CONFLICTED

In this episode, Aaron Zelin returns to Conflicted to unpack the extraordinary collapse of the Syrian Democratic Forces' position in northeast Syria over the past week — and what the fallout could mean for Syria's fragile post-Assad order. Aaron explains: Why the March 2025 framework agreement ultimately failed Why Sunni Arab tribes abandoned the SDF — and how Damascus prepared the ground How and why fighting erupted in Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo The rapid fall of SDF-held areas in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah What happened at ISIS prisons and detention camps during the collapse Why claims of ‘Kurdish abandonment' by the United States are misleading The PKK factor — and the risk of a new insurgency or terrorism campaign What Syria's consolidation means for ISIS, regional stability, and the country's future Follow Aaron on X: https://x.com/azelin This episode includes BONUS MATERIAL after the credits ONLY for subscribers to the Conflicted Community. Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the first anniversary of the dismantling of USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, Thomas and Aimen trace the history of the organisation and ask whether USAID's collapse represents a failure of liberal internationalism itself, or simply the end of one particular way of organizing American power in the world. They discuss: Trump's 2025 executive order and the effective end of USAID USAID, anti-communism, and the CIA The Clinton-era debate over whether USAID should survive at all USAID in the War on Terror: Iraq, Afghanistan, and counterinsurgency The Arab Spring and the shift toward NGO-mediated governance Corruption in USAID What the end of USAID tells us about the end of the unipolar era Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Yemeni researcher and political analyst Baraa Shiban (a great friend of the show) tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of how different visions for the future of Yemen led long-simmering tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia to explode into the open. For further reference, here's a helpful map of Yemen showing current areas of control: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/info/infographic/49654  Baraa explains: How Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered the war with different goals The role Yemeni political parties and militias played in the conflict Why southern Yemen has never been unified The UAE's obsessive fight against the Muslim Brotherhood The emergence of parallel security structures and rival centres of power How Saudi Arabia acted as a mediator between rival factions The explosive gains, and rapid reversals, of Yemen's renegade Southern Transition Council Follow Baraa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baraashiban/ Follow Baraa on X: https://x.com/BShtwtr Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A rare public rupture has emerged between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Triggered by a dramatic escalation over Yemen in late December 2025, the dispute has exposed deeper ideological and strategic differences between the two Gulf powers. In this episode, Thomas and Aimen step back from the battlefield to examine the historical roots of Saudi–Emirati rivalry and why Yemen became the arena where these differences finally collided in public. They discuss: The 30 December 2025 Saudi airstrikes and the ultimatum to UAE forces Why Yemen is the arena, not the cause, of the Saudi–UAE dispute Continental vs maritime power in the Arabian Peninsula The British influence on the Emirati state The Buraimi Oasis dispute Tribal allegiance and ‘weird borders' in Gulf geopolitics Why the UAE tolerates breakaway regions and Saudi Arabia cannot Whether this rupture will be patched up and what happens if it isn't Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Alan Leer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Islam is often treated as a civilisation apart — self-contained, resistant to modernity, and fundamentally at odds with the West. In this episode, Thomas speaks to Oxford professor James McDougall about why that framing is misleading, and how Islamic history is inseparable from the making of the modern world itself. Drawing on his new book Worlds of Islam: A Global History, McDougall explains: Why Islamic and Western histories are deeply intertwined rather than civilisationally opposed The extent to which Islam is an imperial and political project Islam's role in shaping global modernity before European dominance What made European power different in the nineteenth century How the Mongol sack of Baghdad reshaped the geography of the Islamic world The importance of Central Asia, Indonesia, and West Africa to Islamic history The debate over early Islamic sources and why scholarly scepticism has softened Whether today's tensions reflect a clash of civilizations — or a clash of perspectives Follow James on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jamesrobertmcdougall Follow James on Substack: substack.com/@mcdougalljames Follow James of Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jamesrmcd.bsky.social Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As mass protests sweep Iran and President Trump declares the U.S. is ‘locked and loaded', Thomas and Aimen revisit the event that shaped U.S.