Blood Work

This is a preview. To hear the entire episode and help Blood Work to survive and thrive, become a supporter on Patreon.

We take a foray into the world of euphemisms, turns-of-phrase and the disingenuous world of militarese

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

For more:

– Support Blood Work via Patreon

– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: Stupid Games
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

For this week’s newsletter, we offered some commentary on the (then ongoing) peace talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad, some surrounding issues, and predictions on the course those talks might take. (News moves fast these days.)

We look at the history of women’s participation in suicide bombing attacks and how society has tried to make sense of women who carry out the most extreme political act of all.

If you enjoyed this episode:
– Support Blood Work via Patreon
– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app
– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

 

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: If You Want Blood…
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

For this week’s newsletter, we take a look at a recent essay by Iranian diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif in Foreign Affairs and provide some commentary on what he gets right and why, and also why neither Washington nor Tehran are likely to listen to him.

 

Sources:

BBC, ‘UK Fire girl still defiant’, BBC

Burku Pinar Alacoc (2018), ‘Femme Fatale: The Lethality of Female Suicide Bombers’, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism

Mia Bloom (2007), ‘Female suicide bombers’, Daedalus

John Campbell (2020), ‘Women, Boko Haram and Suicide Bombings’, Council on Foreign Relations

Paige Whaley Eager (2008), From Freedom Fighters to Terrorists: Women and Political Violence

Freedom Fighters of Israel Heritage Associaton (FFI-LEHI), ‘Raskin, Fania – Freedom Fighters of Israel Heritage Association’

Jordan Galehan (2019), ‘Instruments of Violence: Female suicide bombers of Boko Haram’, International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice

Audrey Gillan (17 Feb 1999), ‘'We came here not to get out alive. We're ready for anything'’, The Guardian

Bilal Tawfiq Hamamra (2018), ‘Witness and martyrdom: Palestinian female martyrs’ video-testimonies’, Journal for Cultural Research

Vesna Markovic (2019), ‘Suicide Squad: Boko Haram’s Use of the Female Suicide Bomber’, Justice, Law, and Public Safety Studies Department Faculty Articles

Tanya Narozhna and W. Andy Knight (2016), Female Suicide Bombings: A Critical Gender Approach

Al Chukwuma Okoli, ‘Gender and Terror: Boko Haram and the Abuse of Women in Nigeria’, available at Georgetown Journal of International Affairs

Ann Preesman (2021), ‘Female Suicide Bombers: An Uncomfortable Truth’, available at King’s College, London

G. Julie Rajan (2011), Women Suicide Bombers: Narratives of Violence

Leandra Bathal Serrano (2024), ‘Female Suicide Bombers As A Security Threat: Towards A More Comprehensive And Inclusive Approach’, available at European Student Think Tank

Keren Wang (2025), ‘Boko Haram’s Strategic Use of Female Suicide Bombers: Where Women Have No Choices’, Politics and Security Governance

Image: A photograph of Sana’a Mehaidli, 16, a Lebanese woman who became the first female suicide bomber in 1985.

This is a preview. To hear the entire episode and help Blood Work to survive and thrive, become a supporter on Patreon.

In the conclusion to our series, we look at what happened when the Soviet Union collapsed, and the rifles it had been making for over four decades started leaking out into a rapidly changing world.

Image: A screencap from a video dated June, 2001, showing al-Qaeda militants wielding Kalashnikov rifles at al-Farouq training camp, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

For more:

– Support Blood Work via Patreon

– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: A Quiet Place
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

This week, we return to the civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, spurred by new in-depth reporting of the RSF’s devastating siege and assault on El Fasher in October of last year.

Gareth and Rocz join Gregk to account for the many crimes of modernity’s slow, silent killers – engineers, technicians, and urban planners.

Follow Gareth and Rocz on Bluesky

Watch Well There’s Your Problem on YouTube

Watch RailNatter on YouTube

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

If you enjoyed this episode:
– Support Blood Work via Patreon
– Leave a rating or review on your podcast app
– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: The Pendulum
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

This week, we’ve got two stories about different pendulum swings in the political world, and the people attempting to ride the wave and come out unscathed. They’re stories about elites in political media, and so there are no winners, only losers. But spare a thought for them, won’t you? Or don’t. They're all reprehensible.

Image: An overhead photograph of the ‘Futurama’ diorama presented at the 1939 World’s Fair created by Norman Bel Geddes with sponsorship from General Motors [GM].

This is a preview. To hear the entire episode and help Blood Work to survive and thrive, become a supporter on Patreon.

As the Soviets entered the Cold War, they had a gun they could use as conduit, commodity, or currency. The US, meanwhile, hit the snooze alarm. In Vietnam, a rude awakening awaited them.

Blood Work is a Scam Goldin Production
This episode was produced by Thomas O’Mahony
Our theme song is ‘Dream Weapon’ by Genghis Tron
Our artwork is provided courtesy of KT Kobel

For more:

– Support Blood Work via Patreon

– Follow us on Bluesky / Instagram / Twitter

THIS WEEK IN VIOLENCE: The Stinging Tree
ALSO AVAILABLE IN AUDIO

For this week’s newsletter, we look at the long arc of US-Iran relations during the twentieth century, and place the Persian state’s current horizontal deterrence strategy against its American and Israeli aggressors in its proper historical context.

Image: A Viet Cong soldier posing with a Type 2 AK-47 rifle during a POW exchange in 1973. (Source: SSgt. Herman Kokojan, Defence Visual Information Centre)