ed joined DIA in 2007.  His positions included Director of National Intelligence Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholar, 2020-2021; Deputy Career Field Manager and Lead Career Development Officer, Mission Management (MM) Career Field, Joint Staff J2M (MM Workforce Development Division), 2015-2020; Deputy Chief, Mission Integration Division, National Measurement and Signature Intelligence Office (NMO), Directorate for Science and Technology (ST), 2014-2015; Chief, Enterprise Integration Division, DoD Special Communications Enterprise Office, ST, 2012-2014; Space Policy Analyst, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, 2011-2012; Chief, Functional Management Division, Office for Collection Management Enterprise, Defense Intelligence Operations Coordination Center (DIOCC), 2009-2010; Senior Intelligence Officer (Policy and Strategy) and Acting Chief, Policy and Strategy Division, DIOCC, 2007-2009.

Prior to his DIA career, Ed served for 20 years as an Air Force intelligence officer, retiring in 2006 as a Lieutenant Colonel.  His Air Force assignments included Assistant Director of Operations, Air Force Technical Applications Center, 2004-2006; Assistant Air Attaché to Germany, DIA, 2001-2004; Intelligence Requirements Certification Officer, Joint Staff J2P, 1999-2001; Joint Warfighting Capabilities Assessment Studies Lead, Joint Staff J2P, 1997-1999; Chief, Multi-Force Assessment Division, Chief, Joint Analysis and Reporting Division, and Section Chief, Misawa Cryptologic Operations Center, Air Intelligence Agency, 1994-1997; Chief, National Systems Collection Management, OPERATION PROVIDE COMFORT C2, 1996; Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies, Air Force ROTC Det. 520, Cornell University, 1991-1994; Arms Control Analyst, Soviet Politico-Military Affairs Officer and Watch Officer, Headquarters Air Force Intelligence Agency, 1988-1991; Student, Naval Postgraduate School National Security Affairs program, Air Force Institute of Technology, 1986-1987.  He also served as a desk editor for the Foreign Broadcast Information Service and as a security escort at the Central Intelligence Agency, 1984-1986.

Ed is a graduate of the Defense Senior Leader Development Program, 2012; Army War College, 2011; Armed Forces Staff College, 2000; Air Command and Staff College, 1998; and Air Force Academic Instructor School, 1991. He holds a B.S. in Foreign Service majoring in International Politics from Georgetown University, a masters in East European Area Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, an MBA from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, a masters in strategic studies from the Army War College, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration/Public Affairs from Virginia Tech.  Ed co-taught Cornell University and Ithaca College undergraduates as an Air Force ROTC instructor; adult undergraduates in business administration at Columbia College, Patrick Air Force Base, as an adjunct faculty member; and graduate students in the Joint Forces Staff College as a full-time faculty member.  His research interests include government reform, public management theory and practice, intelligence studies, and challenges of governing the global commons.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, three key players in the establishment of JP 3-04 (Information in Joint Operations)–Eric Wallace, Derek Elliott, and Ron Walters–give the Cognitive Crucible audience a behind-the-scenes tour into the process of creating new joint doctrine. For part of the conversation, the audience may want to refer to this Doctrinal Logic: Information in Joint Operations 1-page summary.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #2 Austin Branch, the US Army’s First Information Operations officer
  • #64 Greg Radabaugh on Informational Power
  • #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information
• Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment (2018)
• JROCM 068-19 Operations in the Information Environment DOTmLPF-P Change Recommendation
• Doctrinal Logic: Information in Joint Operations
• Reading List
• Normal Department of Defense processes can be found in CJCSI 3100.01 - Joint Strategic Planning System
• Normalize DoD Processes are described in CJCSI 3100.01 Joint Strategic Planning System
• JP 3-04, Information in Joint Operations, 14 September 2022 can be found on JDEIS
• JP 3-0, Joint Operations, 18 June 2022: This publication provides fundamental principles and guidance for joint campaigns and operations can be found on JDEIS
• JP 5-0, Joint Planning, 1 December 2020: This publication is the keystone document for joint planning. It provides the doctrinal foundation and fundamental principles that guide the Armed Forces of the United States in planning joint campaigns and operations. - It can be found on JDEIS  but officially is behind the JDEIS firewall
• JP 2-0, Joint Intelligence, 26 May 2022: This publication is the keystone document for joint intelligence. It provides the doctrinal foundation and fundamental principles that guide joint and national intelligence products, services, and assessments and support to joint operations. JP 2-0 can be found on JDEIS
• Dr. Thomas Rona
• Dr. John Arquilla

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-125

Guest Bio: 

Eric Wallace is currently an Information Warfare/Electronic Warfare Subject Matter Expert with COLSA Corporation February 2022. In this capacity he utilizes his expert knowledge to influence best practices within IW discipline, leads work teams or other SMEs to ensure customer satisfaction relating to technical contract performance, is a recognized expert in the information warfare field, and advises and consults on information warfare with high-level customers and stakeholders.

Prior to his joining COLSA, Mr. Wallace was the Chief of the Information Proponent Division, Joint Information Operations Warfare Center (JIOWC) in San Antonio, TX. JIOWC is Chairman’s Controlled Activity subordinate to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Wallace led the JIOWC’s effort to operationalize and institutionalize the information joint function and operations in the information environment across the Department of Defense. Outcomes associated with this role included publishing the Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment (JCOIE); the designation of Information as a joint function; leading the Operations in the Information Environment Capabilities-Based Assessment DOTMLPF-P Change Recommendation and associated Joint Requirements Oversight Council Memorandum 068-19; and the development of the information joint function doctrinal publication JP 3-04 Information in Joint Operations.

Mr. Wallace entered Civil Service in 1995 and has worked in numerous assignments supporting operations in the information environment. He has served in various national level forums including Electronic Intelligence, 2003 Information Operations Road Map, 2005 Quadrennial Defense Review, and was Project Director for an OSD-directed study on intelligence support to IO planning and operational requirements. Mr. Wallace’s other noteworthy contributions include the 2010 Joint Information Operations Force Optimization Study; 2016 Department of Defense Strategy for Operations in the Information Environment; Capstone Concept for Joint Operations 2030 (CCJO). For more than 19 years, Mr. Wallace has provided direct information operations support to combatant commanders and has over 20 years of experience in intelligence at the tactical, theater/joint, and national levels, including Operations DENY FLIGHT/PROVIDE PROMISE and ENDURING FREEDOM. Mr. Wallace enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1980 and has served in a variety of intelligence assignments in the United States and overseas.

Derek Elliott retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2014 after serving as an Information Operations Officer and conducting tactical- through strategic-level Information Operations. Mr. Elliott is a subject matter expert on the use of information in joint operations with MeriTec Services, Incorporated. While assigned as a doctrine writer in the Information Operations Proponent Division of the Joint Information Operations Warfare Center, Derek led the writing team that incorporated the information joint function into Joint Doctrine and that created Joint Publication 3-04, Information in Joint Operations.

Ron Walters retired from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel of Psychological Operations in 2011. Ron’s PSYOP experience ranges from PSYOP Detachment to the Joint Staff.  Joining MeriTec Services after a lengthy stint with MISTF-A, Ron participated in the drafting of the Joint Concept for Operating in the Information Environment and the following Operations in the Information Environment Capabilities Based Assessment. He was a primary contributor behind Information the Joint Function.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Dean Cheng of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies has a wide ranging discussion which centers around Chinese technology initiatives related to information operations, space operations, engagement with the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union (or ITU), and even the Arctic. Dean also comments on areas where the Chinese has relative advantage and disadvantage compared to The West.

Research Question: How china is using various tools to influence third party populations in Africa, South America, and the Middle East; how many foreign students educated in Chinese institutions are now in influential positions within their home countries and how is this affecting policies in these regions?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #113 Jeff Engstrom on Chinese Systems Warfare
• The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently...and Why by Richard E. Nisbett

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-124

Guest Bio: 

Dean Cheng is a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. He retired as the Senior Research Fellow for Chinese Political and Military Affairs at the Heritage Foundation after 13 years. He is fluent in Chinese, and uses Chinese language materials regularly in his work.

Prior to joining the Heritage Foundation, he worked with the China Studies Division (previously, Project Asia) at the Center for Naval Analysis, a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, where he specialized in Chinese military issues, with a focus on Chinese military doctrine and Chinese space capabilities. Before that, he worked for Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), and as an analyst with the US Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment in the International Security and Space Division. 

He is the author of the volume Cyber Dragon: Inside China’s Information Warfare and Cyber Operations (Praeger Publishing, 2016).

He has testified before Congress, and spoken at the National Space Symposium, the US National Defense University, the USSTRATCOM Deterrence Symposium, Harvard, and MIT. He has appeared frequently in print and broadcast media to discuss Chinese space and military activities.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Jon Roginski discusses insider threats. Jon asserts that insider threat detection and mitigation is an inherently complex human problem, and describes two broad risk activities: trait-based and state-based. His colleagues at the West Point Insider Threat Program connect insider threats with the medical community and examine the problem as a living, breathing, and growing dynamic.

Research Question: How do we lead the development and/or maintenance of organizational culture so that the workforce is connected to and invested in the organization and believes that connection and investiture is reciprocated.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #111 Victoria Coleman on Science, Technology, and Innovation
• Executive Order 13587
• Dr. Jon Roginski’s West Point Webpage
• Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
• Legacy by James Kerr
• Event Details: IPA Members Only Live Cognitive Crucible Podcast Recording Social

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-123

Guest Bio: Jon Roginski is the Program Manager for the West Point Insider Threat Program, which serves as the "research arm" for the Pentagon-administered Army Insider Threat Program. The program considers threat research from a variety of different vectors from the traditional (fraud, espionage, spillage) to contemporary...a holistic approach of creating an organizational ecosystem that is incompatible with threat. What does that really mean? A couple things. First, we consider many factors that erode our enterprises efficiency and readiness from the inside out to be insider risks or threats. We want to build a better place to live and work so people feel connected to and invested in their organization and environment so we can build up, rather than tear down. Second, if you have a research topic that you feel doesn't fit anywhere, come talk to me. You may be surprised at the connections that may be made to current projects or the appetite for a new approach! 

LTC(ret) Roginski was a class of '96 mathlete and rugby player, basic branch Military Policeman, functional area Operations Research analyst, and (is) an enthusiastic Network Scientist. As him about being a Platoon Leader and Commander in the 10th Mountain Division, Commander and Provost Marshal in Okinawa Japan, member of a think tank reporting directly to the Chief of Naval Operations, ORSA leader at Fort Drum and Kandahar Afghanistan, or invited Network Science Professor at Singapore’s premier defense (they call it defence) institute. Come ask a question about the power and relevance of network science in today’s operating environments...or about how you can support the Army Men's Rugby team in climbing the mountain to their second National Championship!

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Josh Nespodzany discusses Comcast’s Narrative Design team and how they improve the communication of new ideas or initiatives within the enterprise. Our discussion touches upon market research, target audience analysis, red teaming ideas, and measures of effectiveness.

Research Question: Josh suggests that researchers get outside their comfort zones in order to get different perspectives which can then, in turn, inform future research efforts.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #89 Ajit Mann and Paul Cobaugh on Narrative
  • #115 Russ Burgos on Information Supply, Demand, and Effect
• Introduction to Narrative Warfare by Ajit Mann
• How Minds Change by David McRaney
• Josh Nespodzany's Narrative Strategies Mind Map
• IPA members only live Cognitive Crucible podcast recording & Social

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-122

Guest Bio: 

Josh Nespodzany has over 25 years of experience working in both advertising and product, and currently serves as the Director of Narrative Design at Comcast.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Colonel Koichiro Takagi discusses his recent article: The Future of China’s Cognitive Warfare and East Asia security. He notes that China’s concept of cognitive warfare and intelligentized warfare have merged in recent years. Koichiro is currently a fellow at the Hudson Institute. Note: There is a transcript available on the IPA website here.

Research Question: Koichiro believes that interested students should develop innovative operational concepts which employ cutting edge technologies which are currently being developed. What is important is not the superiority of the technology itself, but the superiority of the operational concept.

Resources:

• Hudson Institute
• THE FUTURE OF CHINA’S COGNITIVE WARFARE: LESSONS FROM THE WAR IN UKRAINE by Col Koichiro Takagi
• New Tech, New Concepts: China’s Plans for AI and Cognitive Warfare - War on the Rocks by Col Koichiro Takagi
• Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui

Link to full show notes, transcript, and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-121

Guest Bio: 

Koichiro Takagi is a Colonel in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. He is also a visiting fellow of the Hudson Institute. He is a former Deputy Chief, Defense Operation Section, 1st Operations Division, J-3, Joint Staff Japan, and has designed joint operation plans and orders in the severe security environment of East Asia.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Bill Bray discusses his recent article: The Navy Information Warfare Community’s Road to Serfdom. Bill offers a constructive critique of the United States Navy’s information warfare community manpower management policies. He asserts that information warfare officers are crowded out of senior leadership positions which, in turn, is having adverse effects on morale within the community.

