CONFLICTED

Another revisited Conflicted Community episode for you this week, as we gear up for a new season of Conflicted. This time we bring you the FULL episode of Thomas' conversation with Eugene Rogan, who back in 2024 told us about his latest book, 'The Damascus Events'. Enjoy... -- The 1860 ‘Damascus Events' saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It's an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire's response to the violence, it's also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink. To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today, Conflicted welcomes Eugene Rogan to our community! Eugene is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and a Fellow of St. Anthony's College at the University of Oxford. His recent book, ‘The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World' is available now at all good bookshops and is very much recommended for the Conflicted Community as a must read to learn more about the late Ottoman Empire. Thomas and Eugene discuss his incredible book, how late Ottoman reforms and war in Lebanon caused the crisis, how Ottoman leaders brought the communities back together after the terror, and what we can learn from this episode when looking at the conflicts occuring in the Middle East today. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by an old friend and former housemate when they studied in Syria together, Jakub Jajcay. A man of many talents, Jakub studied Arabic with Thomas in Damascus before becoming a Slovakian army officer, while also continuing his studies about the Middle East, including working towards a PHD on Lebanese politics. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he decided to put his professional skills to use, joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a foreign volunteer.  This episode is a raw, firsthand account of his experience of modern warfare. Jakub recounts his experiences as both an infantryman in the trenches and a drone operator, revealing surprising and often grim truths about the war's reality. The pair discuss a number of misconceptions about the war, from the overrated influence of Western weapons to the true nature of combat in the 21st century. They also dive into the effectiveness of drones, and the deeply personal motivations of Ukrainian soldiers, revealing a quiet, resolute patriotism that is less about grand political ideology and more about the fundamental desire for a sovereign homeland. This is a powerful and sobering conversation that grounds the abstract debates about international law and geopolitics in the grit, mud, and courage of those living it on the ground. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, we're giving our Conflicted listeners another taste of what they get by joining the Conflicted Community, with an old episode that didn't go out on our normal feed... As Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy seek to find a solution to war in Ukraine, we thought it would be good to throw back to our episode with British diplomat Alex Anastasiades, so you can hear some more about what it is actually like to be in the room when these big diplomatic decisions are made. Enjoy... -- For this week's Conflicted Community bonus episode Thomas sits down with Alex Anastasiades, a British diplomat working for the Ministry of Defence in Riyadh, about Britain's place in the Middle East. In a wide ranging interview, we discuss what life is actually like for British diplomats in the region, Britain's historic place as a colonial power and now ally with countries in the Middle East, and how Britain's position might continue to evolve in the new multi-polar world. Alex is a diplomat with a background in international law and international relations, who has previously worked in Brussels and for NATO, before working for various positions within the British MOD. Now stationed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh at a fascinating and hugely consequential moment in the region's history, Alex advises the defence secretary and government officials in the Foreign Office on geopolitical matters in Saudi and the wider Middle East.Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's Conflicted Community episode we're joined by Dr. Alick Isaacs, a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-founder of Siach Shalom. Siach Shalom is am initiative that brings people from all walks of Israeli and wider Middle Eastern society—religious and secular, left and right—together to foster deep listening and dialogue. This conversation explores Dr. Isaacs' personal journey, from his upbringing as a religious Jew in the UK to his military service in Israel during the First Intifada, before exploring how his profound and sometimes difficult experiences shaped his commitment to peace and led him to a deeper spiritual calling grounded in Jewish tradition. This episode delves into the complex ideas behind the Israel-Palestine conflict, moving beyond the usual political talking points, to challenge common perceptions. The pair unpack the difference between the Western concept of "peace" and the Hebrew idea of "shalom" , while also discussing Alick's book, ‘Putting God First', and the idea of a Jewish politics of purpose. This is a conversation that goes to the heart of what it means to heal deep-seated divisions and find a way toward genuine, lasting peace in one of the world's most contested regions. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conflicted Community is delighted to welcome back on to the show Philip Cunliffe, Associate Professor of International Relations at UCL and co-host of BungaCast! In this insightful conversation, Thomas and Philip dive into his new book, "The National Interest: Politics After Globalization."  They trace the evolution of the national interest from medieval times to today, discussing its distinction from nationalism and how it can foster genuine international cooperation. The episode also explores the rise and fall of national interest politics in the 20th century, contrasting it with earlier and later forms of globalization. Philip and Thomas then unpack the surprising relationship between progressive neoliberalism and populism, showing how these seemingly opposing forces often reinforce each other. They then tackle the crucial challenge of building new nations in a diverse, post-industrial world, emphasizing the importance of shared political will and collective interest, and offering a compelling argument for why a renewed focus on the national interest is vital for navigating 21st-century politics and revitalizing democratic engagement. