🎙️ 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

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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.

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

Remember when the internet was fun? Cat memes. Flash games. "All Your Base Are Belong to Us."

Now it's AI slop, rage bait, troll farms, and foreign influence campaigns studying your uncle's Facebook habits like it's a military operation.

Because… sometimes it is.

In this episode, we talk with Darren Linvill Johnson — international lawyer, Howard University professor, and former Pentagon, White House, and State Department national security official — about how social media became a battlefield for democracy itself.

We get into Russia's long game, the rise of disinformation economies, AI-generated propaganda, influencer manipulation, troll farms, algorithmic warfare, and why America's openness may also be its biggest vulnerability.

We also talk about:
• why authoritarian governments study America's social fractures like a playbook
• how digital psyops exploit race, fear, identity, and outrage
• the terrifying rise of "bots pretending to be people pretending to care"
• why diversity and media literacy may actually be national security tools
• the future of AI-generated influence campaigns
• what ordinary people can realistically do right now

If you've ever wondered why the internet suddenly feels like a casino designed by Machiavelli, this one's for you.

Darin Johnson website:

https://www.darin-johnson.com/

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Timestamps (approx)
• 00:00 Remember when the internet was fun?
• 01:00 Meet Darren Johnson + what "digital coup" actually means
• 04:30 Russia's long-term strategy to divide democracies
• 08:30 The shock of realizing fake accounts felt real
• 11:00 Why social media is now a battlespace
• 16:00 Diversity, democracy, and national security
• 20:00 Why suppressing hard conversations makes democracies weaker
• 27:00 The rise of the digital coup gig economy
• 29:00 AI propaganda, fake humans, and synthetic influence
• 33:00 Why people are shocked by how widespread this has become
• 38:00 "Freedom of speech for who?" — bots, AI, and authenticity
• 44:00 Should the internet require identity verification?
• 47:00 Practical things people can do right now
• 49:00 Where Darren finds hope

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Mentioned Topics / Concepts
• Digital Coup
• Russian disinformation campaigns
• Troll farms and influence operations
• Generative AI propaganda
• Deepfakes and synthetic identities
• Media literacy
• Cognitive warfare
• Psychological operations (PSYOPs)
• EU Digital Services Act
• Arab Spring and anonymous organizing
• Ukraine and Taiwan's anti-disinformation ecosystems

⸻

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.