Research Question: Bill suggests students and the information professionals community in general figure out a way to measure the effectiveness of influence campaigns. 

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #24 John Davis on Modern Warfare, Teamwork, and Commercial Cognitive Security
• The Navy Information Warfare Community’s Road to Serfdom
• Friedrich Hayek
• The Myth of Artificial Intelligence: Why Computers Can’t Think the Way We Do by Erik J. Larson

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-120

Guest Bio: 

From Natick, Massachusetts, Captain Bray graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1988. He served as a surface warfare officer in San Diego, California, until 1992 before transitioning to naval intelligence. In naval intelligence, he served in a variety of operational and joint intelligence billets in both the Pacific and Europe and completed two Middle East deployments and one East Africa deployment. From 2010 to 2012 he commanded the Nimitz Operational Intelligence Center at the Office of Naval Intelligence in Suitland, Maryland, and from 2012 to 2014 he served as the Naval Forces Europe/Naval Forces Africa/Sixth Fleet Director for Intelligence in Naples, Italy. In 2014–2015 he was a CNO Strategic Studies Fellow in Newport, Rhode Island.

Following retirement in 2016, Captain Bray was a managing director at Ankura Consulting before being hired in August 2018 as deputy editor-in-chief of Proceedings magazine at the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Maryland. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Katie Carman discusses the most recent installment in RAND’s Truth Decay project: Individual Differences in Resistance to Truth Decay: Exploring the Role of Reasoning and Cognitive Biases. We discuss cognitive biases and how they affect decision making. The most consistent finding from her co-authored report was that greater numerical and scientific reasoning and lower magical reasoning were associated with greater resistance to Truth Decay.

Research Question: Creative, young minds should explore how to solve the Truth Decay problem? How can we experiment with new ideas in order to use information better? Can we come up with a new way of presenting information that will make it easier for people to identify facts?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #76 Yuval Levin on the Constitution & Institutions
  • #107 Vanessa Otero on News Ecosystem Health
• Katherine Carman’s Bio
• RAND’s Truth Decay Initiative
• Recent Report: Individual Differences in Resistance to Truth Decay: Exploring the Role of Reasoning and Cognitive Biases by Luke J. Matthews, Andrew M. Parker, Katherine Grace Carman, Rose Kerber, Jennifer Kavanagh
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America by Joan Donovan, Emily Dreyfuss, Brian Friedberg

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-119

Guest Bio: 

Katherine Carman is a senior economist at the RAND Corporation, director of RAND's Center for Financial and Economic Decision Making, and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. Her research focuses on behavioral economics, health economics, and public economics. Carman is particularly interested in how individuals' beliefs, perceptions, and decision making processes affect their choices. Currently she is studying health behaviors, health insurance decisions, and retirement decisions. She has a number of projects studying the impacts of COVID-19. She is also interested in the effects of peer behavior and characteristics on individual choices.

Previously, Carman was an assistant professor at Tilburg University and affiliated with CentER and Netspar. She was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in health policy research at Harvard University. She received a Ph.D. in economics from Stanford University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Joe Kirschbaum discusses the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) September 2022 report entitled: Information Environment: Opportunities and Threats to DOD's National Security Mission. This report describes DOD's use and protection of the information environment and describes DOD actions taken and planned to use and protect the information environment. Joe Kirschbaum describes several themes which characterize DOD’s progress related to information-related capabilities including what he calls the “strategy implementation mismatch.”

Research Questions: 

• What’s the right whole of government structure or model that’s appropriate for managing this problem? What’s the right interagency approach?
• How might the information environment be used in a combined arms construct?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #111 Victoria Coleman on Science, Technology, and Innovation
• United States Government Accountability Office
• Dr. Joe Kirschbaum’s GAO bio
• Information Environment: Opportunities and Threats to DOD's National Security Mission (Sep 2022)
• Information Environment: DOD Operations Need Enhanced Leadership and Integration of Capabilities (Apr 2021)
• Information Operations: DOD Should Improve Leadership and Integration Efforts (Aug 2019)(Restricted))
• Joint Information Environment: DOD Needs to Strengthen Governance and Management (Oct 2016)
• YouTube: GAO National Security Threats in the Information Age - Director Summary
• YouTube: GAO National Security Threats in the Information Age - Industrial Age and Information Age
• YouTube: GAO National Security Threats in the Information Age - F-35 Example
• Information Technology and Military Power by Jon R. Lindsay

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-118

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Joseph Kirschbaum is a Director in GAO's Defense Capabilities and Management team. He leads GAO's work on the Department of Defense's ability to respond to unconventional threats. As part of his portfolio, he oversees evaluations on the Department of Defense's preparations for homeland defense; plans to respond to emerging threats and irregular warfare; protection of critical infrastructure; and development and management of cyber, nuclear, and intelligence capabilities.

Over his 20-plus-year career with GAO, Dr. Kirschbaum conducted and led audits throughout the range of defense and national security programs, focusing mostly on the Defense Department.

Dr. Kirschbaum comes from a Navy family and served briefly on active duty in the U.S. Navy's nuclear propulsion program. He earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science and a master's degree in national security studies, both from California State University, San Bernardino, and a doctoral degree in military history from George Washington University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Sam Wooley of the University of Texas School of Journalism discusses journalism, propaganda, and ethics. Our conversations unpacks the definition of propaganda and how today’s technology fuels propaganda and influence.

Research Question: Encrypted messaging apps (like WhatApp, Signal, Discord, etc) are becoming more popular, and incubation of disinformation campaigns happens in those spaces. How does disinformation and propaganda spread in encrypted spaces? How will we study propaganda in transport-layer encrypted spaces?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #112 Jake Sotiriadis on the Value Proposition of Future Studies
  • #107 Vanessa Otero on News Ecosystem Health
  • #14 BDJ on Threatcasting
  • #116 Matt Jackson on Social Learning and Game Theory
• Sam Wooley’s Bio
• Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky
• Yellow Journalism
• Bots by Nick Monaco, Samuel Woolley
• Manufacturing Consensus: Understanding Propaganda in the Era of Automation and Anonymity by Sam Woolley
• Center for Media Engagement at University of Texas

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-117

Guest Bio: 

Samuel C. Woolley is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and an assistant professor, by courtesy, in the School of Information--both at the University of Texas at Austin. He is also the project director for propaganda research at the Center for Media Engagement (CME) at UT. 

Woolley is currently a research associate at the Project for Democracy and the Internet at Stanford University. He has held past research affiliations at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford and the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) at the University of California at Berkeley. 

Woolley’s research is focused on how emergent technologies are used in and around global political communication. His work on computational propaganda—the use of social media in attempts to manipulate public opinion—has revealed the ways in which a wide variety of political groups in the United States and abroad have leveraged tools such as bots and trending algorithms and tactics of disinformation and trolling in efforts to control information flows online. His research on digital politics, automation/AI, social media, and political polarization is currently supported by grants from by Omidyar Network (ON), the Miami Foundation, and the Knight Foundation. His past research has been funded by the Ford Foundation, the Hewlett Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the New Venture Fund for Communications, and others.

His latest book, The Reality Game: How the Next Wave of Technology Will Break the Truth, was released in January 2020 by PublicAffairs (US) and Octopus/Endeavour (UK). It explores the ways in which emergent technologies--from deep fakes to virtual reality--are already being leveraged to manipulate public opinion, and how they are likely to be used in the future. He proposes strategic responses to these threats with the ultimate goal of empowering activists and pushing technology builders to design for democracy and human rights. 

He is currently working on two other books. Manufacturing Consensus (Yale University Press) explores the ways in which social media, and automated tools such as bots, have become global mechanisms for creating illusions of political support or popularity. He discusses the power of these tools for amplification and suppression of particular modes of digital communication, building on Herman and Chomsky's (1988) integral work on propaganda. His other book, co-authored with Nicholas Monaco, is titled Bots (Polity) and is a primer on the ways these automated tools have become integral to the flow of all manner of information online.

Woolley is the co-editor, with Philip N. Howard (Oxford) of Computational Propaganda: Political Parties, Politicians, and Political Manipulation on Social Media, released in 2018 by the Oxford Studies in Digital Politics series at Oxford University Press. This volume of country specific case studies explores the rise of social media--and tools like algorithms and automation--as mechanisms for political manipulation around the world. He has published several peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and white papers on emergent technology, the Internet and public life in publications such as the Journal of Information Technology and Politics, the International Journal of Communication, A Networked Self: Platforms, Stories, Connections, The Political Economy of Robots: Prospects for Prosperity and Peace in an Automated 21st Century, The Handbook of Media, Conflict and Security, and Can Public Diplomacy Survive the Internet? Bots, Echo Chambers and Disinformation.  

Woolley is the founding director of the Digital Intelligence Lab, a research and policy oriented project at the Institute for the Future—a 50-year-old think-tank located in Palo Alto, CA. Before this he served as the director of research at the National Science Foundation and European Research Council supported Computational Propaganda Project at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. He is a former resident fellow at the German Marshall Fund's Digital Innovation Democracy Initiative and a former Belfer Fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center for Science and technology. He is a former research fellow at Jigsaw, Google’s think-tank and technology incubator, at the Center Tech Policy Lab at the University of Washington’s Schools of Law and Information, and at the Center for Media, Data and Society at Central European University. 

His public work on computational propaganda and social media bots has appeared in venues including Wired, the Guardian,TechCrunch, Motherboard, Slate, and The Atlantic. For his research, Woolley has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Guardian and on PBS’ Frontline, BBC’s News at Ten, and ABC’s Today. His work on computational propaganda and bots has been presented to members of the U.S. Congress, the U.K. Parliament, NATO, and others. His Ph.D. is in Communication from the University of Washington. His website is samwoolley.org and he tweets from @samuelwoolley. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Prof Matt Jackson of Stanford University discusses social learning, game theory, and an optimization methodology for minimizing the spread of disinformation. 

Research Question: 

• There’s a difference between entertainment and becoming informed.  How do we produce systems which are both entertaining & informing?

Resources:

• Matt Jackson’s Stanford Web Page
• Learning through the grapevine and the impact of the breadth and depth of social networks by Matthew O. Jackson, Suraj Malladi, and David McAdams
• The Human Network by Matthew Jackson
• Measuring Group Differences in High-Dimensional Choices: Method and Application to Congressional Speech by Matthew Gentzkow, Jesse M. Shapiro, and Matt Taddy
• The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter by Joseph Henrich

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-116

Guest Bio: 

Matthew O. Jackson is the William D. Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University and an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute. He was at Northwestern University and Caltech before joining Stanford, and received his BA from Princeton University in 1984 and PhD from Stanford in 1988. Jackson's research interests include game theory, microeconomic theory, and the study of social and economic networks, on which he has published many articles and the books `The Human Network' and `Social and Economic Networks'. He also teaches an online course on networks and co-teaches two others on game theory. Jackson is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a Game Theory Society Fellow, and an Economic Theory Fellow, and his other honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Social Choice and Welfare Prize, the von Neumann Award from Rajk Laszlo College, an honorary doctorate from Aix-Marseille University, the Jean-Jacques Laffont Prize from the Toulouse School of Economics, the B.E.Press Arrow Prize for Senior Economists, the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance, and Management, and teaching awards. He has served on the editorial boards of Econometrica, Games and Economic Behavior, PNAS, the Review of Economic Design, and as the President of the Game Theory Society.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Russ Burgos discusses the importance of defining terms–like information itself. He offers a way of thinking about information in supply/demand and behavioral economics terminology. Russ recaps his “Seven A’s of Information Success” and then projects these concepts into global influence efficacy.

