Episodes
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Episode 34 -- Discussing Radicalization with Lorne L. Dawson
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
Tuesday Mar 31, 2020
What do we know about radicalisation to violence so far? Who are the leaders in this field and how can scholars and security intelligence practitioners work better together? Have a listen as Borealis talks to the University of Waterloo's religion scholar Lorne Dawson.
Lorne L. Dawson is a Canadian scholar of the sociology of religion who has written about new religious movements, the brainwashing controversy, and religion and the Internet. His work is now focused on religious terrorism and the process of radicalization, especially with regard to domestic terrorists.
Phil Gurski is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI). He worked as a senior strategic analyst at CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) from 2001-2015, specializing in violent Islamist-inspired homegrown terrorism and radicalisation.
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Tuesday Mar 17, 2020
Who was Abdallah Azzam and what was his role in modern Islamist terrorism? Listen to my chat with Norwegian scholar Thomas Hegghammer on his new book on the jihadi ideologue.
Thomas Hegghammer is a Norwegian academic who writes about terrorism and jihadism. He work as senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) and adjunct professor of political science at the University of Oslo. His latest book The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad was published this month.
> Visit Thomas' website
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
The small North African nation of Tunisia was one of the largest sources of ISIS foreign fighters. Borealis speaks with Aaron Zelin, author of a new book on jihad in Tunisia to get some insights.
Aaron Y. Zelin is the Richard Borow Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a visiting research scholar at Brandeis University. He is the author of the forthcoming book Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad (Columbia University Press). Zelin is also the founder of the widely acclaimed and cited website Jihadology.net and its podcast, JihadPod.
> Visit Aaron's website Jihadology.net
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who 'worked at the coalface' for many years.
Thursday Feb 27, 2020
Thursday Feb 27, 2020
In 2006 Canadians woke up to hear that 17 Muslim Canadians had been arrested in a terrorism plot. Much of the success in foiling their plans was due to a human source/agent named Mubin Shaikh. He joins me to talk about his role and related matters on this podcast.
Mubin Shaikh is a former security intelligence and counter terrorism operative. He has testified as an expert for the United Nations Security Council, the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs with NATO, the National Counterterrorism Center, and Special Operations Command Central and he is an external expert with the Joint Staff SMA for CENTCOM Command Staff.
> Visit Mubin's website Parents for Peace
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who 'worked at the coalface' for many years.
Monday Feb 10, 2020
Monday Feb 10, 2020
What happens when you gather together a former AQ bombmaker, a guy who wanted to be a monk and a former CSIS analyst to talk about terrorism? You get a great Borealis podcast!
An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.
In this episode, Aimen and Thomas join Phil Gurski for a discussion on the rivalry between Al Qaeda and ISIS.
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who 'worked at the coalface' for many years.
Monday Feb 03, 2020
Monday Feb 03, 2020
A better understanding of terrorism requires that we look at a much wider set of information, like foreign affairs and foreign policy. Have a listen to me chatting with Twitch streamer Destiny on a broad range of topics all tied to terrorism (Iran, Israel-Palestine, and many more!)
When it comes to talking about terrorism it is not enough to limit the discussion to specific terrorist groups or terrorist acts. Things are much more complicated than that.
Terrorism does not occur in a vacuum: it exists in a context (or better: multiple contexts). Terrorism happens when multiple players make multiple moves on multiple chessboards: some of these moves provide terrorists with incentives.
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who 'worked at the coalface' for many years.
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Episode 28 -- Are the answers in Science-Fiction?
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Tuesday Jan 28, 2020
Science fiction usually is a comment on current events. In this podcast I explore how a recent novel asks important questions about whether we can really stop all forms of terrorism.
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who 'worked at the coalface' for many years.
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Episode 27 -- Global Terrorism Index: 10 trends to watch in 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
Monday Jan 13, 2020
What will the world of terrorism bring us in 2020? Spoiler alert - more terrorism. In this podcast, Borealis looks at terrorist trends this year.
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who ‘worked at the coalface’ for many years.
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
Friday Jan 03, 2020
Friday Jan 03, 2020
The assassination of IRGC General Soleimani in a US airstrike will make terrorism worse, not better, and takes our eye off a larger threat: Sunni terrorism.
I am the only one having a problem with a foreign military ordering, planning, directing and carrying out a missile strike on an international airport?
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who ‘worked at the coalface’ for many years.
Monday Dec 23, 2019
Episode 25 -- Why terrorists are Scrooges at Christmas?
Monday Dec 23, 2019
Monday Dec 23, 2019
In the spirit of the 1984 Band Aid concert, don't the terrorists know it's Christmas? Why these groups target the Christmas season with their brand of violence?
> borealisthreatandrisk.com
> Like this podcast? Check out Phil Gurski's latest books!
> Read Phil's daily blog Today in Terrorism
In this podcast, retired Canadian intelligence analyst Phil Gurski discusses the subject of terrorism: what it is (and isn’t), trends, developments and more. Phil Gurski, author of five books on terrorism, is not shy to wade into controversial matters and provide his perspective honed from more than three decades in intelligence. From Canada to the greater West to the world, subscribe to listen to the thoughts of a person who ‘worked at the coalface’ for many years.