Student-led podcast tackles global security issues

What is extremism and how do you get out of it? How have relations with China changed since the Michaels came home? Is incel violence considered terrorism?

These are just some of the provocative questions that Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS) students Davina Shanti, Jordan Arnold and Sarah Meyers set out to discuss in their recently launched podcast, Securityscape.

The three best friends and master's students decided to start the podcast to promote CMSS and security studies in Western Canada while giving students the opportunity to learn how to create a podcast.

“We love a challenge and provide the backbone of the podcast’s creation, but we really wanted this to be a learning opportunity for all CMSS students and grads,” says Meyers. “Students lead individual episodes and do interviews about the topics that they are most excited about in the security space. We wanted to create as much opportunity as possible for students.”

Meant to encapsulate the “landscape of security” from around the world, Securityscape first started as a class project and morphed into a permanent podcast. In the first season, Shanti, Arnold and Meyers rallied fellow students to produce 12 monthly episodes.

“Originally, we created one podcast for a class project, but, once the project was over, we wanted to keep the podcast going,” says Arnold. “We pitched our professors, and they agreed that this would be an amazing opportunity to not only promote CMSS and let the world know about the cool stuff the Centre is doing, but also give students an interesting opportunity to promote global security issues and learn how to put together a podcast.”

The podcast is available on Spotify and SoundCloud, and people can expect to learn about a variety of global security issues in the first season. 

“Whether you want to learn about U.S. policies pre- and post-Trump, extremism, naval security and Arctic ramifications, or the creation of security networks, the podcast covers a wide variety of topics,” says Arnold. “Students lead the conversations and bring in leading experts to discuss each subject. We currently have two episodes left to record and are trying to get an expert about the Ukraine war to join us.”

Knowing they will not be at CMSS forever, the three are hoping next year’s students will continue the podcast’s growing legacy.

“Our ultimate goal is to have a new cohort of people take on our production roles next year,” says Shanti. “We really want to get new students involved because being able to produce and run a podcast is a great skill to have on your resume. We hope it will continue forever.”

Meyers, Arnold and Shanti are looking for students and faculty members from various departments to participate in the podcast. If you or someone you know is interested, contact Davina Shanti to get involved.