Best ForcesWatch Podcasts (2024)

1
International anti-militarism: Neocolonialism in South Korea (SE5 EP5) 43:46

1M ago43:46

43:46

Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platf…

1
Anti-militarism & international solidarity: Kathy Kelly (SE5 EP4) 58:52

3M ago58:52

58:52

Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platf…

1
International anti-militarism: Ukrainian war resisters (SE5 EP3) 46:57

4M ago46:57

46:57

Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platf…

1
International anti-militarism: militarism & patriarchy in Israel (SE5 EP2) 47:19

4M ago47:19

47:19

Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platf…

1
International anti-militarism: Demilitarising Education (SE5 EP1) 1:02:00

5M ago1:02:00

1:02:00

Welcome to Season Five of Warrior Nation! This time we're talking to anti-militarist activists from around the world to learn their motivations, strategies and tactics. The last few years have shown us nothing if not that militarism is on the rise globally, making it more important than ever that voices critical of war and the military have a platf…

1
International anti-militarism (Season 5 Trailer) 2:23

5M ago2:23

2:23

Warrior Nation returns with a series exploring the work of leading anti-militarist organisations from around the world. With wars raging in Gaza, Ukraine and beyond, platforming critical voices has never been more important. So we've sought out people and organisations who resist every day to ask them how they develop the strategies and tactics to …

1
The Troubles, so called: Britain's war in Ireland (EP3) 30:00

9M ago30:00

30:00

Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, Forces Watch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles. What does the war in Ireland share with the …

1
The Troubles, so called: Britain's war in Ireland (EP2) 58:54

9M ago58:54

58:54

Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, Forces Watch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles. What is it like to be occupied by the Britis…

1
The Troubles, so called: Britain's war in Ireland (EP1) 59:11

10M ago59:11

59:11

Whether it is Brexit or historical allegations, the colonial legacy of Northern Ireland haunts British politics. With a controversial bill on the war having just been approved in Parliament, ForcesWatch found three unique voices whose lives and work have been profoundly shaped by the so-called Troubles. In the first episode of this three part speci…

1
The War Racket: Reflections & Predictions (SE4 EP10) 56:11

1y ago56:11

56:11

In our final episode of Series 4, we speak with Paul Rogers on the parallels and differences between the invasions of Iraq and Ukraine, and reflect on some of the key themes that have emerged across the past five months. Paul is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies and International Relations at Bradford University…

1
War & Police: Linking the Cops & the Military (SE4 EP9) 47:46

1+ y ago47:46

47:46

It cannot be denied that the police are becoming more militarised - not just in the United States but here in Britain. Yet this focus on hardware presents the cops and the military as separate entities. In reality, they are built from the same foundations. In this episode we speak with academic and activist Chris Rossdale about the colonial history…

1
A Material World: Think-Tank Funding & Defending the Status Quo (SE4 EP8) 41:12

1+ y ago41:12

41:12

Think-tanks are a key part of the political process in the UK - indeed globally - but do they actually promote democracy? Which ones have influence, how are they funded, and what role does legacy media have in amplifying their ideas. In this episode we speak with Rethinking Security coordinator Richard Reeve and academic Kjølv Egeland, experts in t…

1
Everything Looks Like a Nail: Why the Military Can't Save the Planet (SE4 EP7) 51:12

1+ y ago51:12

51:12

As the impacts of the climate crisis escalate, there is a growing trend for securitised responses that foreground the role of militaries in tackling the fallout. But whose interests do these militaries serve and what role have they played in bringing about environmental catastrophe. In this episode we speak with Nick Buxton, a communications specia…

1
Dark Economics: Understanding the Politics of Defence Budgets (SE4 EP6) 36:38

1+ y ago36:38

36:38

As the sentiment goes, there always seems to be money for warfare but never quite enough for welfare. So what's the picture in the UK - that tiny collection of islands with its towering defence expenditure. In this episode, we're joined by Matt Fawcett from the Global Campaign on Military Spending UK to discuss the dark economics of Britain's war m…