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Over the past few weeks, Southern Syria has been engulfed in violence, between the Al-Sharaa regime, local Druze militias, and even Israel joining the fray. In season 5, we spoke to Nour Salam, a member of the Druze community from Suwayda, who explained the complex dynamics of the region. So this week, we're returning to that episode, to help you make sense of the events going on there today... Nour Salam is a Druze and a human rights and women's rights activist whose family are originally from Suwayda, where she has been living since fleeing there in 2013. Through the war she worked as a field coordinator for Syrian civil society groups, and she is also a member of the Syrian Women's Political Movement and many Suwayda-based initiatives supporting women's rights. In this episode, Nour shares her unique perspective as a Druze woman from Suwayda, discussing her identity, the history of the Druze community, and the impact of the Syrian civil war on her life and activism. She reflects on her family's experiences under the Assad regime, and her involvement in the revolution, highlighting the complexities of Druze identity and their relationship with other communities in Syria. Thomas and Nour later explore the arrival of ISIS in Suwayda, and the subsequent rise of factional conflicts from local militias formed to protect against ISIS, who are still controversially playing their part in the ongoing instability of the region, alongside Israel, today. Season 5 has ended, but if you still want to have your Conflicted fix , then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas and Aimen return to tackle a barrage of listener questions in this special Q&A episode, offering unparalleled insights into the ever-shifting landscape of Middle Eastern geopolitics. We begin with a deep dive into the recent US strikes on Iran, where Aimen details the real impact of "Bunker Buster" bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities. Did they cause the destruction that many in the US government are claiming? The pair then discuss your questions about the prospect of a more comprehensive Middle East peace deal, outlining the critical conditions, including Iran's nuclear ambitions and its ‘triple-H' network of proxies. Aimen then sheds light on the complex negotiations involving Syria and Lebanon, revealing the potential for non-aggression pacts, albeit with significant concessions and challenges posed by entrenched ideological factions. The focus shifts to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the contentious rise of Israeli-backed "popular forces" there, before moving on to the broader theological principles that justify jihad in response to state-sponsored injustice. Finally, we expand our geographical scope to the increasingly dire situation in the Sahel region of West Africa, where jihadist groups like JNIM are rapidly gaining ground. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted reaches the final episode of Season 5! We've journeyed from Africa to the historic toppling of the Assad regime in Syria, and now, to bring the season to a close, Thomas is joined once again by Aimen to reassess all the topics we've discussed this season. In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss the state of Syria following 14 years of civil war, exploring the new complexities for Al-Sharaa's regime. As with our previous Syria episodes, Aimen then shares a truly moving and tragic story about his nephew, Ibrahim, who, at just 19, traveled to Syria to fight. Aimen reflects on Ibrahim's motivations, the difficult conversations they had, and the profound impact of his nephew's death on him, especially in light of the recent fall of Damascus.  The conversation then shifts to the challenges facing President Ahmad Al-Sharaa's new government in Syria. Aimen provides an insider's view on the internal threats and opportunities for stabilisation, highlighting key areas like food security, electricity, and telecommunications infrastructure.  Finally, Thomas and Aimen broaden their scope to discuss the wider regional implications - from the war in Gaza, to a survey of Africa's role in the multipolar world. While season 5 has come to a close, if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  And be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for Conflicted season 6, coming soon… Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On a regular Thursday in July 2005, the peaceful morning air was shattered as four bombs ripped through the underground in central London. 52 people were killed, over 700 others were injured. London had never seen bombings of this magnitude before, never with this coordination. In the first episode of this special series of Conflicted, we hear from survivors, emergency workers and a former Al Qaeda spy as we recount the heart-pounding and tumultuous events of that fateful Thursday in July.  It sets up a series where we will investigate the last two decades of terrorism and counter terrorism in the UK. How did it develop? What were the motivations behind? And why did terrorism, and the perceived threat of it, change the way in which the UK thinks about its own citizens? You can binge all episodes of 7/7: The Inside Story exclusively and ad-free, right now on Wondery+. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by visiting ⁠Wondery.fm/insidestory⁠ To listen to more bonus episodes like this one, subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On July 7th 2005, four bombs ripped through the maze of train tunnels underneath central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700 others. 