Think strategic - the ACADEM podcast
Think Strategic is a podcast that examines defence and security issues. Every month, Daniel Desesquelle interviews experts, researchers and senior military figures to discuss the major strategic issues of the day and gain a better understanding of how the world is progressing.
Watch all the episodes:
26 January 2026 / 54 minutes
In an environment where conflict extends from the seabed to space, from cyber to the electromagnetic spectrum, innovation is no longer a technological “plus”: it is becoming a condition of sovereignty and operational superiority.
Find out more with :
- Patrick Aufort, General Armaments Engineer, Director of the Defence Innovation Agency (AID)
- Pierre Vandier, Admiral, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT)
30 September 2025 / 56 minutes
The rapid melting of the sea ice is upsetting the balance in the Far North, turning the Arctic into a zone of tension where global warming, new shipping routes, rivalries between major powers and the consequences of the war in Ukraine are all coming together.
In this new episode of "Pensez Stratégique", Daniel Desesquelle and his guests explore the broad lines of France's defence strategy for the Arctic: ensuring collective defence, guaranteeing freedom of navigation and protecting access to strategic resources.
26 June 2025 / 59 minutes
Since the war in Ukraine, military innovation has undergone an unprecedented technological acceleration. Massive unmanned aerial vehicles, battlefield robotisation, artificial intelligence and autonomous decision-making: a veritable revolution is underway. It is overturning tactics, doctrines and strategic balances. In the face of these changes, one question stands out: how can we anticipate tomorrow's war without risking preparing for yesterday's?
30 April 2025 / 50 minutes
President Trump's desire to reduce the US military commitment in favour of the transatlantic alliance, while Russia continues its war against Ukraine, presents Europe with a twofold challenge...
In this new episode of "Pensez Stratégique", Daniel Desesquelle and his guests explore the question of Europe's rearmament in the face of the current geopolitical upheavals.
How can Europe become a unified and autonomous military power?
13 March 2025 / 20 minutes
While NATO was seen as an institution on the back burner, the war in Ukraine triggered "a return to the Alliance's core business, a return to its DNA". The challenges are many: the upheaval of transatlantic relations, threats in the information field, operational deployment on Europe's eastern flank, reinvestment in the defence industry... What is NATO's position on these issues? Marie-Doha Besancenot, NATO's Deputy Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, gives us her views in this new episode.
21 February 2025 / 1 hour
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. What was supposed to be a blitzkrieg turned into a war of attrition. In this 13th edition of Pensez stratégique, the podcast of the Defence Academy of the École militaire, Daniel Desesquelle and his three guests take stock of these 3 years of combat.
31 January 2025 / 55 minutes
After land, sea, air and space, cyberspace is now the 5th battlefield. How is France protecting its vital interests in this area of conflict? How does it respond to these often masked attacks? In this 12th issue of Pensez stratégique, the podcast of the École militaire's Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Aymeric Bonnemaison, commander of cyber defence, and Lieutenant General Marc Watin-Augouard, former head of the 'digital sovereignty and cyber security' major at the Institut des hautes études de défense nationale (IHEDN), take a closer look at this major challenge.
16 December 2024 / 59 minutes
1944, a pivotal year. Interviewed by Daniel Desesquelle, General (2S) Benoit Durieux, historian Olivier Wieviorka and diplomat and Chairman of the Mission Libération Philippe Etienne share their views on a decisive episode in the history of France. From the beaches of Normandy to the Liberation of Strasbourg, from the strategic debates between the Allies to the first milestones of national reconstruction, discover the military, political and diplomatic challenges of this crucial year.
18 November 2024 / 1 h 3 minutes
In this new episode of the Pensez stratégique podcast, our guests take a look at a vast subject: the oceans and the many issues they raise. Global trade, internet traffic, threats that are increasingly difficult to apprehend... All the answers to these issues in this podcast produced with the Académie de défense de l'école militaire (ACADEM).
18 October 2024 / 50 minutes
Disinformation has always existed, but for a long time it was a cottage industry. With the advent of digital technology, the Internet and the proliferation of players, it has become an industry of chaos in the space of just a few years. Faced with this deluge of disinformation aimed at ultimately challenging the foundations of our democracy, how are our democratic states reacting?
25 July 2024 / 1 hour
On 24 February 2022, war returned to Europe with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since then, force has once again become essential, and the French Army needs to adapt. When did the new world we know today begin? How do we neutralise threats, meet operational needs and integrate civilian technologies? And how are the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) and the French Army working together? Find out in this episode.
28 June 2024 / 58 minutes
On 4 April, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) celebrated its 75th anniversary. This anniversary came at a time when NATO was faced with an exceptional situation: Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For the first time in its history, NATO is facing a long, high-intensity war on its border.
24 May 2024 / 45 minutes
In this new episode of Pensez stratégique, our guests decipher a technology that speaks to us all, artificial intelligence (AI), in a specific field: defence. How has it changed the battlefield? How are the French armed forces positioning themselves in terms of AI? Daniel Desesquelle talks to Bertrand Rondepierre, Director of the Ministerial Agency for Defence AI (AMIAD) and Admiral Pierre Vandier, Major General of the French Armed Forces.
19 April 2024 / 49 minutes
In this fifth episode of Pensez Stratégique, we delve into the heart of intelligence. DGSE, DGSI, DRM, DRSD... What is the role of these entities? How does intelligence fit into a democratic world? How is it evolving in the face of the challenges of a chaotic world?
28 March 2024 / 43 minutes
In this fourth episode, following on from the Paris Defence and Strategy Forum, Daniel Desesquelle and his three guests discuss the defence of the European Union in current European conflicts.
22 February 2024 / 57 minutes
In this third edition of Pensez Stratégique, the podcast of the Defence Academy of the École Militaire (ACADEM), Daniel Desesquelle and his three guests analyse the consequences of the deadliest conflict on our continent since the Second World War.
11 January 2024 / 52 minutes
For its second edition, the Pensez stratégique podcast from the Defence Academy of the École Militaire (ACADEM) takes you into space.
1st December 2023 / 53 minutes
For its first issue, the Pensez stratégique podcast from the École militaire's Defence Academy (ACADEM) looks at France's place in the Indo-Pacific.
