Categories
Podcast Quick Hits

Don’t shoot the intelligence messenger!

Episode 263 – If intelligence doesn’t jive with your world view, maybe that view has to change We are inundated with information at levels impossible to process. Much of this is dis- or misinformation and it is a full-time job just trying to distinguish fact from fiction (AI-generated garbage and deep fakes, both of which […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Can the state call a popular political party an ‘extremist’ organisation?

Episode 272 – What will the German government decision to label the AfD backfire? That extremist/terrorist groups can form political parties – and in some cases actually govern – is not unknown. Hamas ran Gaza until the Israeli invasion in October 2023, Hizballah controlled much of southern Lebanon and even ISIS created a so-called ‘Caliphate’ […]

Categories
Podcast Spies Like Us

Is US ‘transactional intelligence’ just ‘plane’ stupid?

Season 2 Episode 33 Back in the saddle after a short last week, the guys delve into the undermining of the US intelligence community by the Trump administration, the dangers of accepting airplanes as ‘gifts’ and why Latvia is helping its citizens identify Russian spies. And lots of golden references…. Former FBI Director James Comey […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

The journey from military practitioner to author

Episode 271 – Why practitioners can make good writers Yes I am biased – as a 32-year veteran of intelligence – but I do think (ex)-practitioners have a lot to say when it comes to national security and international affairs. Those who were ‘at the coalface’ have a lot to say and have the advantage […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

The (in)humanity of war drones

Episode 270 – Is drone warfare changing how we see armed conflict? If the war in Ukraine is teaching us anything it is that drones – both surveillance ones as well as those that fire missiles at the enemy – are changing the landscape. Their small size, cheapness (i.e. they are not expensive to build […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Just how bad is anti-Semitism getting in the West?

Episode 269 – Post October 2023 Hamas attack violence against Jews is growing The Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was a horrendous blow to that nation and proportionately bigger than 9/11. And yet, unlike the attack on the US, it was celebrated by many in the West as a legitimate action. […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

What are the terrorist trends in France?

Episode 268 – France appears to suffer from a much higher terrorist threat than other Western nations Of all the nations normally associated with the ‘West’, France is the one which seems to dominate the headlines when it comes to terrorism. Bataclan/Stade de France (2015), Nice (2016), Charlie Hebdo, teacher beheadings…the list goes on and […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Sir John A Macdonald, 1885, and national security

Episode 267 – How do prime ministers deal with national security crises? Sir John A Macdonald was Canada’s first Prime Minister and a ‘Father’ of Confederation. And yet a figure of that importance has suffered a great deal in recent years over his role in the residential schools system for First Nations children, with statues […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

How the digital world undermines national security

Episode 266 – With all the advantages of online info there are serious drawbacks Can you imagine a world without the Internet and social media platforms? Pretty hard, eh? And yet for all the good it has brought us – access to information from everywhere and helpful links to solve questions, not to mention keeping […]

Categories
Canadian Intelligence Eh! Podcast

Are Russian mercenaries Africa’s counter-terrorism saviours?

Episode 265 – It is best to look a gift Russian mercenary in the mouth Fighting terrorists is hard work. Many countries have sought alliances, both political and military, to pool resources to engage in this struggle. In some cases, allies have been kicked out, only to be replaced by brutal criminal gangs – a.k.a. […]