Sam Jackson is an Assistant Professor in the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity at the University at Albany. He completed his Ph.D. in Syracuse University's Social Science Doctoral Program in the Maxwell School, where he was also an affiliate of the Center for Computational and Data Sciences in the iSchool and of the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. He has also been a visiting researcher with VOX-pol, an EU-funded network of excellence on violent online political extremism. Dr. Jackson has several lines of research. He primarily studies far-right extremism in America, particularly anti-government extremism. His second line of research investigates issues related to extremism online and responses to extremism online. In a third area, he examines behavior on social media platforms, particularly political activism (for example, around the politics of guns in America) or activity in the context of conflicts and crises (for example, during hurricanes). He also develops methods and open-source tools to analyze internet-based data.

His research has appeared in Terrorism and Political Violence, Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Media & Society, and George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. His research has also received media coverage, for example in The Washington Post, Vox, and The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Thomas Juneau is an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses mostly on the Middle East, in particular on Iran and Yemen. He is also interested in Canadian foreign and defence policy, in the relationship between intelligence and policy, and in international relations theory. He is the author of Squandered Opportunity: Neoclassical realism and Iranian foreign policy (Stanford University Press, 2015), editor of Strategic Analysis in Support of International Policy-Making: Case studies in achieving analytical relevance (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017), co-editor of Iranian Foreign Policy since 2001: Alone in the world (Routledge, 2013), and co-editor of Asie centrale et Caucase: Une sécurité mondialisée (Presses de l'Université Laval, 2004). He has also published many articles and book chapters on the Middle East, international relations theories and pedagogical methods, notably in International Affairs, International Studies Perspectives, Political Science Quarterly, Middle East Policy, Orbis, International Journal, and Canadian Foreign Policy Journal. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, he worked for the Department of National Defence from 2003 to 2014, chiefly as a strategic analyst covering the Middle East. He was also a policy officer and an assistant to the deputy minister.

Philippe Lagassé is associate professor and the Barton Chair at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Lagassé’s research focuses on defence policy and procurement, and on the roles of Parliament, the Crown, and executive power in Westminster states, notably in the areas of foreign and military affairs. He is currently completing a project comparing legislative oversight of the military and beginning a new project on prerogative power reform in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Both projects have been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. He is also the defence procurement co-director of the Canadian Defence and Security Network. In addition to his academic work, Lagassé serves as an advisor and consultant to the Canadian government. Between 2012-2014 he served as a member of the Independent Review Panel overseeing the evaluation of options to replace Canada’s CF-18 fighter aircraft, and he has been a member of the Independent Review Panel for Defence Acquisition within the Department of National Defence since 2015. His teaching and supervision at NPSIA focus on Canadian government and policymaking, comparative defence policy, and military and strategic studies.

Whitney Lackenbauer is Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in the Study of the Canadian North and Professor in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University. He is on leave as a Professor in the Department of History at St. Jerome’s University in the University of Waterloo, Ontario, where he remains co-director of the Centre for Foreign Policy and Federalism. He is Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group based in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. He is also a Fellow with the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary History at the University of Toronto; the Arctic Institute of North America; the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary; and an adjunct professor with the Mulroney Institute for Government at St. Francis Xavier University. Whitney specializes in Arctic security, sovereignty and governance issues, modern Canadian military and diplomatic history, and Aboriginal-state relations.

Maj. Shaun D’Souza is the Reliability & Maintainability Program Engineer at Department of National Defence with the Canadian Armed Forces as well as an MA candidate at the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCSP).

Justin Massie is Associate Professor of political science at the Université du Québec à Montréal and Co-Director of the Network for Strategic Analysis. He was the 2019 Fulbright Visiting Research Chair in Canada-U.S. Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, DC. His research focuses on the global power transition, multinational military coalitions, and Canadian foreign and defence policy. His work has been published in several journals, including Foreign Policy Analysis, Contemporary Security Policy, Comparative Strategy, Canadian Journal of Political Science, International Journal (winner of the best article published in 2017), Journal of Transatlantic Studies, Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (winner of the best article published in 2008) and Études internationales (winner of the best article published in 2011). He is the author of Francosphère : l'importance de la France dans la culture stratégique du Canada (PUQ, 2013), and co-editor of Paradiplomatie identitaire : Nations minoritaires et politique extérieure (PUQ, 2019) and America’s Allies and the Decline of U.S. Hegemony (Routledge, 2019).

