CDSN Podcast Network

Canadian Defence and Security Network - Réseau Canadien Sur La Défense et la Sécurité
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We now have 5 network podcasts: 1. Battle Rhythm is hosted by Stephen Saideman, Anessa Kimball, Artur Wilczynski, Wendy Wong, Thomas Hughes and Linna Tam-Seto, and released every second Wednesday, features timely discussion on the defence and security issues of the day, as well as feature conversations with experts. 2. Conseils de sécurité hosted by Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé and Laurent Borzillo, comes out the corresponding Wednesdays that Battle Rhythm doesn't and is completely en français. 3. SecurityScape is a monthly podcast produced by graduate students from the Centre of Military, Security, and Strategic Studies. Each episode highlights scholars and students and the important research they are conducting relating to security. 4. The NATO Field Report will bring you field reports via a ‘special’ (occasional) podcast featuring the NATO Field School staff, students, and guest speakers. Each episode will be moderated by NFS staff and students and themed to a particular topic, discussing key takeaways and unique perspectives while discussing this topic with experts and decision-makers in the field. https://www.sfu.ca/politics/natofieldschool.html 5. Resilience Plus is a unique, evidence-based, bilingual program at RMC and RMC Saint-Jean hosted by Meaghan M. Wilkin & Lobna Cherif

  1. Bylines & Frontlines Ep 7: Canada’s Leadership in Gender-Responsive Military Design

    FEB 25

    Bylines & Frontlines Ep 7: Canada’s Leadership in Gender-Responsive Military Design

    This episode examines Canada’s emerging leadership in integrating sex-specific data and human systems integration into military equipment design, with implications for both domestic force readiness and international support to Ukraine. Although women now constitute over 16% of the Canadian Armed Forces and nearly 14% of NATO forces, legacy validation standards for ballistic protection, load carriage systems, and personal protective equipment were historically based on homogeneous male datasets. This structural bias shaped procurement processes and industrial design incentives across the Alliance. Canada has begun to shift this paradigm. Through deliberate incorporation of women’s morphology into testing standards, expanded anthropometric datasets, dynamic biomechanical analysis, and targeted user trials, Canada is moving beyond “general usability” toward survivability-centered design for the full force. Frieda Garcia Castellanos is joined by Dr. Linna Tam-Seto (University of Toronto), Emma Moon (Department of National Defence), and Melanie Lake (Deputy G1 of the NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives). The discussion highlights: ● The integration of women’s morphology — including breast tissue considerations — into global ballistic testing standards ● Canadian field trials evaluating operational performance under varied armor configurations ● NATO Summary of National Reports data demonstrating uneven equipment adaptation across allies ● Emerging battlefield lessons from Ukraine linking equipment fit to fatigue, secondary injuries, and survivability under delayed evacuation Canada’s approach reframes equipment adaptation as a combat effectiveness and casualty - reduction imperative, rather than a symbolic inclusion measure. At stake is a fundamental institutional question: whether defense modernization will continue to operate from a legacy “default body” model, or whether it will deliberately design for the full operational force from the outset. Produced by Frieda Garcia Castellanos

    59 min
  2. Episode 4.10: Buying Security with Dr. Bohuslav Pernica

    FEB 18

    Episode 4.10: Buying Security with Dr. Bohuslav Pernica

    Welcome to a new episode of Battle Rhythm, with co-host Anessa L. Kimball, Ph.D., Professor at Université Laval; Steve Saideman and Anessa discuss recent Canadian public opinion on threat perception and translating this into a defence spending strategy, while Vancouver and other Canadian cities jockey to host a new NATO Bank of Investment for Security and Defence and finally who wants more NATO in the arctic and why. In today’s Feature Interview, Anessa Kimball speaks with Dr. Bohuslav Pernica, Assistant professor in the Department of International Relations and European Studies at Masaryk University while he visits Quebec. Lt. Col. (ret.) Dr. Bohuslav Pernica is an adjunct professor at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, a consultant to the Czech Ministry of Defence, and a member of the Czech anti-corruption watchdog (Kverulant). He also served in the Czech Armed Forces from 1992 to 2014. Links: Data Dive with Nik Nanos: Canadians are clamouring for a stronger military: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-data-dive-with-nik-nanos-canadians-are-clamouring-for-a-stronger/

    56 min
  3. Resilience Plus Season 5, Episode 5: Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (CPO1) Cavel Shebib

    FEB 11

    Resilience Plus Season 5, Episode 5: Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (CPO1) Cavel Shebib

