Imagine the ultimate corporate nightmare: you make a catastrophic mistake at work, panic, and spin it to your boss as a victory. In this episode of pplpod, we conduct a structural archaeology of the Second Battle of Gaza, analyzing the 1917 disaster fueled by the Toxic Leadership of General Archibald Murray. We unpack the "Sunk Cost Fallacy," exploring how massive desert railways and water reservoirs holding 76,000 gallons locked the British into a frontal assault against the Ottoman Empire's "Defense by Areas"—a network of mutually supporting redoubts. We investigate the mechanical failure of Experimental Technology, from poison gas shells rendered useless by the wind to "War Baby," the Mark 1 heavy tank where gunners fired from bicycle seats in ...