Rise of Devils: The Origins of Modern Terrorism with James Crossland
01/16/24 • 76 min
1 Listener
Summary
James Crossland (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the origins of modern terrorism. James is an expert on terrorism, intelligence, and propaganda.
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
-The origins of modern terrorism
-19th century spymasters
-Covert action and assassinations
-Intelligence as a weapon
Reflections
-Philosophy and ideology’s effect on history
-The power of fear
And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week
“These waves of repression that feed into discontent and create more radical strains of discontent, that is a process that's really observable during this period. The reason why I think this is the first real age of terrorism is because you have all this stuff coming together: Communications that you need to promote terrorist activities to gain the attention you need, societal discontent, dangerous ideas ... and it's all moving around together as part of the same process.” – James Crossland.
Resources SURFACE SKIM*Spotlight Resource*
-The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism, J. Crossland (Manchester University Press, 2023)
*SpyCasts*
-Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
-St. Ermin’s Hotel, London – The History of a Legendary Spy Site, with Stephen Duffy (2023)
-Espionage and the Two Queens with Kent Tiernan (2023)
-The Lion and the Fox – Civil War Spy vs. Spy with Alexander Rose (2023)
*Beginner Resources*
-Terrorism, J. P. Jenkins, Encyclopaedia Brittanica (2023) [Short article / definition]
-What Were The Most Important Events of the 19th Century?, C. Seaver, History Defined (2022) [Short article]
-Marxism in Under 5 Minutes, Theory in 5, YouTube (2020) [3 min. video]
DEEPER DIVEBooks
-Sofia Perovskaya, Terrorist Princess: The Plot to Kill Tsar Alexander II and the Woman Who Led It, R. R. Riggs (Global Harmony Press Inc., 2018)
-The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, R. J. Evans (Penguin Books, 2017)
-Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism, M. Burleigh (Harper, 2009)
Primary Sources
-The assassination, who is responsible? (1901)
-New York Times “Empress of Austria Slain” Article (1898)
-New York Times “War On Terrorism” Article (1881)
-La vérité sur Orsini (1872) [The Truth about Orsini]
-Manifesto of the Paris Commune (1871)
-The Revolutionary Catechism (1869)
-On the Fenian Prisoners in Manchester (1867)
-Procès de Orsini (1858) [The Trial of Orsini]
*Wildcard Resource*
-You may have already read his classic play Crime and Punishment, but have you read Dostoevsky’s The Idiot (1869)?
This novel is known as Dostoevsky’s most personal work, a story that clearly shows the threads of his own life experiences during 19th century Russia. The novel explores many of the same questions of philosophy and politics explored in this episode of SpyCast.
Summary
James Crossland (Twitter) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss the origins of modern terrorism. James is an expert on terrorism, intelligence, and propaganda.
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
-The origins of modern terrorism
-19th century spymasters
-Covert action and assassinations
-Intelligence as a weapon
Reflections
-Philosophy and ideology’s effect on history
-The power of fear
And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week
“These waves of repression that feed into discontent and create more radical strains of discontent, that is a process that's really observable during this period. The reason why I think this is the first real age of terrorism is because you have all this stuff coming together: Communications that you need to promote terrorist activities to gain the attention you need, societal discontent, dangerous ideas ... and it's all moving around together as part of the same process.” – James Crossland.
Resources SURFACE SKIM*Spotlight Resource*
-The Rise of Devils: Fear and the Origins of Modern Terrorism, J. Crossland (Manchester University Press, 2023)
*SpyCasts*
-Venice’s Secret Service with Ioanna Iordanou (2023)
-St. Ermin’s Hotel, London – The History of a Legendary Spy Site, with Stephen Duffy (2023)
-Espionage and the Two Queens with Kent Tiernan (2023)
-The Lion and the Fox – Civil War Spy vs. Spy with Alexander Rose (2023)
*Beginner Resources*
-Terrorism, J. P. Jenkins, Encyclopaedia Brittanica (2023) [Short article / definition]
-What Were The Most Important Events of the 19th Century?, C. Seaver, History Defined (2022) [Short article]
-Marxism in Under 5 Minutes, Theory in 5, YouTube (2020) [3 min. video]
DEEPER DIVEBooks
-Sofia Perovskaya, Terrorist Princess: The Plot to Kill Tsar Alexander II and the Woman Who Led It, R. R. Riggs (Global Harmony Press Inc., 2018)
-The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, R. J. Evans (Penguin Books, 2017)
-Blood and Rage: A Cultural History of Terrorism, M. Burleigh (Harper, 2009)
Primary Sources
-The assassination, who is responsible? (1901)
-New York Times “Empress of Austria Slain” Article (1898)
-New York Times “War On Terrorism” Article (1881)
-La vérité sur Orsini (1872) [The Truth about Orsini]
-Manifesto of the Paris Commune (1871)
-The Revolutionary Catechism (1869)
-On the Fenian Prisoners in Manchester (1867)
-Procès de Orsini (1858) [The Trial of Orsini]
*Wildcard Resource*
-You may have already read his classic play Crime and Punishment, but have you read Dostoevsky’s The Idiot (1869)?
