S9 Ep62: The Information Animal: Humans, Technology, and the Competition for Reality with Alicia Wanless

How do we make sense of truth in a world saturated with content?
This week, Chris speaks with Alicia Wanless—director of the
Information Environment Project at the Carnegie Endowment and
author of The Information Animal—to explore how humans have
always wrestled with information, long before the internet. They
unpack the patterns that emerge when new technologies reshape how
we communicate, why influence operations aren’t new, and how
today’s information warfare fits into a much older story. From
ancient Athens to spam, and social media to national security,
Wanless explains why understanding ourselves as “information
animals” is key to confronting the chaos of the digital
age.

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Find more about Alicia on her website and blog:
https://lageneralista.com
Find more about the Carnegie Endowment’s Information Project:
https://carnegieendowment.org/projects/information-environment-project


Follow Alicia on BlueSky:
https://bsky.app/profile/lageneralista.ca

Order The Information Animal:
https://carnegieendowment.org/research/2025/05/the-information-animal-humans-technology-and-the-competition-for-reality


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YouTube: https://youtu.be/7nsXSlXoiBU

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Secrets and Spies is a spy podcast that sits at the intersection
of intelligence, covert action, real-world espionage, and broader
geopolitics in a way that is digestible but serious. Hosted by
filmmaker Chris Carr and writer Matt Fulton, each episode
examines the very topics that real intelligence officers and
analysts consider on a daily basis through the lens of global
events and geopolitics, featuring expert insights from former
spies, authors, and journalists.