WNBA star Britney Griner is imprisoned in Russia and, apparently, the U.S. is making Russia an incredible offer to get her out. Last week Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that America had “put a substantial proposal on the table.”
That proposal? The return to Russia of convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout. This so-called Merchant of Death’s story is an amazing one. It even inspired a 2005 Nicolas Cage movie, some six years before Bout’s arrest. 
With us today to talk about it is Sean Williams. Williams is a journalist and the co-host of the excellent Underworld Pod, a show about the worldwide phenomenon of organized crime.
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Who Is Viktor Bout?

Conversations about conflict on an angry planet. Created, produced, and hosted by Matthew Gault and Jason Fields
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The big picture in Europe doesn’t look good. Russia is moving to encircle key cities in Ukraine and is shaking its nuclear saber at the West. Ukraine’s nearest neighbors are, understandably, concerned about Moscow’s aggression and militarizing at an alarming rate. This summer, NATO will conduct Operation Steadfast Defender, a military exercise the Pentagon said is the largest since the Cold War. To Moscow, an enormous military exercise on its border could seem a tad aggressive.
Add to this Russia’s recent nuclear rhetoric and missile exercise and the geopolitical situation is looking a bit tense. On this episode of Angry Planet, Aram Shabanian stops by to talk us through the troubling signs he’s seeing about a brewing conflict between Russia and NATO. Shabanian is the Open-Source Information Gathering Manager at the New Lines Institute. We also get into what happens when you mix Coke and Pepsi, how Reagan navigated a similar situation, and when it’s OK for everyone to stop worrying about the bomb. (Never.) Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TEASER: The Case for World War III Breaking Out This Summer

Americans love shrimp. They love it so much they don’t think too hard about where it comes from—or the virtual slaves who are farming them. Joshua Farinella doesn’t have that luxury.
A few years ago, Farinella took a job working for a shrimp production company in India. The money they were paying would set his family up for a long time to come, but what he saw when he landed in the country made him realize the cash wasn’t worth it. He chose to blow the whistle.
On this episode of Angry Planet, Farinella sits down with us to talk about what he saw in the shrimp factory. It all starts one fateful night when he receives a WhatsApp message telling him that one of the plant’s workers was caught in the place’s water treatment facility. “She was searching for a way out of there,” the message said. “Her contractor is not allowing her to go home.”
After Farinella decided to blow the whistle, he began to document what he saw at the plant. Video, audio, and documents he secured can be viewed at The Outlaw Ocean Project. 
Read The Whistleblower at The Outlaw Ocean Project
Read through the documents. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Horrors Behind Your Frozen Shrimp

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In Russia there’s a revolving door between prisons and the frontlines. What began as a Wanger program is now official: the Kremlin will pardon nearly any crime if the convict agrees to serve on the front lines in Ukraine. After a six month stint at war, murderers and rapists are free to return to the scene of the crime. Some come home to kill again.
On this episode of Angry Planet, New York Times journalist Milana Mazaeva is here to talk about what happens to Russian communities when criminals return to them after going to war. The first half of the conversation covers the articles and details harrowing stories of Russian murderers who became soldiers who became murderers again. 
The latter half of the episode is about how hard it is to report from Russia right now, the incredible games of telephone Mazaeva plays to get the stories she does, and what’s lost when you can’t visit the place you’re reporting on.
Pardoned for Serving in Ukraine, They Return to Russia to Kill Again Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TEASER: Russian Murderers Who Go to War and Come Home to Kill Again

Luke Paxton and Han Lee know a good cause when they see one. When Russia invades Ukraine in 2022, the American vets know what they need to do. Their time in Afghanistan has given them the skills to help fight a war and the moral clarity needed to know when a cause is just.
But are they going to fight in Ukraine for the right reason? Do Ukrainians want them there? And does either matter when bombs are dropping all over the country? On this episode of Angry Planet, author Matt Gallagher returns to the podcast to talk about his novel Daybreak. It’s the story of Paxton and Lee as they travel to Ukraine to fight. It’s a work of fiction that strikes at deeper emotional truths about the conflict. It’s also pieced together from Gallagher’s own experiences in Ukraine, some of which wouldn’t fit neatly into a work of journalistic non-fiction. 
What fiction can do that non-fiction can’t.Exploring Lviv’s mystical toy barter alley.The contractually required Joan Didion quote.Why Ukrainians are suspicious of Americans who say “I want to help.”The structure of a Daybreak movie.Recorded 4/23/24
 Go here to buy Daybreak.
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Americans in Ukraine Looking for ‘Daybreak’

The war between Israel and Hamas, which began on Oct. 7 when terrorists overran the Gaza frontier and killed more than 1,200 Israelis, is now more than six months old. More than 100 Israeli hostages are still being held in Gaza.
Israel, in return, has killed more than 30,000 Palestinians, with two thirds of that number likely to be civilians, including women and children. There are negotiations for a ceasefire going on—at least sporadically—but Dan Perry, former Associated Press bureau chief in the region, says that Hamas isn't playing by the same rules as Israel, or anyone else.
Hamas, according to Perry, welcomes the deaths of Palestinian civilians. Anyone and everyone can be a martyr for Hamas's cause, which is not peace, but a complete destruction of Israel. Whoever must be sacrificed in the process, well, other people's live are a price Hamas is willing to pay.
Angry Planet has a Substack! Join to get weekly insights into our angry planet and hear more conversations about a world in conflict. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/warcollege. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who Is Viktor Bout?

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