On the Cusp

Elisabeth Braw and Dr Pål Jonson, Chairman of Sweden's Committee on Defense, discuss Sweden's recent, radical hikes in defense spending and how the Nordic country is equipping to face 21st century threats.

Elisabeth Braw discusses American resilience with Craig Fugate of FEMA.

What can other countries learn from Estonia's defence against greyzone aggression? How to best involve youth in national security? And what was it like to do more than three years' military service in the Soviet Navy?

In the season finale, Elisabeth Braw speaks with General Riho Terras, until 2018 Estonia's chief of defence and now a member of the European Parliament.

Globalisation is the new frontline of great-power competition. What does it mean China has cornered the market for rare earth processing (think smartphones and electric car batteries)? What about global choke points that can be exploited by countries wishing to harm each other? Elisabeth Braw discusses with professors Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman.

Even with competitive national service, motivating soldiers is important. Elisabeth Braw discusses what motivates conscripts during their service with Nina Hellum, a social anthropologist at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment. Hellum specialises in soldier behaviour and has just completed a report on conscript motivation.

Ever heard the term SIM-jacking? If not, you should familiarise yourself with this growing form of cyber aggression. Victims include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. In this episode of On the Cusp, Elisabeth Braw discusses new forms of cyber aggression directed at individuals with Dr Markus Jakobsson, a leading cryptologist and former principal scientist at PayPal. Listen to the end for an interesting trail leading to a government.

Elisabeth Braw speaks with Stewart McDonald MP, the SNP's defence spokesman, who has followed up on Elisabeth's proposal for teenager resilience training and initiated a Resilience Scotland proposal. In McDonald's Resilience Scotland plan, people from all parts of society will be able to attend resilience training and as a result help themselves and their communities in crises.

Elisabeth Braw speaks with Senator Angus King of Maine, one of two independent members of the US Senate and the co-chairman of the US Cyberspace Solarium Commission, about how to deter cyber attacks. Plus, how to keep the economy going in case of severe cyber attacks? How to incentivise companies and citizens to play a larger role in cyber preparedness? And how will the Commission get its excellent proposals through Congress?

Elisabeth Braw speaks with British member of parliament and disinformation expert Damian Collins about why disinformation and misinformation keep spreading and whether parliaments should legislate to fix the problem. Plus: should other countries’ parliaments be able to subpoena US social media executives, and what happens when growing parts of society only access news that’s not vetted?

Elisabeth Braw speaks with Rear Admiral Ewa Skoog Haslum, the Swedish Navy's new commander, about the challenges of defending a country with an enormous coastline, about greyzone aggression, citizens' trust in authorities, involving youth in national security and what it's like to command a submarine-hunting flotilla.