New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast - Truth, and Nothing But

Truth, and Nothing But

05/23/24 • 32 min

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New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast

Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, explains how his team uses online open-source investigation to distinguish fact from fiction.

We live in a world where facts are everywhere, recorded and shared ubiquitously. That ought to make this an era where arguments, journalism, and politics are routinely rooted in fact; unfortunately, it is more a world where too many people insist not only their own opinions, but on their own “facts.”

The problem is technology running amok, a bit like the broom in Goethe’s Sorcerer’s Apprentice (or the perhaps more familiar versions starring Mickey Mouse or Nicolas Cage). Wouldn’t it be a better world if endless open-source information and smart, widely distributed technology shed light instead of heat?

The good news is that there are people trying to do exactly that, starting with Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, an investigative collective focused on online open-source investigation. Listen to this episode of New Thinking for a New World, as he discusses how he and Bellingcat separate fact from fiction.

Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat, explains how his team uses online open-source investigation to distinguish fact from fiction.

Previous Episode

War Lessons

The Hamas-Israel conflict, sparked by Hamas actions, has evolved into a broader war with global ramifications, explored by journalist Armin Rosen

Almost seven months ago, Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel murdering, raping, and kidnapping. In response, Israel launched its attack on Gaza that has reportedly killed at least 34,000 people (mostly civilians), leveled much of the Gaza Strip, significantly degraded Hamas's military capacity, and killed many senior Hamas political and military commanders.

Yet the war continues and, no surprise, has spread to include Houthis, Hezbollah, Iran and a coalition of US, European and Arab forces. And the conflict has roiled politics in America and in Europe, with consequences yet to be seen.

Even though the fighting has not ended, it’s possible to think about how the conflict may be changing political dynamics in the Middle East. Are the Israelis more secure? Do the Palestinians have more possibility of achieving a state for themselves? Are Iran and Israel more or less likely to engage in a wider, deadlier war? And, what are the limits to U.S. support for Israel; indeed, is a break possible?

Armin Rosen, a US-based journalist for Tablet Magazine, has already published some of his answers to those questions and joins host Alan Stoga to **share his insights about Israel, Hamas, Iran, Hezbollah, America, the region and, of course, the war. **

What do you think? Is peace possible?

Next Episode

Deal of the Century?

Neil Quilliam discusses a U.S.-backed peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel as a potential solution to Middle Eastern turmoil.

It’s been an amazing, terrifying eight months in the Middle East. The horror of October 7th; the endless pounding of Gaza ever since; civilian deaths, casualties and lives disrupted, mostly in Gaza but also in Israel, the West Bank, and Lebanon; Red Sea shipping attacks; Iran and Israel’s exchange of massive missile and drone attacks; rising anti-Semitism and growing Israeli isolation around the world. What if it could all be ended by one audacious diplomatic masterstroke?

That sounds too good to be true, but it is exactly what American diplomats are trying to make happen. Their idea is a three-way agreement with a formal U.S. defense guarantee for Saudi Arabia who would sign a peace treaty with Israel (while also rolling back their recently strengthened economic and tech relations with China) who would end the Gaza war and firmly commit to the two-state solution with the Palestinians. In other words, a complete reset of the dynamics of the Middle East.

Fantasy or real possibility? This episode of New Thinking for a New World explores the contours of a possible deal with Neil Quilliam, a British expert on Saudi Arabia and more generally the Arab Gulf, who is a fellow at Chatham House.

Can diplomacy trump hate? Please tell us what you think and leave a comment.