Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

EXPLORE

Society & Culture

© 2024 PodJoint

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/bd/2f/6f/bd2f6fe6-bc5b-a4ad-16a1-8cd7a0a4027c/mza_3906588820281009688.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

TA Mullis

33 episodes

1 week ago

Send us a text In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We are joined by Commander (Ret.) Lance McMillan, a former US Navy officer with more than 25 years of service and a regular contributor to independent US media on defence, security and global affairs. Lance reflects on growing up across multiple countries during the Cold War, witnessing stark inequalities and contrasting political systems, and how those experiences shaped his instincts about power, authority and the role o...

Show more...

News Commentary

All content for Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight is the property of TA Mullis and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

Send us a text In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We are joined by Commander (Ret.) Lance McMillan, a former US Navy officer with more than 25 years of service and a regular contributor to independent US media on defence, security and global affairs. Lance reflects on growing up across multiple countries during the Cold War, witnessing stark inequalities and contrasting political systems, and how those experiences shaped his instincts about power, authority and the role o...

Show more...

News Commentary

Episodes (20/33)

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Cdr Lance McMillan - The Navy and the News

Send us a text In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We are joined by Commander (Ret.) Lance McMillan, a former US Navy officer with more than 25 years of service and a regular contributor to independent US media on defence, security and global affairs. Lance reflects on growing up across multiple countries during the Cold War, witnessing stark inequalities and contrasting political systems, and how those experiences shaped his instincts about power, authority and the role o...

4 days ago

1 hour 18 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The Chemical Warrior: Hamish de Bretton-Gordon

Send us a text In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, Theo Allthorpe-Mullis is joined by Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE, one of the UK’s leading authorities on chemical weapons and modern deterrence. Drawing on more than three decades of service and frontline experience, Hamish reflects on why he joined the British Army, what service means in a democracy, and how Syria shaped his understanding of power, responsibility and Western failure. The conversation moves from the...

2 weeks ago

50 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Jenny Chan: The Pacific WW2 Historian

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, We speak with Jenny Chan, historian and co-founder of Pacific Atrocities Education, about the overlooked history of the Asia–Pacific theatre of the Second World War and its impact on today’s geopolitics. Jenny explains how her grandmother’s experience under Japanese occupation shaped her interest in history, and why much of the Pacific War remains absent from Western education. She discusses the thirty million deaths across Asia, the fal...

3 weeks ago

58 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Ji Hyun Park: The North Korean Defector - Why We Fight

In this episode, T. A. Mullis speaks with Ji Hyun Park, who escaped North Korea twice and went on to rebuild her life in the United Kingdom. (Sorry for the delay, recent family bereavements have left my schedule all out of whack) Park describes her childhood under the Kim dictatorship, the famine, and the complete control the regime holds over information and daily life. She explains her first escape to save her younger brother, her experience of human trafficking in China, and the Chinese go...

1 month ago

1 hour 17 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

General Ben Hodges - Democracy is Not a Spectator Sport

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe, for a wide-ranging and unusually candid conversation about the state of democracy, the duty of military leaders, the future of Ukraine’s defence, and the global challenge posed by modern autocracies. General Hodges reflects on the oath he took, how its meaning evolved across his career, and why he believes that oath is under greater strain ...

1 month ago

59 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Zarina Zabrisky - The American in Kherson

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, host T. A. Mullis speaks with Zarina Zabrisky, an American war correspondent and filmmaker reporting from the frontlines of Kherson, Ukraine — a city living under daily Russian drone and artillery attacks. Zabrisky, who has spent a decade documenting Russia’s hybrid war against the West, reveals the horror of what she calls a “human safari” — Russia’s use of FPV drones to hunt civilians for sport. She discusses the collapse of truth in t...

1 month ago

55 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Phil Ittner: The American War Correspondent

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight — Episode: American War Correspondent Phil Ittner In this episode, host TA Mullis speaks with Phil Ittner, an American war correspondent with more than two decades of experience covering conflicts around the world — from Iraq and Afghanistan to Georgia and Ukraine. Now based in Kyiv, Ittner discusses the moral and historical battle lines between democracy and authoritarianism that define the 21st century. Together, they explore journalism’s role in an age o...

2 months ago

1 hour 5 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Vegas: The American Azov Assault Medic

American Azov: Vegas — The Firefighter Who Joined Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, host Theo Allthorpe-Mullis speaks with Vegas, an American firefighter and medic who left Texas to join Azov’s International Battalion in Ukraine. From pulling people out of burning buildings to pulling wounded soldiers off the zero line, Vegas shares his journey from civilian life in the United States to the front lines of Ukraine’s war for survival. He explain...

2 months ago

1 hour 14 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Nick Soutter: The American Philosopher

In this episode, host we speak with Nick Soutter — American author, philosopher, and journalist behind In Time Media and the dystopian novel The Water Thief. Soutter has spent years dissecting the moral and political decay of democratic societies and the slow rise of corporate authoritarianism. Together, Theo and Nick explore the erosion of democracy in the United States and across the Western world, from the Trump phenomenon and “pay-to-play” corruption to the creeping power of corpora...

