Ep. 19 - To Five Percent or Close to it? On the Path to Higher Defence Spending

Ep. 22 - A Conversation on NATO DIANA with Acting Director Jyoti Hirani-Driver

"To sharpen NATO’s technological edge and provide decisive defence and security effects, DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) works innovators, end users and Allied nations to find, accelerate and promote the adoption of emerging and disruptive technologies." CIDP Director and host of today's podcast Michael Murphy sits down with Acting Managing Director of NATO DIANA Jyoti Hirani-Driver to discuss more on the program as well as Canada's participation in it. Jyoti Hirani-Driver has been the Chief Operating Officer of NATO DIANA since January 2024, and is responsible for overseeing the Accelerator Programme, establishing business performance and risk management, and identifying and implementing improvements across the organisation. She is also responsible for the HR function and establishing the DIANA Regional Hub in Estonia and the DIANA Regional Office in Canada. sign up for our newsletter : https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list] Visit us at https://www.queensu.ca/cidp [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp]

Ep. 21 - Is Artificial Intelligence Going to be a Threat to our Safety?

Is all this AI talk making us (in)secure? Our host Amarnath Amarasingam sits down with Yannick Veilleux-Lepage (Royal Military College of Canada) and David Wells to discuss the security challenges that Artificial Intelligence poses, and how might it be something we need to worry about. Dr. Yannick Veilleux-Lepage is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada. His research explores the intersection of technology, ideology, and political violence, with particular focus on terrorist innovation, online propaganda, and the use of emerging technologies by violent extremist organizations. He has published extensively on topics including the adoption of 3D-printed firearms by extremist actors, the role of technological convergence in terrorist threat evolution, and the use of evolutionary theory in understanding terrorist behavior. David Wells is an independent global security expert, who was most recently Head of Research and Analysis at the UN Counter-Terrorism Directorate in New York, managing the team who monitor global security and geopolitical trends for the Security Council. Prior to joining the UN in 2017, David worked in a variety of policy and research roles in Australia and the United Kingdom, and began his career working for UK intelligence agency GCHQ between 2005 and 2013, including two years as a UK counter-terrorism liaison officer to Australia. David was a Research Associate at the Lowy Institute for International Policy in 2016. sign up for our newsletter : https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list] Visit us at https://www.queensu.ca/cidp [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp]

Ep. 20 - Does Alberta Really Want to Leave Canada?

Alberta and separation, it’s not the first time we hear about it, so why does it matter now? Our host Amarnath Amarasingam sits down with Amy Mack (University of Lethbridge) and Robert Currie (Dalhousie University) to discuss today’s topic, as they check the temperature in the room whether Alberta really does want to separate, and what it would mean for Canada? Amy Mack is Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Digital Extremism and Assistant Professor in New Media at the University of Lethbridge. Robert Currie is a specialist in the area of international and transnational criminal law, and he teaches a seminar course in this subject. His 2010 book, International and Transnational Criminal Law, was shortlisted for the Walter Owen Book Prize for Outstanding Legal Literature in 2011 and the fourth edition will be published in 2026. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles and comments in this field and his work is regularly cited by Canadian courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Robert's article: https://policyoptions.irpp.org/2026/02/alberta-separation-illegal/ [https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpolicyoptions.irpp.org%2F2026%2F02%2Falberta-separation-illegal%2F&data=05%7C02%7Cbah5%40queensu.ca%7Cbeba6cd809114bd201b508de8a949388%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C639100567951719499%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=6J5B6Cv8h7PdQuZJsZaTZqG8lnE4yBzLMVyqOw9QKD0%3D&reserved=0] Project mentioned: https://www.commongroundpolitics.ca/focus-groups [https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commongroundpolitics.ca%2Ffocus-groups&data=05%7C02%7Cbah5%40queensu.ca%7Cbeba6cd809114bd201b508de8a949388%7Cd61ecb3b38b142d582c4efb2838b925c%7C1%7C0%7C639100567951740200%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=G210xxeWSYhK1%2FKBsaKU5xucv%2F0vtTrWZOh17N%2B%2BXg4%3D&reserved=0] sign up for our newsletter : https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list] Visit us at https://www.queensu.ca/cidp [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp]

Ep. 19 - To Five Percent or Close to it? On the Path to Higher Defence Spending

CIDP Director and host of today's episode Michael Murphy is joined by Anessa Kimball, Professor of political science in international relations at Université Laval. They sit down to discuss Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy through its new budgetary pledge of 5% total defence spending, the challenges it faces, and if it's even possible to achieve. Anessa L. Kimball (prof/they/iel) is a professor of political science in international relations at Université Laval, Québec, Canada, where they have been on faculty for nearly two decades. Since 2019, Kimball has directed the Canadian Defence and Security Network, a federally funded partnership research network. Their research combines rational institutional design and collective action approaches with different statistical methods and machine-coded (interview and international agreement) content analysis to examine how states resolve strategic problems (distribution, commitment, uncertainty) through the design of informal defence and security arrangements alongside NATO and issues of defence burden sharing, procurement, and international cooperation. sign up for our newsletter : https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list] Visit us at https://www.queensu.ca/cidp [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp]

Ep. 18 - Joint Operations, Defence of the Homeland & Defence Modernization

US Army War College Visiting Defence Fellow and host of today's episode LTC Nicholas Currie is joined by today's guest MGen Chris McKenna (Commander of 1 Canadian Air Division). They will discuss joint operations in Canada and abroad, defending the homeland, and defence modernization. Major-General (MGen) McKenna joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1994, initially as an Army Reservist, and then attended the Royal Military College of Canada receiving his degree in Chemical and Materials Engineering in 1999. He also holds a Master’s degree in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada (2013). MGen McKenna earned his RCAF Pilot wings in 2002 and served as a Rotary Wing Tactical Aviation and Special Operations Aviation pilot in the RCAF. He has commanded at the Flight, Squadron, Wing, and Task Force level and has served in a variety of command and staff positions including postings in CANSOFCOM units, RCAF HQ and in the Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC) HQ. sign up for our newsletter : https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/mailing-list] Visit us at https://www.queensu.ca/cidp [https://www.queensu.ca/cidp]