The Guns for Hire podcast is a production of the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Initiative. Taking Libya as its starting point, it explores the causes and implications of the growing use of mercenaries in armed conflict. The podcast features guests from many walks of life, from ethicists and historians to former mercenary fighters. It seeks to understand what the normalisation of private warfare tells us about the world as we currently find it, but also about the future of the international system and about what war could look like in the coming decades. Written and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi.
Guns for Hire
Claim This Podcastby Atlantic Council
4.8(17 reviews)
29 episodes
Updated Bi-weekly
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
15
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality9
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement51
Podcast Overview
The Guns for Hire podcast is a production of the Atlantic Council’s North Africa Initiative. Taking Libya as its starting point, it explores the causes and implications of the growing use of mercenaries in armed conflict. The podcast features guests from many walks of life, from ethicists and historians to former mercenary fighters. It seeks to understand what the normalisation of private warfare tells us about the world as we currently find it, but also about the future of the international system and about what war could look like in the coming decades. Written and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
2/22/2023
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15
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality9
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement51
4
Excellent Areas
2
Good Performance
13
Growth Opportunities
excellent
Episode Length
45 minutes
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good
Show Notes Quality
3.0/5
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Publishing Consistency
Every 35 days
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Recent Episodes
May 26, 2026
“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court
Send Alia a Text Message Alia is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel...
March 5, 2026
Fighting mercenaries: A Ukrainian soldier’s perspective
Send Alia a Text Message Alia sits down with Dimko Zhluktenko, a Ukrainian drone pilot and analyst within the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Ukrainian military. They discuss the realities of drone warfare in Ukraine, as well as the ways in which mercenary forces change the nature and tempo of battle. Dimko describes how he and his comrades are combatting Shahed drones, the psychological mechanisms necessary to keep fighting an army which uses waves of expendable manpower, and the need for NAT...
February 1, 2026
Narco noir: Drugs, gangs and mercenaries in Latin America
Send Alia a Text Message Alia is joined by Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, a renowned expert on non-state armed groups and organised crime. They begin by discussing the escalation of gang violence in Haiti over the last year, despite the arrival of the American PMC, Vectus Global, which is led by the Blackwater founder Erik Prince. They go on to explore the bunkering of fuel by colectivos in Venezuela, Hizballah’s continuing narcotics operations across Latin America, the IRGC’s role in drug traffickin...
29 total episodes available
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Craig Mokhiber
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- What is Guns for Hire?
- How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates bi-weekly.
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This podcast is available on 10 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
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Information about guest appearances is not available.
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