The Security Studies Podcast

For Episode 42 I met with Professor Christine Fair to discuss her new course offering, “Irregular Warfare in Film.” We open up with an overview of the course and what inspired professor Fair to create it. We then go into how professor fair teaches students how to read film and begin developing key media literacy skills. For example, Professor Fair leverages Rodesiler’s MAPS protocol - Mode, Audience, Purpose, and Situation - to help her student view a film critically. We then take The Deer Hunter - a film featured in her course - discuss some its content and the lessons that we can gain from it. Lastly, we discuss Racism and Allegory in the 2000s film, District 9 - about aliens stranded over Johannesburg become earthly refugees.

For Episode 41 I had my fourth annual discussion with Professor Bruce Hoffman on the Islamic State and al Qaeda in 2019 and Beyond.

We open up reviewing 2018 to frame the discussion before going into some significant events of 2019. We talk about the deaths of al-Baghdadi and Hamza bin Laden, the impact their deaths may have on their respective organizations, and the pros and cons of a decapitation strategy.

We talk about IS’ inability to re-establish a presence in Sirte, Libya, three years after its expulsion from its North African enclave. Going digital, we also covered the notion of “deplatforming” IS from social media platforms and the outlook on its propaganda machine.

While IS/AQ suffered some significant setbacks in 2019, I asked Professor Hoffman about their successes over the year. We covered:

- their continued ability to conduct hundreds of simple and sophisticated attacks across the region;

- the prison breaks occurring in Northern Syria as US military withdraws from the area - allowing other actors such as Russia and Turkey to create more chaos upon which terrorist organizations thrive;

- and their spread deeper into new areas of the sub-Saharan African region; and

- Turkey has begun deporting foreign fighters back to their home countries…and the international community doesn’t seem sure what to do about it.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

For Episode 40 of the Security Studies Podcast I met with Professor Ben Buchanan to discuss Cyber Operations and AI.

We start covering Prof. Buchanan’s background before diving into Cyber Operations. We discuss the many types of offensive ops - including a quick case study of the Ukrainian power grid hack - and talk defensive ops and the challenges therein.

We then discussed the Center for Security and Emerging Technology - a major center for AI research and innovation at Georgetown University, which Prof. Buchanan has helped create. That dovetailed nicely into our discussion on AI and National Security. We covered the basics of AI before going over its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in a national security context.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

In this episode I met with SSP alumnus Major Chris Mercado to discuss his nonprofit organization, Objective Zero. The Objective Zero Foundation seeks to combat suicide within the military community by enhancing social connectedness and access to wellness resources. In the episode, we talk Chris’ background, why he created Objective Zero, and how it works. We conclude by discussing his time at SSP.

See more at https://www.objectivezero.org/

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

In this episode, I met with Professor Syed Mohammad Ali to discuss his course Human Security. He opens defining "human security" as a term, why it is important, and how it first took root. We then discuss theoretical concepts including human security versus that provided by the state and the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). We then go over applied concepts of human security,focusing on extremism, insurgencies, climate change, and refugees.

The Security Studies Podcast is also excited to introduce a new podcast from Alistair Sommerville at Georgetown's BMW Center for German and European Studies called “The Europe Desk."

iTunes link to The Europe Desk:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-europe-desk/id1474443374

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

In this episode, Professor Gina Bennett discusses her course, Ethics in Intelligence and National Security. We open up discussing Professor Bennett’s background as an analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, where she reflects on the proudest moments of her career. We then go into her course, opening up with theory - specifically four ethical frameworks that guide the course. Then, we cover the ethical underpinnings in the founding of the United States of America and where they arise in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Finally, professor Bennett reveals the dilemma paradigms that arise from the ethical frameworks.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

In this special episode featuring SSP alumnus Maggie Feldman-Piltch, we discuss NatSecGirlSquad, an organization she founded to promote competent diversity in national security and defense. In this episode we discuss Maggie’s background, how she became interested in national security, her proudest moments as founder of NatSecGirlSquad, and her favorite courses at SSP. Enjoy this episode featuring Maggie Feldman-Pilch.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

For Episode 30, I set my annual interview with Professor Bruce Hoffman to discuss ISIS and al-Qaeda in 2018 and beyond. We open up with current events, like ISIS’ loss of it’s last stronghold of Hajin, Syria, and the Strausburg Christmas market attack. We then turned to al-Qaeda, it’s status, and rebranding as a form of "moderate extremism." We also discussed AQ's organizational structure, Zawahiri, and the outlook for the global Salafi jihadi movement. We concluded by discussing challenges of censorship of jihadist propaganda in democratic countries.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

In this episode, Professor Steve Levine discusses his course, “Energy and Security.” To set the stage, Prof. Levine shares some background on his career and how his experience as a journalist shaped his views in the geopolitics of energy. After that, he covers the role oil played in the collapse of the USSR, the rise of OPEC as a global supply controller, and theories involving changing global oil supply and demand dynamics. Looking forward, Prof. Levine covers disruptive energy opportunities amid the growing efficiency of lithium-ion batteries. Lastly, he provides insight on how analysts can conduct better forecasting.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music

This episode features Toni Gidwani to discuss her springtime course, “Cybersecurity Strategy.” Our conversation focuses in on three broad topics: dynamics in cyber security between the government, the private sector, and the citizenry; cyber operations and a case study of the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee leading up to US elections; and lastly, the great debate of individual privacy online.

The Security Studies Podcast is produced by Jeffrey Palmer. 


Music: www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music