In the final Stage Talk of the year, we learnt the mechanics of investigating trade data thanks to this week's guest, Bellingcat research consultant and self-confessed data nerd Katherine De Tolly. Using the example of opioid shipments from India to West Africa, Katherine talked us through the intricacies of import-export data and how to navigate the many data gaps/inconsistencies inherit in the system.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday December 4th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links mentioned:

Katherine's slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1JvDqFnM-caIPo39ez3aennGa9iwB-NwWPh9VXAKUFgg/edit?usp=sharing

Money channel in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/710247961426395186

Comtrade: https://comtradeplus.un.org/TradeFlow

52WMB: https://en.52wmb.com/

BBC investigation: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyew21yyjzo

This week, we explored one of war’s less visible consequences: its devastating impact on the environment. How large is the ecological footprint of conflict? What do we know about the long-term harm caused by bombing, heavy machinery, and the waste left behind—and how these pollutants affect both human health and fragile habitats? In this episode, Eoghan Darbyshire of the Conflict and Environment Observatory reveals how his team tracks the immediate and lasting environmental fallout of warfare around the world. He also underscores why open-source research skills are indispensable for uncovering damage that often remains hidden in plain sight.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday November 20th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

CEOBS: https://ceobs.org/

Ukrainian forest tracker: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/08/18/a-new-tool-shows-what-war-has-done-to-ukraines-forests/

Guide on visualising conflict and displacement data: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2025/07/04/the-story-of-a-storm-part-ii-visualising-conflict-and-displacement-data/

CEOBS blog on the fibre optic damage in Ukraine: https://ceobs.org/plastic-pollution-from-fibre-optic-drones-may-threaten-wildlife-for-years/

Sudanese Civil War Discord channel: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1099724243706589245

Environment and Wildlife Discord channel: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/807311724893175878

Ship detection tool: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/05/11/peering-beyond-the-clouds-a-guide-to-bellingcats-ship-detection-tool/

Sketchy Boats Stage Talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2235217/

This week, we explored the practicalities of modern warfare. How do we measure military power? Is it possible to fairly compare fighting resources between regions? In this episode, Michael Hilliard from the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs walked us through their latest research, mapping the militaries of Central Asia. Michael was also joined shortly on stage during the talk by Mitchell Polman, an OSINT researcher who helped with the mapping project.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday November 6th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

PROJECT LINK >> https://oxussociety.org/projects/the-armed-forces-of-central-asia/

UZBEKISTAN CHAPTER DOWNLOAD LINK >> https://oxussociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/The-Armed-Forces-of-Central-Asia-Chapter-IV-Uzbekistan-1-1.pdf

MAPPING PROJECT LINK >> https://oxussociety.org/viz/military-units/map.html

Michael's red line podcast- excellent listening: https://www.theredlinepodcast.com/

And the Oxus Society podcast https://oxussociety.org/publications/podcast/

Purchase higher tier data link: https://oxussociety.org/projects/the-armed-forces-of-central-asia/purchase/

Caucusus and Central Asia Channel in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/709947054042120222

Michael's previous talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1720167/

Mapping Militia Networks with New America talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2212437/

This week, we were discussing what role fashion plays for far-right movements. We spoke to Bellingcat's resident experts on the subject. Michael Colborne has been investigating far-right networks for years and Youri van der Weide has just completed a deep dive on russian neo-nazi paramilitary groups with merchandise embedded within their business plans.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday October 23rd 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Some reading material from Michael: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691196152/the-extreme-gone-mainstream?srsltid=AfmBOor44s08b3e358d6Glak2OUrwrrtBkmbtU7BfSKwRoZ3QvNqj-Wa

The Extreme Gone Mainstream, Cynthia Miller-Idriss (2019) https://www.politybooks.com/bookdetail?book_slug=stuff--9780745644233

“Why Clothing is not Superficial” in Stuff, Daniel Miller (2009) https://doppelhouse.com/the-chosen-few/

The Chosen Few: Aesthetics and Ideology in Football-Fan Graffiti and Street Art, Mitja Velikonja (2021) https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801448904/political-aesthetics/#bookTabs=1

Political Aesthetics, Crispin Sartwell (2010)

Elke Gaugele, “The New Obscurity in Style. Alt-right Faction, Populist Normalization, and the Cultural War on Fashion from the Far Right,” Fashion Theory, 23:6, 711-731, DOI: 10.1080/1362704X.2019.1657262, 2019.

