Putin's Sledgehammer

This week, Gaslit Nation welcomes a leading expert on the future of warfare and U.S. national security Candace Rondeaux, author of the new book Putin's Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia's Collapse into Mercenary Chaos. Before there was Trump vs. Musk, there was Putin vs. Prigozhin. It turns out the oligarchs trying to kill us are just a couple of scorpions trapped in a jar.    Two years ago this June 23rd, Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed mutiny of his infamous Wagner group, getting within 125 miles (200 km) of Moscow. In her book and this gripping conversation, Rondeaux unpacks what Wagner really is—and what it isn't—debunking the myths surrounding Russia's most infamous mercenary network. Wagner's mutiny marked the first real crack in Putin's power in decades. Prigozhin wasn't an outsider—he was Putin's creation. Funded. Protected. Enabled. And ultimately? Eliminated. On August 23rd, exactly two months later, his plane exploded above Russia, killing him and his inner circle.A special message from Gaslit Nation:  We enthusiastically endorsed New York City Comptroller Brad Lander for Mayor, ranking him as our top vote. Listen to our discussion with Lander from May here. Lander recently became the latest Democratic official detained by ICE's masked agents—Trump's gestapo—while defending the rights of the vulnerable. As Gaslit Nation warned after the election, Trump will lash out at "blue" sanctuary cities, to attempt to terrorize us into submission. It won't work. More on this in Thursday's bonus show, where we discuss what comes next—including impeachment. Stay tuned.   Want to enjoy Gaslit Nation ad-free? Join our community of listeners for bonus shows, ad-free episodes, exclusive Q&A sessions, our group chat, invites to live events like our Monday political salons at 4pm ET over Zoom, and more! Sign up at Patreon.com/Gaslit!   EVENTS AT GASLIT NATION: NEW! We now have a Vermont Signal group for Gaslit Nation listeners in the state to find each other: join here. June 16 4pm ET – Gabe Garbowit and Keira Havens of Citizens' Impeachment join our salon to discuss the growing movement to impeach Donald Trump.  June 30 4pm ET – America has been here before. Book club discussion of Lillian Faderman's The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle NEW! Arizona-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to connect, available on Patreon.  Indiana-based listeners launched a Signal group for others in the state to join, available on Patreon.  Florida-based listeners are going strong meeting in person. Be sure to join their Signal group, available on Patreon.  Have you taken Gaslit Nation's HyperNormalization Survey Yet? Gaslit Nation Salons take place Mondays 4pm ET over Zoom and the first ~40 minutes are recorded and shared on Patreon.com/Gaslit for our community