1
Anti-Establishment Ethos: Critiquing the Military and Foreign Policy (SE4 EP5) 49:07

1+ y ago49:07

49:07

Foreign and military policy doesn’t cut through to voters, or so it is said. What matters to the public is bread and butter economic policy or GP surgery hours. Yet, is it really the case that people simply don’t care about, for example, Yemen? And if not, why not? Is it the case that the main parties are so alike on these matters that there appear…

1
Very Murky: the Arms Trade and Parliament (SE4 EP4) 41:46

1+ y ago41:46

41:46

Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) is the preeminent anti-arms trade organisation in the UK. Their advocacy for a safer and fairer world extends into many realms, including Parliament – where defence firms wield unchecked influence over elected politicians. In this episode we speak with Katie Fallon, CAAT’s Parliamentary Coordinator, to discuss…

1
Gentleman Bureaucrat Masculinity: Liberal Militarism and the Civil Service (SE4 EP3) 44:24

1+ y ago44:24

44:24

When it comes to critiquing and analysing how Government works to support the military, the focus is always on politicians and the lobbying work that seeks to influence them. But what about the people in Whitehall who oil the political machine? Civil servants out-live the ministers, cabinets and governments they work for, and have more influence th…

1
Lifting the Rock: the Military and Justice (SE4 EP2) 46:37

1+ y ago46:37

46:37

From Deepcut to sexual abuse cases and war crimes, the UK military and MOD are no stranger to legal controversy. And when you read back through the reportage around this lamentable list one name recurs again and again, acting in opposition to power and in favour of fairness and human rights. Emma Norton is Director and co-founder of the Centre for …

1
Dirty Secrets: the Press and the Military (SE4 EP1) 1:17:05

1+ y ago1:17:05

1:17:05

Back in 2003, every national British newspaper bar the Guardian supported the invasion of Iraq - including The Guardian's sister paper, The Observer. Unfortunately, this was not an anomaly (dodgy dossiers or not). The sad truth is that it is very hard to find critical pieces on the UK's armed forces. And since the Edward Snowden leaks, Britain's in…

1
Unpacking Armed Forces Day (feat. Dr Ross McGarry) 32:49

2y ago32:49

32:49

In this special episode of Warrior Nation, Joe is joined by Dr Ross McGarry to discuss the deeper and varied meanings behind Armed Forces Day. In 2017, when Liverpool hosted the Armed Forces Day national event, Ross ventured out onto the streets of his home town to experience proceedings with a critical - and analytical - eye. He reflects on his fi…

1
War and Memory: Culture (SE3 EP6) 40:45

2+ y ago40:45

40:45

In the final installment of our series on war and memory, Joe speaks with Essex University historian Lucy Noakes and Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz on the creation of cultural memories around armed conflict. They cover a wide array of topics, including the Churchillian turn of British World War II narratives and how the words monument and de…

1
War and Memory: Empire (SE3 EP5) 27:57

2+ y ago27:57

27:57

In the fifth instalment of our series on war and memory Joe speaks with Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff on the ways Empire is remembered in Britain and the disconnect between the state's projection of the country's colonial past vis-a-vis the way it's seen by different communities. Maya also discusses how these histories - including the cult of Win…

1
War and Memory: Moral Injury & Trauma (SE3 EP4) 42:43

3y ago42:43

42:43

In the fourth installment of our series on war and memory we speak with ex-British Army mental health clinician Christian Hughes on the traumatic impacts of conflict. He gives a detailed breakdown of PTSD, critiques the condition's framing as a 'heroes injury' only experienced by those on the front-line, and introduces us to the notion of moral inj…

1
War and Memory: Pathologising Critique (SE3 EP3) 41:28

3y ago41:28

41:28

In the third installment of our series on war and memory we speak with American academic and Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembcke on how resistance to the conflict in South East Asia was framed during the 1960s and 70s. The discussion focuses on two key positions in Jerry's work: stab in the back theory and the pathologising of dissent through the coining…