    The team at Resilience Plus encourages everyone to try to take time for the things you love and invest in your resilience bank in a conversation with RMC St. Jean’s CWO, Cavel Shebib. This podcast episode was recorded in January 2025, we are reposting for our broader CDSN audience. Chief Petty Officer 1st Class (CPO1) Cavel Shebib enrolled in the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in 1991 as a naval weapons technician in Sydney, N.S. and he feels he has been very lucky to have had the amazing career that he has had thus far. Since 2014 alone, he completed the year-long French course, then sailed for a year each in His Majesty’s Canadian Ships (HMCS) Fredericton and Ville de Québec as the Combat Systems Engineering Chief Petty Officer, followed by an appointment as the Atlantic Fleet Combat Systems Engineering Chief. After being in that position for a year, he was promoted to the rank of Chief Petty Officer 1st Class and assumed the role of honors and recognition chief for Maritime Forces Atlantic for a year. In 2018, he was appointed as Coxswain in HMCS St. John’s, following that, in August 2020 he was posted to the Chief Warrant Officer Robert Osside Profession of Arms Institute in Saint-Jean, Que., as the Intermediate Leadership Program and then the Senior Leadership Program Director. Following his two years in Quebec, he was appointed as the Atlantic Fleet Chief in July 2022 and in June of 2024, will be appointed as RMC Saint Jean’s CWO. During his career, he has had several deployments all over Europe and the Middle East, including several Standing NATO Maritime Group One deployments, Operation APOLLO in 2001 and Op REASSURANCE in 2015. He was also involved in Op PERSISTENCE, which was the Canadian Armed Forces’ recovery operation after the Swiss Air crash near Peggy’s Cove, N.S., in 1998. His most memorable deployment was in 2010 when he spent eight months patrolling in the Western Panjwai District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan as a Tactical CIMIC operator and platoon 2 I/C, ending his tour as a CIMIC Platoon Commander. CPO1 Shebib has completed the Defense and Security Certificate Program through Algonquin College and is an avid reader. He is a huge proponent of the positive impacts of exercise and spending time in the outdoors on our mental health and is an avid hiker. CPO1 Shebib and his partner have 4 children between them. Resilience Plus Podcast: Building Resilience, Driving Success, Promoting Excellence Vision: Building resilience through education, training, and research Mission: Empowering individuals to maximize their productivity and effectiveness, through the effective pursuit of personal and professional goals. We provide individuals with necessary resilience skills and tools that can be immediately applied. Values: We deliver evidence-based resilience education, training, and research guided by our commitment to Excellence and Leadership. Social Media: Resilience Plus on Facebook Resilience Plus on Instagram

    36 min
  4. Episode 4.9: The Power Behind the Fire with HFX Forum Peace Fellows

    FEB 4

    Episode 4.9: The Power Behind the Fire with HFX Forum Peace Fellows

    Welcome to a new episode of Battle Rhythm. Co-hosts Linna Tam-Seto (Assistant Professor Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto) and Steve Saideman discuss Trump’s disrespect for Allied contributions to Afghanistan as a strategy, what Canada’s arctic security strategy means for human security in northern communities and if the Canadian Armed Forces is on track to reach it’s recruitment of women target despite a general increase in recruitment. Steve and Hannah Christensen (host of our Field Notes podcast and MA student at NPSIA) catch an interview with 8 of 2025’s HFX Peace With Women Fellows to discuss whole of society peace efforts, evolving security strategies and lessons learned for upholding the international rules based order as they meet with North American security and defence leaders. The Fellowship is a four-week executive study course that equips senior female military officers from NATO and NATO-partner countries for their future leadership positions. HFX launched the Fellowship in 2018 because women in leadership roles in international security leads directly to more peaceful, more equitable and simply better outcomes. The 2025 Fellows include senior officers from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Finland, France, Hungary, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Group 1: Lt. Col. Annukka Ylivaara, ASG Finnish Security Committee; Col. Marie-Eve Tremblay, Canada, Deputy JAG Group 2: Col. Eszter Skrinyár, Head of Communications of the Hungarian Defence Forces; Col. Tracy Allison, Aus, Dep Chief of Staff; Army, Capt. Maryland Ingham, UK, Lead Mil advisory for Africa, Navy Group 3: Col. Emma Thomas, NZ Chief of Staff, Joint Defence Services, Army; Air Commodore Ellen Meeuwsen-Scholten, Netherlands, Personnel, Air and Space; Col. Kim Saenen, Belgium, Director, Competence Center Mobility/Distribution, Army

    1h 7m
  5. Bylines & Frontlines, Episode 6: Spotlight on Bibi Hakim. The Power of Policy, and Showing Up

    JAN 28

    Bylines & Frontlines, Episode 6: Spotlight on Bibi Hakim. The Power of Policy, and Showing Up

