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In this special and unusually candid episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak to an anonymous American investor who has privately channelled close to half a million dollars into Ukrainian frontline units fighting Russia’s invasion.

At his request, this interview is audio-only and his voice has been altered.

Our guest explains what drove him, as a private citizen, to step far beyond conventional charity and into direct support for military units. Drawing on first-hand relationships with Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers, he outlines how crowdfunding, “angel investors”, and rapid private procurement have become decisive factors on the battlefield. From drones and electronic warfare to logistics and innovation, he describes how Ukrainian units increasingly function like start-ups, adapting faster than traditional military supply chains ever could.

The conversation goes beyond hardware. We discuss Bucha and occupied territories, the moral calculus of inaction, and why he believes delays and half-measures translate directly into civilian suffering. He addresses the legal and ethical objections often raised in the West, arguing that they collapse when confronted with mass atrocities and imperial aggression.

The episode also tackles the information war. Our guest explains how Russian propaganda exploits religious, political and cultural divisions in the United States and Europe, and why Ukraine, in his view, represents a clearer moral line than many past conflicts.

He speaks openly about faith, freedom, responsibility, and why he believes Ukraine’s fight is inseparable from the future of democracy in the West.

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In this episode of Dictators v Democrats: Why We Fight, we speak with Jakub Kalenský, one of Europe’s leading experts on disinformation, hybrid threats, and information warfare.

Jakub is Deputy Director at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki and a former senior figure behind the EU’s flagship EUvsDisinfo initiative. For over a decade, he has worked at the sharp end of efforts to expose and counter authoritarian influence operations, particularly those originating from the Kremlin.

We explore how modern disinformation campaigns actually work, why repetition and scale matter more than persuasive narratives, and why democracies remain structurally vulnerable in the information space. Jakub lays out his “four lines of defence” for countering disinformation, from detection and data collection to deterrence and punishment, and explains why Western governments consistently underinvest in this fight.

The conversation also examines how artificial intelligence is accelerating information warfare, enabling mass content production, micro-targeting, and more sophisticated language use — while also offering potential defensive tools for democracies. We discuss the role of social media platforms, the limits of free speech arguments, and whether the information space should be treated as critical national infrastructure.

Finally, we turn to values: democracy, freedom, and why Ukraine has become the defining frontline in the global struggle against authoritarianism — not just militarily, but informationally.

This is a wide-ranging, unsparing look at one of the most consequential and least understood battlefields of our time.

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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 of the state. He discusses his father’s career in US intelligence, the realities of that world behind the myths, and how proximity to diplomacy and espionage influenced his worldview.

The conversation explores Ukraine’s theory of victory, the limits of military power, and why war termination theory suggests that negotiated settlements rarely emerge before true war-weariness sets in. Lance offers a frank assessment of Russia’s maximalist objectives, Ukraine’s strategic dilemma, and the security risks inherent in territorial compromise.

Attention then turns to the United States itself. Lance outlines his concerns about democratic backsliding, the erosion of institutional norms, and the growing influence of oligarchic and ideological power blocs. He examines voter suppression, political polarisation, and why trust in American democracy is weakening both at home and abroad.

The episode also looks at the transatlantic relationship, Europe’s move towards defence autonomy, and how democratic allies respond when US leadership becomes unpredictable. From Ukraine to Washington to Venezuela, this is a wide-ranging conversation about power, democracy and what happens when political systems begin to hollow themselves out.

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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 broken “red lines” of 2013 to their consequences today, examining how inaction over chemical weapons emboldened authoritarian regimes and reshaped Russian behaviour in Ukraine.

The discussion also covers the confirmed use of chemical agents on the Ukrainian battlefield, the risks of escalation, and what a credible Western response would look like. From NATO deterrence and Article 5, to national resilience, military service and the quiet erosion of democratic confidence at home, this is a wide-ranging and unsparing look at the world as it is, not as we would like it to be.

Show Notes

• Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon OBE on growing up in a family shaped by military service and why he chose the Army
• What “service” actually means in a democracy, and why serving the nation is not the same as serving a government
• Syria as the defining experience: witnessing chemical warfare, civilian suffering, and Western reluctance to act
• The failure to enforce the chemical weapons red line in 2013 and how it shaped Putin’s calculations
• Why Syria matters to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Europe more broadly
• Russian aggression and the long shadow of Western hesitation
• The use of chemical agents in Ukraine, including chloropicrin and riot control agents delivered by drones
• How chemical weapons are being used tactically to force Ukrainian soldiers out of trenches
• The risk of escalation to more lethal nerve agents, and why the taboo is weaker than many assume
• What a credible response to chemical weapons use would look like without crossing the nuclear threshold
• NATO, Article 5, and whether deterrence still holds in an era of ambiguity and hybrid warfare
• Europe’s readiness, defence spending, and the question of seized Russian assets
• Why authoritarian systems are still widely misunderstood in the West
• Democracy’s internal vulnerabilities, from political extremes to public disengagement
• Advice to young people considering military service, and to societies reluctant to prepare for war
• Why strength and preparedness remain the best way to prevent conflict
• A final message to dictators and authoritarians, and the limits of trying to “buy off” ideologues

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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 fall of Hong Kong on “Black Christmas”, and the strategic decisions that allowed many Japanese wartime figures to avoid justice after 1945.