Research Questions: Russ offers several questions worthy of additional research:

• Is information a domain, an environment, or a thing? What do we mean by information? 
• Can information effects be isolated? Ad agents frequently define success with “ad recall;” yet, ad recall is an imperfect measure. For example, it is very possible to have great ad recall without behavioral change.
• Investigate and differentiate market penetration and market effect?
• Where is persuasion theory today?
• How does information processing work inside a person’s heads and how is it affected by culture or education?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
• The Sheikh's Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World by Richard Poplak
• Dr. Russell Burgos bio
• Narrative Economics: How Stories Go Viral and Drive Major Economic Events by Robert J. Shiller
• Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette by Keith Wailoo
• Russ’s Information Doctrine Tweet
• Russ’ Seven A’s of Information Success:
  • Acquisition
  • Attendance
  • Assessment
  • Acceptance
  • Approval
  • Application
  • Adaptation
• Prince Spaghetti Boston Anthony Commercial (YouTube)
• Hastorf, A. H., & Cantril, H. (1954). They saw a game; a case study. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 49(1), 129–134.
• Howard Gardner, Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People's Minds
• Philip Corr and Anke Plagnol, Behavioral Economics: The Basics
• Todd Rose, Collective Illusions: Conformity, Complicity, and the Science of Why We Make Bad Decisions

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-115

Guest Bio: 

Russell Burgos is an Associate Professor in the Joint Special Operations Master of Arts program at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He joined NDU after more than 12 years as a professor at UCLA, the University of Southern California, Claremont McKenna College, and Pepperdine University.

In addition to extensive experience teaching core courses in American and international politics, globalization, Great Power competition, and political theory, Dr. Burgos has designed and taught seminar courses on U.S. national security, homeland security, globalization and international security, American foreign relations, the economics of globalization, the Iraq War, Middle East politics, and US foreign and military policy in the Persian Gulf. At UCLA, Dr. Burgos was also employed as a research assistant to the late political scientist James Q. Wilson and to former UCLA Chancellor Al Carnesale, for whom he conducted research on arms control and weapons and technology proliferation.

In addition to his classroom experience, Dr. Burgos directed a Department of Defense-funded Track II military diplomacy program for senior Middle East military and government agency officials, designing and executing two multi-day conferences each year to encourage dialog, share perspectives on current and emerging security challenges, and support U.S. confidence-building measures. With access to a wide network of think-tank subject matter experts and senior active duty and retired officers from the US and NATO allies, the program included presentations, small-group discussions, and tabletop exercises focusing on issues of regional concern, including the military balance, emerging technology and warfare, the effects of political changes on regional stability and security, border control, lawfare, military operations in urban terrain, anti-piracy and counter-terrorism operations, and pandemic disease response.

Dr. Burgos has written articles and book chapters on national security policy, US Middle East policy, strategy and policy in the Persian Gulf, the effects of Special Operations Forces on regional and global stability, the teaching of international politics, and academic techniques and best practices for Professional Military Education students.

He is a former Signal and Psychological Operations officer, an active wargamer, presents frequently at professional conferences, has appeared on radio, television, and podcasts and before community and service organizations in the U.S. and abroad to offer expert commentary on U.S. national security policy and strategy, and has served as a military technology and military history consultant for television and film productions.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Brazilian Army Capt Rubens Portugal discusses governmental structure and various information operations policies including operational integration and talent management.

Research Question: How dangerous to a country like Brazil or any country for that matter is it to build an information warfare and political warfare capability? For some countries, this is very dangerous. What kind of informational structure is most ideal for countries where the state (permanent, non-political) and government (temporary politics) are not separate in practice?

Resources:

• Anatomia da Propaganda podcast
• Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras
• The War in Informational Era 
• Demons: A Novel in Three Parts by Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis
• Psychological Warfare By Paul Linebarger

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-114

Guest Bio: 

After receiving a Bachelors of Military Science, in the Military Academy (Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras), Captain Rubens Portugal was commissioned an Aspirant Officer in November 2013. Upon completion of initial training, he reported to 6th Signal Battalion, 6th Army Division. His assignments included Radio Platoon Commander and Command Center Officer.

As a signal officer, in 2014, he worked in the Brazilian World Cup Regional Security Operation, as a Command and Control officer

In 2016, as a lieutenant, he graduated in the Brazilian Army Psychological Operations Course and reported to the Brazilian Battalion (MINUSTAH, UN Peacekeeping Mission) for training and deployment.

In 2017, he was a PsyOp Officer in the PsyOp Detachment, Brazilian Battalion, in UN Peacekeeping Mission in Haiti - Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilization en Haïti (MINUSTAH).

After MINUSTAH, in 2018, Captain Rubens Portugal worked in the PsyOp Company, 1st PsyOps Battalion, on missions all over the Brazilian territory, specially in border operations and Rio de Janeiro Federal Intervention.

In 2019 he was selected to be instructor in the PsyOp course, and remained there for 3 years.

In 2022, he current function is Operation Center Officer, in the 1st PsyOp Battalion, Special Operations Command.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Jeff Engstrom discusses in detail how the Chinese People's Liberation Army seeks to wage modern warfare. China favors a system of systems approach to warfare. They recognize that war is no longer a contest between particular units, arms, services, or even specific weapons platforms of competing adversaries, but rather a contest among numerous adversarial operational systems. Systems confrontation is waged not only in the traditional physical domains of land, sea, and air, but also in outer space, nonphysical cyberspace, electromagnetic, and even psychological domains.

Research Question: Jeff believes that students should help assess the  lessons which the PLA is learning from Ukraine and elsewhere, and how these lessons are shaping China’s understanding of systems and systems warfare.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
• • #79 Mulvaney on China In Their Own Words
• Jeffrey Engstrom bio
• RAND Report: Systems Confrontation and System Destruction Warfare: How the Chinese People's Liberation Army Seeks to Wage Modern Warfare
• Col John A. Warden III
• Warden's Five Rings
• PRC Defense White Papers
• • 2015: China’s Military Strategy
  • 2019: China’s National Defense in the New Era
• China Aerospace Studies Institute
• • Science of Strategy (2020 ed.)
  • Science of Strategy (2013 ed.)
  • Science of Campaigns (2006 ed.)

• IPA Seeks Authors and Cognitive Security Thought Leaders

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-113

Guest Bio: 

Jeffrey Engstrom is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research focuses on Asia-Pacific security and foreign policy issues; China’s warfighting concepts and capabilities; coercion theory and use of coercive military force; and military intervention and security cooperation.

Before joining RAND, Engstrom was a defense policy analyst at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Virginia, where, in addition to researching East Asian military capabilities, he also developed expertise in war gaming. Prior to his work at SAIC, Engstrom served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Engstrom received his B.A. in political science and international studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a M.P.P. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Jake Sotiriadis discusses how future studies can identify weak signals and emerging trends in order to develop anticipatory thinking which leads to better decisions.

Research Question: Jake believes that we need to spend more time learning about and learning from the robust future studies literature and different methodological approaches like: back casting, causal layered analysis, traditional scenario development, the futures wheel, plus others. He encourages students to first master a narrow area of expertise and then question the status quo. Ask the question: Where are there opportunities? How do we capture emergent phenomena? How do we anticipate?

Resources:

• Related or Mentioned Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes
• • #85 Josh Kerbel on Complexity and Anticipatory Intelligence
  • #14 BDJ on Threatcasting
• LtCol Jake Sotiriadis bio
• Social, Technological, Economical, Environmental and Political STEEP Future Framework
• Greece Futures Report
• The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World by Peter Schwartz
• Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers by Richard E. Neustadt
• IPA Seeks Authors and Cognitive Security Thought Leaders

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-112

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Jake Sotiriadis is a global futurist and expert in geopolitical risk intelligence. He is Director of The Center for Futures Intelligence at National Intelligence University (NIU), where he also serves on the research faculty.  Dr. Sotiriadis previously served as the US Air Force's senior futurist at the Pentagon in Washington and founded the service’s Strategic Foresight and Futures Team.  At NIU, his research assists senior leaders in the intelligence and national security communities develop anticipatory thinking and strategic planning. He has served nearly two decades as an Air Force intelligence officer and holds a Ph.D. in political science and geopolitical futures from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  He also serves as an advisor to the State Department and teaches courses at the Foreign Service Institute.  His forthcoming book, “The Invisible Regime: How Ideology Will Shape 21st Century Geopolitical Competition” will be published in 2023 by The National Intelligence Press.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Victoria Coleman discusses her priorities, as the Chief Scientist for the the United States Air Force. Dr. Coleman cites that China is especially good at military-civilian fusion, and the United States needs improvement in that area. She also asserts that commercial market feedback mechanisms help explain why the government tends to lag commercial innovation. The Air Force’s  enterprise-wide Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept was created recently to speed capability delivery. Dr. Coleman recently helped unveil a new competitive initiative which will create a University Affiliated Research Center at one of the United States Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Resources:

• Dr. Victoria Coleman Bio
• Agile Combat Employment (ACE)
• Red Queen Hypothesis
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong and C. H. Brewitt-Taylor
• Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky

Research Question: In a democracy, there is tension between protecting individual freedoms while simultaneously ensuring that collective freedoms are not impacted. Digital human rights must be studied, understood, and co-evolved as containing both technology and policy components in order to protect group and individual outcomes. Promulgating digital human rights globally is a problem worthy of study.

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-111

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Victoria Coleman is the Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force, Arlington, Virginia. She serves as the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Secretary of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff, and Chief of Space Operations. She provides assessments on a wide range of scientific and technical issues affecting the department’s mission. In this role, she identifies and analyzes technical issues, bringing them to the attention of department leaders. She interacts with other principals, operational commanders, combatant commands, acquisition, and science and technology communities to address cross-organizational issues and provide solutions. Dr. Coleman also interacts with other services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense on issues affecting the Department of the Air Force’s technical enterprise. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board and is the Principal Science and Technology Representative of the Air Force to the civilian scientific and engineering community and to the public at large.

Dr. Coleman is on leave from University of California, Berkeley. Since 2016, Dr. Coleman has held an academic research appointment at the Berkeley Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society where she leads science and technology policy on microelectronics and efforts to develop tools for countering digital authoritarianism. Dr. Coleman has more than 35 years of experience in computer science and technology, including as both an academic leader and industry executive. Before DARPA, she served as the Chief Executive Officer of Atlas AI P.B.C, a Silicon Valley start-up that brings world-class artificial intelligence solutions to sustainable development. By combining satellite data with other data sets, Atlas AI’s proprietary deep-learning models create actionable insights for governments, non-governmental organizations and commercial companies.

Dr. Coleman began her academic career in 1988 as a lecturer in computer science at Royal Holloway College, University of London, United Kingdom. She subsequently joined Queen Mary College, University of London, as a reader in computer science. There, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in computer science, created a Master of Science program in Dependable Computer Systems and supervised Doctor of Philosophy students.

In 1998, Dr. Coleman became the founding director of the System Design Laboratory at SRI International. The lab conducted research in trustworthy systems and cyber security. The programs she directed won support from DARPA. She also participated in the creation of the technologies leading to the spinout of Siri prior to its acquisition by Apple. She worked alongside the newly-formed Department of Homeland Security, creating the department’s cyber security agenda and becoming the founding Director of the DHS Cyber Security Research and Development Center. In 2004, Dr. Coleman became the Director of the Trust and Manageability Lab in the Corporate Technology Group of Intel and began serving as a member of Santa Clara University’s Computer Science and Engineering Department’s Advisory Board. In 2006, she became the Vice President of the Computer Science Laboratory at Samsung. In 2010, she took the position of Vice President of Software Engineering at Hewlett-Packard. In 2011, she became Nokia’s Vice President of Emerging Platforms.

Dr. Coleman served as the Vice President of Engineering for Multi-Device UX Platforms for Yahoo in 2013, and then took the position of Senior Vice President of Research and Design at Harman International Industries Infotainment Business Unit. She then served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Connected Home Business for Technicolor.

Beginning in 2016, Dr. Coleman served as the Chief Technology Officer of Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that supports Wikipedia, the world’s fifth most visited website. During this time, Dr. Coleman also served as a member of the Defense Science Board, where she provided independent advice to the Secretary of Defense, USD(R&E), and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She was a member of Lockheed Martin’s Technology Advisory Group, the Airbus Star Program and continued her work on the Santa Clara University Computer Science and Engineering Advisory Board. She served on the Board of Directors of the Public Library of Science.

Prior to accepting the role of Chief Scientist, Dr. Coleman served as the 22nd Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency where she oversaw a large suite of disruptive and innovative programs.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Sean McFate discusses his influential book, The New Rules of War. Sean describes how the Westphalian state system is changing, consequences for conventional war, the rise of mercenaries and international mega-corporations, and information operations. Plus, the Cognitive Crucible gets not only one–but two–Monty Python references.

Research Question: Sean asks several questions worthy of examination. First, how can a democracy fight secretive wars without losing its democratic soul? Second, strategic culture can eclipse strategic IQ; so, how can a strong strategic culture be broken? Finally, what is strategic thinking, and how are good strategic thinkers created?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
• • #49 Matt Armstrong on the Smith-Mundt Act
• https://www.seanmcfate.com
• Unrestricted Warfare: China’s Master Plan to Destroy America by Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu  (Author) and Thomas Cleary (Translator)
• The Knights Who Say "Ni!" - Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-110

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Sean McFate is a foreign policy expert, author and novelist. He is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington DC think tank, and a professor of strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Additionally, he serves as an Advisor to Oxford University’s Centre for Technology and Global Affairs. 