    What does it really mean to work in government — and who gets to shape the decisions that affect our lives? In the first episode of our Spotlight series, we sit down with Bibi Hakim, a parliamentary affairs professional and community advocate whose work bridges Parliament Hill, global diplomacy, and grassroots civic engagement. Bibi has supported federal Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries, staffed international summits, and helped move complex legislation through committee. But her story doesn’t stop inside government. She’s also deeply invested in youth leadership, mental health advocacy, and building political power within Indo-Caribbean and South Asian communities in Canada. In this conversation, we talk about: ● What working in parliamentary affairs actually looks like behind the scenes ● How young professionals can navigate power without losing their values ● Why civic engagement and voter education are essential to a healthy democracy ● Turning mental health advocacy into real policy change — including her role in advancing accessible, affordable, and inclusive services adopted by the federal government in 2021 ● Mentorship, representation, and what it takes for young women to claim space in public life This episode is for anyone who’s ever wondered how policy gets made, how advocacy becomes action, and how to show up — even when the system wasn’t designed with you in mind. Guest: Bibi Hakim Host: Frieda Castellanos Series: Spotlight

    39 min
  6. Episode 4.8: Safe For Now with Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, LtGen. Speiser-Blanchet

    JAN 21

    Episode 4.8: Safe For Now with Commander of the Royal Canadian Air Force, LtGen. Speiser-Blanchet

    Welcome to 2026 and to a new episode of Battle Rhythm with co-host Artur Wilczynski, retired DG of Foreign Intelligence Operations Canada and Senior Fellow GPSIA, University of Ottawa; Artur and Steve Saideman discuss rollercoasters, PM Carney’s meetings in China, Qatar and Davos and what this means for Canada’s new approach to the world, with Greenland being the first test of Canada and Europe’s resolve. While back on the continent, the US administration readies Alaska National Guard member troops with the Army’s 11th Airborne Division in to assist ICE’s strong-arming Minnesotans with impunity. In today’s feature interview, Steve interviews LtGen. Speiser-Blanchet on her approaches to leading and reshaping Canada’s Air Force for the future. Lieutenant-General Jamie Speiser-Blanchet enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1990 and graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in 1994 with a degree in Computer Engineering. Earning her pilot wings in March 1996, she served as a Rotary Wing Tactical Aviation pilot flying the CH-146 Griffon helicopter at 1 Wing Kingston. Her operational and staff postings include 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron in Valcartier, 1 Wing Headquarters, 1 Canadian Air Division Headquarters in Winnipeg, and 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron in Gagetown. Lieutenant-General Speiser-Blanchet served on multiple deployments as a helicopter pilot to include United Nations and NATO missions in Haiti and Bosnia. She also served as Deputy Commander (Operations) for Joint Task Force-IMPACT in Kuwait in 2019. In Canada, she has deployed on numerous domestic operations in response to regional emergencies and in support to other government agencies. Lieutenant-General Speiser-Blanchet has commanded at multiple levels, 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron, the Canadian Forces Intelligence Group, and the Cadets and Junior Canadian Rangers Group. Strategic level appointments include Military Assistant to the Minister of National Defence, Special Advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, and Deputy Commander of the RCAF. A graduate of the Joint Command and Staff Programme and the Defence and Strategic Studies Course in Australia, she holds a Master of Defence Studies from RMC and a Master of Politics and Policy from Deakin University. Lieutenant-General Speiser-Blanchet is a Commander of the Order of Military Merit (CMM). She was promoted to her current rank in July 2025 and appointed Commander of the RCAF on July 10, 2025. She is married to Janin Blanchet, a retired tactical aviation pilot, and they have three amazing children, Emma, Zachary and Samuel.

