Homeland

Porkins Policy Radio episode 42 The Homeland Hackers

Today Tom and I spoke to the now world famous “Homeland Hackers.” Heba Amin, Don Karl, and Caram Kapp sat down with us to discuss how they got the opportunity to work on the show and how they subverted it by filling the set with Arabic graffiti saying, among other things, “Homeland is racist” “Homeland is not a show” and of course our personal favorite, “Homeland is a watermelon.” We began the conversation by discussing how in fact they were chosen by the set designer to work on episode 2 of season 5.  The artists described how the production did little to no research into what would be in

ClandesTime 063 – Homeland Season 5 Episode 8 ‘All About Allison’ - Spy Culture

This was not the most interesting instalment of Homeland so Pearse and I talked about topics related to the episode including the history of Kosovo and NATO's use of jihadis in the entire Balkans region, the arrest this week of a mysterious unnamed Montenegrin arms trafficker on his way to Paris, and why it is that the US Marine Corps Entertainment Liaison Office reports do not make any mention of Homeland.

7 Years of Reports from the Marine Corps Entertainment Liaison Office - Spy Culture

Completing what has been a record-breaking year for FOIA releases from the Entertainment Liaison Offices of the US Department of Defense, the US Marine Corps recently sent me 1669 pages of reports covering the last 7 years of their activities in the entertainment industry. The documents reveal a number of major films that are not acknowledged in the already-released files, along with indications that the USMC are operating on a scale approaching that of the Army i.e.

Homeland Season 5 Episode 7 ‘Oriole’- Porkins Policy Radio - Spy Culture

On this episode of our Homeland review series,Tom and I try to decipher this puzzle-piece of an episode. In contrast to last week’s fairly simple episode, this week’s was complex and intriguing. We explore the character of Alison and her trajectory from CIA station chief to Russian double agent. We discuss how the show is turning her into the ultimate villain, who is not only a master manipulator, but a cold and calculating egoist.

Porkins Policy Radio episode 41 Homeland Season 5 ep. 7

On this episode of our Homeland review series,Tom and I try to decipher this puzzle-piece of an episode. In contrast to last week’s fairly simple episode, this week’s was complex and intriguing. We explore the character of Alison and her trajectory from CIA station chief to Russian double agent. We discuss how the show is turning her into the ultimate villain, who is not only a master manipulator, but a cold and calculating egoist. We touch on the fact that Alison seems to be driven not by money or ideology, but by her ego and her desire to be seen as the smartest person in the room.

ClandesTime 062 – Homeland Season 5 Episode 6 ‘Parabiosis’ - Spy Culture

Today Pearse and I discuss the latest 6th episode of Homeland, 'Parabiosis' which saw the return of the classic spies vs jihadis type of storyline. We looked at the two halves of the story - Quinn holed up in a refugee hostel/terrorist halfway house and ultimately him killing the Reel Bad Arab Hajik, and Saul's rediscovering that he is actually a skilled secret agent. Both of these storyline are less about inducing a state of hyperreality and much more about shaping our perceptions of the real world.

Porkins Policy Radio episode 40 Homeland Season 5 ep. 5

In the latest of our Homeland reviews, Tom and I tackle the latest episode, ¨Better Call Saul.” In true form to this season, the fifth episode completely resets the original storyline and refocuses our attention to the evil Russians. Tom and I discuss this development and how it plays out in the episode. From the bombing of General Yusuf’s plane, to the hack, to the revelation of Alison being a double agent, it is now all about the Russians.