McFate’s career began as a paratrooper and officer in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. He served under Stan McChrystal and David Petraeus, and graduated from elite training programs, such as Jungle Warfare School in Panama. He was also a Jump Master.

McFate then became a private military contractor and paramilitary. Among his many experiences, he dealt with African warlords, raised armies for U.S. interest, rode with armed groups in the Sahara, conducted strategic reconnaissance for the extractive industry, transacted arms deals in Eastern Europe, and helped prevent an impending genocide in the Rwanda region.

In the world of international business, McFate was a Vice President at TD International, a boutique political risk consulting firm with offices in Washington, Houston, Singapore and Zurich. Additionally, he was a program manager at DynCorp International, a consultant at BearingPoint (now Deloitte Consulting), and an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.

McFate writes novels based on his own military experiences. His latest thriller is High Treason, and #1 New York Timesbestselling author James Patterson said: “Sean McFate just might be the next Tom Clancy, only I think he’s even better...The action is non-stop.” James Rollins said: “It had me breathless—it’s not to be missed!”

McFate also writes serious non-fiction. The New Rules of War: How America Can Win—Against Russia, China, and Other Threats (Morrow) has been called “The Freakonomics of modern warfare.” It was named a “Book of the Year” by The Economist, The Times [UK], and The Evening Standard, and is included on West Point’s “Commandant’s Reading List.” Admiral Jim Stavridis, the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said: “Stunning. Sean McFate is a new Sun Tzu.” Max Hastings wrote in The Sunday Times: “[This] iconoclastic book is being hailed by radicals as a wake-up call to governments and armed forces everywhere.” It has been translated into six languages and the British edition is titled Goliath: Why the West Isn't Winning. And What We Must Do About It (Penguin). McFate also authored The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford Univ Press). The Economist called it a "fascinating and disturbing book."

McFate is a consultant to the U.S. military, U.S. intelligence community, United Nations, and Hollywood. His has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, Politico, Daily Beast, Vice Magazine, War on the Rocks, Military Review and African Affairs. He has appeared on CNN’s Amanpour, Morning Joe, Fox and Friends, MSNBC, Fox, Sky News, NPR, BBC, WSJ, FT, Economist, Vice/HBO, The Discovery Channel, and American Heroes Channel. As a scholar, he has authored eight book chapters in edited academic volumes, and two monographs on modern war for the U.S. Department of Defense.

McFate holds a BA from Brown University, MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). He was also a Fellow at Oxford. McFate lives in Washington, DC.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Howard Bloom asserts that truth and soul are the best ways to influence. Howard should know. He played an important role in the careers of legendary musicians like Michael Jackson, Prince, John Cougar Mellencamp, plus many, many others. His method for promoting artists included finding the gods within, secular shamanism, soul spelunking, and exploring the caves of your emotions. More recently, Howard founded the Howard Bloom Institute where he and his colleagues pursue an agenda of “omnology” (the aspiration to omniscience; an academic base for the promiscuously curious, a discipline that concentrates on seeing the patterns that emerge when one views all the sciences and the arts at once) and collaborate to continue the Western agenda into space.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #18 Tom Sear on Xenowar
• The Howard Bloom Institute
• Zheng He: Chinese fleet admiral

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-109

Guest Bio: Howard Bloom has been called the Einstein, Newton, and Freud of the 21st century by Britain's Channel 4 TV.  One of his seven books--Global Brain---was the subject of a symposium thrown by the Office of the Secretary of Defense including representatives from the State Department, the Energy Department, DARPA, IBM, and MIT.  His work has been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Psychology Today, and the Scientific American. He has been published on Information Science in World Scientific's The Future Information Society, edited by Wolfgang Hofkirchner and Mark Bergin.  He has spoken at Nellis Air Force Base and Colorado's Eisenhower Center for Space and Defense Studies.  He does news commentary at 1:06 am ET every Wednesday night on 545 radio stations on Coast to Coast AM.  

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Jocelyn Brady discusses the importance of brain play. She creates engaging, educational “tiny tip” videos which teach ways for people to live healthier and happier lives while simultaneously teaching cognitive subjects.

Research Question: Jocelyn wants researchers to figure out how we get kids to understand better fundamental concepts about their own brains–especially neuroplasticity, which can be viewed as a general umbrella term that refers to the brain's ability to modify, change, and adapt both structure and function throughout life and in response to experience.

Resources:

• Let’s Play with Your Brain
• Tiny Tips YouTube Channel
• WHAT ONLINE-OFFLINE (O-O) CONVERGENCE MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF CONFLICT By Sean A. Guillory & John T. Carrola
• [VR Human Documentary] Mother meets her deceased daughter through VR technology
• Reading on a smartphone affects sigh generation, brain activity, and comprehension
• Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown, Christopher Vaugha
• 7 Rules of Power: Surprising--but True--Advice on How to Get Things Done and Advance Your Career by Jeffrey Pfeffer

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-108

Guest Bio: 

Jocelyn Brady is a writer, edutainer and professional brain coach & behavior designer who thrives at the intersection of comedy, storytelling and unraveling the mysteries of the human brain. When she’s not being the Bill Nye of the brain (as the creator and host of Tiny Tips, the Internet’s favorite way to Brain), Jocelyn applies her certified NeuroLeadership and Tiny Habits coaching chops to help creative visionaries play to their brains’ greatest potential.

In her past life—as an award-winning copywriter, Creative Director and agency CEO—Jocelyn led narrative strategy and international storytelling training for some of the world’s biggest brands. She also produced and co-hosted Party Time, a standup comedy and storytelling show featuring talent who went on to write or perform for Conan, Colbert and Comedy Central. All while managing to keep her two cats and houseplants alive.

Jocelyn’s first book, tentatively titled Your Brain is a Magical Asshat, is slated for publication next year… Probably.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Vanessa Otero discusses news ecosystem health and how she created The Media Bias Chart®. Our wide ranging conversation covers her methodology for grading media content, the Overton window, information nutritional labels, societal implications of unhealthy news consumption patterns.

Research Topic: Vanessa suggests that researchers examine ways to get people out of conspiracy theory rabbit holes or extreme polarization rabbit holes. She also asserts that media trust is over studied and that researchers should focus less on that problem.

Resources:

• AdFontes Media
• Overton Window or window of discourse
• Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-107

Guest Bio: 

Vanessa Otero is the creator of the Media Bias Chart, and the Founder and CEO of Ad Fontes Media. A licensed patent attorney in the Denver, Colorado area, Vanessa holds a B.A. in English from UCLA and a J.D. from the University of Denver. Vanessa’s formal education and professional career has centered on analytical reading, writing and reasoning, creating an ideal background for her to create a content analysis

Alarmed by the unhealthy state of the media ecosystem, Vanessa used her expertise in content analysis to create the original Media Bias Chart in 2016. Then in 2018, she founded Ad Fontes Media to fulfill the need revealed by the popularity of the chart–namely, to meet the demand for a map to help people navigate the complex media landscape, and for comprehensive content analysis of media sources themselves. Today, Ad Fontes Media uses a systematic approach to content analysis in which a team of politically-balanced professional analysts examine and categorize news content creating data that is useful to news consumers, educators, marketers, and even publishers themselves. Ad Fontes also offers training in its content analysis methodology through products and services for educational institutions and for individuals.

Vanessa is on the Board of Directors of Community Radio for Northern Colorado and is on the Advisory Council of Media Literacy Now. Vanessa and Ad Fontes Media have also been published or featured in articles and blogs on news literacy, news bias and free speech, social media, and conspiracy theories. These sources have included the Poynter Institute, Cornell Policy Review MarketWatch, The Economist, Morning Brew, and more. She is a much sought-after speaker at national news literacy workshops and webinars. 

Vanessa is committed to making the world a better place with her passion and belief in decreasing the polarization in our news and our society, as well as educating students, teachers, and the public on the true value of media literacy and the importance of a healthy news ecosystem.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

During this episode, COL Mike Taylor discusses the US State Department’s Global Engagement Center’s (GEC) hub & spoke model for directing, leading, synchronizing, integrating, and coordinating the efforts of the Federal Government to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influencing the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies, and partner nations. Our wide ranging conversation covers the major components of the GEC, its data-driven approaches, and the importance of coordination within the US government and with allies and partners.

Links:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #99 Roger Carstens on Hostage Negotiations & Diplomacy
• Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare by Thomas Rid
• The Fortunes of Africa: A 5000-Year History of Wealth, Greed, and Endeavor by Martin Meredith
• Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by Gen. Stanley McChrystal
• Al-Mawla Tactical Interrogation Reports:
  • Report A
  • Report B
  • Report C

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-106

Guest Bio: 

Colonel Mike Taylor, U.S. Army, is the Director for Counter-terrorism at the Global Engagement Center (GEC), U.S. Department of State, in Washington, D.C.  He serves as the principal advisor to the GEC’s Special Envoy and Coordinator on countering foreign Violent Extremist Organization’s (VEO) propaganda and disinformation (CPD) activities.  In this role he is responsible for overseeing GEC CT operations and planning to include interagency and international coordination such as with the Communications Working Group of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.  Prior to the assumption of this assignment, Mike served as the Director, CJ39 Information Operations (IO), Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Operation Resolute Support (RS) and US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A).

In previous assignments, Taylor served as the U.S. Army’s Integrated Joint Special Technical Operations (IJSTO) Force Modernization Proponent Chief and as the U.S. Army Service IJSTO Chief, Operations and Technology Division, Operations, Readiness, and Mobilization Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3/5/7, Washington, D.C.; Branch Chief, Deputy Director for Global Operations (DDGO), J-39, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; Information Operations Field Support Team Chief, 1st Battalion, 1st IO Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia; and J39 IO Chief, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force Arabian Peninsula (CJSOTF-AP), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Balad, Iraq.  

Earlier in his career, Taylor served in multiple tactical command and staff assignments to include as military advisor to the G-3, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, OIF, Tikrit, Iraq; Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 24th Infantry Division and the United States Army Garrison, Fort Riley, Kansas; Commander, HHC, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Brigade Combat Team (BCT) “Devil Brigade,” 1st Infantry Division (ID), Fort Riley, Kansas and OIF, Khalidiyah, Iraq; Commander, Cobra Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st BCT, 1st ID, OIF, Iraq; Plans Chief, 1st BCT, 1st ID, Ft. Riley, Kansas; Commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop (HHT), 3d Squadron, 16th Cavalry (CAV) Regiment, Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Executive Officer and Tank Platoon Leader with 2d Battalion, 72d Armor, Camp Casey, Korea.  Taylor enlisted in the United States Army Reserve and served as Wheeled Heavy Equipment Operator, 892d Transportation Company, Belleville, Illinois and Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Saudi Arabia. 

Taylor’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal, the Valorous Unit Award, the Meritorious Unit Citation, the Combat Action Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, and was also awarded the U.S. Armor Association’s Bronze Medallion of the Order of St. George.   

Colonel Taylor holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Operations Management from Eastern Illinois University, a Master’s in International Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington D.C., and is a graduate of the U.S. Army’s Command and General Staff Officer’s Course and the U.S. Army Information Operations Qualification Course. 

Colonel Taylor was born in Biloxi, Mississippi and is the eldest of three children of a retired U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant.  Taylor resides in Lake Ridge, VA, married to the former Constance (Connie) Lorraine Bremer, has two daughters Madison (Maddie) and Elizabeth (Ella), and enjoys cheering on the Green Bay Packers.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 discuss the developing world. After reviewing Russia’s influence efforts in the early portion of the Ukraine War, Tom provides a rather sober assessment of information operations being directed at the developing world. Additionally, Tom believes that developing countries view Western nations with skepticism due to hypocrisy.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #10 Tom Kent on Striking Back
  • #56 Bob Jones on Governance
• Russian Propagandists Regain Footing on Ukraine by Tom Kent
• Radio to Russia Can Old Technologies Make a Dent in Putin’s Information Blockade by Tom Kent

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-105

Guest Bio: 

Tom Kent teaches about Russian affairs and disinformation at Columbia University. He was president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty until 2018. Previously, he was Moscow bureau chief, international editor and standards editor of The Associated Press. He consults on disinformation, journalism and ethics for government, non-governmental organizations, media, and corporate clients. He is also the author of:  Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation, which was published in September 2020.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Glen Edwards presents a robust framework and overarching theory for information warfare that is grounded in the Australian Defence Force’s core concepts of maneuver warfare and multi domain operations. Our wide ranging conversation covers the definition of information, Clauzewicz, breaking down stovepipes, Boyd and the OODA loop, and information theory and entropy.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #24 John Davis on Modern Warfare, Teamwork, and Commercial Cognitive Security
  • #61 MajGen Susan Coyle on the Australian Perspective
  • #100 Rand Waltzman on the Metaverse and Immersive Virtual Reality
• Books & Articles:
  • Just Information Warfare by Mariarosaria Taddeo
  • The Routledge Handbook on the Philosophy of Information by Luciano Floridi

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-104

Guest Bio: Glen is an Australian national security consultant located in Canberra. He specializes in information warfare and information power and has a particular interest in integrating military information activities with national efforts.