Stéfanie von Hlatky is an associate professor of political studies at Queen’s University and Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP). She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Université de Montréal in 2010, where she was also Executive Director for the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. She’s held positions at Georgetown University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Dartmouth College, ETH Zurich and was a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Southern California’s Centre for Public Diplomacy in 2016.  She has published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Contemporary Security Policy, International Journal, the Journal of Global Security Studies, European Security, Asian Security, as well as the Journal of Transatlantic Studies. She has published a monograph with Oxford University Press titled American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry (2013) and four edited volumes, including The Future of US Extended Deterrence (co-edited with Andreas Wenger), Georgetown University Press (2015) and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism: Assessing Domestic and International Strategies, McGill-Queen’s University Press (2020).  Stéfanie von Hlatky is the founder of Women in International Security-Canada, the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel at the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment and the co-host of the security and defence podcast Battle Rhythm. She has received grants and awards from NATO, the Canadian Department of National Defence, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Public Safety, the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation and Fulbright Canada.

Maj T.J. Kelley discusses his paper “Correlation of Military Trade with Selection of General and Flag Officers.” which was short-listed for JCSP 46, the Brigadier-General George Bell Medal in recognition of commitment and excellence in military writing as displayed by a student on the Joint Command and Staff Programme.

Maj T.J. Kelley is the Deputy Commanding Officer, Mapping and Charting Establishment with the Canadian Armed Forces as well as an MA candidate at the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Programme (JCSP).

In the 29th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss the CDSN’s teaching workshop, CAF Info Ops, John Ibbitson’s piece in the Globe & Mail and the CAF’s Hateful conduct policy. Our Feature Interview this week is with Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé [23:20], Associate Professor at Bishop’s University. This week’s RnR segment [52:00], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks are: 1. No Man’s Land 2. Old Guard 3. Ethnic Groups in Conflict by Donald Horowitz. Mentioned: David Pugliese’s Canadian Forces 'information operations' pandemic campaign quashed after details revealed to top general; John Ibbitson’s Canadian gothic: A bleak world has left our foreign policy out of step with the times; Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé’s Evaluating Peacekeeping Missions: A Typology of Success and Failure in International Interventions; Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé’s The Power Politics of United Nations Peace Operations. Martin-Brûlé, S., Pingeot, L., & Pouliot, V. (2019). The Power Politics of United Nations Peace Operations. In WIVEL A. & PAUL T. (Eds.), International Institutions and Power Politics: Bridging the Divide (pp. 149-166).

Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé has a Ph.D. in Political Science from McGill University. Her research focuses on peace operations and security issues related to fragile states. Her doctoral dissertation strived to understand the conditions under which peace operations succeeded or failed. She studied the cases of Somalia, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Her fieldwork was completed in West Africa, Ethiopia (Ogaden region) and South Africa, where she interviewed military commanders, rebel leaders, refugees and experts. Her most recent publications include “Evaluating Peacekeeping Missions: A Typology of Success and Failure in International Interventions”, (Routledge, 2016). Her recent research projects focus on peacekeeping intelligence. She is an associate faculty member of the Center for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS), the Montreal Center for International Studies (CERIUM), the Réseau des Opérations de la paix (ROP) and the Interuniversity Consortium for Arab and Middle Eastern Studies (ICAMES).