–Iran relations for the next half-century: the Iran Hostage Crisis. Then, in real time, the conversation veers into a fast-moving geopolitical shock: Venezuela, Iran's global networks, and what a new era of American ‘muscle' might actually look like. They discuss: Iran's 2026 protest wave: currency collapse, water crisis, and regime pressure points Trump's ‘locked and loaded' warning Why the embassy takeover began as ‘revolutionary entrepreneurship' How and why Khomeini endorsed the hostage crisis The shift to economic sanctions as America's primary lever U.S. back-channel diplomacy Operation Eagle Claw: what the plan was and how it fell apart Hostage diplomacy after 1979 The creation of the U.S. Special Operations Command The Iran–Venezuela–Hezbollah nexus, and why Washington's focus may be shifting Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Amid controversy surrounding Zohran Mamdani's rise to power in New York City, Hussein Mansour tells Thomas all about the history of Third Worldism — where it comes from, what it originally meant, and why the term has resurfaced. Thomas and Hussein discuss: Zohran Mamdani as a symbol, not a cause, of a broader elite transformation The Third Estate, the French Revolution, and the revolutionary inheritance of modern radical politics Interwar Paris and the emergence of Third Worldist intellectuals Négritude, anti-colonial humanism, and the promise of historical redemption Decolonisation, revolutionary violence, and the crisis of postcolonial states How ideological failure was reinterpreted as structural oppression The migration of Third Worldist ideas into Western universities and institutions Edward Said, postcolonial theory, and the institutionalisation of grievance Third Worldism today less as a political programme than an elite posture Subscribe to Hussein's Substack The Abrahamic Metacritique here: https://critiqueanddigest.substack.com Follow Hussein on X here: https://x.com/HusseinAboubak Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As 2025 draws to a close, Thomas and Aimen take an unconventional tour of the Islamic world — looking beyond the usual headlines to the under-the-radar shifts that happened in 2025, with the potential to shape 2026 and beyond. They discuss: Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger forming the Alliance of Sahel States and what a new Sahel bloc might mean The geopolitical ‘cluster fuck' of the Sudanese civil war The European Union's re-entry into Central Asia The Gabala Summit and the rising Turkic axis How Bangladesh is diversifying away from India Southern Thailand's Malay-Muslim insurgency and why it's so rarely discussed In Iraq, Kata'ib Hezbollah and the breakdown of state sovereignty Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The war in Ukraine is back in the headlines as a peace agreement appears increasingly probable - though with major concessions to Russia. So as a Christmas present to our listeners, we've brought this episode from August out from behind the paywall. In it, Thomas speaks with his old university friend Jakub - a former Slovak Army officer who volunteered to fight in Ukraine - about the lived reality of modern warfare, from trench fighting to FPV strike drones. Drawing on nearly eighteen months at the front, Jakub offers an unvarnished account of combat, morale, fear, boredom, and survival - and challenges many popular assumptions about how this war is actually being fought. Thomas and Jakub discuss: Why Jakub left academia to fight in Ukraine Life as a foreign volunteer inside a regular Ukrainian infantry battalion The psychological reality of trench warfare How artillery, drones, and attrition have reshaped the battlefield The limits of NATO doctrine when confronted with peer warfare What this war suggests about the future of European security Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is ‘the Christmas story' really? And how does it change when you tell it from within a different religious tradition? In Conflicted's first-ever Christmas Special, Thomas and Aimen retell the Nativity as it appears in the Gospels and in the Qur'an.  They discuss: Who were the Magi? Zoroastrian priests or Nabataean nomads? How the Nativity story differs between the Bible and the Qur'an A controversial theory about how local Christian traditions may have shaped the Qur'anic telling The overlooked reason why Qur'an presumes its audience already knows the underlying stories Christ's ‘unfinished business' in Islam: the Second Coming and the fight against the Antichrist The sharpest divergence: the Crucifixion and what it implies about Jesus' mission Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with global finance and security analyst Giri Rajendran about the Trump Administration's newly published National Security Strategy — what it signals, what it omits, and what it suggests about America's role in a multipolar world. Thomas and Giri discuss: How this report differs from previous US National Security Strategies The end of the old rules-based order of liberal internationalism The Middle East: a phase shift toward deeper economic engagement China: economic and industrial competition, not ideological crusade Europe: NATO burden-sharing, culture-war politics, and coercion by inducement Russia as a potential ally, no longer an enemy Whether global governance can exist without global institutions Follow Giri on X here: https://x.com/Trajan1898 Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does the future hold for the Middle East — and the world — in 2026? In this special episode of Conflicted, Thomas instructs Aimen to peer into his crystal ball and offer his forecasts for the year to come. In this episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss: How professional geopolitical analysts make forecasts The impossibility of foreseeing Black Swan events Why an end to the war in Ukraine could reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics The likelihood of a U.S. war against the Houthis in Yemen Renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon The strategic importance of the Gulf states Iran's nuclear programme, proxy network, and the risk of renewed confrontation Add your predictions to your 2026 Forecast Card here: https://forms.gle/sMCbRFmFTBdcfEDd8  Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Programme on Extremism at The George Washington University. What happens when an ideological movement is neither a terrorist organisation nor an ordinary religious group — but something in between? One of the world's leading experts on the Muslim Brotherhood explains… The early history of Islam in America The first Brotherhood-linked students arriving in the U.S. in the 50s and 60s The formation of the first American Brotherhood cells The Brotherhood's gradual institutional influence across the 80s and 90s Why CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) is so controversial Germany's three-fold classification system and what the U.S. can learn from it Follow Lorenzo on: X, BlueSky, LinkedIn, and YouTube.  Check out his books: The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia University Press, 2010) The Closed Circle: Joining and Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia University Press, 2020). Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Middle East is shifting again, and fast. In this wide-ranging overview, Aimen and Thomas break down the hidden forces reshaping the geopolitical chessboard as 2025 draws to a close. In this episode, Aimen and Thomas uncover: The power of Saudi Arabia's discovery of vast rare-earth reserves The U.S.–Saudi grand bargain Why the F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia rattled Israel and what it means for the future of the Abraham Accords Iran's deepening water crisis and Gulf states' preparations for instability The simmering tensions between India and Pakistan Afghanistan's compounded crises Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat about the Muslim Brotherhood. What happens when a Western democracy encounters an ideological movement it no longer has the language — or the institutions — to understand? The former Security Minister and long-time observer of the Middle East explains what the Brotherhood is, how it operates, and why the British state is struggling to deal with it. In this episode, Thomas questions Tom about… Tom's time in Egypt during the Arab Spring His conversations with Brotherhood members The UK government's secretive 2014 review of the Brotherhood a nd why Parliament challenged it The institutional blind spots inside Whitehall and MI5 How Brotherhood-linked networks operate in Britain today Why talking openly about the Brotherhood is so politically and legally fraught Strategies for the UK government to tackle the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Subscribe to Tom Tugendhat's Substack here: https://tomtugendhat.substack.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 Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted is back. Aimen and Thomas return with a renewed mission and a bold vision for the future of the show. In this special relaunch episode, they look back at the journey so far, celebrate the global community that's grown around Conflicted, and reveal what's coming next in an ever-more turbulent world. In this episode, Aimen and Thomas: Offer a sweeping recap of Conflicted's story arcs, themes, and analyses Reveal what the next phase of Conflicted has in store for dear listeners Reassert Conflicted's commitment to rising above the polarisation and simplifications dominating mainstream media Celebrate the many friends of the show—journalists, scholars, analysts—who have helped Conflicted become a global phenomenon Thank the listeners whose engagement, questions, and curiosity have shaped Conflicted's direction (and good-naturedly endured Aimen's dad jokes)  Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, we're unlocking another episode we first released for members of the Conflicted Community.   In this interview from last January, I talk with Martin Plaut, a distinguished journalist who has reported on conflicts across Africa for decades, and whose book Understanding Ethiopia's Tigray War was an essential resource for us in preparing our series on Ethiopia. We discuss: Ethiopia's recent Tigray War and why it proved so consequential for the Horn of Africa How the federal government — with Eritrean support — turned against the Tigray region despite its long rule in Ethiopia Martin's personal story of growing up in apartheid South Africa and his early political activism His current work on the history of African slavery and common misconceptions surrounding it Speaking of slavery in Africa, Martin's latest book Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement has recently been published. I hope to get Martin back onto the podcast to talk all about it! Join the Conflicted Community here: 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

