How can we accurately predict future events?

How do we persuade political leaders to look beyond the next couple of years?

What lies ahead for NATO, in the coming years and in the distant future?

In this episode, researcher and futurist Dr Florence Gaub walks us through her work as a strategic foresight advisor. As Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defense College in Rome, she leads a team that looks for “weak signals” of future events, helping ensure that NATO policymakers are prepared to respond to even the most unlikely scenarios. To celebrate NATO’s 75th anniversary year, she also led the creation of the NATO 2099 graphic novel, looking ahead at the next 75 years of NATO and imagining what the world might look like on NATO’s 150th anniversary.

What is the difference between NATO members and partners?
Why did Finland and Sweden set aside decades of neutrality and apply for NATO membership in 2022?
What can Finland’s experience living next-door to Russia, and its 900,000-strong reserve forces, teach the rest of the Alliance?

In this episode, Sauli Niinistö, who served as President of Finland from 2012 to 2024, talks about Finland’s experience of military non-alignment for more than seven decades, including almost 30 years of NATO partnership. He walks listeners through Finland’s decision to apply for NATO membership alongside Sweden in 2022, and the process of transitioning from NATO partner to NATO member. He also speaks about his role as a Special Adviser to the European Union on strengthening Europe’s civil and military preparedness and readiness, and what Europe needs to do to boost its resilience against growing hybrid threats.

Why does NATO conduct missions outside of its territory?
What were the different aims and lessons learned of NATO’s missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Afghanistan and Iraq?
What is Canada’s role in a transatlantic alliance that is often framed as a balancing act between the United States and European Allies?

In this episode, General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff of the Canadian Armed Forces, walks us through her distinguished military career. She served on a demining team during a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, led an engineering regiment during a combat mission in Afghanistan, and was the first woman to lead a NATO mission when she took command of the advisory and capacity-building mission in Iraq in 2019. She also reflects on Canada’s role in NATO, including its contributions to the Alliance’s forward presence in Latvia, and her place in history as the first woman to lead Canada’s military.