2 months ago

1 hour 6 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Knight - The British Azov Volunteer

In this episode, host Theo Allthorpe-Mullis speaks from Kyiv with Knight, a British volunteer serving in Ukraine’s Azov International Battalion. Knight explains why he left the United Kingdom to join Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, how he copes with fear and loss on the front line, and why he considers this war a just and necessary struggle. He describes daily life within Azov, the realities of combat in the Donbas, and the misconceptions surrounding the unit. The discussion ranges...

2 months ago

1 hour 16 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Oleg Magaletsky: The Ukrainian Anti-Imperialist

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, host Theo Allthorpe-Mullis speaks with Oleg Magaletsky, a Ukrainian investor, strategist and one of the founders of the Free Nations of Post-Russia Forum. Oleg argues that true and lasting peace in Europe will only be possible through the decolonisation and disintegration of the Russian Federation. From the Caucasus to Siberia, dozens of captive nations remain under Moscow’s control. Their natural wealth is exploited and their people are...

2 months ago

1 hour 5 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Djakonda: The Ukrainian Drone Commander

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, I speak with Lieutenant Colonel Andrii “Djakonda” Koval, head of the Unmanned Systems Battalion “Kondor” of the 1st Presidential Operational Brigade Bureviy in the Ukrainian National Guard. Djakonda and his soldiers are on the cutting edge of modern warfare—fighting with drones and robotic systems that have reshaped the battlefield from the front line to hundreds, even thousands, of kilometres into enemy territory. From reconnaissance an...

3 months ago

28 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

Rosie Cecil: The British Medic

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, I speak with Rosie Cecil — head of strategic partnerships for Mission Ukraine UK and a medic/ambulance driver with Mobile Medical Rescue (MMR). For three years, Rosie has volunteered in Ukraine, supporting frontline medics, delivering vehicles and aid, and driving into danger zones to evacuate the wounded. We discuss her journey from delivering generators to war-torn villages in 2022 to running medical evacuations in the “grey zone” toda...

3 months ago

56 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

LK : The Hong Konger Playwright

On this unique episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, I speak with LK, a Hong Kong artist, puppeteer, playwright, and dissident now living in exile in France. LK’s story is one of resilience, creativity, and defiance. We discuss how art can resist silence, the dangers and power of puppetry and object theatre, and the struggle to create freely under censorship. LK opens up about leaving Hong Kong in 2019, the wave of repression that followed the National Security Law, and the transnat...

3 months ago

1 hour 12 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The Hong Kong Advocate - Dr. Mark Clifford

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, I speak with Dr Mark Clifford President of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, journalist, academic, and author of The Troublemaker, a biography of Jimmy Lai. Mark spent nearly three decades in Hong Kong, working as editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and The Standard, and serving on the board of Apple Daily. He witnessed the city’s democratic flowering under Governor Chris Patten, its crushing under Beijing’s ...

3 months ago

57 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The American General: David H. Petraeus

In this very special episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we are honoured to speak with General David H. Petraeus: former CIA Director, Commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and one of America’s most respected military leaders. Across a remarkable career at the highest levels of military and intelligence service, Petraeus has had a front-row seat to the great struggles between democracy and dictatorship; from the Cold War to counterinsurgencies in the Middl...

4 months ago

52 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The Hong Konger Dissident: Ray Wong

“If you fire, fire at me.” During Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution in 2014, Ray Wong saw an older man stand in front of armed police and offer his life to protect the crowd. That moment changed Wong forever, and set him on a path from student protester to activist leader, and finally into exile. In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, Ray — now policy and strategy advisor at Hong Kong Watch — tells his story: how the Umbrella Revolution brought together a generation, why “Liber...

4 months ago

1 hour

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The British Academic: Prof. Tim Wilson

In this compelling episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we sit down with Professor Tim Wilson - academic, filmmaker, YouTuber, and former politician - in London to explore the crisis facing modern democracy and what we can do about it. Professor Wilson brings a unique perspective, having taught in authoritarian countries including Russia, where he met Vladimir Putin in 2016 ("he emanates evil"), and having infiltrated UKIP from within before resigning over racism. Now through his d...

4 months ago

1 hour 22 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The British Historian: Prof. Mark Galeotti

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we’re joined by Professor Mark Galeotti, one of the world’s leading experts on modern Russia, for a sweeping conversation on authoritarianism, democracy, and the future of Putin’s regime. We explore: Why democracy failed in post-Soviet RussiaThe real legacy of Boris Yeltsin and the 1990sHow Putin rebuilt an authoritarian state with elite loyalty and public apathyRussia’s strategic culture and the "first punch" doctrineWhat comes after Pu...

4 months ago

1 hour 13 minutes

Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight

The Disinformation Expert: Jonathan Fink

In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight we’re speaking with Jonathan Fink. He was a digital marketing strategist, then Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed everything. Now, he’s the creator of Silicon Curtain, a YouTube channel and podcast that battles Russian disinformation with facts, context, and strategic narrative warfare. Be sure to check out his work through the link above! In this episode, we dive deep into: The mechanics of modern propaganda and why fa...

5 months ago

1 hour 27 minutes