Youri's investigation into Maskov: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/03/06/unmasking-maskov-how-bellingcat-found-a-man-outfitting-russian-neo-nazis/

A couple of weeks ago New America talked to us about mapping these Russian paramilitary networks: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2212437/

Youri's latest article on Rusich: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2025/10/21/how-a-former-political-hopeful-helps-russian-neo-nazi-group-rusich-sell-its-online-merch/

Hate symbol directory: https://globalextremism.org/global-extremist-symbols-database/

Expo sweden: https://expo.se/

Tenepod a suggestion from an audience member as a decent guide for historical far right/nazi eastern European stuff: https://tenepod.libsyn.com/

This week, we were discussing how open source research can help build vital factchecking skills across disciplines. We spoke to Prof. dr. Brianne McGonigle Leyh, a professor and one of the leaders of the Open-Source Global Justice Investigations Lab at Utrecht University. Alongside her, we were joined by Felix Lommerse, the student assistant at the lab and a former student of the course. In the talk they described the purpose of the project, how major newsrooms have got involved and why other universities may want to take note.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday October 9th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

The lab: https://www.uu.nl/en/research/institutions-for-open-societies/contesting-governance/projects/open-source-global-justice-investigations-lab

Berkeley: https://humanrights.berkeley.edu/

Dr Alexa Koenig Stage Talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/

FT article in partnership with lab: https://ig.ft.com/haiti-gangs

Their work was also mentioned by GIJN: https://gijn.org/stories/african-journalism-database-local-digital-verification/

Their timeline of the Palestinian protests at Utrecht University: https://www.uu.nl/sites/default/files/UU%20May%207%20-%209%20Events%20Report_0.pdf

Bellingcat challenge site: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/

Giancarlo's article on protecting your mental hygiene as a researcher: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2022/11/23/how-to-maintain-mental-hygiene-as-an-open-source-researcher/

The Dart Center referenced has been closed over the summer. You can now access those resources here: https://gcjt.org/

This week we spoke to maritime researcher Christian Panton. Christian builds resources to monitor ships as a hobby and has created a useful database of 'sketchy boats' that require further investigation. In the talk he described the purpose of the tool and how he created it, and provided a detailed overview of the current issues with researching ships up to no good.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 25th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Sketchy Boats website: https://sketchy.boats/

Sketchy Boats GitHub: https://github.com/christianpanton/those.sketchy.boats

Christian's pages: https://bsky.app/profile/pa.nton.cx

https://christian.panton.org/

Lloyds list investigation on false flags that Christian contributed to: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1154326/Massive-fraudulent-flag-operation-linking-over-20-separate-fake-sites-uncovered

Bellingcat investigation into the ships smuggling grain from occupied Crimea: https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1154326/Massive-fraudulent-flag-operation-linking-over-20-separate-fake-sites-uncovered

Bellingcat's Ship Detection Tool (built with Ollie Ballinger): https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/05/11/peering-beyond-the-clouds-a-guide-to-bellingcats-ship-detection-tool/

And Ollie's GitHub page: https://oballinger.github.io/

#maritime channel in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/920298016123023400

TW: This episode contains a description of a murder and mutilation.