In the 28th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss the Rideau Hall incursion, Hong Kong international security law, Russia in Afghanistan and Kosovo peace talks. Our Feature Interview this week is with H. Christian Breede [19:00], Deputy Director of CIDP @ Queen’s. This week’s RnR segment [54:00], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks are 1. They Shall Not Grow Old  2. The Floor is Lava 3. George Takei’s They Called Us Enemy Mentioned: H. Christian Breede’s Culture and the Soldier: Identities, Values, and Norms in Military Engagements; Stéfanie von Hlatky & H. Christian Breede ’s Going to War?: Trends in Military Interventions; H. Christian Breede, Stéphanie A.H. Bélanger and Stéfanie von Hlatky’s Transhumanizing War: Performance Enhancement and the Implications for Policy, Society, and the Soldier

H. Christian Breede is an Associate Professor of Political Science at RMC and cross-appointed with Political Studies and the Deputy Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy at Queen’s University. He is also the Associate Chair of RMC’s Public Administration programme. Christian holds a PhD in War Studies from RMC and has published on the topics of foreign and security policy with a research focus on societal cohesion and technology. He has deployed experience with the Canadian Army in Haiti and Afghanistan.

In the 27th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss military activities in Ukraine, John Bolton’s book, China and Canada’s effort to secure a UN Security Council seat. For our anniversary episode we have a special interview with Lieutenant-Colonel Sharlene Harding [37:45], Head Coach of the Canadian Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) Women’s Basketball team.  Our Feature Interview this week is with Natalie Sambhi [51:00], Founder and Executive Director of Verve Research and PhD scholar at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, the Australian National University. This week’s RnR segment [01:14:15], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks: 1. Gordon Rudd’s Reconstructing Iraq  2. iZombie 3. The Great Mentioned: Stéfanie von Hlatky & Stephen Saideman’s "How COVID-19 has impacted Canadian Forces missions abroad”; Stéfanie von Hlatky’s “The arrest of Huawei executive has put Canada in tight spot”; World Military Games

Natalie Sambhi is Founder and Executive Director of Verve Research, an independent research collective focussed on the relationship between militaries and societies. Since 2016, she has also been a Research Fellow at the Perth USAsia Centre, where she publishes on Indonesian foreign and defence policy as well as Southeast Asian affairs. Natalie is a PhD scholar at the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, the Australian National University, focussing on Indonesian military history.

Lieutenant-Colonel Sharlene Harding is Head Coach of the Canadian CISM Women’s Basketball team, Commanding Officer of the Canadian Contingent at NATO SHAPE HQ and the Deputy Canadian National Military Representative to NATO SHAPE HQ, is a seasoned veteran when it comes to sports. After 25 years of playing at the university and international level through CAF, she believes she is a better leader for it. For years she honed time management skills. It is not easy to eat as if you are fueling your body, get enough rest, manage a busy schedule and, climb the “chain of command.” Her sports training has made her mentally tough, resilient to what the CAF has to throw at her. She has had various successful deployments to the far reaches of the world, managed a rewarding career and is currently raising a happy, balanced family. LCol Harding continues to be amused by running into so many random people she’s met during her sports and CAF career in international airports all over the world.

In the 26th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss current events, adapting military operations during a pandemic and the new Netflix Space Force series. Our Feature Interview this week is with Lindsay Cohn [30:45], Associate Professor - US Naval War College. This week’s RnR segment [01:04:00], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks are: 1. Little Monsters 2. Autobiography of Malcolm X 3. The Wire Mentioned: Lindsay Cohn’s Yes, Trump can send the military to shut down protests. Here’s what you need to know; Steve Saideman’s  Civil-Military Relations are Broken

Dr. Lindsay Cohn's research and publications focus on military organizations, civil-military relations, international law of war, and foreign policy/public opinion. She has been invited to speak on civil-military relations or military manpower issues in the U.S., Germany, France, and Denmark. She has split her time between academic and policy work, and serves on the boards of the Inter-university Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, APSA's section on International Security and Arms Control, and the editorial boards of the journals Res Militaris and Armed Forces and Society.