This novel is known as Dostoevsky’s most personal work, a story that clearly shows the threads of his own life experiences during 19th century Russia. The novel explores many of the same questions of philosophy and politics explored in this episode of SpyCast.
Previous Episode
From the Vault: The Professional Hacker with Eric Escobar (Pt 1.)
Summary
Eric Escobar (Twitter; LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss compromising networks and information security. He has a coveted DEFCON Black Badge.
What You’ll Learn Intelligence
-What keeps Eric up at night
-Thinking like an ethical hacker (aka a “penetration tester)
-Protecting your information (i.e., “Hardening the attack surface”)
-Plain English explanations of key cyber concepts like “Kill Chains” and “Zero Days”
Reflections
-Having a cool job
-The information revolution and life in the modern world
And much, much more... Episode Notes
Eric Escobar commits several thousand felonies on any given day, if he didn’t have permission to do what he was doing.
A Principal Security Consultant with SecureWorks, Eric has compromised pretty much everything out there: from healthcare and banking to technology and critical infrastructure, through to amusement parks and next generation military aircraft.
“From my perspective, it’s the coolest job in the entire world.”
His team consecutively won first place in the Wireless CTF category at DEF CON 23, 24, and 25, snagging a Black Badge along the way. He has a BS and MS in Civil Engineering.
And...
The links between computing, hacking and the 60’s counterculture are FASCINATING. Learn more by dipping your toes here and here, or dive deeper with What the Dormouse Said (2005) by John Markoff and From Counterculture to Cyberculture (2006) by Fred Turner.
Quote of the Week
"Watching any critical infrastructure get compromised is really the thing that keeps me up at night because lives are in the balance...and we do a lot of testing for critical infrastructure, and I've seen computers and machines that have been online and not been taken offline, longer than I've been alive...So really interesting to see those types of things because they interact with really big, expensive hardware...there's a catch 22 that happens where you can't really take the machine offline to do maintenance on it because it's critical infrastructure. So then how do you test it to make sure that a hacker can't take it offline, or maintenance can't be done on it? " – Eric Escobar.
Resources *Andrew’s Recommendation*
From beginner thru advanced, you’ll find some helpful definitions of things like “Web 3.0,” “NFT’s” and “Digital Transformation” on this Cyberwire audio glossary.
<...Next Episode
Australian National Day Special: “Intelligence Down Under with John Blaxland”
Summary
John Blaxland (Twitter, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (Twitter; LinkedIn) to discuss intelligence in Australia and Oceania. John is a widely recognized as a leading expert in this area.
What You’ll LearnIntelligence
-Australia’s Intelligence Community
-SIGINT in Australia during WWII
-Australia’s relationship with South Asia
-The Pine Gap facility
Reflections
-The implications of geography
-The power of collaboration
And much, much more ...Quotes of the Week
“The shift from the analog to the digital world ... The shift for digital espionage, digital footprint management. How do you hide in the noise? How do you cover your identity? How do you protect your identity? ... The digital revolution has actually enabled states to exercise a lot more power, a lot more control, a lot more monitoring, a lot more surveillance, a lot more interference.” – John Blaxland.
Resources SURFACE SKIM*Spotlight Resource*
-Revealing Secrets: An unofficial history of Australian Signals intelligence and the advent of cyber, C. Birgin & J. Blaxland (University of New South Wales Press, 2023)
*SpyCasts*
-SPY CHIEFS: Director-General of Security Mike Burgess - ASIO, Australia & America (2022)
-Keeping Secrets/Disclosing Secrets with Spy Chief turned DG of Australia’s National Archives David Fricker (2022)
-Desperately, Madly in Love – Brett Peppler and the Australian IC (2021)
*Beginner Resources*
-East Timor Independence: a short history of a long and brutal struggle, Guardian Australia, YouTube (2019) [4 min. video]
-Our Agencies, National Intelligence Community of Australia (n.d.) [Overview of each agency in the Australian IC]
-What is signals intelligence?, BAE Systems (n.d.) [Short article]
DEEPER DIVEBooks
-Spies & Sparrows: ASIO & the Cold War, P. Deery (Melbourne University Press, 2022)
-Australia's First Spies: The Remarkable Story of Australia's Intelligence Operations, 1901-45, J. Fahey (Allen & Unwin, 2019)
-The Official History of ASIO – 3 Volumes, D. Horner, J. Blaxland, R. Crawley (Allen & Unwin, 2014/2015/2016)
Primary Sources
-United Nations Resolution 1272 (1999)
-United Nations Resolution 1264 (1999)
-Five Power Defence Arrangements (1971)
-6 Wireless Unit signal sighting of Allied shipping (1945)
-Role and effectiveness of Signals Intelligence in World War II (1945)
-Four Rotor Enigma Machine, Collection of the International Spy Museum (1943-1944)
*Wildcard Resource*
A TV show about the top-secret satellite surveillance base of the same name. If you’ve seen it, you know it all about Australian Intelligence. Just kidding. But it’s a good watch!
If you like this episode you’ll love
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