Borealis Threat & Risk Consulting
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Author of six books on terrorism, Phil is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence.
Episode 312 – National security is not a game, but can gaming help? Did you play Stratego or Risk as a kid? War games have a long history. Nowadays, modern militaries put a lot of time and money into war simulations. How do these work and what effect do they have? I talk with Rex […]
Episode 311 – What should the world worry about in the new year when it comes to conflict? That conflict is part of the human condition goes without saying. What is challenging is determining what kinds of information to rely on when thinking about ongoing conflicts. After all, there is a lot of disinformation and […]
Episode 309 – If you are going to kill terrorists, send in the best Fighting terrorism is complicated. My background is in security intelligence and I know a lot about what goes into a terrorism investigation. When it comes to the military, things are different. On occasions, soldiers need to use lethal force to kill […]
Episode 309 – Is this the end of the ayatollahs? It is hard not to be riveted to our screens with what is transpiring in Iran right now. Near a half century of rule by Shia fundamentalists appears, at least to some, to on the brink of collapse as mass demonstrations have led to hundreds […]
Episode 308 – Do words make worlds? Not surprisingly, terrorism is a very emotive term. When acts take place, the media will often use words and language that vary widely in scope. Some say that we should eschew some vocabulary that may or not be inaccurate, or lead to bias. How do we manage this […]
Episode 307 – Can diplomats play a key part in intelligence gathering? When we think of intelligence we normally go to spy agencies, be they those which run human sources, collect signals, or do surveillance (on the ground or in the air/space). And yet the people we send abroad as diplomats have access to a […]
Episode 306 – How much are bad guys taking advantage of AI? You cannot read just about anything these days and not come across the role of AI in everything. We may not be able to agree on whether this new technology is good or bad, but it is not going away. Like all new […]
Episode 305 – Why can’t just about anyone run a major intelligence service or police force? There seems to be this movement that anyone should have the opportunity to try their hand at anything. This includes complicated jobs such as security intelligence agencies or law enforcement organisations. But what happens if an outsider with no […]
Episode 304 – When words betray bad guys As a linguist (and former multilingual foreign intelligence analyst) and counter terrorism specialist, I can proudly say I had a cool career. The chance to combine language skills, a background in linguistics proper and my interest in terrorism was a remarkable opportunity. But can language/linguistics have more […]
Episode 303 – In a land associated with Buddhism, temples and tourism, are Islamist extremists active? Have you ever been to Thailand? I have, but I cannot talk about it…. I do know, however, that it is a very popular spot for tourists – and Thai cuisine is the best! But there is a longstanding, […]