Honey, I Tracked the War

About this episode

This episode discusses how modern technology is enabling civilians to document war and aid efforts in real time.

This episode explores how drones, cell phones, and other widely-available intelligence tools are turning civilians and aid workers into frontline witnesses—documenting war in real time, guiding humanitarian aid, and helping build evidence that could power future war crimes cases. Host: Gabrielle Sierra, Director of Podcasting, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Guest: Anthony Vinci, Cofounder and CEO, Vico; Adjunct Senior Fellow, Technology and National Security Program, Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Sam Vigersky, International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) We discuss: How drones, satellites, smartphones, and other widely-available tools are changing who gets to document war. How civilians are no longer just witnesses to conflict but are also recording attacks in real time and helping gather intelligence As Anthony Vinci puts it: “We’re becoming civilian spies.” How ordinary people are building digital evidence libraries online that may later support investigations into war crimes and accountability efforts. How drones are blurring the line between surveillance, intelligence gathering, and direct attacks on the battlefield. Why more access to…

People in this episode

Host: Gabrielle Sierra

Guests: Anthony Vinci, Sam Vigersky

Topics covered

• drones
• civilian intelligence
• war documentation
• humanitarian aid
• war crimes
• digital evidence
• surveillance

Keywords

• drones
• cell phones
• intelligence tools
• war crimes
• humanitarian aid
• civilians
• surveillance
• digital evidence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Council on Foreign Relations, Vico, Center for a New American Security, Technology and National Security Program