Glen has over 15 years experience in the sector, first as an Australian Defence Force officer, and then in a number of public service and consulting roles within Australia’s National Intelligence Community. Most recently, Glen has been working on information warfare theory and concepts with the support of Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group.

Glen has a Masters of Special Operations and Irregular Warfare (University of New South Wales), a Masters of Strategic Studies (Australian National University), a Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity (Edith Cowan University), a Graduate Certificate in Terrorism, Safety, and Security (Charles Sturt University), and a Bachelor of Human Resources (University of New England).

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Roozenbeek discusses his upcoming book project, Information, Influence and War in Ukraine--including analyses related to media and identity in Wartime Donbas. He discusses inoculation theory as a method for countering misinformation and the Harmony Square Game project, as well.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #56 Bob Jones on Governance
• Dissertation: Media and Identity in Wartime Donbas, 2014-2017
• Research exposes long-term failure of Russian propaganda
• Harmony Square Game
• Breaking Harmony Square: A game that “inoculates” against political misinformation
• https://www.psychol.cam.ac.uk/staff/dr-jon-roozenbeek
• Polling Data: (scroll down to “what Donbas residents want for their future” for the polling data mentioned)
• Go Viral game
• Study: Towards psychological herd immunity: Cross-cultural evidence for two prebunking interventions against COVID-19 misinformation: 2 large and cross-cultural studies into the effectiveness of the game as a way to counter COVID-19 misinformation, including a longitudinal study
• Bad News game
• Study: Fake news game confers psychological resistance against online misinformation
• Study: Good News about Bad News: Gamified Inoculation Boosts Confidence and Cognitive Immunity Against Fake News
• Study: Long-term effectiveness of inoculation against misinformation: Three longitudinal experiments: longitudinal study; we followed up with participants to see how long the “inoculation” effect of the Bad News game lasts; the answer is 2+ months, provided people are given regular “booster shots” or reminders
• Study: Technique-based inoculation against real-world misinformation
• Harmony Square Game
• Study: Breaking Harmony Square: A game that “inoculates” against political misinformation: this study was published in a journal intended not only for academics but also policymakers and so on; so it’s written in a more accessible style than most academic publications
• Inoculation Theory and Misinformation: Recent review of how to use inoculation theory to counter misinformation

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-103

Guest Bio: 

Jon Roozenbeek is the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab. His research focuses on misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, online extremism and inoculation theory. As part of his research, he co-developed the award-winning fake news games Bad News, Harmony Square and Go Viral. Jon is also interested in social media research, agent-based modeling and natural language processing. His doctoral dissertation (University of Cambridge, 2020) examined media discourse in conflict zones, primarily the "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, LtCol Brian Schweers discusses the US Marine Corps’ All Domain Effects Team (ADET) concept, which is considered to still be in the prototype phase. After describing the historical mission of the Marine Corps’ Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO), Brian unpacks the ADET rationale and composition. ADETs are task-organized forces that integrate information capabilities with lethal fires to achieve effects in the forward operating environment across the competition continuum in support of joint, allied, and coalition forces. These teams are intended to provide a scalable, mobile, and lethal force capable of operating across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains simultaneously.  The first ADET employed in support of joint operations was in September of 2021, during Joint Warrior in Durness, Scotland. 2d ANGLICO and II MIG continue to refine the ADET concept in support of the Commandant’s Stand-in-Force Concept.

Brian’s research opportunity or question to the IPA Community: How do we know that we’re achieving effects? How do we measure effects in the cognitive realm and tie it to decision making?

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #13 Brian Russell on Behind Enemy Lines
  • #95 LtGen Matthew Glavy on MCDP 8 Information
  • #93 Todd Huntley on Information Operations and the Law
• THE CHANGING CHARACTER OF COMBINED ARMS by BENJAMIN JENSEN AND MATTHEW STROHMEYER
• Ukraine conflict reveals parallels to new Marine Corps war-fighting vision
• 2d Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO)
• LtCol Brian Schweers Bio
• War in a 140 Characters by David Patrikarakos
• 2014 Gaza War (Operation Protective Edge)

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-102

Guest Bio: 

After receiving a Bachelors of Arts from Miami University, Lieutenant Colonel Brian Schweers was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in May 2002.  Upon completion of initial training, he reported to Battery L, 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines.  His assignments included Forward Observer, Fire Direction Officer (FDO), and Platoon Commander.  He completed two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

In 2006 Lieutenant Colonel Schweers reported to 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Marine Headquarters Group.  His billets were Firepower Control Team Leader and Supporting Arms Liaison Team Leader.  He completed two tours in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one tour in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. 

Lieutenant Colonel Schweers attended the Field Artillery Captains Career Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the summer of 2010.  Upon graduation, he reported to 1st Battalion, 11th Marines. His assignments included Battery C Commanding Officer, Battalion Operations Officer, and Battalion Assistant Fire Support Officer. 

In 2014 Lieutenant Colonel Schweers reported to Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS) where he served as a Faculty Advisor and Curriculum Developer.  Following EWS, he reported to 1st Battalion, 12th Marines where he served as the Battalion Logistics Officer and Battalion Executive Officer. 

In 2018 Lieutenant Colonel Schweers reported to Programs and Resources, Headquarters Marine Corps where he served as the Assistant Program Development Officer and Program Development Officer. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Heather Gregg of the US Army War College explores how collective identity building and myths--stories designed to tell a group of people who they are, where they came from and how they should behave--shape violent conflict. Heather contrasts the way identity is used by insurgencies and counterinsurgency efforts and sketches lessons learned from recent operations against Al Qaeda and ISIS in Iraq, as well as the role that identity is playing in the Ukrainian war. Our wide-ranging conversation also covers implications of horizontal and vertical cultural transmission of information, myths as a form of storytelling, and mixing up myth and history.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #89 Ajit Mann and Paul Cobaugh on Narrative
• Dr. Heather Gregg’s Personal Website
• Identity wars: collective identity building in insurgency and counterinsurgency by Heather S. Gregg
• Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen
• Building the Nation: Missed Opportunities in Iraq and Afghanistan Hardcover by Heather Gregg
• The Path to Salvation: From the Crusades to Jihad by Heather Gregg
• The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers
• A Short History of Myth Paperback by Karen Armstrong
• Scott Atran, "Address to UN Security Council on Youth and Extremism." (2015)
• Vamik Volker, "The Need to Have Enemies and Allies," Political Psychology 6, no. 2 (1985): 219-247

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-101

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Gregg’s opinions are her own & do not represent the opinions of the US Army War College or the Department of Defense

Heather S. Gregg is a professor at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute (SSI). From 2006-2019, she was an associate professor at the Naval Postgraduate School’s Department of Defense Analysis, where she worked primarily with Special Operations Forces. Prior to joining NPS, she was an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation. In addition to her academic experience, she has spent time in several regions of conflict including Palestine/West Bank and the former Yugoslavia.

Dr. Gregg earned her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2003 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her dissertation work was on historic and contemporary causes of religiously motivated violence. Dr. Gregg also holds a Master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School, where she studied Islam, and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Dr. Gregg is the author of The Path to Salvation: Religious Violence from the Crusades to Jihad (Potomac, 2014) and Building the Nation: Missed Opportunities in Iraq & Afghanistan (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). She also has published articles and book chapters on Al Qaeda, including “Fighting the Jihad of the Pen: Countering Al Qaeda’s Ideology” (Terrorism and Political Violence, 2010) and “Crafting a Better Grand Strategy to Fight the Global War on Terror: Lessons from the Early Years of the Cold War” (Foreign Policy Analysis, 2010), in addition to co-editing and contributing to The Three Circles of War: Understanding the Dynamics of Modern War in Iraq (Potomac, 2010).

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, IPA founding board member, Dr. Rand Waltzman, returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss the Metaverse and his popular Disinformation 101 series. Our wide ranging discussion covers cognitive challenges related to immersive virtual reality environments, sensor technology, emerging influence methods, cognitive behavioral therapy, affective computing, and kayfabe.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #83 Joseph Lee on Jung and Archetypes
  • #47 Yaneer Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and the War on Ideals
  • #90 Dave Acosta on Informationally Disadvantaged
  • #64 Greg Radabaugh on Informational Power
  • #82 John DeRosa and Alex Del Castillo on Measuring Effectiveness of Operations in the Information Environment
  • #81 Cassandra Brooker on the Effectiveness of Influence Activities
  • #69 Matt Venhaus on ARLIS & the Cognitive Security Proving Ground
  • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
  • #75 Todd Manyx on the MCIOC
  • #1 Rand Waltzman on Cognitive Security
• Rand Waltzmans' Disinformation 101 Series
• GPT-3
• New Age Bullshit Generator
• The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages by Phineas Taylor Barnum
• Kayfabe
• WHAT SCIENTIFIC CONCEPT WOULD IMPROVE EVERYBODY'S COGNITIVE TOOLKIT: Kayfabe by Eric R. Weinstein
• Affective Computing

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-100

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Waltzman has 35 years of experience performing and managing research in Artificial Intelligence applied to domains including social media and cognitive security in the information environment.  He is formerly Deputy Chief Technology Officer and a Senior Information Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA. Prior to joining RAND, he was the acting Chief Technology Officer of the Software Engineering Institute (Washington, DC) of Carnegie Mellon University. Before that he did a five-year tour as a Program Manager in the Information Innovation Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where he created and managed the Social Media in Strategic Communications (SMISC) program and the Anomaly Detection at Multiple Scales (ADAMS) insider threat detection program. Dr. Waltzman joined DARPA from Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Laboratories (LM-ATL), where he served as Chief Scientist for the Applied Sciences Laboratory that specializes in advanced software techniques and the computational physics of materials. Prior to LM-ATL he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, where he taught and performed research in applications of Artificial Intelligence technology to a variety of problem areas including digital entertainment, automated reasoning and decision support and cyber threat detection. He has also held research positions at the University of Maryland, Teknowledge Corporation (the first commercial Artificial Intelligence company in the world where he started in 1983), and the Applied Physics Laboratory of the University of Washington. Dr. Waltzman serves as Advisory Board Member of GLOBSEC HADES initiative. He is also a founding board member of the Information Professionals Association.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 bonus episode, Col. Brian Russell discusses Gladiator School, which is the official podcast of II MEF Information Group. Gladiator School places you and the experts into the arena. Whether you’re a Marine, member of the DoD or a civilian, Gladiator School has something for you.

Resources:

• Here's where you can listen to or watch Gladiator School
  • Apple/iTunes
  • Spotify
  • YouTube
• Also mentioned:
  • MCPD-7 Learning

Guest Bio: 

Colonel Brian Russell is the commanding officer of II Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group (II MIG) in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He commissioned as a Marine Corps Officer in December 1995 from North Carolina State University. Upon completion of basic officer training he went on to become a field artillery officer. His combat deployments include serving as the Military Transition Team Leader in Habbaniyah, Iraq, the executive officer of Brigade Headquarters Group in Helmand Province, Afghanistan and Plans Director in Bagram, Afghanistan. Some of his notable staff assignments include: Operations Directorate at Marine Corps Special Operations Command, Operations Directorate at United States Cyber Command, and U.S. Plans Directorate at Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Amb. Roger Carstens discusses the United States hostage recovery enterprise and how his office helps bring U.S. citizens home. After explaining the legislative landscape, Roger explains the differences between kidnapping, wrongful detention, and hostage scenario, as well as engagement with state compared to non-state actors. Roger also discusses today’s media landscape, weaponization of the international rules-based system, geopolitical dynamics, maneuver warfare, and a tech research agenda.