This week on Conflicted, Thomas is joined by T.V. Paul, Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University. Prof. Paul is one of the world's leading thinkers in international relations and author of Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era and The Unfinished Quest: India's Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi. In this wide-ranging conversation, Thomas speaks with Prof. Paul about: India's strategy as a rising power in a shifting multipolar world How ‘soft balancing' works as an alternative to military alliances The benign and malign dimensions of American hegemony Why globalization both empowered and destabilized the global middle class India's complex status anxiety and its quest for recognition How China and India navigate rivalry, nationalism, and regional threats The future of the liberal international order—and whether it can survive What a new global settlement might require from the West, China, and India alike Join the Conflicted Community here: 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

This week on Conflicted, we're unlocking for everyone an episode we first released a year ago for members of the Conflicted Community — an interview with Hussam Mahjoub, a Sudanese journalist, political activist, and founder of the independent TV channel Sudan Bukra, which has become a vital source of truth amid the chaos of war. When it was recorded, Sudan was already sliding into catastrophe. But in the months since, the country has fallen even further into one of the world's most devastating wars. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has shattered the country: communications have collapsed, hospitals have shut, and millions are displaced or facing famine. In this conversation, Hussam helps us understand how Sudan got here. He traces the rise of the RSF from the Janjaweed militias that terrorised Darfur twenty years ago, and walks us through Sudan's modern history, from the long dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir, to the 2019 revolution, and the collapse of hopes for civilian rule. Hussam also offers an insider's view of the regional powers shaping Sudan's fate — Egypt, the Gulf states, and Russia's Wagner network — and how rivalries over gold, trade, and influence have turned Sudan's agony into a proxy struggle. Listening now, his analysis feels prophetic. The structural forces he identified then have since erupted into the full-scale war we see 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, Thomas Small is joined by Patrick McGee, technology reporter and author of the phenomenal new book, Apple in China. Patrick provides an exclusive look at how Apple, in its relentless pursuit of operational excellence, drove a unique form of globalization that profoundly reshaped the economic and geopolitical world. Thomas and Patrick dissect the story of Apple's pivot from near-bankruptcy to becoming a global superpower, focusing on the often-overlooked genius of CEO Tim Cook - the operations mastermind who built a manufacturing model that, while pioneering, effectively hollowed out US industrial capacity. They explore the critical role of Taiwan's Foxconn and its founder, Terry Gou, who understood that Apple's demanding processes were not exploitation, but a unique, fast-track training program that turned China into an advanced manufacturing powerhouse. The conversation follows the narrative from production to consumption, revealing the chaos and extraordinary demand of the Chinese retail market, the political awakening of the company under Xi Jinping's rising power, and the ultimate irony: Apple, the champion of individual liberty, forging a $275 billion partnership with America's foremost geopolitical rival. The episode is a must-listen for understanding the true forces that built the 21st-century global economy. You can find Patrick @patrickmcgee_ To listen to more episodes like this - and to get lots more benefits upcoming very soon - 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/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another revisited interview from the Conflicted Community Interview archive this week, as we get ready for more Conflicted episodes coming soon… This time, the FULL interview with Hamza Howidy - a Gazan who years ago was forced to flee to Europe, telling us about his experiences and his vision for a post-Hamas Gaza… – 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. 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, Thomas Small is joined by Dr. Emma Ashford, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and an expert on US grand strategy. Emma brings a clear-eyed, realist perspective to the current global debates, arguing that the emerging multipolar world is an opportunity, not a catastrophe, for the United States. Thomas and Emma dissect the end of the American unipolar moment, exploring whether the US's pivot to global primacy after the Cold War was driven by naive idealism or institutional hubris. They analyze the four competing camps in US foreign policy - from Liberal Order Primacists to America First Hawks - and champion the case for realist restraint as the most pragmatic way forward. The conversation delves into the strategic implications of a truly multipolar world, including how nuclear weapons change the dynamics of great power competition and why the US must retrench from costly, over-leveraged commitments in the Middle East to prioritize competition in Asia. You can find Emma on X @EmmaMAshford 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/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by co-host Aimen Dean, who returns to the show to provide a vital debrief on the recent Gaza peace deal. The episode focuses on the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, which has brought a temporary halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Aimen is back with his signature, deeply informed analysis, answer your and Thomas' questions to get beyond the narrative we normally hear about the conflict… Thomas and Aimen unpack the hidden diplomatic maneuvers behind the deal, including the motivations of key players like Saudi Arabia and France, whose diplomatic efforts set the stage for peace talks by applying intense pressure on the Israeli government. Aimen shares his explosive, albeit speculative, intel on the Israeli airstrike on Doha in September and its profound consequences, including the potential for Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons as a deterrent. The conversation also delves into the military realities on the ground in Gaza, assessing the successes and failures of the IDF's campaign and the prospects for Hamas's future. The episode offers a sobering look at a peace deal that, while celebrated as a triumph, may be little more than a temporary ceasefire in a region still teetering on the brink. Want more of Thomas and Aimen? Then 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: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: ⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠  -- When a horrific terrorist attack against children spawned some of the most violent riots in recent UK history, it revealed a sinister undercurrent of racial, religious, and multicultural tensions flowing just beneath the surface of British society.  Fuelled by voices from the Far-Right, the riots saw a mosque burned and a hotel housing asylum seekers set on fire. But the killer, Axel Rudukabana, was neither muslim or an immigrant. He was British - and known to the security services as a risk. So what does this attack reveal about the future of terror attacks in the United Kingdom? And why was this attack met with violence rather than anguish? What's changed in the fabric of our society? And what can we do about it? In this final episode of 7/7: The Inside Story we explore the existential questions of British identity raised by this series, culminating in an exclusive interview with former Minister of Security, and long time Conflicted listener, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat.  Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a leading scholar of Iranian domestic and foreign policy. Together, they explore the profound impact of the recent 12-Day War between Iran, Israel, and the United States on the Islamic Republic. As an Iranian who has studied the regime for decades, Alex offers a vital look into the power struggles between revolutionary ideology and Iranian nationalism that are now at play in Tehran. Thomas and Alex discuss the main events of the war, the strategic decisions made by all sides, and the unexpected conclusion that has left Iran in a precarious position. They delve into how the conflict's strategic and economic fallout - from widespread internet blackouts to the regime's military and technological limitations - has humiliated the ruling elite and exposed their vulnerability. The conversation also explores how the war has intensified internal debates, with pragmatic and moderate voices now pushing for political reform and a change in Iran's foreign policy. The episode offers a sobering, yet essential, look at a regime that must now confront its own failures and decide whether to change course or risk total collapse. You can find Alex on X @AlexVatanka 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/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: ⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠  -- On March 22, 2017, the Westminster Bridge attack killed five people, marking the start of a year which would see five attacks kill dozens of people in the UK. They were all carried out with the most rudimentary means possible, and by singular actors working alone. This fifth episode of Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story tells the story of how we got there… By the early 2010s, the relationship between the British state and Muslim communities was strained, with the rise of far right groups becoming an ever more pressing issue. And abroad too, things were becoming ever more precarious. In the wake of war in Syria, the terror group ISIS stepped into the vacuum – hundreds of Europeans went to join their cause. So how would UK counter terrorism respond? Would the Prevent strategy be able to evolve alongside it to stop school children travelling to Syria? And how would this new phenomenon change the nature of terror in the West? We'll hear from victims of terror, academics and more to find out. Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  -- Just months after the 7/7 bombings, a new terror plot emerged in East London: British-born men were planning to bring down commercial airliners using liquid explosives. It marked another example of the lengths British born terrorists would go to, to attack their fellow citizens. But what are the profiles of these British born jihadists? This fourth episode of Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story delves into the complex issue of radicalization, exploring the factors like alienation and racial tensions that contributed to young British Muslims being drawn to extremist ideologies. Speaking with top academics, we'll hear about the key preachers who fostered as culture of extremism in certain circles across the UK. But again, we'll return to what the UK government was doing to counter extremism – most notably around this time, the scaling up of their now infamous Prevent strategy. This policy would become one of the UK's government's most controversial counter terrorism initiatives ever. Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by returning guest, Aaron Zelin - the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and founder of the acclaimed website Jihadology. Following up on their last conversation after the fall of the Assad regime, Aaron gives us an in-depth analysis of the current state of play in Syria as the new transitional government, led by Ahmad al-Shara, attempts to consolidate its power. Since the last time we spoke, Aaron has been on a trip to the new Syria, so he gives us a firsthand look at the complex realities on the ground. Thomas and Aaron discuss the narratives surrounding the new government, from claims of sectarian massacres to narratives of a burgeoning economic revival. Aaron explains how the violence in places like the coast and the Druze-majority city of Swaida reveals a country still wracked by internal tensions, where revenge, tribal dynamics, and foreign meddling from actors like Iran and Israel continue to complicate the path to stability. They also touch on the delicate dance between the new government and Syria's minorities, including the Kurds, and the implications of the ongoing sanctions waivers and international investment flowing into the country. You can find Aaron on X at @azelin and look for updates on his incredible website https://jihadology.net/  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/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/  -- With the smoke still rising from the attacks of 7/7, the race is on to find out who was responsible. As the authorities sift through the rubble, the emergence of a familiar name sends chills down the backs of UK counter-terror officials. Had they missed something obvious? In this third episode of Conflicted 7/7: The Inside Story, you'll hear from the people responsible for leading the investigations in the days following the deadliest attacks on British soil.  Who had done this? Where were they now? Most importantly, did they still pose a threat? Terrifyingly, just two weeks later, a copycat attack causes panic across London for a second time.  Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! Episodes 1 & 2 are available from today, with the following episodes of this 6 part series on the terror attacks which changed the face of modern Britain coming every week... -- Four years before 7/7, there was 9/11. The attacks on New York's World Trade Center utterly changed the world and counter terrorism was conducted in the modern age. It left the question: could a similar attack happen in London/ In this second episode, host Thomas Small invites academics to trace the origins of British jihadism, showing how London earned its moniker, "Londonistan" through the 1990s, with dissidents from across the Arab world radicalising young people through events like the Rushdie affair and the return of fighters from Afghanistan. But you'll also hear from the UK's top counter terrorism officials about how the UK counter terrorism establishment responded to this. What were the biggest attacks they foiled before the cataclysm of 7/7? And why did they not see an attack on the London Underground coming? Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! Episodes 1 & 2 are available from today, with the following episodes of this 6 part series on the terror attacks which changed the face of modern Britain coming every week... -- 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? Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.  Hosted by Thomas Small.  This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.  Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.  Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On the anniversary, we go all the way back to where it all started with Conflicted, Episode One - 9/11. Where were you on 9/11? Thomas and Aimen use this historic event as a starting point as they tease out how al-Qaeda went from being a small army of jihadists seeking a caliphate in the Middle East to main player, at the centre of the global stage. 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

This week Thomas is joined by academic and RUSI fellow, Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, a leading expert on Turkish domestic and foreign policy, particularly its relations with the Kurds and the Middle East. With a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on the topic of the PKK and their path to political reconciliation, Burcu has written widely about the Kurds and their relationship with the Turkish state - you can find her work over on X @BurcuAOzcelik Burcu provides a deep dive into the history of the Kurds, a people divided across national borders after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and traces the evolution of the PKK from its Marxist-Leninist, separatist origins to a group that has now shifted its focus to achieving political and cultural rights within Turkey. The pair also explore the political motives of President Erdoğan and the Turkish establishment, who are seeking to finally resolve the Kurdish issue as a matter of long-term statecraft, before concluding with a forward-looking analysis of Turkey's role as a rising middle power in the post-Assad Middle East, which now prioritizes stability and economic connectivity over past ideological ambitions. 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

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