Jacob Parakilas
@jparakilas.bsky.social
RAND Europe defenc/se strategy and policy guy. Dad joker, aircraft/car/ship/armored vehicle nerd, recovering civil servant. Lewiston to London via Lagos.
My current mood, according to Spotify, can best be described as "seasonally appropriate menace."
November 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
My current mood, according to Spotify, can best be described as "seasonally appropriate menace."
The folks at Monocle24 were kind enough to give me a decent chunk of time this morning to talk about our work in Ukraine on emerging technology and military doctrine - you can listen from about 29:40 here:
open.spotify.com/episode/1jrr...
open.spotify.com/episode/1jrr...
Why South Korea is proposing military talks with North Korea
open.spotify.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:46 AM
The folks at Monocle24 were kind enough to give me a decent chunk of time this morning to talk about our work in Ukraine on emerging technology and military doctrine - you can listen from about 29:40 here:
open.spotify.com/episode/1jrr...
open.spotify.com/episode/1jrr...
So here's the first part of something that I've been working on for the last twelve months.
Not every day I get to say that.
www.rand.org/randeurope/r...
Not every day I get to say that.
www.rand.org/randeurope/r...
Innovation and adaptation at war: Supporting Ukraine’s digital transformation
RAND Europe authored a series of reports on how to optimize Kyiv’s technological and policy advantages as Ukraine defends its sovereignty.
www.rand.org
November 10, 2025 at 6:10 PM
So here's the first part of something that I've been working on for the last twelve months.
Not every day I get to say that.
www.rand.org/randeurope/r...
Not every day I get to say that.
www.rand.org/randeurope/r...
Boy Diplomat S3 really jumps the shark doesn't it.
November 5, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Boy Diplomat S3 really jumps the shark doesn't it.
Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Look at my works ye mighty and start running
Didn't make sense not to live life fair
Your brain gets smart but now you despair
Hey now
You're king of kings
Get your trunk on
Its legs
Hey now
You're colossal
But nothing else
Re maaains
Look at my works ye mighty and start running
Didn't make sense not to live life fair
Your brain gets smart but now you despair
Hey now
You're king of kings
Get your trunk on
Its legs
Hey now
You're colossal
But nothing else
Re maaains
There once was a king, Ozymand
Who bragged about all he’d command.
Trying to fill his foes with fright he
Said “Look on my works, ye mighty!”
But now it’s all trunkless legs and sand.
Who bragged about all he’d command.
Trying to fill his foes with fright he
Said “Look on my works, ye mighty!”
But now it’s all trunkless legs and sand.
I heard there was a statue tall
That sneered at folk and commanded all
But you don't really care for symbols do ya
It goes like this the feet the fist
The head that fell the aim that missed
The long lost king whose name was Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymaaaaandias
That sneered at folk and commanded all
But you don't really care for symbols do ya
It goes like this the feet the fist
The head that fell the aim that missed
The long lost king whose name was Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymandias
Ozymaaaaandias
October 31, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Look at my works ye mighty and start running
Didn't make sense not to live life fair
Your brain gets smart but now you despair
Hey now
You're king of kings
Get your trunk on
Its legs
Hey now
You're colossal
But nothing else
Re maaains
Look at my works ye mighty and start running
Didn't make sense not to live life fair
Your brain gets smart but now you despair
Hey now
You're king of kings
Get your trunk on
Its legs
Hey now
You're colossal
But nothing else
Re maaains
I've gotta say one upside of being in GMT and having a mostly American follows list is waking up and scrolling backwards through the desperate and unhinged Oh Please Make It Stop baseball posts. Well done everyone, a brief and welcome return to the internet of the Before Times.
October 28, 2025 at 7:05 AM
I've gotta say one upside of being in GMT and having a mostly American follows list is waking up and scrolling backwards through the desperate and unhinged Oh Please Make It Stop baseball posts. Well done everyone, a brief and welcome return to the internet of the Before Times.
CHOTINER: So I want to come back to something you said earlier. You described yourself as "a healthcare provider."
MAJOR LIO PARTAGAZ: That's right.
CHOTINER: Do you think "healthcare" is the right metaphor for what happened to Ghorman?