20 years on, this event marks the start of two decades where terrorism, and the perceived threat of it, would change the way in which the UK thinks about its own security, societal integration, and the way in which it conducts itself around the globe. Hosted by Thomas Small, co-host of the award winning podcast Conflicted, this series will form a larger part of the Conflicted universe. One of Small's key sources for this series is Aimen Dean, his Conflicted co-host and the aforementioned spy within Al-Qaeda who had a significant part in the UK intelligence response to 7/7. You can binge all episodes of 7/7: The Inside Story exclusively and ad-free, right now on Wondery+. Start your free trial in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or by visiting Wondery.fm/insidestory To listen to more bonus episodes like this one, subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our penultimate episode of season 5 is here, continuing our journey across Syria to bring you the voices of the revolution and civil war, from all perspectives.  In the series so far, we've given you the perspectives of a Kurd from Aleppo and Afrin, we've parachuted you into the siege of Southern Damascus, we've shown you what life was like in Raqqa under ISIS - and now, we bring you another fascinating view of the civil war - that of the Druze from Suwayda, a small city in southern Syria. And it's all told through the story of our guest this week, Nour Salam. Nour is herself a Druze, and also a human rights and women's rights activist whose family are originally from Suwayda, where she has been living since fleeing there in 2013. Through the war she worked as a field coordinator for Syrian civil society groups, and she is also a member of the Syrian Women's Political Movement and many Suwayda-based initiatives supporting women's rights. In this episode, Nour shares her unique perspective as a Druze woman from Suwayda, discussing her identity, the history of the Druze community, and the impact of the Syrian civil war on her life and activism. She reflects on her family's experiences under the Assad regime, and her involvement in the revolution, highlighting the complexities of Druze identity and their relationship with other communities in Syria. Thomas and Nour later explore the arrival of ISIS in Suwayda, and the subsequent rise of factional conflicts from local militias formed to protect against ISIS, who are still controversially playing their part in the ongoing instability of the region, alongside Israel, today. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After our emergency episode on Monday about the extraordinary events currently taking place in Iran and Israel, we don't want to leave Conflicted listeners without their Thomas and Aimen fix on a Wednesday, so this week we're bringing you an old episode of Conflicted from Season 3, which explains how the modern state of Iran came into being - the Iranian Revolution of 1979... Find the episode description is below: It's the Iranian Revolution of 1979 - the great showdown! The watershed moment when the tensions which between reform and reaction, modernism and tradition erupted into sweeping rejection of the Western model of modernity and its replacement with something apocalyptic, something both ancient and strikingly new: a Shi'a Islamic Republic. 1979 was out with the Shah, in with the Ayatollah; and the consequences have been without parallel—for the Middle East, and the world. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas and Aimen are back together again with an emergency episode to discuss the extraordinary events that took place over the weekend: Israel's massive wave of attacks throughout Iran - and Iran's subsequent response. Aimen is back with us to detail the implications of the military action, explaining from his sources on the inside just how strategic Israel were in their plans for degrading Iran's nuclear capabilities and killing their army and intelligence leaders. We get into the geopolitical reactions from the Gulf states to the US, and the potential for regime change in Iran. But how effective will ‘Operation Rising Lion' be in the long run of disrupting Iran's nuclear program? And what will Iran's counterattacks hold in the coming days? Will there be a new power in Iran by the end of this year? To listen to more bonus episodes like this one, subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another old friend is back on the show, to give our Dearest listeners an update on the ever evolving situation in Syria - so welcome back the gallic tones of France 24 journalist and fellow of the Soufan Centre, Wassim Nassr! In this conversation, Thomas Small and Wasim discuss the current state of Syria, focusing on the recent lifting of sanctions by Trump, the implications for President Ahmad Al-Shara's government, and the historical context of Franco-Syrian relations. As the remnants of ISIS loom in the east, they touch on what Sharra has been doing to ensure transitional justice in a post-war society. They also look to the geopolitical dynamics at play, given the complexities of the current political landscape in Syria and its neighboring regions - from the influence of Turkey in Syria, to the shifting geopolitical dynamics involving Israel, and the evolving situation in Lebanon and Iraq. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, welcoming a new guest onto the show to tell us about her experiences of living life under ISIS in the city of Raqqa – Rania Ali. Rania tells us about her experiences growing up in Raqqa, and the city's rich history - a place of conflict throughout the centuries. As the Arab Spring protests began, Rania became involved, and she details the secretive nature of organizing protests under a repressive regime. She tells us about the development of the conflict in Syria, the impact of the Free Syrian Army's liberation of the city in 2013, telling us about her family's exodus from Raqqa, and the devastation upon their return. But a key memory for Rania in the conflict was the rise of ISIS. She tells us about the resilience and courage of her community, particularly the women who organized protests and resisted the extremist regime, despite the grave risks involved. We hear about her harrowing experiences living during the ISIS caliphate, the threats she faced, and her eventual escape from the city, alongside the thrilling and tragic stories of her friends. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An old friend returns to the Conflicted Community for a chat about his home country of Yemen. Yes, you guessed it, it's the irrepressible Baraa Shiban… Thomas and Baraa once again discuss the complex and evolving situation in Yemen, focusing on the impact of U.S. administrations, the role of the Houthis, and the broader regional dynamics in the Middle East. The impact of the new Trump administration has entirely changed the situation on the ground there, while increased sanctions and strikes from Israel have seen the humanitarian crisis deepen. The pair also talk about the implications of Houthi actions on regional stability, whether their attacks on Red Sea shipping and Israel will continue, and just what the ceasefire negotiations with the Trump administration mean.  To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode for our Conflicted Community, we continue our survey of the Israel-Palestine question with another interview, as Thomas Small engages with Rob Geist-Pinfold, a lecturer in defense studies and international security. This week we focus particularly on the Israeli settler movement. The conversation delves into the historical roots of the settler movement, its evolution from a secular to a religiously motivated initiative, and the intricate relationship between settlers and the Israeli state. The discussion also touches on the impact of the Oslo Accords and the shifting dynamics of Israeli politics in relation to Palestinian statehood.  They also discuss the division of the West Bank, and the influence of the settler movement on Israeli politics, in what Rob terms a kind of State Capture. They discuss the evolving role of far-right politics in Israel, particularly in the context of the October 7th attacks, and how these events have shifted Israel's grand strategy towards a more aggressive foreign policy, especially in Syria. The conversation highlights the implications of these dynamics for the future of the region and the ongoing challenges faced by both Israelis and Palestinians. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Giri Rajendran is back for round 2 for the Conflicted Community, continuing our conversation about Donald Trump and his so-called ‘grand strategy'.  This second part of our conversation delves into the decline of U.S. global power and the historical context of rising powers, particularly in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In this conversation, Thomas and Giri delve into the complexities of the Ukraine conflict, the implications of NATO's expansion, and the strategic calculations of both Russia and the United States under Trump's administration. The conversation also covers wider European security, and the potential for a new global alliance system, all in the wake of Liberation day, and the extraordinary economic moves of his administration. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted we are drawing our narrative arc on Syria to a close with our second episode with filmmaker and political activist, Matar Ismaeel. Last time Matar told us about his experiences filming protests in 2011 as the Syrian revolution began, being tortured in Assad's prisons, and witnessing firsthand the brutal siege of Southern Damascus. This episode Matar finishes his remarkable story with us - from recounting how Friends of his were radicalised by a ISIS to the battles he witnessed between opposition forces, Assad's forces and Islamist forces—especially ISIS.  Finally, Matar recounts the decision to evacuate Southern Damascus and gives his reflections on the future of Syria now the Assad regime has been toppled. He even invites Conflicted to join them in their celebrations - well deserved after all this time. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted  And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conflicted Community is back to talk about the headlines we can't seem to escape -  Donald Trump and his tearing up of the economic world order.  This episode, Thomas sits down with Giri Rajendran, the holder of no fewer than 3 degrees in economics and finance from the London School of Economics. Giri has worked as an economist in transatlantic defence before moving to work in finance, first in private wealth management and then on to asset management, most recently at BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world. In part one of this two-part interview, Thomas and Giri discuss Trump's Grand Strategy - a potentially oxymoronic term, but bear with us here. Listen as the two discuss the long term goals of Trump's economic strategy, America's place in the new world order he is establishing, and, most importantly, whether it can really be successful. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. Don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with the fellow dearest listenters, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.  All information you need to sign up is on the link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted  And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conflicted Community returns with another episode on the complex and multifaceted Israel-Palestinian conflict, focusing on the ideological dimensions that shape perceptions and identities.  This time, Thomas invites on Tom Khaled Werdemann, a PhD candidate at the Center for Jewish Studies  at the University of Heidelberg in Germany on the perspective of Palestinian intellectuals towards Israel between 1960 and 2000. He teaches there and at a German police college, and the central focus of his research is Jewish-Arab relations and Zionism in the Arab world. In this episode they explore the historical roots of Palestinian antisemitism, the impact of European ideologies on it, and the intersection of leftist and right-wing antisemitism. Through this they delve into the complex relationship between leftist ideologies and anti-Semitism, exploring how these themes intersect and influence contemporary political discourse, highlighting the nuances of Zionism, Palestinian nationalism, and the broader implications of these ideologies as they manifest in global symbols and conflicts. Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, this time with a new contributor, who begins today a two episode arc where we'll be looking at the Siege of Southern Damascus… Thomas Small has invited on Matar Ismaeel, a documentary filmmaker and political activist from Masyaf, Syria. Now back in his homeland after years of exile, Matar speaks to us from Masyaf itself, relaying an extraordinary story of resilience and courage in the Syrian capital. Matar tells us about his family's political background, and his early involvement in documenting protests on his digital camera in 2011. He recounts the dangers he faced as a media activist, including arrests and torture in Syrian prisons. Matar's commitment to the revolution led him to southern Damascus, where he witnessed the brutal siege by the Assad regime and the rise of jihadist groups, including ISIS. The conversation highlights the complexities of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis, and the personal toll of war. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week, Thomas speaks with Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian activist originally from Gaza now living in exile in Germany. Hamza shares his extraordinary story of growing up under Hamas rule and the constant threat of Israeli military action on the one hand, and the brutality of Hamas on the other.   Hamza was forced to leave Gaza due to his involvement in protests against Hamas in 2019 and 2023, taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Europe to do so. Hamza offers a vital and nuanced perspective on life in Gaza, the internal political dynamics between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and his vision for a future free from Hamas's governance. He candidly discusses the brutal realities faced by those who dissent against Hamas and his own experiences of protest and imprisonment. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week for the Conflicted Community we begin a series of conversations about the conflict in Israel and Palestine, with Palestinians themselves, to shed some light on the Palestinian perspective of this most complex of conflicts. And this week it is the turn of Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian Christian political analyst, who shares his personal journey from Gaza to Ramallah, to Washington D.C.  In this episode, Khalil tells us about his opposition to Hamas, the impact of war on his life, and gives some insights into the historical roots of Palestinian nationalism and the challenges faced by Palestinians under both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. We delve into the complex historical and political dynamics of between Fatah and Hamas, the impact of settler movements, and the ongoing challenges faced by Palestinians in their quest for rights and recognition. And by emphasizing the need for Palestinian rights and the importance of survival amidst ongoing violence, while also reflecting on the complexities of liberalism in the context of the conflict. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted brings to an end our three part series with Ronnie Hamada, a Syrian Kurdish civilian, whose experience of the Civil War has been thrilling us over the past few episodes...  Thomas and Ronnie open with the impact of the Battle of Aleppo on the Kurdish province of Afrin, highlighting the rise of jihadist groups and the challenges faced by the Kurdish community. Ronnie also shares his harrowing experiences living under siege in Afrin, describing dire conditions, economic lockdowns and food shortages, and the desperate measures he and his family took to survive. Ronnie then recounts his journey fleeing to Turkey, as well as the broader humanitarian crisis in Syria and the role of NGOs in providing aid amidst the chaos.  In a final conversation which helps explain the complex dynamics of the Syrian Civil War in the country's north, the pair describe growing tensions between the YPG and the Assad regime, Turkey's military operations against Kurdish forces, and the aftermath of multiple Turkish operations in Syrian land, reflecting on what it has all meant got the future of Kurdish autonomy in Syria.  New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas and Aimen are back together for another Q&A! This week we answer your questions on the many and varied crises that seem to be engulfing the Middle East and the world in 2025… Thomas and Aimen begin by analysing the complex and tumultuous situation in Syria, exploring the recent resurgence of violence, the role of disinformation, and the internal conflicts among the Alawite community which have been sparking new fears of intense violence. They also discuss the new Syrian government's response, the implications of amnesty for former regime members, and the broader geopolitical context affecting the region. We also touch on the future of Gaza and the implications of U.S. foreign policy under Trump, in the context of the shifting dynamics of global power with Russia and China. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, Ronnie Hamada is back with Thomas to describe his experiences as a Kurdish civilian during the Syrian Civil War, as we continue our retrospective on that most complex of conflicts. And this week, after setting up some Kurdish history last time, Ronnie takes us through what it was like to live through the Arab Spring protests as a university student, where he saw his classmates attacked by Assad backed thugs, and as violence increased around him by the day. In a gripping conversation, Ronnie recounts some harrowing experiences, detailing a terrifying robbery at an internet cafe, the escalating violence in Aleppo, and the eventual decision to flee to Afrin. He shares the impact of the war on civilians, the rise of the PYD and YPG, and his family's efforts to navigate the chaos.  New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week for our Conflicted Community members, we return to Yemen for an interview with, Dr Elisabeth Kendall, an academic whose work has covered so many varied manifestations of the country's culture, politics, and the conflict that has engulfed it for the past decade. Elisabeth is a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Cambridge, where she is also the Mistress of Girton College. Her research explores how militant jihad groups use 'soft' culture (poetry, literature, song) and harness local grievances, to recruit and win toleration in the broader community, and she has spent significant time in Yemen, carrying out research, while also following the ongoing war. Thomas and Elisabeth discuss her journey into the field, and the complexities of Yemeni politics, particularly during the Arab Spring, emphasising the importance of primary sources in understanding jihadism and critiques the international community's role in Yemen's political landscape. They discuss the complex dynamics of the Yemeni conflict, exploring the roles of various international and regional actors, the evolution of the Houthis, and the challenges of achieving peace. And to end, they have a fascinating discussion on the significance of poetry in jihadist culture, illustrating how it serves as a tool for propaganda and emotional engagement. