Janes

Janes analysts James Trigg and Aparna Iyer join Sean Corbett and Kate Cox to discuss the strategic depths of Yemen’s role in global security. They unpack the complex military, political, and regional dynamics shaping this pivotal Middle Eastern country and how Yemen’s conflict influences international shipping lanes, serves as a battleground for proxy wars, and impacts the delicate balance of power in the region. James and Aparna also discuss the challenges and techniques they use to monitor such a fluid situation.

James Trigg is a Senior Research Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Country Intelligence team at Janes. He previously worked in an intelligence support role with a local constabulary. He holds a master’s degree in international conflict, focused on the dynamics of genocide and other crimes against humanity.

James Trigg

Senior Research Analyst for the Middle East and North Africa Country Intelligence team at Janes

Aparna Iyer works as a Research Analyst II for the MENA desk in the Janes Central Events Team. Previously, Aparna was a Geopolitical Risk Analyst for Sub Saharan Africa at Max Security, and has also worked as an elementary school teacher. She has a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Pennsylvania State University and a law degree from the University of Pune.

Aparna Iver

Research Analyst for the MENA desk, Janes.

Kate Cox is Director of Strategic Programmes in Janes Research, Data and Analysis (RD&A) department. Previous roles at Janes include Head of the APAC Country Intelligence desk and Deputy Head of the Janes Terrorism & Insurgency Centre. Prior to Janes, Kate was a Senior Analyst and Security Portfolio Deputy Head at RAND Europe, where she managed teams of analysts delivering research, consulting and policy analysis projects for international defence and security clients. Kate holds an MA in Conflict, Security, and Development from King’s College London and a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.

Kate Cox

Director of Strategic Programmes in Janes Research, Data and Analysis (RD&A)

Yemen's role in global security

Janes delivers validated open-source defence intelligence across four core capability areas threat, equipment, defence industry and country that are aligned with workflows across the defence industry, national security and government.

The World of Intelligence

Five years after their first episode of the World of Intelligence podcast, Kate Cox, director of Janes RD&amp;A Strategic Programmes, turns the table on Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to uncover the origins of the podcast and how it has evolved alongside the prominence of OSINT for intelligence analysis, and to offer a glimpse into the future of intelligence.

Director of Strategic Programmes, Janes Research, Data and Analysis (RD&A)

World of Intelligence Journey

Faced with the starkest security environment for in decades, and against the backdrop of competing security priorities by the US as its strongest ally, the European Union (EU) has embarked on a plan to reverse its under-investment in defence and rebuild military capability through the Readiness 2030 initiative. Andrew MacDonald, head of Janes Defence Budgets, and Guy Anderson, head of defence markets and economics at Janes, join Sean Corbett to discuss the costs ahead and the outlook for success.

Andrew MacDonald is head of the Janes Defence Budgets team, responsible for research, analysis, data modelling and forecasting of 112 countries’ defence spending plans, covering 99.6% of global military expenditure.
Throughout more than a decade at Janes Andrew has also contributed to the company’s Defence Industry and Markets coverage and provided regular news and commentary to Janes Defence Weekly.
Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in politics and modern history from the University of Manchester and a master’s degree in Geopolitics and Grand Strategy from the University of Sussex.


Andrew MacDonald

Head of Janes Defence Budgets

Guy Anderson is head of defence markets and economics within Janes. 
He has 20 years’ experience analysing and advising on defence trade with a particular emphasis on the markets of Europe, Russia and the CIS. 
A specialist in defence offset and countertrade, he has studied and lectured on the subject at the École Supérieure de Sciences Économiques et Commerciales (ESSEC) in Paris and continues to speak and lecture internationally on defence trade practices. 
Guy holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with economics and finance from the University of Sussex, UK.

Guy Anderson

Head of Defence Markets and Economics, Janes

Rearming Europe? Funding the rebirth of European defence

In part two of this podcast, Jim Clover OBE, Varadius Ltd, continues to uncover the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) in the intelligence community with Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett. They discuss the fine line between the innovative applications of AI and the critical importance of human oversight in intelligence analysis. Explore how AI is reshaping intelligence gathering, the risks of over reliance on technology, and the vital role of ‘prompt engineering’ for accurate and ethical outcomes.

