Assumed Rationality

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Sources: 

Andrew Yeo, “Expect to See More North Korean Weapons Reach Nonstate Armed Actors in 2024,” Brookings, accessed February 6, 2025, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/expect-to-see-more-north-korean-weapons-reach-nonstate-armed-actors-in-2024/; 

Chris Panella, “North Korea’s Forces Appear to Be the Latest ‘expendable’ Army Chewed up Fighting Russia’s War against Ukraine,” Business Insider, accessed February 9, 2025, https://www.businessinsider.com/north-korea-latest-expendable-army-chewed-up-russias-war-tactics-2025-2; 

Christina Harward and Grace Mappes, “Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment,” Institute for the Study of War, February 9, 2025, https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine-conflict-updates;

John T. Psaropoulos, “North Koreans ‘Disappear’ amid Heavy Russian Casualties in Ukraine War,” Al Jazeera, accessed February 6, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/6/north-koreans-disappear-amid-heavy-russian-casualties-in-ukraine-war; 

Steve Szymanski and Joshua C. T. Keruski, “Ukraine Symposium – North Korea’s Entry into International Armed Conflict,”Lieber Institute West Point (blog), December 10, 2024, https://lieber.westpoint.edu/north-koreas-entry-international-armed-conflict/;

Tom Balmforth, “Exclusive: Ukraine Sees Marked Improvement in Accuracy of Russia’s North Korean Missiles,”Reuters, February 6, 2025, sec. Aerospace & Defense, https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/ukraine-sees-marked-improvement-accuracy-russias-north-korean-missiles-2025-02-06/; 

Youngjun Kim, “North Korea Seeks to Mirror the South’s Defense Sector Boom,” Defense News, August 6, 2024, https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2024/08/06/north-korea-seeks-to-mirror-the-souths-defense-sector-boom/; 

“Putin Signs into Law Mutual Defence Treaty with North Korea,”Reuters, November 9, 2024, sec. Europe, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/putin-signs-mutual-defence-treaty-with-north-korea-2024-11-09/;

 “North Korean Troops Reportedly Pulled Back from Russia-Ukraine Front Line,” Al Jazeera, February 4, 2025, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/4/north-korean-troops-reportedly-pulled-back-from-russia-ukraine-front; 

“Ukraine War Briefing: North Korean Troops Back on Frontline in Kursk, Says Zelensky,” the Guardian, February 7, 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/08/ukraine-war-briefing-north-korean-troops-back-on-frontline-in-kursk-says-zelenskyy;

 “Ukraine War Latest: North Korean Soldiers ‘brought in Again’ to Fight in Kursk Oblast, Zelensky Says,” The Kyiv Independent, February 7, 2025, https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-war-latest-56/.

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"Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Baltic Sentry: NATO’s Latest Mission 

Want to learn more? 

Christina Anderson and Amelia Nierenberg, “Sweden Suspects ‘Gross Sabotage’ After Damage to Cable Under Baltic Sea,” The New York Times, January 27, 2025, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/world/europe/cable-baltic-sea-sweden-damage.html; Dan Milmo, “Wire Cutters: How the World’s Vital Undersea Data Cables Are Being Targeted,” The Guardian, November 22, 2024, sec. Technology, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/22/wire-cutters-how-the-worlds-vital-undersea-data-cables-are-being-targeted; Henrik Pryser Libell and Lynsey Chutel, “Norway Seizes Russian-Crewed Ship Suspected of Cutting an Undersea Cable,” The New York Times, January 31, 2025, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/world/europe/norway-russia-ship-baltic-undersea-cable.html; John Leicester, “11 Baltic Cables Damaged in 15 Months, Pushing NATO to Boost Security,” Defense News, January 28, 2025, https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2025/01/28/11-baltic-cables-damaged-in-15-months-pushing-nato-to-boost-security/; NATO, “NATO Launches ‘Baltic Sentry’ to Increase Critical Infrastructure Security,” NATO, accessed January 31, 2025, https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_232122.htm; “How the Early Cable Was Used | American Experience | PBS,” accessed January 31, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/cable-how-early-cable-was-used/; “SILVER DANIA, Palletised Cargo Ship - Details and Current Position,” Vessel Finder, accessed January 31, 2025, https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/details/8808604; “Submarine Cables,” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed January 31, 2025, https://www.noaa.gov/submarine-cables; “Diving Deep into Submarine Cables: The Undersea Lifelines of Internet Connectivity,” Kentik, March 28, 2023, https://www.kentik.com/blog/diving-deep-into-submarine-cables-undersea-lifelines-of-internet-connectivity/.

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"Music for Manatees" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

“Ocean Waves” from Solarmusic on Pixabay.com

Want to learn more? 