    59 min
  7. Episode 4.7: International Realism and the Rules of the Game

    JAN 7

    Episode 4.7: International Realism and the Rules of the Game

    Welcome to 2026 and to a new episode of Battle Rhythm, with co-host Thomas Hughes, Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University. Steve and Thomas discuss the US Intervention in Venezuela, what it means for international law and order and how to incorporate Realist political theory (with a nod to Thucydides) in analyzing this situation with a look at implications for Greenland, Denmark and Canada. Today’s Feature Interview is with Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) Director Colonel Curtis Wright. Col Wright hails from Lethbridge, AB and joined the CAF in June 1990 under the Regular Officer Training Plan graduating from Royal Military College with a Bachelor's degree in History. He received his Navigator Wings in 1996 and joined the Long Range Patrol community flying the CP-140 Aurora. He has amassed over 3500 flying hours on the CP140 during multiple operational tours at both 404 Sqn Greenwood, NS and 407 Sqn Comox, British Columbia. During these tours he has been a NAVCOM, TACNAV, Standards and Training, Aircrew Flight Commander and Deputy Commanding Officer. Col Wright has also had the opportunity to be employed in some extremely interesting staff tours. He was the Current Operations Officer in ACCE P at MARPAC HQ, the Career Manager for LRP and UAS ACSOs in the Air Staff in Air Readiness and DMilC4 as the Career Manager for RCAF LCols. Col Wright also attended ACSC in Shrivenham, UK in 2015. He was the Commanding Officer of 19 Operations Support Squadron in Comox, BC from 2017-2020. In addition to his deployments as crew of the CP140, Col Wright has deployed a number of times in non-flying billets. He deployed in 2009 iso OP ATHENA as the Deputy Commanding Officer of the Canadian Heron UAV Detachment in Kandahar, Afghanistan; in 2012 on OP FOUNDATION to the AFCENT CAOC in Qatar as the Senior National Representative, where he was responsible for the integration of Canadian Strategic Lift assets into the coalition program; in 2019 to OP NEON as the Deputy Commander of the Enforcement Coordination Cell responsible for the enforcement of UN sanctions against DPRK; and most recently in 2020-2021 as the Commander of the Air Task Force – IMPACT in Kuwait. In 2022, Col Wright was promoted to his current rank, changed trades to Air Operations Officer and was posted to CANSOFCOM HQ as the Director Air. In July 2024 he was posted to his present position as the CAOC Director in Winnipeg MB. Additional Links: Wohlforth, William C., ' Realism', in Christian Reus-Smit, and Duncan Snidal (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Relations (2008; online edn, Oxford Academic, 2 Sept. 2009), https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199219322.003.0007, accessed 6 Jan. 2026 Greenland and NATO: Is It All On the Table?: https://saideman.blogspot.com/2026/01/greenland-and-nato-is-it-all-on-table.html

    1h 5m
  8. Bylines & Frontlines Episode 5: CRSV - Prevention and Protection

    2025-12-16

    Bylines & Frontlines Episode 5: CRSV - Prevention and Protection

    📌 Content note: This episode discusses sexual violence and atrocities. Listener discretion is advised. Recorded during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, this episode of Bylines & Frontlines confronts one of the most pervasive yet under-addressed crimes of modern conflict: conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). CRSV is not incidental. It is not inevitable. And it is not a by-product of chaos. As our guests make clear, sexual violence is planned, enabled, and weaponized—used deliberately to terrorize populations, fracture communities, clear territory, discipline armed groups, and, in some cases, advance genocidal intent. In this episode, we explore: CRSV as a tactic and weapon How sexual violence functions as a low-cost, high-impact weapon targeting the human and moral terrain of societies—from Tigray to Ukraine and beyond. Early warning signs and patterns Why mass sexual violence is rarely spontaneous, how it can be detected early, and why failure to act is often a matter of political and operational choice—not lack of information. The military’s role and responsibility From armed forces as first responders, to force protection, to the hard truth of preventing perpetration within one’s own ranks—this conversation examines command responsibility, accountability, and prevention. Children born of war A population rendered invisible by stigma, silence, and policy gaps. We discuss who these children are, why they remain excluded from reparations frameworks, and what governments and international institutions owe them. Survivors, justice, and recognition Including emerging efforts—such as survivor-informed reparations models—that challenge the historical failure to acknowledge sexual violence as a core international crime. Featuring: Emily Prey — Director of the Mass Atrocities & International Law Portfolio and the Gender Policy Portfolio at the New Lines Institute Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Lake, MSM, CD — Canadian Armed Forces; former Commander, Operation UNIFIER; NATO gender leadership expert Commander Tyson Nicholas, RAN — Strategic Military Advisor, UN Women Hosted by: Riel Erickson

    1h 20m
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Ratings & Reviews

4.1
out of 5
9 Ratings

About

We now have 5 network podcasts: 1. Battle Rhythm is hosted by Stephen Saideman, Anessa Kimball, Artur Wilczynski, Wendy Wong, Thomas Hughes and Linna Tam-Seto, and released every second Wednesday, features timely discussion on the defence and security issues of the day, as well as feature conversations with experts. 2. Conseils de sécurité hosted by Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé and Laurent Borzillo, comes out the corresponding Wednesdays that Battle Rhythm doesn't and is completely en français. 3. SecurityScape is a monthly podcast produced by graduate students from the Centre of Military, Security, and Strategic Studies. Each episode highlights scholars and students and the important research they are conducting relating to security. 4. The NATO Field Report will bring you field reports via a ‘special’ (occasional) podcast featuring the NATO Field School staff, students, and guest speakers. Each episode will be moderated by NFS staff and students and themed to a particular topic, discussing key takeaways and unique perspectives while discussing this topic with experts and decision-makers in the field. https://www.sfu.ca/politics/natofieldschool.html 5. Resilience Plus is a unique, evidence-based, bilingual program at RMC and RMC Saint-Jean hosted by Meaghan M. Wilkin & Lobna Cherif

Information

  • Creator
    Canadian Defence and Security Network - Réseau Canadien Sur La Défense et la Sécurité
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    261
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    CDSN Podcast Network

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