This week we spoke to the team at New America about their work tracking militia and private military groups online. Candace Rondeaux and Ben Dalton led us through their tips and techniques for tracing connections on Russian social media site VK and Telegram.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday September 11th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

New America Future Frontlines: https://www.newamerica.org/future-frontlines/

Their Wagner project: https://www.newamerica.org/future-frontlines/uncovering-the-wagner-group/

And Proxy Warfare project: https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/future-proxy-warfare/

New America covering Hamdi Bouta's murder https://www.newamerica.org/future-security/reports/inquiry-murder-hamdi-bouta/introduction/

Our previous Stage Talk with All Eyes on Wagner: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2061764/

Coverage of the IDF's lavender programme: https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/

This week we spoke to Galen Reich, Tech Community Lead at Bellingcat. In the talk Galen provided invaluable advice for those who want to build a tool for research, highlighting what aspects you need to consider in the planning stages, raising awareness of what obstacles could arise once the tool is established and explaining how anyone can build an everlasting tool with or without coding knowhow.

The talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday August 28th 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Bellingcat GitHub Repository: https://github.com/orgs/bellingcat/repositories

1xBet investigations: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/10/21/1xbet-hosts-thousands-of-amateur-sports-streams-on-its-website/

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/11/19/volunteers-find-1xbet-stream-sites/

Upcoming Bellingcat training on the Command Line: https://www.bellingcat.com/workshops/september-30-2025-command-line-tools-for-open-source-researchers-for-absolute-beginners-americas-europe-friendly-time

Bellingcat Tech Series on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq6cQ--4f90icDJUwiGcPrFFLLguuZ0ht

Bellingcat Toolkit: https://bellingcat.gitbook.io/toolkit

Tech Contributors in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1173619361882329149

Tools and sites in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/709755421836967978

Tool Support in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/947175222937800754

Search Grid Tool: https://grid.bellingcat.com/

Council Transcript Search Tool: https://council-search.bellingcat.com/

and GitHub link for the code for that tool: https://github.com/bellingcat/CouncilSearcher

Filmot (YT Transcripts): https://filmot.com/

This week we were joined by psychotherapist and activist Leyla Hussein. In the session we explored how reporters and researchers can make survivors of sexual violence feel safe, supported and heard, and at the same time ensure they make an impact with their work.

TW: The talk contains extensive discussion of sexual violence particularly FGM.

This talk was hosted by Charlotte Maher on Thursday the 14th of August 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

You can learn more about leyla's work here https://www.leylahussein.co.uk/

The Cruel Cut Channel 4 Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLiC_gpE7y053Qlgb9fU0ykM-BggXpfkmj

One month old FGM case: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c6200g5d4jlo

The Girl Generation: https://thegirlgeneration.org/

Eliza's talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/2041897/#about

Alexa's talk: https://rss.com/podcasts/bellingcatstagetalk/1908244/

Our Discord Server channels that were mentioned:

#gender-based-violence-misogny : https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1118448280435687506

#bellingcook : https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1018196475932590090

This week we were joined by Art Detective Arthur Brand. Arthur Brand has recovered over 200 stolen artworks throughout his career, these include famous paintings once thought lost, from Dali’s to Picasso’s. Within the talk he explains how open sources are crucial to his work and he shares valuable resources for those who are curious about the world of art crime themselves.

This talk was hosted by Merel Zoet on Thursday the 31st of July 2025. Music featured is courtesy of Artlist.

Recorded live in the Bellingcat Discord Server: https://discord.com/invite/bellingcat

Links discussed:

Article covering the case Brand refers to: https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250303-police-art-sleuth-crack-case-of-brueghel-stolen-in-poland-in-1974

Lost Art.De: https://www.lostart.de/de/start

Arthur's YouTube: https://youtu.be/ye8sDfUMnhc?si=Jqx6qugYnbYSEFOd

Bellingcat Challenges: https://challenge.bellingcat.com/

Bellingcat Discord Art Crime channel: https://discord.com/channels/709752884257882135/1314267278535036988

Interpol App: https://www.interpol.int/en/Crimes/Cultural-heritage-crime/ID-Art-mobile-app

ARCA Blog: https://art-crime.blogspot.com/

Madonna and the stolen art story: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/17/1149646372/french-museum-finds-a-missing-painting-in-madonnas-personal-collection

Arthur's book: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/440872/hitlers-horses-by-hedley-prole-arthur-brand-translated-by-jane/9781529106107

Arthur's TV show: https://www.arthurbrand.com/de-kunstdetective-tv/