The conversation also explores how authoritarian fanaticism emerges, how democracies sometimes compromise on their values, and why honest historical memory is vital for defending free societies today.

Topics Covered

• Family history and personal motivation
Jenny’s grandmother, wartime Hong Kong, and the loss of the family’s fortune during the occupation.

• Why the Pacific War is forgotten
Western-centric teaching, focus on Hitler, and a lack of coverage of the Asian continent’s devastation.

• Unit 731 and wartime atrocities
Biological experimentation, comfort women, and how key perpetrators avoided prosecution.

• Post-war geopolitical choices
Cold War alliances, immunity deals, and the rehabilitation of wartime elites and corporations.

• Fanaticism and failed civilian control
Military dominance in pre-war Japan and the collapse of moderate voices.

• How democracies respond to brutality
Operation Paperclip, moral compromises, and long-term consequences.

• Historical memory and revisionism
The dangers of online denialism, extremist nostalgia, and why younger audiences seek deeper history.

• Modern Asia–Pacific tensions
Japan’s rearmament, China’s military build-up, and rising risks around Taiwan.

• Democracy, freedom and peace
Jenny’s reflections on why peace is essential to preserving democratic values.

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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 government’s practice of returning North Korean refugees to the regime. She gives a clear account of the labour camp she was sent to after repatriation, including forced labour, hunger and the treatment of repatriated pregnant women.

She then recounts her second escape with her son, the journey through China and Mongolia, and her arrival in Britain in 2008. Park reflects on rebuilding her life, learning English, raising her family and eventually entering public life as a Conservative Party candidate. She speaks about what motivates her, the values she associates with democracy, and her concerns about rising authoritarianism.

Main topics covered include:

• Life under the Kim dictatorship and the impact of total control
• Escaping North Korea twice and surviving trafficking and imprisonment
• China’s role in returning refugees to the regime
• Rebuilding a new life in the United Kingdom with her son
• Why she entered public life and what motivates her work
• The values she associates with freedom and democracy
• Her warning about rising authoritarianism and why democracy must be protected

Ji Hyun Park’s book:
The Hard Road Out: One Woman’s Escape from North Korea
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hard-Road-Out-Womans-North/dp/1785787079

This conversation offers a rare first-hand account of life inside a totalitarian state and what it takes to build a future in a free society.

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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 today than at any time in his service. He discusses the pressures facing serving officers, the erosion of norms inside American civil-military relations, and the emerging patterns of authoritarian coordination described by Anne Applebaum.

The conversation moves from U.S. internal challenges to the war in Ukraine, where Hodges sets out:
• why Ukraine’s victory matters strategically to Europe, the U.S., and global security
• how Russia’s “grey zone” tactics shape the conflict
• what he believes Ukraine’s theory of victory now is
• the critical role of long-range strike capability, air defence, and defence-industrial innovation
• how Ukraine must address manpower, training culture, and leadership development
• lessons U.S. and European militaries should be drawing from the war

We also explore the values at stake: freedom and democracy. Hodges speaks frankly about what these terms mean: trust, responsibility, and the struggle to keep institutions healthy.

The episode closes with two key questions:
• What can ordinary citizens do to defend democracy?
• And what message does General Hodges have for dictators, and for those who enable them?

This is one of the most comprehensive and sober assessments yet on the global contest between democratic systems and authoritarian regimes.

About General Ben Hodges

Ben Hodges is the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe (2014–2017), a West Point graduate, and one of the leading Western voices on European security and the war in Ukraine.

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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 the AI age, the Kremlin’s psychological warfare against democracies, and why she continues to risk her life to tell these stories.

Together, they explore:

• Life and survival in Kherson under drone siege
• The UN’s findings that short-range drone attacks are war crimes
• Russia’s mastery of psychological and information warfare
• How AI and disinformation are eroding democratic resilience
• The meaning of freedom and democracy through the eyes of someone who escaped totalitarianism

Zabrisky’s documentary Kherson: Human Safari is available free at KhersonHumanSafari.com

You can find more of Zabrisky’s work at Byline Times and Euromaidan Press

Guest Links:

• Website: KhersonHumanSafari.com

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