CAPTIVITY | What is the breaking point?

🎙️Voices From The Front & The Wire Tap | In this episode we have a deeply personal conversation about capture, survival, and what it means to endure captivity.⚠️ Warning: The following contains graphic descriptions of torture that some viewers/ listeners may find distressing.As someone who went through SERE training in the British Army, I talk about what that preparation is designed to do, and more importantly, what it cannot prepare you for. Training teaches you principles: resistance, survival, discipline under interrogation, but real captivity is something entirely different. When the rules disappear, when there are no Geneva Conventions being respected, and when torture becomes part of a system rather than an exception, the reality is far removed from the controlled environment of any training exercise.We discuss the difference between military preparation and the reality of Russian captivity, where a system of coercion, humiliation, and violence has become widely documented. Physical torture to psychological pressure and forced confessions, the goal is often not information but submission and propaganda.But this conversation is not just about Russia. We also examine the Ukrainian approach to prisoners, the legal framework they operate under, and why adherence to international law matters, not only morally, but strategically. The contrast between the two systems raises difficult but important questions about standards in war, accountability, and the long-term consequences of abandoning them.This episode also explores something rarely spoken about publicly: what captivity does to a person psychologically. We share stories from those who have returned — their experiences, their coping mechanisms, and the quiet resilience required simply to endure day after day not knowing if you will survive.For me, this discussion is personal. I reflect on my own experience of captivity, the moments that stay with you long after release, and the realities that soldiers and volunteers must face if they are taken prisoner.This is not a sensational conversation, it is an honest one.Because behind every headline about prisoner exchanges or captured fighters are human beings enduring something few people can truly understand.And the question that sits at the centre of it all remainsWhat is the breaking point?Thank you It’s Time, Pamela Day, Christine Nobbs, Denise Lachance-Ward, Dann, and many others for tuning into our live video, join us next friday discussing the weeks events and specific topics from the ground in Ukraine. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shaunpinner.substack.com/subscribe