Category Archives: Podcast

Main podcast series of CIMSEC.

Bilge Pumps 17: What Can Navies Learn from Merchant Navies? With Special Guest Sal Mercogliano

By Alex Clarke

We’ve made it to Episode 17 and the Bilge Pumps crew have been joined this week by the exceptional Prof. Sal Mercogliano (@mercoglianos), who is joining us to discuss pod propulsion, incremental manning, and all sorts of other fun and interesting things which could be coming to a national navy near you just as soon as they pay proper attention to the merchant navy. 

Sal is the History Professor at Campbell University, an Adjunct USMMA, a prolific maritime historian, a merchant mariner, Captain-Northwest Harnett VFD, and an all-around brilliant passionate advocate for the sea and maritime security. 

So after all that what is Episode 17 about? Well the #Bilgepumps team are being topical of course, what can be learned from things like the RMS Queen Mary or the Rolls Royce Experiments in uncrewed ships, the real question is will Alex or Drach crack the first bad joke or pun?

#Bilgepumps is still a new series and new avenue, and although possibly no longer having the new car smell, we are getting the impression that it’s liked. But now we need you. Do you have suggestions for topics? Comments on how we could improve? Or most importantly, ideas for artwork, then please either tweet them to us the Bilgepump crew (with #Bilgepumps) at Alex (@AC_NavalHistory), Drach (@Drachinifel), and Jamie (@Armouredcarrier). Or you can comment on our Youtube channels (listed down below).

Bilge Pumps 17: What Can Navies Learn from Merchant Navies? With Special Guest Sal Mercogliano

Links

3. Jamie’s Youtube Channel Armoured Carriers
4. “Why Military Sealift Command Needs Merchant Mariners at the Helm,” by Sal Mercogliano, CIMSEC, September 2, 2020. 

Alex Clarke is the producer of The Bilge Pumps podcast.

Contact the CIMSEC podcast team at Seacontrol@cimsec.org.

Sea Control 201 – The China-India Maritime Balance of Power

By Jared Samuelson

To conclude Regional Strategy Topic Week, Abhijit Singh and Collin Koh join the program to discuss the maritime balance of power between India and China to include a brief history of India-China relations, the recent conflict over the Line of Actual Control, India’s geographic advantage at sea, and the difficulty of conflict in a high-traffic area.

Sea Control 201 – The China-India Maritime Balance of Power

Links

1. “Will the India-China Border Conflict Lead to a Naval War,” by Abhijit Singh, The Strategist, June 26, 2020.
2. “Time to Leverage the Strategic Potential of Andaman and Nicobar Islands,” by Sujan Chinoy, IDSA, June 26, 2020.

Jared Samuelson is the Senior Producer of the Sea Control Podcast. Contact him at seacontrol@cimsec.org.

Sea Control 200 – European Naval Procurement with Dr. Jeremy Stöhs

By Jared Samuelson

Amidst the chaos of Regional Strategies Week here at CIMSEC we welcome an Austrian navalist, Dr. Jeremy Stöhs, to discuss European naval procurement, including his book on the decline of European naval forces, European shipbuilding infrastructure, and trends in systems and platforms.

Download Sea Control 200 – European Naval Procurement with Dr. Jeremy Stöhs

Links

1. “On the Decline of European Naval Forces: A Conversation with Jeremy Stöhs,” by Roger Hilton, CIMSEC, September 6, 2019.
2. The Decline of European Naval Forces: Challenges to Sea Power in an Age of Fiscal Austerity and Political Uncertainty, by Jeremy Stöhs, Naval Institute Press, 2018.

Jared Samuelson is the Senior Producer of the Sea Control Podcast. Contact him at seacontrol@cimsec.org.

Bilge Pumps 15 – Examples of Leadership with Prof. Andrew Lambert

By Alex Clarke

We’ve made it to Episode 15 and the Bilgepumps crew have been joined by the one, the only, Laughton Chair of Naval History from King’s College London’s War Studies Department, Professor Andrew Lambert. Or as Alex has called him since he supervised his PhD, Prof!

We are joined by him for an extended show that can best be described as what would happen if you sat four naval history geeks down in a room and gave them endless drinks, snacks, and told them to figure out who was the best admiral of all time for future leaders to model themselves on. Although we’re not in the same room, not even the same time zone, and definitely not the same continent. Alongside our love of naval history, one of us boxes with springy creatures and fights daily battles with ravenous wildlife, another builds model railways, the third’s Australian, and the special guest literally lives next door to an archive.

So after all that what is Episode 15 about? Well the #Bilgepumps team is being topical of course, so with all the problems of modern leadership and the changing world, who is the admiral from the past that best provides a template? Hornby? Cunningham? Nelson? The crew asks the Professor who literally wrote the book on admirals.

#Bilgepumps is a still newish series and new avenue, although it may no longer have the new car smell, in fact more of pineapple and irn bru smell, with the faint whiff of cork, but we’re getting the impression it’s liked. So we’d very much like any comments, topic suggestions or ideas for artwork tweeted to us the Bilge Pumps crew (with #Bilgepump) at Alex (@AC_NavalHistory), Drach (@Drachinifel), and Jamie (@Armouredcarrier). Or you can comment on our Youtube channels (listed down below).

Download Bilge Pumps 15 – Examples of Leadership with Prof. Andrew Lambert

Alex Clarke is the producer of The Bilge Pumps podcast.

Contact the CIMSEC podcast team at Seacontrol@cimsec.org.