Do your stories shape the future—or do they quietly shape you first?

And when the next war shows up wearing a hoodie, a meme, and a "totally harmless" plotline… how would we even recognize it?

In this episode, we talk with August Cole — co-author of Ghost Fleet and Burn In and co-founder of Useful Fiction — about why fiction can do what white papers can't: grab attention, build foresight, and help people rehearse decisions before reality demands them.

We get into "strategic surprise," why the information environment is the missing chapter of the last decade, and what it means when cognitive warfare becomes hyper-personalized—so everyone is fighting their own battle. (Yes. That's as weird as it sounds. Also: unfortunately real.)

If you've ever felt your agency slipping, your feed steering, or your brain quietly drafted into a conflict you didn't sign up for… this one's for you.

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• Useful fiction: why story can carry serious ideas farther than doctrine

• Strategic surprise: what it is, why institutions keep getting blindsided, and how narrative reduces it

• Ghost Fleet, 10 years later: what aged well, what changed, what got left out

• The attention economy: when incentives + algorithms start shaping behavior at machine speed

• Useful fiction vs. propaganda: credibility, trust, and why "too clean" stories fail

• "You may not be interested in cognitive warfare…" (but it's interested in you)

• Why cognitive warfare is getting harder to detect: personalization at scale

• The simplest anti-doom message that still matters: you matter

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August Cole — augustcole.com

Useful Fiction — useful-fiction.com

Books: Ghost Fleet / Burn In

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Sponsor us.

We'll make you a weird, wonderful custom video.

Email: madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com

(Or just send snacks. Still counts.)

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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.

Visit madwarfare.com for extra giggles.

Send your wishes, weird ideas, dream guests, and sponsorship inquiries (yes, again) to madwarfarepodcast@gmail.com.

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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.