Resources:

• Amb. Roger Carstens, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA)
• Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell
• National Security Council
• FACT SHEET: U.S. Government Hostage Policy
• Presidential Policy Directive 30 (PPD 30)
• Executive Order -- Hostage Recovery Activities
• Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act
• We Want to Negotiate: The Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages and Ransom by Joel Simon
• Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison - Solitary Confinement, a Sham Trial, High-Stakes Diplomacy, and the Extraordinary Efforts It Took to Get Me Out by Jason Rezaian
• The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-99

Guest Bio: 

Roger D. Carstens is the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) at the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Carstens was the former Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the U.S. Department of State, where he oversaw the Bureau’s work in Near Eastern Affairs, Western Hemisphere Affairs, and the Office of Security and Human Rights. Previously, he served in Amman, Jordan, as the Country Director for a U.S.-based INGO that provided humanitarian assistance and stability support to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Prior positions include Senior Civilian Advisor on the Commander’s Advisory and Assistance Team (CAAT) in Afghanistan; Project Director for an INGO based in Somalia; Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security; and Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Mr. Carstens is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel who served in Special Forces and the 1st Ranger Battalion. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and holds master’s degrees from the U.S. Naval War College and St. John’s College.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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 Arun Seraphin discusses his 20+ years as a Professional Staff Member on the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. He describes differences between the US Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as the way Congress thinks about and evaluates national security emerging tech. Arun shares he communicates as a “connector” between emerging technology thought leaders in industry and academia and Congressional leaders. Finally, he describes NDIA’s Emerging Technologies Institute and how he continues connecting people and technology.

Resources:

• NDIA Emerging Technologies Institute 

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-98

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Arun Seraphin is the Deputy Director of Emerging Technologies Institute (ETI) at National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). Before joining the ETI team, a Professional Staff Member on the staff of the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. His areas of responsibility include acquisition policy, Pentagon management issues, Department of Defense’s science and technology programs, information technology systems, technology transition issues, defense laboratories, Small Business Innovation Research program, manufacturing programs, and test and evaluation programs. As such he assists Senators in their oversight of DOD policies and programs, including in the authorization of budgets, civilian nominations, legislative initiatives, and hearings. He rejoined the committee staff in 2014, after previously serving there between 2001 and 2010. In 2009, he was named one of ten Defense “Staffers to Know” by Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Seraphin served as the Principal Assistant Director for National Security and International Affairs at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). During this time, he both led (in an Acting capacity) and served as the deputy director of the OSTP National Security and International Affairs division. His areas of responsibility included developing and implementing White House initiatives and policies in areas including defense research and engineering; weapons of mass destruction; defense manufacturing and industrial base; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; cybersecurity; and promoting innovation in government research and engineering organizations. He also led interagency groups on small business programs and on improving the quality of the Federal STEM workforce. He was on detail to OSTP from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) where he was the Special Assistant for Policy Initiatives to the Director of DARPA.

Dr. Seraphin has also worked on the United States House of Representatives Committee on Science’s Subcommittee on Research as a professional staff member. He began his work in Congress in the Office of Senator Joseph Lieberman as the 1999-2000 Materials Research Society – Optical Society of America Congressional Science and Engineering Fellow. In these positions, he covered both civilian and defense research and development programs.

Between 1996 and 2000, Dr. Seraphin worked in the Science and Technology Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses, where his research included work on defense technology transition, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), export controls, technology forecasting, and international research cooperation. His work included detailed technical analyses supporting the DARPA MEMS program, the Army Science and Technology Master Plan, and the Military Critical Technologies Program. In 1996, Dr. Seraphin earned a Ph.D. in Electronic Materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he performed research on silicon nanotechnology. His research focused on the development of novel silicon nanostructures and tailoring their optical properties. He also holds bachelor’s degrees in Political Science with a concentration in American Government and Engineering Science with a concentration in Materials Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Christina Nemr discusses counter-extremism, counter-disinformation, instability, and conflict. After reviewing why so many interventions for both extremism and disinformation tend to fall short, Christina mentions some tactics or approaches that show promise.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #56 Bob Jones on Governance
  • #84 Suzanne Spaulding on Disinformation, the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and Civics
• Attitudinal Inoculation
• Integrative Complexity
• Civic Engagement
• The need for cognitive closure by Arie Kruglanski and Shira Fishman
• Integrative Complexity Interventions to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism by Christina Nemr and Sara Savage
• South Africa Vaccine Hesitancy Campaign

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-97

Guest Bio: Christina Nemr is a consultant and entrepreneur addressing challenges in the information environment that yield instability and conflict. She has worked on counter-extremism policy and programming for the past decade in collaboration with governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector, with increasing focus on mitigating the psychological and social factors that facilitate susceptibility to extremism and disinformation. She started her career as an advisor with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism, where she was a founding member of the countering violent extremism program. She has degrees in International Relations and Forensic Psychology. 

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Emma Briant discusses computational propaganda and her ongoing efforts to illuminate the magnitude of the problem. She reviews the findings of her recent research and gives examples with current events.

Resources:

• How Russia benefits from ill-informed social media policies  by Dr. Emma L. Briant
• The Grim Consequences of a Misleading Study on Disinformation by Dr. Emma L. Briant
• Government efforts to counter propaganda risk undermining public trust by Dr. Emma L. Briant
• 'Afternoon Tea & Truth Biscuits' Emma’s regular YouTube show discussing propaganda with the experts
• 'Propaganda & Counterterrorism: Strategies for Global Change' (by Emma Briant, Manchester University Press, 2015)
• 'Routledge Handbook on the Influence Industry' (co-Edited by Emma Briant & Vian Bakir, coming 2023)
• Book: 'Propaganda Machine: Inside Cambridge Analytica and the 'Bad Influence' Industry' (Forthcoming)
• Dr Emma Briant's Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/emmalbriant
• Website: www.emma-briant.co.uk
• Project page: www.propagandamachine.tech
• Twitter: @emmalbriant

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-96

Guest Bio: Dr. Emma L Briant is a scholar in political communication who researches contemporary propaganda and information warfare, its governance in an age of mass-surveillance and its implications for democracy, security, inequality and human rights. She is presently an Associate at the Centre for Financial Reporting & Accountability at University of Cambridge and a Fellow at Central European University Center for Media, Data and Society. Dr Briant has a particular research focus on the actors behind influence operations and analyzed the coordination and increasing impacts of the digitalization of defense propaganda for her recent book Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change (Manchester University Press, 2015). Dr Briant’s testimony was central in exposing Cambridge Analytica and its parent company SCL and continues to inform international inquiries and policymaking including the US Congress, UK Parliament, Canadian Parliament and European Parliament. She has advised politicians, NGO’s and Big Tech companies on threats posed by the opaque digital influence industry, disinformation and contemporary influence operations. Dr Briant’s first book was Bad News for Refugees, (Pluto Press, 2013, co-authored with Greg Philo and Pauline Donald), examined UK political and media discourse on migration prior to ‘Brexit’. She served as advisor for a film for ‘People You May Know’, a recent Emmy-nominated documentary on Amazon Prime and previously, as Senior Researcher for Oscar-shortlisted Netflix film ‘The Great Hack’. She is now finalizing her third book Propaganda Machine: Inside Cambridge Analytica and the Digital Influence Industry and working on a fourth the co-edited Routledge Handbook on the Influence Industry with Vian Bakir, Bangor University, UK. Dr Briant also contributes journalism and op-eds to major outlets and is owner of Maven of Persuasion LLC a consultancy that advises and trains on disinformation threats and ethics in influence.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, the Deputy Commandant for Information, Lt. Gen. Matthew Glavy discussed the Marine Corps newest doctrinal pub: MCDP 8 Information. MCDP 8 is the Marine Corps’ capstone service doctrine that describes the purpose and mechanics of the Information warfighting function. The Marine Corps information warfighting function is a framework that Marines use to plan and execute operations for the purpose of creating and exploiting information advantages in pursuit of mission objectives, in any warfighting domain.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
• • #38 Lori Reynolds on Operations in the Information Environment
  • #70 William Hess on the Information Environment and Adapting the Military
  • #13 Brian Russell on Behind Enemy Lines
• Marine Corps Deputy Commandant for Information
• ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INFORMATION MANEUVER 1700 OCCUPATIONAL FIELD
• 17XX Guide posted on the DC I Website for your reference
• Information as a Joint Function
• MARINE CORPS BULLETIN 5400 ESTABLISHMENT OF INFORMATION AS THE SEVENTH MARINE CORPS WARFIGHTING FUNCTION
• MCDP 8, Information: A new Marine Corps doctrine for the information warfighting function by Mr. Eric X. Schaner
• • https://mca-marines.org/wp-content/uploads/MCDP-8-Information.pdf

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-95

Guest Bio:

Lieutenant General Glavy was commissioned in May 1986 through the United States Naval Academy. Upon receiving his wings in September of 1988, he was selected to fly the CH-46 Sea Knight.

Assignments in the Operating Forces include: Weapons and Tactics Instructor and Embark Officer, HMM-261 (REIN); Aircraft Maintenance Officer, and Executive Officer, HMM-265 (REIN); Current Operations Officer, G-3, 1st MAW; Commanding Officer, HMM-265 (REIN); Commanding General, 2d Marine Aircraft Wing, and Commanding General, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command.

Assignments in the Supporting Establishment include: Platoon Commander, Officer Candidate School; Operational Test Director, White House Liaison Officer, Presidential Command Pilot and Commanding Officer, HMX-1.

Headquarters and Staff Assignments: Plans, Policy and Operation, HQMC; Information Operations, Joint Staff J3; HQMC Aviation, Expeditionary Enablers Branch; Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation, Marine Corps Staff; Deputy Director of Current Operations, United States Cyber Command.

Military Education: The Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Corps Command and Staff College and Marine Corps War College. Master’s degrees in both Military Studies and Strategic Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy

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.

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, Lisa DeFalco discusses her 25-year journey in the business of communications analysis. Her firm’s newest AI based technology, Anna, is transforming TPG into an industry leading customer experience technology firm. Their platform evaluates communication effectiveness on a series of over 300 identified communication behaviors. We discuss implications and applications of this technology.

Resources:

• TPG, Inc.
• Cognitive Crucible Episode #25 Alan Kelly on Mapping the Strategies of IO Actors
• Alan Kelly Obituary

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-94

Guest Bio: 

Lisa DeFalco founded the Independent Quality Assurance market, starting both an industry and a movement with the phrase “this call may be monitored for quality assurance.”

Opening TPG in 1996, Lisa has designed the methodology that the Fortune 500 uses to define a “good call.” That methodology is in place among the largest corporations on the globe in 9 countries and 13 languages, and applied across 180 million interactions and growing.

Throughout Lisa’s 30 years in the contact center industry, she has served on the industry’s trade association (American TeleServices Association/PACE) as its Board of Director Chairwoman. During her 12-year tenure as the Chairwoman and Board officer, she has met with governmental regulators and members of Congress to advocate the value of contact centers in support of American business communication with consumers. During her tenure, she formed the industry’s Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) with the cooperation of industry and federal regulators to define compliant consumer protection standards for contact center communication, earning leadership recognition for federal and state regulatory compliance knowledge.

As the CEO of TPG, Inc., Lisa is the visionary behind TPG’s products, delivery model, and the innovative path to incorporate its proprietary evaluation methods within AI technology, including their newest AI based technology Anna, transforming TPG into an industry leading CX technology firm.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Captain Todd Huntley USN (ret.) shares his perspective on legal considerations related to information operations. Todd draws upon decades of operational law experience as a judge advocate for USSOCCOM and a senior legal advisor for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #63 Mike Vickers on IO and the Cyclops
  • #53 Clint Watts on Domestic Extremism
  • #84 Suzanne Spaulding on Disinformation, the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and Civics
  • #41 Toomas Ilves on the Estonian Perspective https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-41
• Controlling the Use of Force in Cyberspace: the Application of the Law of Armed Conflict During a Time of Fundamental Change in the Nature of Warfare by Todd Huntley
• Active Measures: The Secret History of Disinformation and Political Warfare by Thomas Rid
• Nothing Is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-93

Guest Bio: Todd Huntley is the Director of the National Security Law Program and a Lecturer in Law at Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to teaching, Todd develops curriculum as well as other educational and professional development programs for students focusing on National Security Law.

Todd is a retired Navy Captain and served as an active duty Judge Advocate for more than 23 years. Prior to joining Georgetown he was a Professor of National Security Law at The Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in Charlottesville. He previously served as the Directory of the Navy’s National Security Law Division. While at the Pentagon he served as a Special Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Threat Reduction and Arms Control as well as a member of the Senior Review Group for a Joint Staff study on hybrid threats.

Todd has extensive operational law experience supporting the Special Operations community. He served as the Chief, Information Operations Law at US Special Operations Command and as the legal advisor to the Joint Military Information Support Command, as well as the SJA, Special Operations Command Central and Combined Forces Special Operations Command where he deployed to Qatar, Iraq, Yemen, and other locations in the Middle East. He also served as the legal advisor for US Special Operations Command, National Capital Region. Todd deployed to Afghanistan twice with a Joint Special Operations Task Force in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and has supported a Joint Special Operations Task Force conducting world-wide counter-terrorism missions. CAPT Huntley has a B.A. in International Affairs and a J.D. from the University of Cincinnati, as well as an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, and an LL.M. from Harvard Law School.

