How to get on a Watchlist (S2, E5): How to avoid being killed in a Warzone

In this episode, we discuss combat reporting, warzones, and how to survive them with Rosie Garthwaite. Rosie is an executive producer at BBC World Service’s Investigations Unit, and is currently based in London making documentaries and interactives about the Middle East and North Africa. She founded Mediadante, producing the Emmy-nominated, “The Workers Cup”, that premiered on the opening night of Sundance 2017. In 2023 she exec produced “Under Poisoned Skies” that helped secure a pledge to reduce gas flaring emissions from the Iraqi government and won the RTS for best international documentary of the year. The International Emmy-award winning film “Escaping ISIS” she developed was referenced by the UK Prime Minister in a key speech and shown to the U.S. Congress. Prior to this, in 2003 Rosie joined the first English-language newspaper in post-invasion Baghdad, The Baghdad Bulletin, living amongst Iraqis far away from the Green zone. While in Basra freelancing for Reuters, The Times and the BBC she exposed the first British torture case, the death of Baha Moussa while he was in the custody of the British army. In 2006, Rosie joined Al Jazeera preparing for the launch of its English language channel and helping to set up the Baghdad bureau – even evacuating it one day after several colleagues were kidnapped. She is a former British army officer and author of the award-winning book “How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone“, published by Bloomsbury in 2011.

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How to Avoid Being Killed in a Warzone – How to get on a Watchlist

On this episode, we discuss combat reporting, warzones, and how to survive them with Rosie Garthwaite. Rosie is an executive producer at BBC World Service's Investigations Unit, and is currently based in London making documentaries and interactives about the Middle East and North Africa. She founded Mediadante, producing the Emmy-nominated, “The Workers Cup”, that premiered on the opening night of Sundance 2017. In 2023 she exec produced “Under Poisoned Skies” that helped secure a pledge to reduce gas flaring emissions from the Iraqi government and won the RTS for best international documentary of the year. The International Emmy-award winning film “Escaping ISIS” she developed was referenced by the UK Prime Minister in a key speech and shown to the U.S. Congress. Prior to this, in 2003 Rosie joined the first English-language newspaper in post-invasion Baghdad, The Baghdad Bulletin, living amongst Iraqis far away from the Green zone. While in Basra freelancing for Reuters, The Times and the BBC she exposed the first British torture case, the death of Baha Moussa while he was in the custody of the British army. In 2006, Rosie joined Al Jazeera preparing for the launch of its English language channel and helping to set up the Baghdad bureau – even evacuating it one day after several colleagues were kidnapped. She is a former British army officer and author of the award-winning book How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone, published by Bloomsbury in 2011.Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EncyclopediaGeopolitica

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Books and media mentioned during the episode, and suggestions for further research on this topic:

• How to Avoid Being Killed in a War Zone (Rosie Garthwaite)

Additional reading suggestions can be found on our 2024 geopolitical reading list.

Purchases made using the links in this article earn referrals for Encyclopedia Geopolitica. As an independent publication, our writers are volunteers from within the professional geopolitical intelligence community, and referrals like this support future articles.

The hosts:

Lewis Sage-Passant is a researcher in the field of intelligence and espionage, and a former British Military Intelligence Officer. Lewis holds a PhD from Loughborough University in intelligence studies, and is an adjunct professor in intelligence at Sciences Po Paris. He has extensive experience working and living in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions in a variety of geopolitical analysis and intelligence roles, supporting the energy industry, the financial sector, leading technology firms, and the pharmaceuticals sector. He has appeared in numerous media outlets, including the BBC, France24, CNBC, Harvard Business Review, The New Arab, El Mundo, GQ, and others, discussing intelligence, geopolitics, and security topics.

Aleksandra Szylkiewicz is a multilingual security and intelligence professional based in France, currently serving as Geopolitical Intelligence & Travel Security Manager at an international luxury fashion conglomerate. She is a graduate of Sciences Po Paris, where she completed a degree in International Relations/International Security, and has experience providing threat monitoring and geopolitical analysis to public and private entities across various sectors and regions, producing actionable intelligence and decision-making support. She has lived in Mexico and in various countries across Europe.

The production team:

Producer: Edwin Tran

Researcher: Alex Smith

Additional credit goes to several unnamed members of the Encyclopedia Geopolitica team, as well as our colleagues in the intelligence and security community who helped to make this podcast possible

If you liked this episode, don’t forget to sign up to our mailing list and subscribe on your podcast platform of choice. Please also consider supporting our work via Patreon. While the topics we discuss here are often shrouded in secrecy and security classifications, we really hope you’ll tell your friends about us!