The Defuse Podcast: Where Experts Defuse Real Threats

High Trust, High Stakes, Human Risk Inside Family Offices with Mark Somers In this episode, Philip speaks with Mark Somers, one of the most respected voices in the family office recruitment world. Mark has spent more than 20 years advising family offices, wealth managers and private banks on talent, structure and human capital. He's the author of two books on family offices and careers within the sector and sits on the Spears 500 judging panel. The conversation covers what makes a family of...

In this compelling and straight-talking episode, Philip sits down with Neil Basu QPM, one of the UK’s most respected and outspoken former senior police leaders. Neil shares the lessons, frustrations, and hard truths from over 30 years in policing — from the Stephen Lawrence inquiry to counter-terrorism, leadership under political pressure, and the moral challenges of modern policing. They discuss racism within the system, the dangers of disinformation, and the human cost of service. Neil also...

Send us a text In this compelling two-part episode, Philip Grindell welcomes back security expert James Hamilton to explore the "attack cycle" - a proven model used by criminals, terrorists, and assassins to target victims. Following the high-profile New York CEO assassination, Hamilton breaks down the eight critical phases: target selection, surveillance, final target selection, planning, rehearsal, execution, escape, and exploitation. The discussion reveals how attackers methodically progre...

When Crisis Hits: The Real Cost of Getting Reputation Wrong This week's Defuse Podcast featured Heather Blundell (CEO, Grayling UK) and James Clothier (Head of Crisis) discussing how reputation management has become essential protection. Key insights: Most crisis failures stem from human behaviour under pressure, not poor messaging. Female executives face different reputation attacks requiring specific strategies. Social media breaks stories before traditional media responds. Video responses ...

OSINT Part 1 - The Digital Lens Into Personal Security with Jon Blake In the first part of this podcast, Philip Grindell interviews Jon Blake, a former Metropolitan Police Detective who has become an expert in Open Source Intelligence (OSINT). They discuss: - Jon's background as a career detective who moved into cyber investigations, worked in covert operations, and eventually became a national internet investigation coordinator before entering the private sector in 2015. What OSINT i...

"Countering Extremism with Guy Mathias" – The Defuse Podcast This two-part podcast features an in-depth conversation between Philip Grindell and Guy Mathias, a renowned security expert with extensive experience countering extremism, particularly in the pharmaceutical and research sectors. Episode Summary In this fascinating discussion, Guy Mathias shares insights from his distinguished career addressing extremist threats, particularly from animal rights groups in the UK during the 1980s...

In this, my first video recorded podcast without a guest, I’ll share why subscribing to this podcast will deliver even more value this year, with an episode every week. In this episode I’ll share my thought of the appalling circumstances that led to a young female British soldier taking her own life following a campaign of sexual harassment by not one, but two of her superiors. This case illustrates why so few cases are in fact reported, as it highlights the four reasons why vic...

Right of Bang – Preparing for the next critical incident with Gene Deisinger Ph.D. How many times have we heard organisations tell us that they will learn the lessons from an incident? If like me, you have been involved in these post incident reviews you may also have shared my frustration of how rarely the lessons are implement and therefore lack confidence in preventing the challenges being repeated. When a traumatic incident occurs, its impact is experienced far wider than those immediat...

On the 22nd May 2017, Figen Murray’s life as she knew it changed forever. Her son, Martyn Hett, was one of the 22 people killed in the devastating Manchester Arena terrorist attack. The acts of kindness and support that followed the tragic loss of Martyn Hett in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing highlight the strength of community in times of grief. Figen's advocacy for peace and positive change, rather than succumbing to anger, is truly inspiring. In memory of Martyn, Figen led the call for ...

With the The Power of Awareness you can change your approach to personal safety from passive bystander to becoming your own personal safety expert. Your personal safety is your responsibility and no one else’s. That is a simple fact. And the two foundations your safety stands upon are possessing situational awareness and listening to your intuition. The first can be developed and improved. The second is a million years of self-preservation that is already speaking to you, in a tiny voi...

In this episode, part 2 of the series, we expand on the discussion of the psychological terms and learn about psychopathy, how high functioning psychopaths become CEOs, politicians and leaders, the difference between psychopaths and sociopaths, the impact that social media and the internet has on mental health. Caroline Logan is a Consultant Forensic Clinical Psychologist. For nearly 30 years, she has worked as a researcher and honorary senior lecturer at the Universities of Liverpool ...

Bill Zimmerman has spent over 35 years analysing and managing threats. He started out in the fledgling Threat Assessment team of the US Capital Police shortly after its creation and, having spent over 20 years there, moved into the private sector on his retirement from law enforcement, where he continues to be a leader in the field of Behavioural Threat Assessment. Despite his long career, Bill is one of the humblest men you will have the pleasure of meeting. He is a fountain of knowledge and...

Being wealthy, prominent, and successful doesn’t mean all your problems disappear. A study co-funded by the Gates Foundation published in the Wall Street Journal found that many of the ‘Ultra-rich’ turn out to be a generally dissatisfied lot whose money has contributed to deep anxieties involving love, work, and family. Being the subject of reputationally harmful and sometimes untrue media stories, harassed by trolls and stalked by fixated people causes paranoia and hypervigilance, which can ...