Why We (Usually Don't) Fight with Chris Blattman

We talk a lot about conflict on this show, whether it's in Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, or the US Capitol Building. But why do some conflicts turn into all-out war, while others fade away? University of Chicago professor Chris Blattman joins us to talk about his findings in his new book Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace. We talk about how the insights from the book apply to two stories we've been tracking specifically — the Russia-Ukraine War and the so-called Cold Civil War in America. And we close with spicy nuggets that tease our next episode, to be released later this week!

Show Links:

Chris's book, Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace: https://chrisblattman.com/why-we-fight/

Chris in USA Today on July 3: Is America on the bring of civil war? Such predictions are overblown and dangerous. https://news.yahoo.com/america-brink-civil-war-predictions-100037432.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr

Chris in RealClear Defense on July 9: America's Path to War with Russia https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/07/09/americas_path_to_war_with_russia_841534.html

Spicy Nuggets: 

Mike's spicy nugget: The 6 pettiest revelations of the January 6 Committee: 

https://twitter.com/mheslin/status/1552331543514959880?s=20&t=MV-cpcIKx9HcwYdO9okcuA

Erol's spicy nugget: The many ways an AI caption generator can interpret "Pat Cipollone" https://twitter.com/Merrillmarkoe/status/1541873391119921153?s=20&t=037ezlAX1I3e_ub1gTNsfg