On this episode of Chatter, host Josh Hamilton welcomes journalist, author, and editor-in-chief of The Under Report, Eric Czuleger. Eric shares his fascinating journey from teaching English in a small town in northern Albania as a Peace Corps volunteer to running around Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa as a freelance journalist. Motivated by what he saw on the ground versus what appeared in newspapers, Eric dove deeper—eventually earning a master’s in National Security from the RAND School of Public Policy and focusing his research on media manipulation and psychological operations.
Together, they take you inside the often misunderstood world of think tanks like RAND, discuss the importance and challenges of strong yet transparent public policy, and explore the concept of “fifth generational warfare”—psychological and media-based strategies that shape the future of conflict. Eric breaks down global trends, historic case studies in psychological warfare, and the ways platforms like TikTok have become part of geopolitical maneuvering. All this, plus insights into the institutions that underpin democracy, and a healthy dash of humor about conspiracy theories, bureaucracy, and why effective governance is often less visible than flashy political gestures.
Timestamps
00:40 – Teaching and Mobile Library in Albania
05:39 – Sectarian Violence, Kurdish Referendum, US Policy
10:33 – RAND School Graduate’s Insight
15:57 – “Unelected Technocrats in Government”
25:19 – Substance Over Show
31:49 – Russian Expansion and Fifth-Gen Warfare
37:01 – “Advocating Information Defense Strategy”
43:58 – CIA Oversight and Perception Issues
47:31 – Intelligence Community’s Rigorous Assessment Process
51:21 – Russia’s Manipulation of Democratic Processes
01:00:44 – Open Source Intelligence via Social Media
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