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, we begin in earnest our retrospective on the Syrian Civil War, where we will be inviting actual Syrians from a multitude of different perspectives, to tell us about their experiences of the war.  After setting the scene with our old friend Wassim Nasr last time, over our upcoming episodes, we'll be creating a kind of narrative history for you, our listeners, as we make sense of this most complex of conflicts from as many angles as we can. In this episode, Thomas invites on Syrian Kurd Ronnie Hamada to delve into the complexities of the Syrian Civil War, focusing on the Kurdish experience and setting the scene with their historical identity.  Ronnie has been working in data and analysis of conflicts in Syria and the wider Middle East for the past 10 years, working alongside journalists and NGOs to map conflicts and combat misinformation, and his story of life under siege in Aleppo and Afrin is an extraordinary one… They explore the historical context of Kurdish nationalism, the impact of Arab nationalism, and the political dynamics within Kurdish communities in Syria. Ronnie shares his personal story and insights, highlighting the challenges faced by Kurds, including statelessness and cultural repression and the intricate dynamics of Kurdish identity and politics in Syria, particularly in the context of the Arab Spring. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week for our Conflicted Community members, we have an interview with the Egyptian political activist Dalia Ziada, whose incredible personal story crosses so many of the major events in the modern middle east, from the Arab Spring, to October 7th. Dalia is an award-winning Egyptian writer and political analyst whose work focuses on governance, geopolitics, and defense policy. In Egypt, she co-founded the Liberal Democracy Institute in 2015, she is the Executive Director of the Center for Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean Studies and also serves as a board member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Egypt's National Council for Women. She's a frequent media commentator, advocating for women's rights and against female genital mutilation in the Muslim World, and she is the author of multiple books, including “The Curious Case of the Three-Legged Wolf - Egypt: Military, Islamism, and Liberal Democracy”, on the Arab Spring and its fallout in Egypt. In a wide ranging conversation, Thomas and Dalia discuss her story of liberal activism in Egypt, teaching herself out of antisemitism, the Arab Spring, October 7th, and more… To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted takes on… the Syrian Civil War.  In the wake of the fall of Assad, with the Syrian Civil War over, at least for the moment, Conflicted is bringing you a bit of a retrospective. In the coming episodes, we'll be inviting Syrians and other people who experienced the conflict, from a multitude of different perspectives, onto the show to tell us about their experiences of the war. In doing so, we want to create a kind of narrative history as we make sense of this most complex of conflicts from as many angles as we can. In our first episode, we have an old friend of the show Wassim Nasr, a journalist for France24, who Conflicted Community members will remember from when we spoke to him about his incredible reporting from the Sahel Region of Africa. But Wassim's reporting on Syria is equally enlightening, with some of the greatest access you will see anywhere. He has been on the ground in Syria throughout the conflict, and was in fact one of the first Western journalists to meet with Ahmed Al-Sharaa, now the country's interim president, after Assad's fall.  In this episode, we're setting up some crucial context for the Syrian Civil War through the surprising rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), providing a nuanced understanding of their evolution from an Al-Qaeda affiliate to a pragmatic political force that ultimately took control of the country. And then to top it all off, we'll hear all about Wassim's two meetings with Al-Sharaa… New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conflicted Community is back for another Q&A for all of our dearest listeners. This week, in the first time Thomas and Aimen have got together since the Gaza ceasefire deal, they discuss its implications for the region and the world, with the help of listeners' questions. From the motivations of the parties involved in the ceasefire, to the question of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to what Trump has planned for the region and some questions about the Palestinian Authority and the future of Hamas, Thomas and Aimen go deep on whether a true and lasting peace could actually now happen after the fighting has stopped. Will it ignite again? And what role will Al-Sharaa's new Syrian regime play in it all? To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you'd like to find out how we can help get your organisation's message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted comes to the end of our Ethiopia series with an episode beginning at the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, and charting the country's tumultuous course through the late 20th century. This was a time characterised by a brutality the country had not witnessed before, as the Communist military dictatorship, known as the Derg, wreaked havoc on the country. Ethiopia in the 70s and 80s was one dominated by horrifying episodes of mass death – from the Red Terror which engulfed the country in 1977 to 1978, to the terrible famine in the 1980s which caught the world's attention, birthing Live Aid and songs from Western Musicians to raise money, which would come to be so common (if later criticised) in the decades to come. It was also an era of Cold War intrigue, with Ethiopia thrust into wider geopolitical games involving the US and the USSR – even Cuba! – as well as warring with its neighbours and, eventually, with its own dictatorship.  