KOSTYA MANENKOV and DARIA LITVINOVA, “Belarus Poll Workers Describe Fraud in Aug. 9 Election,” AP News, September 1, 2020, https://apnews.com/article/international-news-ap-top-news-europe-72e43a8b9e4c56362d4c1d6393bd54fb; Pjotr Sauer, “‘A Ritual for a Dictator’: Lukashenko Critics Decry Belarus Election,” The Guardian, January 23, 2025, sec. World news, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/23/alexander-lukashenko-critics-belarus-election-president; Sarah Rainsford, “Belarusian Opposition Denounces Lukashenko and Sunday’s Election,” January 24, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g9dld4pejo; Tadeusz Giczan, “The Rise of Belarusian Oligarchs,” CEPA, July 30, 2020, https://cepa.org/article/the-rise-of-belarusian-oligarchs/; Todd Prince, “Big Brother Is Listening In Belarus: Lukashenka Gives The KGB Greater Access To Online Data,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 19:02:47Z, sec. Belarus, https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-kgb-online-data-access-lukashenka/32101939.html; “Accountability for Enforced Disappearances in Belarus: Former Member of President Lukashenka’s Elite Hit Squad Brought before a Swiss Court - TRIAL International,” accessed January 25, 2025, https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/belarus-accountability-for-enforced-disappearances-before-swiss-court/; “Belarus: About the Project: Election Watch 2025 Country Report,” Freedom House, accessed January 25, 2025, https://freedomhouse.org/country/belarus/about-project-election-watch/2025; “FAQs: Belarus Constitutional Referendum 2022 | IFES - The International Foundation for Electoral Systems,” February 24, 2022, https://www.ifes.org/tools-resources/faqs/faqs-belarus-constitutional-referendum-2022; “Key Events in Alexander Lukashenko’s 30 Years as the Iron-Fisted Leader of Belarus,” AP News, July 19, 2024, https://apnews.com/article/belarus-lukashenko-timeline-8f85cc4559f72a7d181d3a0a4f596407; “Treasury Targets Belarusian State-Owned Enterprises, Government Officials, and Lukashenka’s Aircraft,” U.S. Department of the Treasury, December 23, 2024, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1365; “Parliament Denounces the Upcoming Sham Presidential Election in Belarus | News | European Parliament,” January 22, 2025, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20250116IPR26328/parliament-denounces-the-upcoming-sham-presidential-election-in-belarus.

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"Music for Manatees" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Be advised: this episode discusses war, genocide, and the use of chemical weapons. 

Sources: 

Natasha Hall, “Emerging Trends in Chemical Weapons Usage in the Middle East,” n.d.; David Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, and Daphne Psaledakis, “US Issues Sanctions on Sudanese Army Chief Burhan,” Reuters, January 16, 2025, sec. World, https://www.reuters.com/world/us-impose-sanctions-sudanese-leader-burhan-2025-01-16/; Clare Lombardo, “More Than 300 Chemical Attacks Launched During Syrian Civil War, Study Says,” NPR, February 17, 2019, sec. World, https://www.npr.org/2019/02/17/695545252/more-than-300-chemical-attacks-launched-during-syrian-civil-war-study-says; OPCW, “What Is a Chemical Weapon?,” Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.opcw.org/our-work/what-chemical-weapon; UNODA, “Chemical Weapons,” United Nations, accessed January 16, 2025, https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/chemical/; Declan Walsh and Julian E. Barnes, “Sudan’s Military Has Used Chemical Weapons Twice, U.S. Officials Say,” The New York Times, January 16, 2025, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/world/africa/sudan-chemical-weapons-sanctions.html; “Chemical Weapons: Frequently Asked Questions,” Arms Control Association, accessed January 17, 2025, https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/chemical-weapons-frequently-asked-questions#III; “Chemotherapy: From the Trenches of Warfare A Weapon to Fight Cancer,” Clinical Trials at Yale, accessed January 17, 2025, https://medicine.yale.edu/ycci/clinicaltrials/learnmore/tradition/chemotherapy/; “OPCW by the Numbers,” OPCW, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.opcw.org/media-centre/opcw-numbers; “Sudan Crisis Explained,” UN Refugees, accessed January 16, 2025, https://www.unrefugees.org/news/sudan-crisis-explained/; “Voices of the First World War: Gas Attack At Ypres,” Imperial War Museums, accessed January 17, 2025, https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/voices-of-the-first-world-war-gas-attack-at-ypres; “New Weapons Fuelling the Sudan Conflict.Pdf” (Amnesty International, 2024); “Civil War in Sudan | Global Conflict Tracker,” Council on Foreign Relations, October 3, 2024, https://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/power-struggle-sudan; “Sudan and Darfur Sanctions,” Office of Foreign Assets Control, January 16, 2025, https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/sudan-and-darfur-sanctions. 

Music by:

"Music for Manatees" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Super Power Cool Dude" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

This episodes discusses torture, please listen with care.

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