Jim spent 22 years in the UK’s Intelligence Services specialising and leading in technical operations. He left in 2016 as a Deputy Director of operations, to start Varadius, a UK consultancy helping both startups and enterprise companies as an advisor on a wide range of technical and operational opportunities, helping boost team output, providing advice on cybersecurity and has also worked with ultra high net worth individuals to protect their online footprint.
 
He spends most of his days keeping up with the rapidly evolving AI scene, advising software developer teams on how to increase productivity using AI and helping companies adopt “enough AI” whilst always “keeping it real” and seeing beyond the hype.

Jim Clover OBE

Varadius Ltd - Tech Board Advisor, Problem Solver, Mentor and Creator Founder of EthosCheck.com for AI Model Safety Testing

AI for automated OSINT reconnaissance - part two

While Artificial Intelligence AI is not a new phenomenon, its use in the gathering of intelligence and the amount of AI tools available are growing at pace. In part one of this podcast Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett are joined by Jim Clover OBE, Varadius Ltd, to take a deeper look into the practical uses and implications of AI for the defence intelligence community. They explore its real-world effectiveness in gathering and analysing intelligence and also why human oversight is still critical to ensure the intelligence it is producing is both ethical and valuable.

AI for automated OSINT reconnaissance - part one

Following the release of a <a href="https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-and-national-security-analysis/post/china-sets-new-records-in-air-sea-operations-around-taiwan" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">special report </a>examining the recent record number of Chinese air-sea operations around Taiwan, Janes Senior Air Reporter Akhil Kadidal joins Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to discuss what these escalations could mean for Taiwan. They also examine how the changing military capabilities of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could signify a shift in its focus from training to combat orientation.

Akhil Kadidal is an aviation reporter for Janes' Asia-Pacific news team. His area of coverage extends from Afghanistan to Guam, with China being a focus area. He has worked as a journalist for about 10 years. He joined Janes in March 2022. As a reporter, Akhil is regularly in touch with defence departments/ministries, companies, and authoritative sources, to obtain primary source and often exclusive information for news and features. As a proponent of data journalism, Akhil has not only assembled new datasets within Janes on military capabilities, technologies, and operations, but has also assisted with information visualisation.

Akhil Kadidal

Senior Aviation Journalist, Asia-Pacific News Team, Janes

What increased military activity over Taiwan tells us about China's threat

In this podcast culture expert Satgin Hamrah joins Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to discuss why understanding culture is crucial in providing context to your intelligence. They explore how ingrained cultural nuances and historical ties influence global security trends, decisions, and behaviours, and why grasping the subtleties of culture is essential for effective engagement and decision making in the defence intelligence community.

Satgin Hamrah is a PhD Candidate in History at Tufts University. Hamrah has a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Boston University, where her thesis focused on offensive strategies to protect critical infrastructure against terrorism. She also has a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Southern California, with a focus on international development and state formation of post-Soviet states in the Caspian region during the 1990s with a focus on Azerbaijan. Hamrah was a Doctoral Fellow at The Fares Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies at the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy at Tufts University between September 2016 and October 2018. She is the founder of the Iran-Iraq War Project.  Using an interdisciplinary and transnational analytical approach, Hamrah explores the complexities of religious and ethnic identity, examining how state and non-state political entrepreneurs shape these identities to advance their interests. Her research also investigates the role of identity in shaping conflict and violence on both state and non-state levels, including wars such as the Iran-Iraq War and the Cold War, as well as acts of terrorism. She also explores the nuances of Islamism and sectarianism, alongside the intricate intersections of trauma, memory, identity, and politics. Hamrah’s research examines how these dynamics shape both local and transnational landscapes, as well as their impact across different temporal and geographic scales.

Satgin Hamrah

PhD Candidate in History at Tufts University

The importance of cultural understanding for OSINT

Explore the crucial role of culture in global security with Harry Kemsley, Sean Corbett, and expert guest Satgin Hamrah on The World of Intelligence podcast. Uncover how deep cultural understanding shapes intelligence analysis. Click to listen!

Recent Episodes

SEASON 1