ISIS and the New Threat of Radicalization in America

Top of Mind with Julie Rose

In 2017, the US and a coalition of more than 80 countries ran ISIS out of its strongholds, killed the group's top leaders, and declared victory. But that wasn't the end. Instead, ISIS reinvented itself as an even greater threat to the United States homeland—and did so more successfully than any other foreign terror group. National security experts now say a 9/11-style attack is no longer the main worry. It's "domestic terrorism" by "lone-wolf" attackers radicalized online to murder their fellow Americans. On this episode, we consider how ISIS has revised the radicalization playbook to become "the easiest club in the world to join," as one expert describes. We'll hear how groups embracing other extremist ideologies – including white supremacy, male supremacy and anti-government sentiment - are using that same playbook. And we'll get concrete advice on how to prevent radicalization in young people. Guests: Christianne Boudreau, Co-founder of “Mothers for Life” and “Hope Regained” (https://www.hoperegained.com/) Joby Warrick, national security reporter for the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/joby-warrick/), author of Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/233775/black-flags-by-joby-warrick/) Cynthia Miller-Idriss, professor at American University, founding director of the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL https://perilresearch.com/)