Thomas and Aimen bring our discussion of the fascinating and fraught land of Ethiopia to a close with a tour de force, as they discuss all this and more, also setting up the context for the Tigray war which took place in Ethiopia in 2020 - 2022, with devastating consequences. And if you want to find out more about the Tigray War, we recently completed an episode for our Conflicted Community with journalist Martin Plaut, to explain the specifics of the conflict. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Last week, a deal between Israel and Gaza was struck to bring back the Israeli hostages and to bring an end to the bloodshed which has engulfed Gaza over 15 months of fighting, since October 7th 2023. It's a deal which has brought relief to many, not least the families of hostages and civilians in Gaza, but also questions from others who see Israel as having failed to fully dismantle Hamas and finish the war aims they began their assault on Gaza with. In this episode, recorded last week on February 15th just as the deal was being finally struck, we discuss the deal and give a broader retrospective on the military campaign in Gaza in all its facets, with a man who has been to Gaza and seen much of it first hand. This week, Thomas invites Andrew Fox on to the Conflicted Community. Andrew is an ex-soldier in the British army, who served in three tours of Afghanistan, including one attached to the US Army Special Forces. Since then he's worked in academia as a senior lecturer in the War Studies and Behavioural Science departments at Sandhurst, as well as as a research fellow with the Henry Jackson Society. He's also a regular commentator on defence and foreign policy across the media, including his excellent substack which you can subscribe to here: https://mrandrewfox.substack.com/  Thomas and Andrew discuss the deal to bring a halt to fighting in Gaza, as well as his time serving in the British army, how this has affected the ways in which he looks at conflicts, before getting on to a fascinating new report he co-authored which examines the questionable counting of the Hamas run Gaza Health Ministry over the course of the conflict. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy New Year to all of our dearest listeners! In our second episode of 2025, Thomas and Aimen are doing a Q&A session with all of your questions posted on Discord, and we've got some excellent ones this week.  We'll be doing a post-mortem of the zombie ideology of baathism now it has been seen off in Syria; we'll look at why al-Julani is delaying elections for four years time; we'll ask how HTS will be able to maintain territorial integrity in the future; and we'll assess how Hamas still has any military capabilities. And to top it off, Thomas and Aimen will take a look at the recent terror attacks in the United States and in Germany before Christmas, bringing you the insiders view on how they were perpetrated and what security officials can do to stop them in the future. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To bring in the new year, we have a special Conflicted Community episode this week– an interview with none other than Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative British MP and ex Minister of State for Security.  Tom is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a veteran of both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak's Conservative cabinets. He remains a big figure in the party, having run unsuccessfully for party leader in 2024, and is one of the most outspoken of all British MPs when it comes to the UK's security policy. But most importantly, Tom is a long time dearest listener, friend of Aimen's and fan of the show, so we invited him on to discuss himself, his time in government and his thoughts on the current crises engulfing the Middle East.  In this episode Thomas, Aimen and Tom discuss Tom's background, including some of his formative years spent in the Middle East, as well as his thoughts on the scourge of Islamism in the region and the West, before looking at how effective security policy can be enacted by the West as a new world order takes shape. New Conflicted episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a short emergency interlude into Syria, Conflicted Season 5 returns to our exploration of the fascinating land of Ethiopia. Moving now to the 20th century, where one man dominated the country: Emperor Haile Selassie, King of Kings. Haile Selassie is a name synonymous with a few things: Ethiopia's age of regal power in the 20th century; being the only African monarch to withstand Western colonialism; and, of course, the religion in Jamaica which reveres him as a god, Rastafarianism. But Haile Selassie himself was actually much more human, more mortal, than all this implies – to look at his life is to understand how the modern Ethiopian state came to be formed, or rather, failed to be formed… In this episode, Thomas and Aimen give us an in depth look at Ethiopia in the 20th century, from Haile Selassie's prophesied birth, to the political machinations that brought him to power, and how he cemented it in this tumultuous time for his country. The wider geopolitics of his reign were fascinating too, which saw Mussolini's fascist Italians invade, Western powers joining to expel them in World War 2, and a period of rule afterwards where Selassie preached African unity while himself conquering neighbouring lands. We'll talk about Selassie in Bath, his resplendent tours throughout Europe, thrilling visits to the League of Nations, and yes, the religion set up in his name to revere him, Rastafarianism. New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ANOTHER EMERGENCY EPISODE Things are, as ever, moving at lightning speed in the Middle East, as last weekend on December 8th, Bashar al-Assad and his Syrian regime fell. After 13 years of civil war, and more than 50 years of his family's rule, in an extraordinary turn of events rebel groups from the south and the north marched on Damascus. Assad has fled to Moscow; the future for Syria is unclear. It's one of the most momentous events in modern Middle Eastern history, so this week Thomas invited one of the world's leading experts on the Syrian Civil War onto the show to help make sense of it (and he's