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If your power company told you there'd been a foreign attack, what would you do?

Panic? Hoard gas? Fill a Country Crock tub with fuel? Great. Same.

In this episode, we talk with Felicia Weston — former Air Force intelligence officer and narrative warfare practitioner — about the part of critical infrastructure nobody wants to plan for: the human reaction.

Because everybody plans for the attack.
Nobody plans for the panic.

We get into cognitive warfare, critical infrastructure, Colonial Pipeline, astroturfing, public trust, scenario training, and why countries like Estonia and Latvia may understand resilience better than we do.

We also talk about:
• why panic can become part of the attack
• the "give a shit factor" in influence operations
• how astroturfing turns fringe ideas into national narratives
• why critical thinking has to be taught everywhere
• what Estonia and Latvia can teach us about whole-of-society defense
• why utilities need to communicate before the crisis, not during it
• how scenario training gives people agency
• why rebuilding bridges may be national security work
• and why the Harambe vote may be the demographic America deserves

If you've ever wondered what happens when the lights go out and nobody trusts the plan, this one's for you.

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Timestamps (approx)

• 00:00 What happens if your power company says "foreign attack"?
• 02:00 Felicia almost gets kicked out of the Air Force
• 05:00 Norms, truth layers, and the erosion under society
• 06:30 What the cognitive realm actually is
• 10:30 The "give a shit factor"
• 13:00 Iran's Lego videos and knowing your audience
• 15:00 Cambridge Analytica, "drain the swamp," and astroturfing
• 18:00 Critical thinking as the long-term fix
• 21:00 Whole-of-society defense: Estonia, Latvia, and resilience
• 23:00 Why America is not mentally prepared for hybrid attacks
• 28:00 Colonial Pipeline and the panic nobody planned for
• 35:00 Why everyone should practice scenario training
• 39:00 Agency, tools, and preparing before crisis hits
• 46:00 Making critical thinking fun
• 47:00 Bridging political divides without pretending it's easy
• 50:00 Why nonvoters should vote for Harambe
• 53:00 Felicia's final message: this is all human

⸻

Want To Support MAD?

Sponsor us.
We'll make you a weird, wonderful custom video.

Email: madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com

(Or send snacks. Still counts.)

⸻

MAD Warfare™ is hosted by narrative strategist Jocelyn Brady and cognitive neuroscientist Sean Anthony Guillory.
Edited and produced by Amine el Filali.

Visit madwarfare.com for extra giggles.
Send dream guests, weird ideas, wishes, and sponsorship inquiries (yes, again) to madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com.

⸻

Fair Use

This show is MAD enough to include homages, short clips, and references that provide vital context and/or moments of joy. We deeply respect every creator's work and use these moments for educational, artistic, and transformative purposes under Fair Use. If we missed an attribution or you'd like to collaborate, reach out—we're happy to chat.

🎙️ Get the ad-free version and exclusive bonus segments here:

https://www.patreon.com/c/MADWarfare

In this episode, we talk with Josh Gryniewicz — storyteller, health communicator, violence prevention strategist, comic book writer, and founder of Odd Duck — about why facts rarely change minds, how narratives shape entire societies, and what a North Dakota rancher, a Chicago gang mediator, and your favorite cop show have in common.

Josh shares lessons from fighting COVID misinformation in one of the deadliest counties in the world, helping defeat anti-vaccine legislation by listening instead of lecturing, and working alongside violence interrupters who treat violence like a contagious disease.

We get into why strategic communicators obsess over messaging when they should be paying attention to relationships, why stories often outperform data, and why some of the most important national security work might look a lot like bringing muffins to your neighbors.

We also talk about:

• violence as a communicable disease
• why data alone rarely changes behavior
• COVID misinformation and the North Dakota experiment
• how listening can be more persuasive than arguing
• the surprising role ranchers played in defeating anti-vaccine bills
• narrative ecosystems, meta-narratives, and how beliefs spread
• cognitive dissonance as a tool for change
• trusted messengers and community influence
• gang violence, retaliation cycles, and violence interruption
• why fear is great for algorithms and terrible for conversation
• Law & Order, cop shows, and how entertainment shapes public policy
• walls-up versus walls-down communication
• social change through storytelling
• why narrative is cultural infrastructure
• how to build healthier communities in an age of polarization

If you've ever wondered why people can ignore mountains of evidence yet change their minds after one conversation with someone they trust, this one's for you.

Josh Gryniewicz:
https://www.oddduck.io/

Book:
Interrupting Violence

⸻

Want To Support MAD?

Sponsor us.
We'll make you a weird, wonderful custom video.

Email: madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com

(Or send snacks. Still counts.)

⸻

MAD Warfare™ is hosted by narrative strategist Jocelyn Brady and cognitive neuroscientist Sean Anthony Guillory.
Edited and produced by Amine el Filali.

Visit madwarfare.com for extra giggles.
Send dream guests, weird ideas, wishes, and sponsorship inquiries (yes, again) to madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com.

⸻

Fair Use

This show is MAD enough to include homages, short clips, and references that provide vital context and/or moments of joy. We deeply respect every creator's work and use these moments for educational, artistic, and transformative purposes under Fair Use. If we missed an attribution or you'd like to collaborate, reach out—we're happy to chat.

🎙️ Get the ad-free version and exclusive bonus segments here:
/ / madwarfare

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tanna Krewson — cognitive warfare expert, former Army officer, and one of the people who helped shape NATO's cognitive warfare concept — about the fight for cognitive superiority, why "disinformation" is often too small a word for what's happening, and how identity, emotion, boredom, belonging, and social media all become part of the modern battlefield.

We get into why facts alone don't change minds, why smart people are still wildly easy to influence, and why one of the most radical things you can do right now might just be to touch grass and dodge your phone.

We also talk about:
• what cognitive warfare actually means
• why the fight over definitions matters
• cognitive superiority, resilience, and democratic societies
• why facts alone rarely change what people believe
• how emotion and identity drive influence
• why disinformation is only one piece of the problem
• the attention economy and the business model of outrage
• why boredom has geopolitical consequences
• the FIB test: Feeling, Identity, Benefit
• belonging, radicalization, and the need to feel heard
• why emotional regulation may be a national security skill

If you've ever wondered why scrolling your phone now feels like being emotionally mugged by a casino with a defense contract, this one's for you.

Dr. Tanna Krewson website:

https://www.tannakrewson.com/

⸻

Want To Support MAD?

Sponsor us.
We'll make you a weird, wonderful custom video.

Email: madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com

(Or send snacks. Still counts.)

⸻

MAD Warfare™ is hosted by narrative strategist Jocelyn Brady and cognitive neuroscientist Sean Anthony Guillory.
Edited and produced by Amine el Filali.

Visit madwarfare.com for extra giggles.
Send dream guests, weird ideas, wishes, and sponsorship inquiries (yes, again) to madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com.

⸻

Fair Use

This show is MAD enough to include homages, short clips, and references that provide vital context and/or moments of joy. We deeply respect every creator's work and use these moments for educational, artistic, and transformative purposes under Fair Use. If we missed an attribution or you'd like to collaborate, reach out—we're happy to chat.