1
War and Memory: Witnessing (SE3 EP2) 36:01

3y ago36:01

36:01

In the second episode of our new series on war and memory, we speak with founder of Forensic Architecture Eyal Weizman and academic Susan Schuppli on the role memory plays in testimony and witnessing. The discussion explores the different approaches to evidence in war crimes tribunals, starting with the Nuremburg trials of 1945, and explains how th…

1
War and Memory: Statues (SE3 EP1) 57:30

3y ago57:30

57:30

In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the Conservative Government's attempt to impose a maximum sentence of 10-years for vandalising statues, we speak with academics Natasha Danilova and Adam Elliot-Cooper on the national histories constructed through memorials and statues, and the spaces of reconstruction opened up by their remo…

1
Filling the void in defence journalism: Phil Miller in conversation with Joe Glenton 43:48

3+ y ago43:48

43:48

Joe Glenton is joined by Phil Miller, staff reporter at Declassified UK and author of 'Keenie Meenie: The British mercenaries who got away with war crimes', for a wide ranging discussion on defence journalism and coverage of the UK military in the media. Declassified provides critical investigative reporting on the UK military, security services an…

1
What's wrong with Armed Forces Day? 43:11

4y ago43:11

43:11

In the first episode of our second series, we talk about Armed Forces Day with Symon Hill of the Peace Pledge Union, the pacifist campaigning organisation. We discuss the context in which the annual event came into existence in 2009, how it works to market armed forces recruitment and the military more generally and promote arms companies, and the …

1
Lowkey in conversation with Maya Evans and Joe Glenton: Militarism, War and Resistance 53:05

4+ y ago53:05

53:05

For the finale of our first podcast season, we spoke to political hip hop artist Lowkey about war, militarism, the current political climate, and our hopes and prospects for the future. The event was recorded in front of a live audience at Housmans Bookshop in London on 4 December and co-hosted with peace activist Maya Evans. The music in this podc…

1
Recruitment & militarism: a discussion with the founders of ForcesWatch, David Gee and Emma Sangster. 35:25

5y ago35:25

35:25

We talk to ForcesWatch’s founders David Gee and Emma Sangster, about recruitment and militarism in the UK and some of ForcesWatch’s key outputs over the years. Join us as we discuss: How and why ForcesWatch began The lack of ‘informed choice’ in the military’s enlistment of minors How we define militarism How militaristic the UK is compared to othe…

1
The Military in our Midst - with Vron Ware and Antonia Dawes 51:36

5y ago51:36

51:36

We talk to academics Vron Ware and Antonia Dawes about their ongoing project with Mitra Pariyar: a two-year study of an army town in Wiltshire. We discuss why and how significant policy changes over the last ten years are changing the relationship between military and civilian communities, and the impacts of relocating thousands of soldiers from Ge…

1
Art and activism: satirising military propaganda - with Darren Cullen 27:17

5y ago27:17

27:17

We talk to satirical artist Darren Cullen about what led him away from a career in advertising and into a career producing political art. He uses the language of advertising to make work about the empty promises of consumerism and the lies of military recruiters. Join us as we discuss: Military recruitment advertising The backlash of criticising th…

1
Critical Military Studies - with Victoria Basham 56:18

5y ago56:18

56:18

We are joined by Dr Victoria Basham, a reader in International Relations at Cardiff University and President of the European International Studies Association. Her research focuses on issues of gender, race, class and sexuality in relation to militaries, militarism and militarisation. She is editor of the Critical Military Studies (CMS) journal and…

1
The Global Arms Trade - with Andrew Feinstein 51:06

5y ago51:06

51:06

In the wake of the Court of Appeal ruling that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia are illegal given war crimes in Yemen, we talk to expert Andrew Feinstein about his life exposing the global sale of arms. We pull apart the nature of this trade, discuss some little known facts about it and consider how it is perceived and portrayed in British society. Jo…

1
The Militarisation Offensive - with Paul Dixon 36:16

5y ago36:16

36:16

In our opening episode we talk to academic Professor Paul Dixon about his research into the British military’s efforts to militarise society, encroach on democracy and shape public attitudes to war and defence. We look at the ideas behind our joint 2018 ‘Warrior Nation’ report, from which our new podcast takes its name, in an effort to understand e…

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