Newsletter October 2025
New Milestones
Since its release, our Open Source Intelligence in the Age of Google book has achieved over 70,000+ accesses across platforms and a 4.8-star rating on Amazon. Edited by Henrietta Wilson, Dr. Olamide Samuel, and Prof. Dan Plesch, it is an open-access eBook, available free of charge at
https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/epdf/10.1142/q0414
Stephen Mercado, a former CIA officer, in his review for Studies in Intelligence 68 (No. 3), stated that “the authors of Open Source Investigations in the Age of Google inform us of the modern ways and means to use open sources to investigate issues in human rights, military conflict, nuclear nonproliferation, and other issues of interest.”
Read his full review here
It has also been featured in Help Net Security’s curated list of top OSINT books https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/02/17/osint-books/
Download your copy on Amazon https://lnkd.in/gxSQVqzQ
Watch highlights from the launch event https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=jfjySUz6QxUz_ajV&v=a3rmTrG6MYA&feature=youtu.be
Disarmament Diaries
New episodes of Disarmament Diaries are now live!
Across Episodes 3 to 6, we explore a wide range of topics — from the structural barriers that limit youth influence in decision-making spaces, to the personal stories and inspirations that keep us engaged; from how rising military budgets tax our future, to why the world needs a “COP for weapons.”
Watch the latest episodes here: https://scrapweapons.com/disarmament-diaries/
Visit our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@scrapweapons
Arms and Arguments: OCTOBER EDITION
For October, the “Arms and Arguments” Book Club dedicated the month to exploring the profound Impact of Rising Military Expenditure on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We reviewed the following:
- Mathew Eddy (2016) “A Bold Peace”
- Al Jazeera (2025) “The Trillion-Dollar War Machine”
- Lynn Frederick Dsouza (2025) “Strategic Analysis of the Impact of Global Military Expenditure on SDGs 4, 5, 16, and 17”
- Conflict and Environment Observatory (2025) “How increasing global military expenditure threatens SDG 13 on Climate action”
- UN Office For Disarmament Affairs (2025) “The Security We Need: Rebalancing Military Spending for a Sustainable and Peaceful Future”
Read all reviews here: https://scrapweapons.com/arms-and-arguments/
SCRAP Around the World
SCRAP Weapons’ Director, Prof. Dan Plesch, at the SOAS Inaugural Lecture held on 23 October in London. He spoke on the idea of thinking and acting globally; his research on women in multilateralism, the role of the UN, and how various peace movements in the last century have prevented a WW3; and his upcoming research.
Our Project Assistant, Mila King, featured at a panel discussion on ‘Strengthening parliamentary oversight of defence spending’, at the 151st Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held from 19-23 October in Geneva.
Our Strategic Communications and Partnership Officer, Monalisa Hazarika, at the 2025 ICAN-Hiroshima Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security, held from October 14 to 18 in Hiroshima, Japan.