3rd season (In english only):
podcast about the prevention of violent extremism
Welcome to the third season of our podcast series at CPN-PREV, the Canadian Practitioner’s Network for the Prevention of Extremist Violence. First, we want to thank you, our listeners, for being with us, season after season. Your engagement and commitment remind us why these conversations matter. This season, we are delighted to welcome inspiring practitioners, researchers, clinicians, and policymakers. Join us as we explore how dialogue can lead to concrete and ethical actions to achieve real change.
Episode 6: In Memory of Garth Davies (1967-2026) | An Esteemed Mentor and Voice in the Field of Prevention of Violent Extremism
It is with profound sadness that we share this episode in memory of Garth Davies, who tragically passed away in March 2026. With the blessing of his loved ones, we have chosen to publish this conversation to honour his memory and legacy, and to share the depth of his passion for his work in the prevention field.
Garth was an Associate Professor in the School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Director of the Canadian Network for Research on Security, Extremism, and Society (CANSES).
For over 25 years, he studied and wrote about terrorism, advising national security agencies, briefing the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team ("E" Division), the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and Public Safety Canada, and testifying before the Canadian Parliament and the Standing Senate Committee on National Security and Defence. He was also a founding member, and later Director, of the Institute on Violence, Terrorism and Security at SFU.
Alongside his thorough work across many fields, Garth inspired hundreds of students and equipped a generation of researchers with the methodological tools to pursue their work with purpose. He helped policymakers and practitioners in the field engage more closely with the communities they served, with the aim of opening them to the realities and the needs of those communities.
In this episode, Garth shared, with humility, clarity, and care, an important reflection on:
CANSES’s vision for the foundation of a network;
Nihilistic extremism, how it differs from ideologically driven forms of violence, the challenges it presents, and its targeting of young people online;
And what may be needed in policy and prevention, by embracing the generational work of rebuilding social narratives.
Garth Davies’s message of hope in the closing minutes of the episode reflects how his legacy will live on in the field that he helped shape, and in the people he inspired throughout the years. He believed, strongly, that we could find our way back to one another as a society. CPN-PREV shares this conversation in that same belief, and with the hope of carrying his voice forward.
Thank you for listening.
Listen to Garth’s voice and passion.
Episode 5: Far-Right Movements in Quebec and the Ethics of Researching Extremism
In this episode, Zeina Ismail-Allouche is joined by Audrey Gagnon, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa, for a thoughtful conversation about studying the far right from within one’s own community, as well as the ethical responsibilities that come with it. Hear them discuss:
How the 2015 refugee crisis became a turning point that revealed the mainstreaming of far-right ideas in Canada and Quebec.
The role of national identity, conspiracy theories, and online narratives in driving exclusion, hostility, and the risk of violent action.
The overlooked challenges facing researchers in extremism studies — from repetitive exposure to violent ideologies to online harassment — and why protecting researcher well-being is essential to sustaining the field.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode 4: The PEER Approach and Bringing Your Personal Self to Prevention Work
Zeina Ismail-Allouche sits down with Melanie Bania, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCFSC), to discuss what it truly means to build safer communities. Not through enforcement alone, but through prevention, equity, and authentic human connection.
Listen to them explore:
CCFSC’s mandate and how it looks at safety from a balanced and intersectoral perspective of incorporating prevention, intervention, and local support
The PEER approach — Prevention, Equity, Engagement, and Relationship — and how these foundational principles guide the Centre’s work on the ground.
The importance of reconciling personal and professional engagement and why bringing your whole self to prevention work is a strength.
Thank you for listening!
Tune in on your preferred platform!
Episode 3: Fieldwork with Foreign Fighters and the Evolving Landscape of Prevention in Canada
Zeina Ismail-Allouche welcomes Amarnath Amarasingam for an open and enthralling discussion about what it means to research violent extremism from the inside.
Listen to:
How Dr. Amarasingam’s own refugee history fleeing civil war in Sri Lanka, and his positionality as a person of color, opened unexpected doors to fieldwork with active foreign fighters in Syria.
The complex and deeply personal motivations that drove Westerners from Canada, the UK and beyond to join foreign militant groups.
How Canada’s prevention and intervention landscape has matured over the past decade, and why a law-enforcement-only response is no longer sufficient.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode 2: Canada’s Approach to Preventing Radicalization to Violence
In this foundational episode, Ghayda Hassan sits down with Robert Burley, Executive Director of the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence, and Nicole Fournier-Sylvester, Acting Manager of Engagement, for an in-depth conversation on the Centre’s mandate, priorities, and role within the Government of Canada’s broader strategy to prevent radicalization to violence. Together, they discuss :
What the Canada Centre is and why it was created.
How the Government of Canada approaches the prevention of radicalization to violence at the national level.
How the Canada Centre contributes to and collaborates within the global prevention landscape.
Thank you for listening!
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Episode 1: Emerging Trends and the Future of Prevention
To open our third season, Ghayda Hassan is joined by Louis Audet-Gosselin and Marc-André Argentino, Senior Research Advisors at the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence. Together, they explore :
How research conducted at the Canada Centre informs national prevention strategies and supports practitioners and policymakers.
The emerging trends and evolving dynamics shaping the landscape of radicalization to violence today.
The ethical complexities of studying and responding to radicalization and violent extremism in polarized and high-risk environments.
Thank you for listening!
Tune in on your preferred platform!