Weapons of Mass Disruption

Hosted by Dr. Tamara Schwartz

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Episodes

117

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

We live in a VUCA world – volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous – where the only constant is change, complexity is growing, and all the ambiguity this creates is making us feel anxious and uncertain. The world is being disrupted over and over again, and the risks previously categorized as “unknown unknowns” have become commonplace. Everywhere we turn, Mount VUCA is in various stages of volcanic eruption. Join IQ4U’s Dr. Tamara Schwartz and her invited guests in this new podcast exploring the intersection of globalization, technology, business, ethics, and social change as we learn to live with Weapons of Mass Disruption.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 28, 2026Episode 1832 min

Security Disrupted! How AI is Changing Security Tradeoffs

Is AI making the digital world safer or more dangerous? In this episode, Information Technology Management major Enzo Oliveira and Cybersecurity Management majors Tylor Drukenmiller and David Guillen explore the double-edged role of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity. They examine how AI can help defenders identify threats, analyze data, and respond to attacks while also giving malicious actors powerful new tools for deception, automation, and exploitation. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into digital security, the same technology helping to protect us may also be creating entirely new vulnerabilities.

October 14, 2026Episode 1743 min

Heathcare Disrupted! Risky Business

What happens when healthcare becomes connected? In this episode, Cybersecurity Management majors Quincy Quaye, Jared Vinson, and Noah Smith explore the Internet of Medical Things, from wearable health technologies to connected and embedded medical devices. Bringing together perspectives on health and fitness, cybersecurity strategy, philosophy, embedded systems, and RF security, they examine both the possibilities these technologies create and the difficult questions surrounding cybersecurity, privacy, data, risk, and ethics when technology becomes deeply integrated into human health.

September 30, 2026Episode 1644 min

Baseball Disrupted! How Immersive Technologies are Reshaping the Game

What happens when athletes become increasingly connected, measurable, and even digitally modeled? In this episode, three of Dr. Schwartz’s students, Henry Mahew, Dawson Shelley, and Noah Conigliaro, explore the future of technology in sports through three emerging technologies: IoT wearables, digital twins, and artificial intelligence. Bringing perspectives from statistics, competitive athletics and coaching, cybersecurity, and gaming, they consider how these technologies could transform training, performance, injury prevention, and decision-making, along with the new questions they may create for the future of sports.

September 16, 2026Episode 1530 min

Attention Disrupted! AI’s Role in the Social Media Ecosystem

In this episode, Dr. Tamara Schwartz’s Emerging Technology students continue their WMD takeover. Artificial intelligence is woven into nearly every part of the social media experience, from helping create content to deciding what appears in your feed. In this episode, Information Technology Management major Taylor Heie explores how AI powers social media platforms, including the recommendation algorithms that personalize what we see and the systems designed to capture and hold our attention. She examines how these technologies are changing not only how content is created and delivered, but how we experience the online world.

September 2, 2026Episode 149 min

Baseball Disrupted! How Immersive Technologies are Changing the Game

How are virtual and augmented worlds changing America's pastime? In this episode, the student takeover continues as lifelong baseball player and Baltimore Orioles fan Tyler Maxcy, a recent information technology graduate explores how virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are transforming baseball. From new approaches to player training and preparation to immersive experiences that change how fans watch and interact with the game, Tyler examines how these emerging technologies are reshaping baseball both on and off the field.

August 19, 2026Episode 1331 min

World Cup Disrupted! How AI is Changing Scouting in International Football

In this episode, Dr. Tamara Schwartz’s Emerging Technology students continue their WMD takeover. Have you ever wondered how the world’s top football clubs choose their next stars? In this episode, Cybersecurity Management major and passionate international football fan Rasheed Abogun explores how artificial intelligence and data analytics are transforming soccer scouting. From identifying promising talent to supporting decisions once driven primarily by the instincts of human scouts, Rasheed examines the technology, the process, and what AI could mean for the future of the beautiful game.

August 5, 2026Episode 1256 min

Hospitals Disrupted! Vital Vulnerabilities in Healthcare

In this episode of Weapons of Mass Disruption , Dr. Tamara Schwartz is joined by York College Cybersecurity Management major Jerod Bethea to examine the growing threat of cyberattacks on healthcare organizations. From ransomware that disrupts patient care to attacks that undermine trust in critical services, we explore why hospitals have become high-value targets and what these incidents reveal about the evolving intersection of emerging technology, cybersecurity, resilience, and public safety.

July 22, 2026Episode 1134 min

Democracy Disrupted! The Founding Fathers and the Age of AI

The founders built the American experiment on assumptions about human nature, liberty, consent, and self-government. But what happens when those assumptions collide with artificial intelligence, digital surveillance, algorithmic influence, and increasingly polarized politics? On this episode of WMD, Dr. Tamara Schwartz and Dr. Stephen Stern explore whether the philosophical foundations of the American republic remain sufficient for a world where technology can shape attention, influence beliefs, and increasingly mediate and even dictate the choices we make as citizens.

July 8, 2026Episode 1039 min

Monarchy Disrupted! Philosophies of the Founding Fathers

The American founding was more than a political revolution, it was a philosophical experiment about humans and power. On this episode of WMD, Dr. Tamara Schwartz welcomes back Dr. Stephen Stern to explore how thinkers such as John Locke, David Hume, and Adam Smith influenced the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the founders' understanding of liberty, power, and human nature.

June 24, 2026Episode 954 min

Nation State Disrupted! Israel as a Symbol

Dr. Tamara Schwartz welcomes back Dr. Stephen Stern, Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Gettysburg College, for the second installment of their conversation on Israel, anti-Zionism, antisemitism, and the politics of power. Building on their previous discussion of the complex relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism and the unique moral expectations often placed upon Israel, this episode explores the role of narratives in shaping public perception of Israel as a symbol rather than simply a nation-state. Together, they examine where legitimate criticism of Israeli policy ends and broader questions of legitimacy, collective responsibility, and Jewish sovereignty begin.