Poisons and Pestilence

The second of our movie review specials. This one looking at The Rock (1996). 

With Steve Johnson https://x.com/CBRNEsteve?t=_sSXmOA7t4xGzvcW8TUYPA&s=09

I do not own the rights to the trialer used here  under fair use. 

Epic rap battles 

https://youtu.be/_wYtG7aQTHA?si=RltWpU_VOW9xwvHh

In our first ever movie review special, Dr Saskia Popescu reviews the classics Contagion (2011) and Outbreak (1995). 

This episode was edited and produced by the wonderful Nicolas Lureau 

In this episode we consider the long and complex history of Riot Control Agents- from the first world war, to the battlefields of modern Ukraine. 

There is also a list of recent statements below made in the context of the OPCW on the Ukraine issue: 

https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024/01/Combined%20Canadian%20statement%20on%20Subitem%209d.pdf

audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLNMKRqOrMo  

In this episode I discuss the emergence of OSINT and Bellingcat- with a focus on work related to chemical weapons. 

Sources:

https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/have-chemical-weapons-been-used-ukraine

Book 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=bellingcat+book&adgrpid=1172080294039072&hvadid=73255220590861&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=41801&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvtargid=kwd-73255153838822%3Aloc-188&hydadcr=10776_2102372&tag=mh0a9-21&ref=pd_sl_6o2ld96ezj_e

Bellingcat investigations 

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/10/23/russias-clandestine-chemical-weapons-programme-and-the-grus-unit-21955/

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2020/01/15/the-opcw-douma-leaks-part-1-we-need-to-talk-about-alex/

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/09/20/skripal-suspects-confirmed-gru-operatives-prior-european-operations-disclosed/

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2020/10/22/russian-vehicle-registration-leak-reveals-additional-gru-hackers/

Ukraine riot control agent allegations 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBQ604MWZTQ

In this episode, we examine the development of the French CBW programme  post WW-2 

Etienne Aucouturier (2023) Biological Warfare. Another French Connection

https://materiologiques.com/en/histoire-des-sciences-et-des-techniques/303-biological-warfare-the-french-conection-9782373612394.html 

Olivier Lepick (2008) French Military biological programme, 1947-1972

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299105068_French_Military_biological_programme_1947-1972 

In this episode, I interview Professor Alastair Hay about his work as a toxicologist related to the prohibition of chemical weapons. 

Karl Dewey (2022)

Poisonous affairs: Russia’s evolving use of poisons in targeted killings

https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/poisonous-affairs-russias-evolving-use-of-poisons-in-targeted-kil 

https://twitter.com/KarlDewey1 

Audio credit: Clip BBC 

A history of the foundation of the French BW programme. You can find a list of Etienne's publications here: https://irfu.cea.fr/Pisp/etienne.aucouturier/

In this episode, we examine the western gunpowder revolution and consider ideas for poison weapons which were outlined at this time in numerous military manuals. 

I am very grateful for the input from: 

the stupendous Seth Carus, the amazing Anna Roessing, the unbelievable Una Jacob, the awe-inspiring Alexander Samuel, the terrific Tonio Andrade, and the remarkable Rainer Leng.

Show notes: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1wIibQJYobwyhFNC-OhjnLYkOwVizIjuJ?usp=sharing

In this episode we examine preparations by the US in the advent of Operation Desert Storm (2003) for dealing with what was believed at the time to have been a large Iraqi CBW capability- with Al Mauroni. 

Further reading: 

A Poisonous Affair: America, Iraq, and the Gassing of Halabja (2007) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Poisonous-Affair-America-Gassing-Halabja/dp/0521876869

Al Mauroni publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=3sj1svAAAAAJ 

The UNSCOM Saga: Chemical and Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation (Global Issues) (2000) https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unscom-Saga-Chemical-Biological-Non-Proliferation/dp/0312229593 

Saddams Secrets: The Hunt for Iraq's Hidden Weapons (1999) 

https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Saddams_Secrets/Rk0hAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=Saddam%27s%20WMD%20weapon%20inspector%20%20trevan

Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? The Debate at 20 Years (2023)  https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/120569 

Media Credits: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ6qpFpIFkY&t=243s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRJi_M2T6kc 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htAWpu59bUA&t=1s