a dear listener to Conflicted himself!) – Aaron Zelin. Aaron is the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Politics at Brandeis University, the founder of the hugely acclaimed website Jihadology, and the author of the really excellent book Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad. Many listeners will no doubt have also been glued to his social media feeds over the past week, for updates and analysis, as he brought his incredible insight in real time as Assad's regime melted away. Thomas and Aaron discuss the incredible events over the weekend, before looking ahead to what the future might hold for Syria's minority communities – from the Kurds to the Alawites – and how this new regime will affect the always fascinating geopolitics of the region. To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EMERGENCY EPISODE In another hugely dramatic turn in the Middle East, the Syrian civil war has reignited. On November 27th 2024, Abu Mohammad al-Julani's HTS reconquered huge swathes of the North West of the country, including the key city of Aleppo. Conflicted is here with an emergency explainer episode to try and decipher exactly what has gone on in Syria over the past week, and indeed the past decade, to give you the context you need to understand it. Thomas and Aimen are going back to a country that has felt dormant and out of the news for years, but where conflict has now reignited. We'll go back to the emergence of Julani as a force initially within Al-Qaeda, tracing his history to explain the complicated dynamics at play in Syria's civil war – we'll discuss the Nusra Front, its transformation into HTS and break with Al-Qaeda, plus more background on everyone from the Kurds to the assortment of other rebel groups, to Hezbollah, Iran and more… And now, with a temperamental ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel in force, we'll examine just how Julani took his chance to seize key areas from the weakened Assad regime.  But what are the larger geopolitical forces at play? How will regional powers respond? And does this spell the end for Assad? New Conflicted episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week for the Conflicted Community, Thomas and Aimen are giving their take on, you guessed it, the US election and the return of Donald Trump to the White House. That's right, dearest listeners, it's Donald Trump part 2, and this time, who knows what's in store for America, the Middle East and the world. After assessing how Trump got in and a look at his eccentric picks for top jobs in his administration, we take a look at what this all means for US foreign policy in the Middle East – will we see America lose its ‘velvet gloves' when dealing with Iran? How is the US relationship with Qatar likely to change? And what effect will a Trump Presidency have on internal politics in the Middle East?  To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conflicted's tour of Africa takes another turn, this time to the East, as we head to the horn of Africa to learn about that most ancient of lands… Ethiopia! Ethiopia is the cradle of humanity – the place where some of the oldest remains of homo sapiens have been found, and its history through antiquity is equally rich. In this episode Thomas and Aimen are going way back in time to tel us about great African civilizations like the Aksumite Kingdom, and all the fascinating stories that intersect with so many Biblical and Quranic tales from the period. In a sweeping history, we move on to discuss the ‘King of Kings' in Ethiopia who formed the Solomonic Dynasty – one which is still revered by the country today. And finally, we'll hear how this proud African country got its reputation for standing up to Imperialism, as they attempt to withstand attacks from Mahdists, the British and especially Italians, who sought to conquer and oppress it. But who would come out on top? And how would this all set Ethiopia up for the 20th century, when a new ruler would come in to take up the Solomonic mantle? New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Conflicted is back, continuing our trip across La Françafrique this week, with a survey of the last 10 years in Francophone West Africa, and yes, you guessed it: it's insurgencies, jihadi movements and coups galore! Thomas and Aimen open up with a discussion of the anti-jihadist activities being carried out by the French in the Sahel since 2013, including the infamous operations Serval and Barkhane. But as jihadi movements grew, the French found themselves in hot water, which got even hotter as a new player entered the fray: the Russians, in the guise of the Wagner Group. We then discuss how the Wagner Group operates in the area, coming in after a coups across the region to cause France's influence to dwindle, and making instability become the plat du jour for many West African countries. Will the region ever get out of it? New Conflicted Season 5 episodes will be coming every two weeks, but if you want to have your Conflicted fix every single week, then you'll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's Conflicted Community episode, we invite the researcher and author Jack Margolin onto the show, to talk about his recently published book, The Wagner Group: Inside Russia's Mercenary Army. Jack is an independent researcher and expert on modern mercenaries, focussing on conflict finance, guns and crime in data, who previously worked with the The Center for Advanced Defense Studies. Continuing our Africa focus this season, Jack and Thomas discuss how Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of this Private Military Company, went from creating troll farms in St. Petersburg to sending troops to Syria and then Africa, with malign interests every step of the way. Jack explains how the ‘adhocracy' Wagner operate in the region sees them exploit local resources for monetary gain, while also bolstering Russian interests in the region by doing the jobs that nation states and more cautious mercenary groups were not able to do. But after Prigozhin's downfall last year, are the Wagner Group still around? And will they continue to offer despotic African governments something the West cannot? To listen to the full episode, you'll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don't forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices