The Active Measures Newsletter Podcast
The Voice of America Silenced
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 t…
37:08
The Reordering
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 stat…
33:30
Brazen
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 ultimatel…
30:37
Unilateral Disarmament
In this week's episode, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson examine Trump Administration decisions to unilaterally disarm the United States of its ability to exert influence around the world, including: the effort to shutter USAID, slash funding for the National Endowment for Democracy, eliminate Jus…
37:00
An Ethno-Nationalist International?
On this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson discuss the pattern that emerges when you look at the divisive issues being injected into diverse Western media environments--including Canada, Switzerland, and Germany--where a looming election in February is liberal-de…
30:57
The "Tech Bro-ligarchy" Challenge to Democracy
In this week's episode of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson reflect on recent reporting on Russian interference in the German and Romanian elections, the threat of AI-enabled individualized information campaigns, and the growing specter of tech billionaires o…
29:50
Is It Time to Move Beyond the Disinformation Framework?
This week on the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson reflect on China's use of social media 'influencers' to target Taiwan and the risk of escalation in Russia's hybrid war against Europe before turning to a consideration of Facebook's decision to end third-party f…
29:44
Hybrid Warfare to the Fore
In the premier episode of the second season of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, Mark Jacobson and Jim Ludes discuss a tremendous amount of end-of-year reporting on Russian hybrid warfare efforts in the West, look ahead to Germany's upcoming elections, discuss the U.S. Treasury Departments ne…
27:37
Is That a Drone?
In this week's Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson conclude the year and the first season of the podcast with a discussion of Romanian efforts to protect their presidential election from Russian interference; a look at Congress de-funding the U.S. Global Engagement…
31:00
Out-Russia Russia
In this episode of the Active Measures Newsletter Podcast, hosts Jim Ludes and Mark Jacobson review the latest reporting on Chinese cognitive warfare, Russia's multi-pronged efforts to undermine Western support for Ukraine, the limits of fact-checking to counter disinformation, and the unprecedente…
28:31