Ep 48 iSpy with my Little Intelligence Services bound by Strict Rules

In this final podcast of INTREPID's season 1, Stephanie and Craig catch up on some recent developments in the national security space. Cabinet has been shuffled, and a new portfolio – Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction – added. Lots of people have views about the politics of the shuffle, but we’re your source for the geeky machinery of government discussion. Next up, a public opinion survey commissioned by CSIS reveals most people can’t specifically identify CSIS but have faith in it. We get into some of the weeds – there are important aspects of the survey. But our big topics are these: a walk through the recently-issued annual report of the Communications Security Establishment commissioner, CSE’s review body. What can we glean from it about some of the issues and challenges CSE confronts in its activities? And our really big development: a new Federal Court decision on CSIS’s investigative powers, this time in relation to its “section 16” “foreign intelligence” mandate. Does the decision produce a “gap” in CSIS’s intelligence gathering capacities? We do some “INTREPID Speculative Storytime” to leap over the heavy redactions in this case and address this question. And then to end, we talk about real stories for the lake or beach: books that we recommend or which are on our own summer reading list. And that’s a wrap for season 1. Our plan is to be back with season 2 in September. In the meantime, we are genuinely gratified by reviews on iTunes and elsewhere that suggest we’re not completely wasting our time.  And since we’re sponsored exclusively by good karma, please spread the word about INTREPID!