In the 25th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss the ongoing quest for yeast, grief in isolation, CDSN’s upcoming Doctoral Seminar Series, China, arms control and allusions to a new Cold War. Our Feature Interview this week is with Isabelle Francois [35:30], the President of Women in International Security (WIIS) Brussels. This week’s RnR segment [01:09:30], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s RnR picks are 1. Train to Busan 2. Santa Clarita Diet 3. Culture of Military Organizations

Dr. Isabelle Francois is the President of Women in International Security (WIIS) Brussels

Dr. Isabelle Francois is an expert in international security with a 30-year professional experience in international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as academia and think tanks. She started her career in the Canadian government at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and subsequently the Department of National Defence (DND). Isabelle is currently Adviser for the Science for Peace and Security at NATO. She has also worked as a consultant providing policy advice to the private and public sectors, and volunteered in several nonprofit organizations. She has served in a number of capitals: Ottawa, Brussels, Moscow, and Washington. She led many international teams, developing and implementing various projects bringing people from different cultures together, and fundraising for causes she felt strongly about. Isabelle has authored over fifty publications on international security issues, spoken at many conferences, and given various interviews to the press. She received her Law degree from Sorbonne, Paris, her Ph.D in Political Science from Université de Montréal, Canada, a Certificate in Essentials of Leadership from London School of Economics (LSE), and her Life Coach Certificate from the United States (QSCA).

In the 24th episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss the tragic Canadian Air Force CH-148 Cyclone helicopter crash, recommendations from the CDSN COVID Response Conference, what international travel may look like in the future, the attempted coup debacle in Venezuela as well as thoughts on the World Health Organization’s challenges and opportunities. Our Feature Interview this week is with Kelley Lee [33:45], Professor Lee teaches Globalization and Health with a particular focus on improving understanding of the impacts of global change on public health, and the need for collective action to tackle the risks and benefits arising from them, including World Health Organization reform. This week’s RnR segment [01:03:45], where we will provide some levity in these trying times with entertainment reviews and suggestions. This week’s R&R picks are 1. Five Came Back 2. Upload 3. Chad Millman, The Detonators. Mentioned: CDSN COVID Response Recommendations and Future Directions / COVID - Recommandations de réponse du CDSN et orientations futures; Alex Ward’s The “ridiculous” failed coup attempt in Venezuela, explained; Marie-Eve Desrosiers, Philippe Lagassé’s Analyzing the political pressures of COVID-19 will help us understand what a post-pandemic world might look like.

Professor Kelley Lee teaches Globalization and Health with a particular focus on improving understanding of the impacts of global change on public health, and the need for collective action to tackle the risks and benefits arising from them, including World Health Organization reform.

Dr. Kelley Lee is trained in International Relations and Public Administration with a focus on international political economy. She spent over twenty years at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, initially analyzing the role of the UN in health. She was a core member of two major donor-led studies on WHO reform during the 1990s. She co-established the WHO Collaborating Centre on Global Change and Health, and chaired the WHO Resource Group on Globalization, Trade and Health. Dr Lee also co-led a major international initiative to secure public access to tobacco industry documents, and analyze their contents in relation to the globalization of the tobacco industry. She has authored over 100 peer reviewed papers, 50 book chapters and 13 books including Globalization and Health, An introduction (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), The World Health Organization (Routledge, 2008), Global Health and International Relations (Polity Press with Colin McInnes, 2012), and Case Studies on Corporations and Global Health Governance (Rowman and Littlefield International with Nora Kenworthy and Ross MacKenzie, 2016). She joined the SFU Faculty of Health Sciences in 2011 as Associate Dean, Research and Director of Global Health. She is a Fellow of the Faculty of Public Health, Royal College of Physicians and Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

In the 23rd episode of Battle Rhythm, Stef and Steve discuss the CDSN’s Covid Response Conference held online this week, the new NSA ie Network for Strategic Analysis and CAF readiness. Stef speaks with Year Ahead presenter Ashley A. Mattheis [25:00] about the use of online platforms to promote and mainstream extremist ideologies. For our Feature Interview this week Steve catches up with WIIS Chair and security scholar extraordinaire Aisha Ahmad [38:00]. In this week’s R&R segment Steve recommends 1.Where Eagles Dare 2.Community 3.Run Silent, Run Deep. Mentioned: Stephanie Carvin & Jessica Davis’ Broadening Canada’s security mandate to include health could create more problems than it solves, making unfounded assumptions and duplicating work; Anessa Kimball’s Impossible to Predict; CDAI’s Vimy Paper