Inside Ukraine’s Foreign Legion | Colin Freeman

Inside Ukraine’s Foreign Legion | Colin Freeman

Author: dee takos July 4, 2026 Duration: 2:07:56
We speak with journalist Colin Freeman about covering wars from Iraq and Somalia to Ukraine, including his own kidnapping by Somali pirates and the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. We also dig into his book The Mad and the Brave, the foreign volunteers who joined Ukraine’s International Legion, and the chaos, courage, and darker realities they faced on the front lines.
Colin's book: https://a.co/d/0j8oksfv
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"Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio"
00:00 — Start
01:26 — Colin Freeman’s Path Into Journalism
05:28 — Going Freelance to Cover Iraq
08:09 — The Reality of Freelance War Reporting
11:26 — Kidnapped by Pirates in Somalia
17:46 — Covering the Opening Days of the Ukraine War
21:21 — Taking the Train Into Besieged Kyiv
24:14 — Meeting Ukraine’s Foreign Volunteers
32:04 — Fantasists, Screamers, and the Yavoriv Missile Strike
36:36 — Douglas Carter and the Chaos of the Front Line
42:04 — Hugh Lee and the Shock of Ukraine’s Battlefield
49:08 — Pez and the Hunt for a Front Line
55:19 — Pez’s Near Capture on a Dnipro Island
59:30 — Foreign Volunteers Captured by Russia
01:05:22 — Torture in a Russian Black Site
01:14:05 — Mariupol, Azovstal, and John Harding
01:25:45 — The Bizarre POW Release and Roman Abramovich
01:31:40 — Ryan O’Leary, Chosen Company, and Jack Knight
01:37:15 — The Dark Side of the Legion
01:48:47 — Did Ukraine’s Foreign Legion Actually Matter?
01:52:50 — Could the West Have Built a Better Legion?
01:58:40 — The Mad and the Brave and Closing Thoughts
#ukrainewar #ukraineforeignlegion


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Hosted by Jack Murphy, The Team House is a long-form conversation built around a simple, powerful premise: to understand national security, you need to listen to the people who have been there. This podcast deliberately steps away from the partisan noise, offering a fiercely apolitical space where special operations veterans, intelligence professionals, and frontline reporters can share their experiences and analysis. Many guests here are speaking publicly for the very first time, providing raw, firsthand accounts that you won't find elsewhere. Each episode is a deep dive into the realities of conflict, the nuanced tradecraft of intelligence work, and the underlying geopolitical forces that shape global events. The conversations are detailed, often technical, and always grounded in the lived expertise of the guests. Alongside this main show, the The Team House network includes the sister program Eyes On Geopolitics, hosted by Mick Mulroy, Andy Milburn, and Jason Lyons, which continues the focus on global dynamics with a similarly experienced lens. For listeners seeking substance over soundbites, this podcast delivers complex narratives about modern warfare, espionage, and international relations, told directly by the individuals who have operated within these shadowed worlds. It’s a rare opportunity to hear unfiltered perspectives on the most critical security challenges of our time, making each episode an immersive lesson in the human and strategic dimensions of power.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

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