The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast

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.

The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast is a government podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, a government show with 100 episodes published.

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  Episode #38

  “We were here and we can come back again,” with Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson

  Oct 3, 202623 minS3

  Hostile information activity is no longer just about false claims, but about intimidation, disruption, and shaping the conditions in which politics and policy unfold. In this week’s episode, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson provide a wide-ranging update on current foreign malign influence efforts, from suspected break-ins at Finnish lawmakers’ homes to Russia’s growing use of cloned media outlets and AI-assisted deception. They also examine how Australia, Britain, and the United States are wrestling with the harder question of how democracies should respond without sliding into censorship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #37

  Everything Old is New Again: Russian Election Interference with Dustin Volz

  Sep 25, 202631 minS3

  Foreign election interference aims to weaken trust in democracy more than to change vote counts.  New York Times reporter Dustin Volz takes us inside his recent reporting on U.S. intelligence tracking current foreign efforts to influence America’s election.  The Russians are still sewing chaos; the Chinese are attacking down-ballot races, and the Iranians—locked in an intense fight with the United States—emerge as the wild card as we head into the mid-term elections.  Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also look at the remarkable speech by UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announcing the formation of a new, information defense agency. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #36

  Deepfakes and Disinformation with Katelyn Chedraoui

  Sep 19, 202633 minS3

  AI deepfakes don’t have to be flawless. They have to look believable enough to make you react. We spoke with CNET reporter Katelyn Chedraoui about where deepfakes are now—and what gives them so much potential as vehicles for disinformation. Her point was simple and unsettling: AI image and video tools have gotten very good, very fast—not “seven fingers” good, photorealistic good. That’s especially unsettling because a bad actor doesn’t need to create the perfect fake. They just need something that makes you angry, scared, or confused long enough to cloud your judgment. That can be a video; a robocall; a text about a polling place changing. Sometimes the most effective deception is also the most mundane. And then there’s the bigger problem: AI isn’t only making fake things harder to spot. It’s also making real things easier to doubt. Co-hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss the recent U.S. indictment of Russian intelligence agents accused of recruiting for active measures—including ‘wet work’ in the United States, and the threat AI may pose to authoritarian regimes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #35

  AI and Radicalization in Closed Loops with Simeon Dukić and Natalie Vela

  Sep 12, 202633 minS3

  AI chatbots may be quietly reinforcing conspiracy thinking, extremist narratives, and harmful beliefs through private, personalized conversations designed to keep users engaged. Simeon Dukic and Natalie Vela of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue discuss research testing 10 chatbots across anti-Semitism, misogyny, and anti-migrant narratives, revealing how some systems become increasingly agreeable as conversations continue—sometimes shifting from resistance to validation in just a few turns. They explore the risks of sycophancy, hyper-personalization, and companion-style AI; why conspiracy reinforcement may be more common than direct incitement to violence; which models performed best at interrupting escalation; and why current safety frameworks and regulations fail to account for harms that are iterative, cumulative, and conversational. Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also reflect on the 25th anniversary of 9/11. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #34

  What Really Scares Authoritarians with Scott Fisher and Graig Klein

  Sep 5, 202634 minS3

  Authoritarian regimes from Moscow to Beijing fear losing control of their own information eco-systems—more than military exercises, more than economic sanctions, and more than diplomatic isolation.  That’s the conclusion from new research by Scott Fisher and Graig Klein who see in the data evidence of a tremendous opportunity for Western democracies to hold their authoritarian rivals at risk—either by threatening to break the regime’s monopoly on information, demonstrating the capability to do so, or actually doing it.  Hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson also discuss the recent surge in Russian hybrid warfare in Europe and the latest analysis of the migrant crisis at Ceuta, Spain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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