Madeline Vellturo spent the last decade working on violence prevention, peacebuilding, and stability. Between April and July, the State Department eliminated the entire Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau, where Madeline worked as a stabilization advisor implementing the Global Fragility Act.

Now Madeline is continuing her mission through storytelling. Along with former colleagues, she launched their YouTube channel Former Feds & Friends, where they share their expertise in violence prevention while reacting to popular film and media. By looking at conflict prevention through the lens of fiction, Madeline and friends are making complex problems approachable and digestible in an age of weaponized media.

In their first season, they took on topics from authoritarianism and atrocities to insurgencies and refugees while running the pop culture gauntlet through DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Disney, and others. In the spirit of Christmas, Philip and Jill joined Madeline for an age-old holiday tradition: watching Die Hard. Together, we discussed the dangers of biases, interagency conflict, and mislabeling violent criminals as terrorists.

Madeline isn't spending all of her time on YouTube though. She is staying sharp by consulting on violence prevention and recently published an article analyzing foreign investment risk and opportunity in Guinea. She's also enjoying life as a newlywed and pursuing future research opportunities.

Check out the Christmas crossover special Forking Off with Former Feds & Friends.

1. Die Hard - McClane's Big Mistake
2. Die Hard - Hans Gruber's Downfall

Connect with Madeline on LinkedIn, and make sure to check out Former Feds & Friends on YouTube.

Learn more about this episode on our website.

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The views expressed in this episode are solely those of the individuals providing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the FBI, the DOJ, the Department of State, the United States, or any past or current employers.