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.

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, USAF Col Pat Williams discusses the weather, information operations, and how the 557th Wing predicts and influences behavior. After describing the mission and capabilities of the Air Force’s only weather wing, Pat also discusses the 557th Wing’s recent realignment as a subordinate unit of the 16th Air Force. He reviews several historical examples where weather played a critical role in military operations–including the very first tornado forecast. Then, he discusses how weather analyses are playing an increasing role in influence and decision-making at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels.

Resources:

• How weather is playing a role in information warfare
• USAF 557th Weather Wing
• Col Pat Williams Bio
• The First Operational Tornado Forecast Twenty Million to One
• "You are about to set a precedent." - Gen. Fred S. Borum
• The Little Ice Age: How Climate Made History 1300-1850 by  Brian M. Fagan
• Agent of Influence: How to Use Spy Skills to Persuade Anyone, Sell Anything, and Build a Successful Business by Jason Hansen
• Disinformation: Former Spy Chief Reveals Secret Strategies for Undermining Freedom, Attacking Religion, and Promoting Terrorism by Lt. Gen. Ion Mihai Pacepa, Ronald Rychlak
• Gen. Ian Pacepa

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-90

Guest Bio: 

Colonel Patrick C. Williams is the Commander, 557th Weather Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Omaha Nebraska. He leads more than 1,450 active duty and civil service personnel at 19 locations around the world providing centralized weather insights, products and services, including climatological and electromagnetic spectrum degradation forecasts, to Air Force, Space Force, Army, Joint Force, and other Department of Defense activities. The 557th Weather Wing executes worldwide weather operations to enable air and space superiority, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, rapid mobility, global strike, and command and control in support of all geographic and functional combatant commands.

Colonel Williams received his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in May 1998. He became well versed in aviation, cyber, space, intelligence, and Army operations and held a wide variety of positions to include 2d Weather Group Commander, 19th Expeditionary Weather Squadron Commander, command weather briefer, flight commander, staff officer for Air, Army, and Joint Staffs, program element monitor, executive officer and aide-de-camp. Colonel Williams served two combat tours in Iraq (as flight commander) and Afghanistan (as 19th Expeditionary Weather Squadron Commander) respectively.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, US Army Sergeant Major Denver Dill discusses how music and the arts can be used as tools of influence. Our wide ranging conversation covers the role of music in military operations to the theme park experience to movies to sports.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #19 Ash Holzmann on PsyOps
  • #35 Jessica Dawson on Social Media Weaponization
  • #34 Emma Chiu on Global Trends and Market Intelligence
  • #14 BDJ on Threatcasting
• The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet by Jeff Kosseff
• Jeff Kosseff's website
• West Point SS493 Music & Influence Reading List
  • The Social Psychology of Music, Edited by David J. Hargreaves & Adrian C. North
  • Music and Conflict Transformation Harmonies and Dissonances in GEO Politics, Edited by Olivier Urbain
  • Jazz Diplomacy, Promoting America In The Cold War Era, Lisa E. Davenport
  • Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid, Douglas Hofstadter
  • Propaganda and Persuasion New and Classic Essays, Garth S. Jowett & Victoria O’Donnell
  • Chronicles of a black musician, Charles Jones
  • Game Theory and Strategy, Philip D. Straffin
  • 33 Revolutions per minute: A History of Protest songs from Billie Holiday to Green Day, Dorian Lynskey
  • Playing for Change: Music and Musicians in the service of social movements, Rob Rosenthal and Richard Flacks
  • Talkin' 'bout a revolution: Music and social change in America, Dick Weissman
  • Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails | How Abraham Lincoln Used the Telegraph to Win the Civil War, Tom Wheeler
  • Tracking the Audience – The Ratings Industry from Analog to Digital, Karen Buzzard
  • Radicalism & Music, Jonathan Pieslak
  • Slave Songs of the United States, unknown author – Forgotten Books
  • American Ballads and Folk Songs, John A. Lomax and Alan Lomax
  • The American Songbag Carl Sandburg

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-91

Guest Bio: Sergeant Major Denver Dill is a member of the West Point Band and an instructor of American Politics at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. He has developed the course SS493 Music & Influence which he teaches in the Department of Social Sciences.  He also serves as a co-founder and researcher in the West Point Music Research Center and as the Army Music Analytics Team Leader.  He has taught and assisted in several departments including the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Systems Engineering, Department of English and Philosophy as well as with the Army Cyber Institute. As a trumpet player Sergeant Major Dill has been a prize winner in several national and international competitions. Additionally, Sergeant Major Dill has appeared as both a soloist and a principal trumpet player with the New York Philharmonic and has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Brass. Prior to coming to the United States Military Academy Sergeant Major Dill was a doctoral teaching assistant at the Eastman School of Music. He holds degrees from Juilliard and Eastern Kentucky University and holds certifications in: Lean Six Sigma, Security+, and Influence in Special Operations.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, COL Dave Acosta discusses a draft article which represents his thinking about the early phases of the Ukraine War entitled: Informationally Disadvantaged: The Realities of Information and War in Ukraine.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #16 Boyd Brown on Deception Technology
  • #9 Mike Jackson and Paul Lieber on Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?
  • #2 Austin Branch, the US Army’s First Information Operations officer
  • #20 Chris Paul on the Firehose of Falsehood
  • #10 Tom Kent on Striking Back
  • #45 Carm Cicalese on Risk
• Facebook allows war posts urging violence against Russian invaders
• Facebook parent Meta now says you actually can’t post ‘Death to Putin’
• Like War by Peter Singer
• War in 140 Characters: How Social Media Is Reshaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century by David Patrikarakos
• Dave Acosta’s email for the Ghost Post:
  • [email protected]

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-90

Guest Bio: COL David Acosta is currently a student at the US Army War College at Carlisle Barracks PA. He was commissioned as an Army Field Artillery officer in May 1998 from the United States Air Force Academy. He served at various levels throughout his career from the company/battery level to Division staff and at the Headquarters, Department of the Army G-3/5/7. He commanded the 303d Information Operations (IO) Battalion, 151st Theater IO Group at Camp Parks CA for 49 months, and recently served as the G3 Information Operations (IO) Chief for the US Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne). His operational tours include Company Fire Support Officer, B/2-2 Infantry, OPERATION JOINT GUARDIAN in Kosovo, HQ Stabilization Forces IO Planner, OPERATION JOINT FORGE in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and IO Planner and Deputy G7, OPERATIONs IRAQI FREEDOM and NEW DAWN in Iraq. COL Acosta holds a Bachelors of Science in History (Russian Area) from the US Air Force Academy and a Master of Science in Joint Information Operations from the Naval Postgraduate School. He is the author of The Makara of Hizballah: Deception in the 2006 Summer War.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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. Ajit Maan and Mr. Paul Cobaugh of Narrative Strategies discuss the importance of narrative–especially when it comes to operationalizing influence.

Resources:

• Narrative Strategies
• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #83 Joseph Lee on Jung and Archetypes
  • Introduction to Narrative Warfare: A Primer and Study Guide
• Narrative Warfare by Ajit Maan

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-89

Guest Bio: Dr. Ajit Maan is a security and defense policy analyst and a specialist in narrative strategies in radicalization processes. She is also the author of seven books & is the CEO|Founder of Narrative Strategies. Mr. Paul Cobaugh retired from the US Army as a Warrant Officer after a distinguished career in the US Special Operations Counter-Terrorism  community, primarily focused on mitigating adversarial influence and advancing US objectives by way of influence. She is also an adjunct professor at the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU)

Ajit Maan, Ph.D. is a security and defense policy analyst and a specialist in narrative strategies in radicalization processes.

She is Professor of Practice at the Center for the Future of War and Member of the Brain Trust of the Weaponized Narrative Initiative at Arizona State University, as well as Affiliate Faculty at George Mason University's Center for Narrative Conflict Resolution.

She is the author of seven books including Internarrative Identity: Placing the Self,  Counter-Terrorism: Narrative Strategies, Narrative Warfare, Plato's Fear and Co-Editor of Soft Power on Hard Problems: Strategic Influence in Irregular Warfare. Her articles have appeared in Foreign Policy, The Strategy Bridge,  Small Wars Journal,  Real Clear Defense, Stars and Stripes, The Indian Defense Review, Indian Military Review, Defense, Intelligence Norway, and other policy and military strategy journals.

Mr. Paul Cobaugh retired from the US Army as a Warrant Officer after a distinguished career in the US Special Operations CT community, primarily focused on mitigating adversarial influence and advancing US objectives by way of influence.

Throughout his career he has focused on the centrality of influence in modern conflict whether it be from extremist organizations or state actors employing influence against the US and our Allies.

Post military career he accepted the position of VP at Narrative Strategies, a US based Think-Do Tank which specializes in the non-kinetic aspects of conflict. He believes that Narrative Strategies' cutting-edge focus on leading with non-kinetic influence is the future of national security efforts.

He is the author of Modern Day Minutemen and Women or how to save the 2020 Elections. He has also co-authored, Narrative Warfare, Primer and Study Guide and Soft Power on Hard Problems, Hamilton Publishing, 2017.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

During this episode, Courtney Cano and Kaitlyn Tierney, who are graduate students at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MMIS), discuss their award-winning project: Diverting Hate. Their team studied the ways in which radicalization proliferates online–especially misogyny and involuntary celibacy (incel) culture–and developed prevention methods to help individuals build resiliency.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #4 Tony Sgro on Education, Terrorism, and Information Operations
•  
• Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MMIS)
• Diverting Hate Website
• Diverting Hate Contest Winning Youtube Presentation
• 2014 Isla Vista killings
• Middlebury students take home top prize in national competition

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-88

Guest Bios: 

Kaitlyn Tierney is a passionate leader aspiring to bridge the gaps of technology and policy through conflict resolution, innovative counterterrorism, and empathy. Inspired to take action to heal our ever-polarizing country, Kaitlyn decided to pursue her master’s in policy in 2021 to connect with experts in extremism to address radicalization on social media. Previously, she spent six years in brand marketing, assisting to develop the brand of a successful personal finance technology company, Credit Karma. Aside from my career aspirations, Kaitlyn is a big believer in living life to the fullest. She finds joy in being outdoors skiing and surfing, as well as traveling this beautiful country via her Subaru Forester. 

As a first-generation college student, Courtney Cano is a proud product of the public sphere and was fortunate as a child to be immersed in well-funded public schools, libraries, and after school programs. By all accounts, Courtney has made the best of public institutions to advance her station in life. However, this is by no means equally, or even similarly feasible for everyone. Whether by race, ethnicity, ability, sex, gender, economic status, or the likes, Courtney believes that all have varying degrees of privilege. As such, she has always had an interest in access and equity in both the government and society. Courtney's studies in Political Science, Religion, and Philosophy at Middlebury College were generalist and explored both the philosophical and observed aspects of governance on a national scale. After college, however, she found myself drawn towards the kind of community-building and empathetic advocacy that is necessary to address radicalization after experiencing the polarization and radicalization of her own father. Catalyzed to take action, Courtney decided to pursue her master’s to explore the nexus between policy, society, and innovative counter extremism measures.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Lori Reynolds and Austin Branch (along with over 40 additional IPA members) discuss the upcoming Phoenix Challenge conference, which will be held on April 26-28, 2022 at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) on the University of Maryland campus. LtGen Reynolds also discusses the Marine Corps’ recent announcement regarding the Information Maneuver Occupational Field (OCcFld 1700).

Resources:

• Phoenix Challenge Conference
• Marine Corps Establishment of the Information Maneuver 1700 Occupational Field
• Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS)

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-87

Guest Bios: 

Mr. Austin Branch is an Information Operations pioneer, practitioner and leader. He holds the distinction of being the Army’s very first Information Operations officer when that career field was just forming, and while in uniform, he served at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels. Since retirement from the Army, Mr. Branch served in several senior executive civilian roles within the Department of Defense which focused on information operations, cyber, and counter-terrorism. He is also a founding board member of the Information Professionals Association.

Lori Reynolds retired as a Lieutenant General after a 35 year career in the United States Marine Corps. Her service culminated as the Deputy Commandant for Information, a newly established Deputy Commandant that recognized the growing importance of Information, cyberspace and digital technologies and the new warfighting domains of space and cyberspace. During her career, she commanded Marines at every rank, including command of formations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a General Officer, she commanded the Marine Corps iconic recruit depot at Parris Island SC, where she was responsible for recruiting and training 20,000 new Marines per year. She subsequently commanded Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, where she completed the build of the Marine Corps’ newest warfighting component and was responsible for the Marine Corps first ever cyber effects operations in support of the Joint Force.

