"In the war of ideas, people become the terrain."

Psychological operations (PSYOP) are operations to convey selected information and indicators to audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

In episode 10, I speak with Derek Goeriz, a former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier trained in insurgency, and intelligence community professional. We cover the psyop against American identity. Why are we seeing a spike in antagonism against the law enforcement community and the American rule of law with such orchestrated precision? Where is it coming from and how do we counter it?

About Derek Goeriz:

Derek holds a BA in Political Science from Yale University and an MA in International Affairs from UCSD’s School of Global Policy & Strategy. Derek is active in helping transitioning veterans and military families through participation in various charitable organizations and resides in San Diego with his daughter enjoying politics, philosophy, & the arts. Currently works in the defense tech sector.

About Shireen Qudosi:

Shireen Qudosi is a writer and speaker on faith, identity, and belonging. She’s one of the leading North American Muslim Reformers. Her work has been published in The Federalist, Women in the World, Clarion Project, The Middle East Forum, and more. Her keynote writings also include an in-depth assessment on the War on Terror through the lens of WWII and a two-hour exclusive interview with radical Imam Abu Taubah, who was linked to Orlando Shooter Omar Mateen. In 2016, Shireen testified before the House Homeland Security Committee Hearing on radical Islam, offering a powerful testimony that tied the current crisis to Islam’s origin story. “Original Islam” is a theme that runs through the veins of her work, and is central to the book project she is pursuing. In 2017, Shireen launched a petition against Davis hate imam Ammar Shahin, which broadened into a small movement in 2018. She carried her message on hate imams in Never Again is Now, a documentary by filmmaker Evelyn Markus, on the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe and the United States. In 2019, she bridged her experience in reform to ally with former extremists and develop a training series on preventing violent extremism. In 2020, she launched two simultaneous podcasts, Belonging and Endeavor Against Extremism, available on SoundCloud.