PARTAGAZ: Look, that's... that's a different situation.
MAJOR LIO PARTAGAZ: That's right.
CHOTINER: Do you think "healthcare" is the right metaphor for what happened to Ghorman?
PARTAGAZ: Look, that's... that's a different situation.
September 25, 2025 at 7:55 AM
CHOTINER: So I want to come back to something you said earlier. You described yourself as "a healthcare provider."
MAJOR LIO PARTAGAZ: That's right.
CHOTINER: Do you think "healthcare" is the right metaphor for what happened to Ghorman?
PARTAGAZ: Look, that's... that's a different situation.
MAJOR LIO PARTAGAZ: That's right.
CHOTINER: Do you think "healthcare" is the right metaphor for what happened to Ghorman?
PARTAGAZ: Look, that's... that's a different situation.
This was a really interesting conversation - thanks so much to @icds-tallinn.bsky.social for putting it together!
Rethinking Grand Strategy: Opportunities and Perils for a Transatlantic Future
- Max Bergmann, CSIS @erep.csis.org
- Francois-Marie Gougeon, NATO HQ
- Jonatan Vseviov, MFA Estonia
Moderator: Jacob Parakilas, RAND @randeurope.org
@jparakilas.bsky.social
@maxbergmann.bsky.social
#ABCDTallinn
- Max Bergmann, CSIS @erep.csis.org
- Francois-Marie Gougeon, NATO HQ
- Jonatan Vseviov, MFA Estonia
Moderator: Jacob Parakilas, RAND @randeurope.org
@jparakilas.bsky.social
@maxbergmann.bsky.social
#ABCDTallinn
September 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
This was a really interesting conversation - thanks so much to @icds-tallinn.bsky.social for putting it together!
God help me I did not realize that there were *six* separate NCIS series.
How much boat crime can there be??
How much boat crime can there be??
September 16, 2025 at 9:18 AM
God help me I did not realize that there were *six* separate NCIS series.
How much boat crime can there be??
How much boat crime can there be??
So on a scale where 1 is "everything is fine, normal" and 10 is "Swan Lake on every channel," where does the Spotify Calming Classical playlist in the Brixton McDonald's land?
September 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
So on a scale where 1 is "everything is fine, normal" and 10 is "Swan Lake on every channel," where does the Spotify Calming Classical playlist in the Brixton McDonald's land?
Reposted by Jacob Parakilas
Heaven knows we need something cheering, and this story is utterly delightful:
“Someone must know this guy”
Four year wedding crasher mystery solved
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Four year wedding crasher mystery solved
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘Someone must know this guy’: four-year wedding crasher mystery solved
Bride finally tracks down awkward-looking stranger she and husband noticed only when looking through photos
www.theguardian.com
September 12, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Heaven knows we need something cheering, and this story is utterly delightful:
Today was a Good Day in the office.
July 18, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Today was a Good Day in the office.
This is somehow incredibly Miyazaki codes; it's simultaneously a huge mechanical war machine while also being reminiscent of the boar god from Princess Mononoke.
Ukraine’s 28th Mechanized Brigade repelled a Russian assault near Toretsk. The attack involved a so-called “Tsar Tank” with a mine roller. Around 60 FPV drones were needed to destroy it due to reinforced armor and lack of obvious weak points. Footage shared by DeepState.
July 11, 2025 at 1:17 PM
This is somehow incredibly Miyazaki codes; it's simultaneously a huge mechanical war machine while also being reminiscent of the boar god from Princess Mononoke.
I think the thing that will stick with me, leaving Kyiv early on a warm summer morning immediately after the largest drone strike yet in the war, is the sensation of a vibrant city wrapped in a pall of smoke and the smell of cordite.
July 4, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I think the thing that will stick with me, leaving Kyiv early on a warm summer morning immediately after the largest drone strike yet in the war, is the sensation of a vibrant city wrapped in a pall of smoke and the smell of cordite.
Reposted by Jacob Parakilas
Hear Jacob Parakilas on @theobserveruk.bsky.social's Sensemaker podcast unpacking the recent US strikes on Iran’s underground nuclear sites: strategy, regional implications, and what comes next.
