The Human Layer w Felicia Weston

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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

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

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