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PODCAST

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

The Pell Center at Salve Regina University

From the Pell Center at Salve Regina University and the creators of the Active Measures Newsletter, a weekly dive into the latest trends in political warfare, influence, and information campaigns.

history politics

All Episodes

29:57

Political Warfare 101: Get the Policy Right, First

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/09/06

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson review reports of a U.S. influence campaign targeting the residents of Greenland; Texas stands up an effort to counter-Chinese influence; the Trump administration embraces the Department of War; while the prevalence of disinformation in AI chatbots grows.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

36:14

AI for DOD Influence Campaigns with Jonathan Welch

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/08/23

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome RAND's Jonathan Welch for a discussion of DOD requirements to get the most out of generative AI for U.S. influence operations. Also, fallout from the Trump-Putin meeting comes in many forms: from waltzing polar bears to Putin whispering about election fraud all while Russian malign influence campaigns targeting the west continue.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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28:32

Saturday Pods Begin with a lot of AI

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/08/09

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss China's use of Artificial Intelligence to create a so-called "propaganda engine," leveraging AI to monitor content and respond with narratives designed to either diminish or amplify messages. They then turn to reporting on the soft power of international assistance and the binding power of international trade--two things the United States did tremendously well, until recently. Finally, they return to the use of generative AI to produce inauthentic

en-US

32:21

Malinformation in the India-Pakistan Clash with Sid...

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/08/04

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the use of mis- and disinformation in the recent clash between India and Pakistan with Sid Venkataramakrishnan of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. They also highlight recent RAND recommendations to the Department of Defense on the use of generative AI in influence operations; social media platforms cracking down on accounts spreading disinformation; and President Trump's dismissal of the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics and what

en-US

30:50

Swipe Left

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/07/28

This week, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the Director of National Intelligence's efforts to pass-off disinformation about the 2016 Russian disinformation campaign, a fact that only served the purpose of those who want to undermine public-confidence in American elections and institutions. Then, they turn to pro-Russian TikTok accounts that are telling a fairy-tale about Russian occupation and reconstruction in the Donbas—on their own, they tell a story about the creation of a false, local

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31:53

From Online Incitement to Real World Violence with...

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/07/14

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson are joined by Aoife Gallagher, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, for a conversation about recent online incitement against migrants in Ireland manifesting in real-world violence and intriguing cross-border coordination between unlikely Irish partners.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

32:21

Overloaded

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/07/07

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the re-writing of Russian history textbooks; the convergence of Russian and Chinese information operations; the latest on a Russia-aligned, AI-fueled campaign known as "Operation Overload"; the use of AI for fact-checking; how to address misinformation without defaulting to censorship; and the age of the American "scientific refugees."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

33:47

The Pravda Network with Valentin Chatelet

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/30

This week, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome Valentin Chatelet, a research associate at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab, for an urgent discussion of the Pravda Network--a Russian information operation using an AI-powered network of websites to warp target populations' understanding of the war in Ukraine and other issues. They also discuss a troubling example of America's unilateral disarmament in the information space aimed at North Korea as well as the impact of AI on

en-US

30:01

Never Waste a Protest

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/16

As protests swirl in Los Angeles and spread to other American cities, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the ways in which foreign adversaries always seek to exploit the divisions in American society. They also review the lessons learned from the 2024 European elections; the urgency of information literacy to meet the challenges posed by foreign malign influence campaigns; and Russian efforts to target Poland and French-speaking Africa with information campaigns that rely on fear, intimidation, and

en-US

25:20

China, The Pope, and UFOs

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/09

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss reports that the United States is poorly prepared for China's enhanced ability to conduct cognitive warfare, even while India warns its citizens to avoid using the TikTok-refugee platform of choice in the United States: Chinese-owned RedNote. They then turn their attention to reports of synthetic media impersonating Pope Leo XIV while Target deals with a campaign to amplify criticisms of its policy shift around DEI programs. Finally, the hosts

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28:46

Shrek Takes a Hand

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/06/02

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the role disinformation played in the recent surge of violence between India and Pakistan; review the way both U.S. AFRICOM and the People's Republic of China are adapting to changes in the American tool-box brought about by the Trump administration; look at what changes in content moderation at Meta mean for fighting disinformation as well as the role of AI in disinformation detection. They wrap with a discussion of the threat to Russia posed by

en-US

36:15

Save VOA!

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/19

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson interview VOA White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara on the Trump administration's efforts to silence the Voice of America and what the loss of that capability means for both U.S. national security and the global audience that has come to rely on VOA for independent journalism. They also review reporting on China's growing efforts to gain influence in the Western hemisphere as well as proposals to better organize the U.S. government for information

en-US

26:30

Pravda and Overload

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/12

Russian campaigns again dominate this week's episode with hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson recapping the best reporting on the Russian Pravda network, a campaign known as "Overload," and Russian ties to neo-Nazis. Along the way, they consider why Russia might target small-population languages, and discuss the hard-learned wisdom of Latvia who has long endured Russian information campaigns.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

36:18

LLM Grooming

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/05/05

This week, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome McKenzie Sadeghi and Isis Blachez from NewsGuard to discuss their research on Moscow's Pravda-network, the rise of 'LLM Grooming,' and the infection of AI tools with Russian-sponsored disinformation. The show also reports on a Russian-campaign to deepen tensions between Denmark and the United States over Greenland; the impact of Trump administration policies on Taiwan and U.S. security competition with China; as well as the growing sophistication

en-US

32:13

Counter Disinformation or Censorship?

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/04/21

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson review the decision by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to shutter the surviving office countering foreign disinformation on the grounds that it was actually censoring American voices. The conversation then turns to the nominee for the U.S. Attorney in the District of Columbia and his failure to disclose more than 150 appearances on Russian state-run media; the health of the Canadian information ecosystem in the

en-US

34:16

Tea Leaves

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/31

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson search the tea-leaves left behind by DOGE cuts to try to understand the grand-strategy and intention behind gutting American soft-power and threatening NATO allies. Then, they turn their attention back overseas for a reminder that America's adversaries continue to operate political warfare campaigns despite America's unilateral disarmament. Finally, they look at the potential for AI-created deepfakes to undermine public

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30:28

Is It Spelled "Capitulation" or "Allies?"

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/24

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson dissect a raft of moves by the U.S. government that can't be explained as either accident or intentional act, but paint a picture of a strategic realignment with Russia. They also discuss a new report from CSIS about foreign governments targeting corporations with mal-information, while China increasingly employs so-called "Gray Zone" tactics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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37:08

The Voice of America Silenced

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/17

This week hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson welcome Matt Armstrong, a former member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that oversaw the U.S. government's international media, for a discussion of the late breaking moves by the Trump administration to shutter America's overseas broadcasting and the impact those closures might have on international audiences, American alliances, and the ambitions of America's adversaries.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

en-US

33:30

The Reordering

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/03/03

This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson tackle news that the Secretary of Defense has instructed U.S. Cyber Command to cease planning for offensive cyber operations against Russia; an American think-tank reports on disinformation in every American state; AI can help audiences resist disinformation; while one American scholar notes that right-wing populist information campaigns have the hallmarks of improv; capped off with a couple of articles on losing

en-US

30:37

Brazen

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast ·

2025/02/24

In the aftermath of his party's election victory, Christian Democrat leader Friedrich Merz charted a course for Germany in a Europe that must be independent of the United States, telling an interviewer that the pre-election “intervention from Washington was no less drastic, dramatic, and ultimately no less outrageous, than the intervention that we have seen from Moscow,”--a reference to forays by Elon Musk and Vice President J.D. Vance into German politics. In this week's Active Measures

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