Tune in here: open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
Tune in here: open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
What could happen next after the US bombed Iran?
Sensemaker · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 23, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Hear Jacob Parakilas on @theobserveruk.bsky.social's Sensemaker podcast unpacking the recent US strikes on Iran’s underground nuclear sites: strategy, regional implications, and what comes next.
Tune in here: open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
Tune in here: open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
I spoke to The Observer's Sensemaker about the airstrikes on Iran and what might happen next:
open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
What could happen next after the US bombed Iran?
Sensemaker · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:16 AM
I spoke to The Observer's Sensemaker about the airstrikes on Iran and what might happen next:
open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
open.spotify.com/episode/4Ov2...
My dad insisted that I watch the Battle of Algiers as a teenager. Took a few years for me to appreciate how good it is (and why he insisted).
Okay you guys, what’s the best book, movie, or TV show your dad introduced you to
June 16, 2025 at 4:23 AM
My dad insisted that I watch the Battle of Algiers as a teenager. Took a few years for me to appreciate how good it is (and why he insisted).
Got a new car (an electric SUV for EcoDadMaxxing). Wipers are useless. "I'll replace them, and I'll save the installation money on Serious Wipers and do it myself!" Two failed attempts. Finally figure out the correct adapter was at the bottom of the box, at which point: done in thirty seconds.
Once again it is Father’s Day, which means it’s time to share the most Dad* thing you did in the last year. As is custom, I will go first:
Watching YouTube videos for small repair jobs around the house has turned into watching YouTube videos for large repair jobs I cannot and should not attempt.
Watching YouTube videos for small repair jobs around the house has turned into watching YouTube videos for large repair jobs I cannot and should not attempt.
June 15, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Got a new car (an electric SUV for EcoDadMaxxing). Wipers are useless. "I'll replace them, and I'll save the installation money on Serious Wipers and do it myself!" Two failed attempts. Finally figure out the correct adapter was at the bottom of the box, at which point: done in thirty seconds.
A few years ago, walking through Soho, saw a crowd gawping at a parallel-parking Audi R8. Thought, "that's a nice car but it's not THAT nic... oh it's Michael Gambon driving it."
Then turned the corner and walked into Ben Whishaw.
Then turned the corner and walked into Ben Whishaw.
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
A few years ago, walking through Soho, saw a crowd gawping at a parallel-parking Audi R8. Thought, "that's a nice car but it's not THAT nic... oh it's Michael Gambon driving it."
Then turned the corner and walked into Ben Whishaw.
Then turned the corner and walked into Ben Whishaw.
Struggling to remember a Friday the 13th that felt quite so Friday the 13thy.
June 13, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Struggling to remember a Friday the 13th that felt quite so Friday the 13thy.
Enjoyed Mission: Impossible: This Is The Last One Seriously We Promise, but if you - like me - suffer from a mild-to-moderate fear of encountering submerged submarines while underwater and/or having to escape tight spaces at risk of drowning you may find it a tiny bit stressful.
Fair warning.
Fair warning.
May 30, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Enjoyed Mission: Impossible: This Is The Last One Seriously We Promise, but if you - like me - suffer from a mild-to-moderate fear of encountering submerged submarines while underwater and/or having to escape tight spaces at risk of drowning you may find it a tiny bit stressful.
Fair warning.
Fair warning.
Broke my arm playing Ultimate Frisbee, notably a non-contact sport.
What's the stupidest way you've hurt yourself?
Oh I'm so glad you asked! I knocked myself out with a frozen bag of omelettes.
Oh I'm so glad you asked! I knocked myself out with a frozen bag of omelettes.
May 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Broke my arm playing Ultimate Frisbee, notably a non-contact sport.
Pretty sure the stagehand they're interviewing for this interstitial about the event crew for Eurovision is actually Agent 47.
May 17, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Pretty sure the stagehand they're interviewing for this interstitial about the event crew for Eurovision is actually Agent 47.
This except for me it's Trent from Never Have I Ever
Every time I watch Andor and see the dude from Coupling I automatically think “That’s the guy from Coupling”
April 26, 2025 at 8:44 AM
This except for me it's Trent from Never Have I Ever