In her time as the Deputy Commandant for Information, Lori was responsible for all IT, intelligence, cyberspace, space and influence personnel and capability development for the Marine Corps. She led the team that created the Marine Corps newest warfighting function of Information, acknowledging the growing importance of the fight for secure information and data. She also led the development of the cyberspace occupational field for the Marine Corps and initiated the creation of a new Marine component for US Space Command.

Lori served as the senior woman in the Marine Corps for 8 years and is an expert in team building, leading diverse teams, managing complexity, risk and talent management, and organizational change management. In her last 6 years in the Marine Corps, she was a member of the Marine Corps Corporate Board reponsible for collaboratively planning $50B annually to support USMC missions and capability development globally. Her executive responsibilities included Deputy Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer for the Marine Corps, Director of Cyber Security, and Director of Intelligence.

Lori earned a BS in political science from the United States Naval Academy, a MS from the Navy War College and an MS from Army War College. She has voluntarily served as the Chairperson of the Board for the Sea Services Leadership Association and is a member of the Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association. She was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2020 and was the inaugural recipient of the Admiral Grace Hopper award at the National Defense University’s College of Information and Cyberspace. She is also a member of the Information Professionals Association.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Nick Starck and David Bierbrauer discuss their recent article: Understanding—and Mitigating—Vulnerabilities in the Military Use of AI. After recapping four categories of adversarial methods, they discuss implications and the need to keep humans in the loop.

Resources:

• Understanding—and Mitigating—Vulnerabilities in the Military Use of AI by Nick Starck, David Bierbrauer and Paul Maxwell
• Google Maps Live Traffic Showed the Russian Invasion of Ukraine
• Google Turns Off Maps Features in Ukraine That Inadvertently Showed Russia’s Invasion
• IPA Members Only Event registration
• Join IPA
• Phoenix Challenge 2022

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-86

Guest Bios:

Captain Nick Starck is a US Army cyber officer currently assigned as a research scientist at the Army Cyber Institute. His research focuses on information warfare and data privacy.

Captain David (Dave) Bierbrauer is a signal officer in the US Army. He earned a master of science in engineering degree for applied mathematics and statistics from the Johns Hopkins University in 2021. Captain Bierbrauer is currently a data engineer and data scientist at the Army Cyber Institute.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

On March the 9th 2022 from 1800-1930 ET – that this Wednesday evening – we will be having our first IPA members-only social and live Cognitive Crucible podcast recording session. We hope this will be the first of many such gatherings for the information professionals community.

After a short ice breaker, we will have a panel discussion led by Mr. Austin Branch – one of the founding Board Members of IPA. Joining Austin will be Lt. Gen. Lori Reynolds USMC ret., who before retiring from the Marine Corps recently, was the Deputy Commandant for Information. There may be some other surprise guests, as well. I can’t say anything more about that right now – you’ll have to attend the event to see who else joins the panel.

The primary topic will be the upcoming April 2022 Phoenix Challenge conference, which is the United States Department of Defense premier convening event hosted by the Office of Secretary Defense of Policy. IPA is very proud to co-host this year’s Phoenix Challenge with the University of Maryland’s Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) in partnership with OUSD (Policy) and OUSD (Research and Engineering) as DoD sponsors and co-chairs. So, after the panel sketches out the conference agenda, there will be plenty of time for the virtual zoom audience to ask questions.

So, if you’re an information professional, you don’t want to miss out on this event–hit the event registration link below. After you register & before Wednesday’s start time, you will receive information about how to join the conference.

You may have noticed that this event is for IPA members only. So, if you’re not already an IPA member, then I can think of no better time than right now to join our growing community & support our mission. There’s a link to join IPA in the show note & we look forward to seeing you this Wednesday evening at 1800 or 6:00pm ET.

Event registration

https://information-professionals.org/event/live-cognitive-crucible-podcast-recording/

Join IPA

https://information-professionals.org/join-ipa/

Phoenix Challenge 2022

https://phoenixchallengedod.org/

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, Josh Kerbel of the National Intelligence University discusses the need for anticipatory intelligence. He contrasts the relatively simple historical national environment with today’s complex world. Josh explains why the traditional mindset of containment, which The West deployed to counter the Soviet agenda during the Cold War, is inappropriate today. Traditional analysis tools and linear problem solving are likewise inadequate for understanding complex, emergent dynamics.

Resources:

• IPA Members Only Social and Live Podcast Recording
• Phoenix Challenge Conference (last week of April 2022)
• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #47 Yaneer Bar-Yam on Complex Systems and the War on Ideals
  • #14 BDJ on Threatcasting
  • #32 Greg Treverton on Intelligence Global Trends and Technopolitics
• National Security Language Is Stuck in the Cold War by Josh Kerbel
• Our 'cold war' frame distorts more than just our view of China by Josh Kerbel
• National Intelligence University
• Dark sky tourism is on the rise across the U.S.

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-85

Guest Bio: Josh Kerbel is a member of the research faculty at the National Intelligence University where he explores the increasingly complex security environment and the associated intelligence challenges. Prior to joining NIU, he held senior analytical positions at DIA, ODNI (including the NIC), the Navy staff, CIA, and ONI. His writings on the intersections of government (especially intelligence) and complexity have been published in Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, Studies in Intelligence, Slate, The National Interest, The Hill, War on the Rocks, Defense One, Parameters, and other outlets. Mr. Kerbel has degrees from the George Washington University and the London School of Economics as well as professional certifications from the Naval War College and the Naval Postgraduate School. More recently he was a post-graduate fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The views expressed here are his alone.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Suzanne Spaulding from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explains why she thinks malign influence and disinformation are national security threats. She also discusses the Foreign Malign Influence Center, various United States authorities, and civics.

Resources:

• IPA Members Only Social and Live Podcast Recording
• Phoenix Challenge Conference (last week of April 2022)
• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #32 Treverton on Intelligence Global Trends and Technopolitics
• US delays intelligence center targeting foreign influence
• Beyond the Ballot Report
• Swedish Psychological Defence Agency
• Civics Secures Democracy Act

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-84

Guest Bio: Suzanne Spaulding is senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Suzanne has served in a variety of influential national security roles within the Intelligence Community, the Department of Homeland Security, and within the United States Congress. Likewise, her private sector experience covers a wide-range of legal, risk, and security issues.

Suzanne Spaulding is senior adviser for homeland security and director of the Defending Democratic Institutions project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She also served as a member of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission. Previously, she served as under secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where she led the National Protection and Programs Directorate, now called the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, managing a $3 billion budget and a workforce of 18,000, charged with strengthening cybersecurity and protecting the nation’s critical infrastructure, including election infrastructure. She led the transformation of budget, acquisition, analytic, and operational processes to bring greater agility and unity of effort to an organization that had experienced dramatic growth through acquisition of new entities and missions over several years. Throughout her career, Ms. Spaulding has advised CEOs, boards, and government policymakers on how to manage complex security risks across all industry sectors. At DHS, she led the development and implementation of national policies for strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure against cyber and physical risks, including the National Infrastructure Protection Plan and key presidential directives and executive orders. She worked with industry to establish CEO-level coordinating councils in the electric and financial services sectors, chaired the federal government’s Aviation Cybersecurity Initiative to identify and address key cyber vulnerabilities in the national aviation system, and worked with many foreign governments on critical infrastructure and cybersecurity, including negotiating agreements with China and Israel. Ms. Spaulding also led security regulation of the chemical industry, biometrics and identity management, emergency communications, and the Federal Protective Service. As a member of the board of directors for the First Responder Network Authority, Ms. Spaulding helped oversee the complex and unprecedented effort to deploy the first nation-wide broadband network for public safety.

She is currently on the board of directors for Defending Digital Campaigns and for Girl Security, and advisory boards for Nozomi Networks, Splunk, MITRE, Harvard University’s Defending Digital Democracy project, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the Technology Law and Security Program at American University. She is a member of the Homeland Security Experts Group, sits on the council of executives for the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at Auburn University, and is on the faculty of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Following the attacks of 9/11, Ms. Spaulding worked with key critical infrastructure sectors as they reviewed their security posture and advised the CEOs of the Business Roundtable. In 2002, she was appointed by Governor Mark Warner of Virginia to the Secure Commonwealth Panel to advise the governor and the legislature regarding preparedness issues. She was managing partner of the Harbour Group, a principal in the Bingham Consulting Group, and of counsel to Bingham McCutchen LLP. Ms. Spaulding has served in Republican and Democratic administrations and on both sides of the aisle in Congress. She was general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and minority staff director for the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She also spent six years at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she was assistant general counsel and legal adviser to the director’s Nonproliferation Center. She was a member of the CSIS Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, which developed a bipartisan national cybersecurity strategy in advance of the 2008 election; executive director of the National Commission on Terrorism and the Commission to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction; and a consultant on the Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction and the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. She is former chair of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security, founder of the Cybersecurity Legal Task Force, and was a member of Harvard University’s Long-Term Legal Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terror.

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.

Can archetypes be modeled, analyzed, and applied in support of national security? During this episode, Joseph Lee discusses Carl Jung, collective consciousness, and archetypes. Our wide ranging discussion covers a comparison between Jung and Freud, Joseph Campbell’s work on myth and the hero’s journey, the Marvel universe as a modern day collection of stories about gods, the power of rituals, and archetype emergence.

Here is the story Joseph shared towards the end of the discussion: 

Max Zeller’s dream. A psychoanalyst living in California, Zeller had become troubled by his work after World War II, for he worked with relatively few individuals while the world remained in turmoil. So he went to Europe to meet with Jung and had this dream:

“A temple of vast dimensions was in the process of being built. As far as I could see—ahead, behind, right and left—there were incredible numbers of people building on gigantic pillars. I, too, was building on a pillar. The whole building process was in its very first beginnings, but the foundation was already there, the rest of the building was starting to go up, and I and many others were working on it.

Jung said, ‘Ja, you know, that is the temple we all build on. We don’t know the people because, believe me, they build in India and China and in Russia and all over the world…You know how long it will take until it is built?’ And when Max Zeller asked how long, Jung said, ‘About six hundred years.’ Max Zeller ended by saying, ‘That is what happens in our work…We see it every day…Each person works on his own pillar, until one day the temple will be built.’”

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #77 Paul Lopata on Quantum
• The Jungian Life Podcast
• Episode 179: The Archetype of War
• Joseph R. Lee’s Webpage
• DreamSchool
• The Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts
• Apotheosis of Washington Mural
• Power of Myth PBS Series with Joseph Campbell

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-83

Guest Bio: Joseph R. Lee is a Jungian Analyst in private practice in Southern VA. He is co-host and co-creator of This Jungian Life podcast, as well as the online learning program DreamSchool, where people learn how to interpret their own dreams. He is president emeritus of The Philadelphia Association of Jungian Analysts that provides analytic training.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

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, Alex del Castillo of Zignal Labs and John De Rosa discuss applied social science related to measuring effectiveness of operations in the information environment. Our wide-ranging conversation touches upon helping decision-makers visualize the information environment, cloud computing, nurturing an innovation culture, and in-demand near-term future capabilities. John and Alex discuss how measuring IO effectiveness includes several sub-components such as horizonal and vertical contextual understanding of the whole information environment, establishing agnostic baselines, filtering and searching, target audience definition, and measuring based upon area targets instead of point targets. The national security and commercial marketplaces seem to be blending and asking for predictive and prescriptive analytics, narrative intelligence, sandbox information environments, geospatial, and meme analysis.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
  • #69 Venhaus on ARLIS & the Cognitive Security Proving Ground
• Narrativized Strategic Choice by John DeRosa
• Wargaming Contest Narratives by John DeRosa and Arnel David

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-82

Guest Bios: 

As Zignal's Chief Revenue Officer, Alex del Castillo leads all revenue generation processes while ensuring accountability and alignment with product development, marketing, and customer success. A former Chicago prosecuting attorney, enlisted Marine turned naval officer, and Booz Allen Hamilton consultant to U.S. Special Operations Forces, he brings more than 20 years of experience across multiple critical disciplines to Zignal Labs.

John DeRosa has served over twenty years as a soldier, officer, and civilian in the U.S. Department of Defense. Concurrently, he is an Adjunct Professor Government and Politics at the University of Maryland Global Campus. He has a Ph.D. and MSc from the Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University, a MSc in National Security Strategy from the National War College, a MA in National Security Studies, and a BA in Economics from California State University, San Bernardino. His book Narrativized Strategic Choice was published in 2020.

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.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.