The East is a Podcast

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A critical lens on the history of the present on West Asia and North Africa. Interviews with experts and archival mashups. Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)

Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)


    • May 25, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 52m AVG DURATION
    • 545 EPISODES

    4.8 from 246 ratings Listeners of The East is a Podcast that love the show mention: mena, middle east, ireland, foreign policy, contemporary, discourse, aside, critical, complete, political, events, view, voices, important, history, quite, issues, insightful, guests, host.


    Ivy Insights

    The East is a Podcast is a truly engaging and enlightening show that offers a unique perspective on Middle Eastern politics. As someone who was hesitant to delve into the academic world of this subject, I found this podcast to be a perfect balance of critical knowledge and relatable entertainment. It maintains a human element that is often lacking in discussions surrounding The East. Each episode provides fascinating insights and perspectives that challenge the dominant narratives and shed light on the discursive orientalism present in Western media bias. The guest lectures are engaging and well worth listening to, offering a comprehensive view of MENA politics. This podcast is essential for anyone seeking a holistic understanding of the region.

    One of the best aspects of The East is a Podcast is its ability to subvert the mainstream narrative and expose the modern Orientalism that often goes unnoticed. Sina, the host, does an impeccable job of highlighting the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which discourse around political events in the region perpetuates orientalist stereotypes. The show amplifies voices from the Middle East, helping to balance out Western media bias.

    Additionally, as someone with Iranian heritage and as a graduate student, I find many episodes to be cathartic and grounding. It reminds me why I am pursuing my studies and serves as a reminder that there is still much work to be done. The podcast serves as an entry point into non-white perspectives for those unfamiliar with issues relating to The East.

    While The East is a Podcast excels in many aspects, there are minor drawbacks worth mentioning. Some listeners may find the intro/outro music too long or repetitive at times. However, this small gripe in no way detracts from the overall content of each episode.

    In conclusion, I cannot recommend The East is a Podcast highly enough. It has become an essential part of my weekly routine and has provided me with valuable insights into Middle Eastern politics that are often overlooked by other leftist podcasts I listen to. The show offers a refreshing and informative perspective that challenges mainstream narratives and invites listeners to critically engage with the complex issues at hand. Whether you are already well-versed in The East or new to the topic, this podcast is a must-listen.



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    Latest episodes from The East is a Podcast

    The humble olive w/ Robert Massoud

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2025 61:47


    Robert Massoud is the founder of Zatoun, which bottles and distributes olive oil from Palestine around the world. He also ran Beit Zatoun in downtown Toronto for many years.   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Tankie Group Therapy #32: The West is not worth saving

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 99:35


    Tankie Groupy Therapy is back! A lively, "dudes rock" episode featuring: Alex, Joe, Sina, Adnan, and our newest member, Jay Ware from Millennials are Killing Capitalism  Check out Adnan's conversation with Alana Lentin on his new podcast  Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Fundraisers Mohammed's campaign has languished since the amazing boost he received last month. Please consider supporting him or his brother's fundraiser https://chuffed.org/project/120676-mohammed-from-gaza Consider supporting his brother's campaign as well https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ameer-and-his-family-rebuild-their-lives Support 'Mahmoud Khalil Center for Children in Northern Gaza https://www.chuffed.org/project/128465-help-bring-life-back-to-a-neighborhood-in-gaza The Sameer Project https://chuffed.org/project/113222-tent-campaign-the-sameer-project

    Alex Aviña: "Ayotzinapa and Palestine: Global Laboratories of Repression"

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2025 66:38


    Comrade and longtime friend of the show Alex Aviña recently gave a lecture the seminar  "Global Laboratories of Repression, Global Visions of Liberation" and the organizers have kindly shared the audio for listeners of the show!      

    Fascism has no ethnicity: a forum on the Ziofash ascendency

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2025 103:05


    **Note: This extra-long conversation continued for another 25 mins, which has been posted for Patrons of the show.** A very special episode featuring comrades and former guests of the show: Nora Barrows-Friedman from El, writer Morgan Artyukhina, filmmaker Dror Dayan, and Adam Horowitz from Mondoweiss Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Is your Rage Pure Enough? w/Sina Rahmani - Psychlib ep.5

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 98:24


    *I was invited to the Psychlib podcast to discuss the power of rage and it resulted in ~90 mins of mostly me ranting*  In this wide-ranging and wide-ranting discussion, Sina, Sacha and Benji explore the psychological clay feet of the dying white empire. We explore the entanglement of settler colonies and how they can't genocide their way to victory over the rest of the world. We look at the psychological protective and mobilizing role of rage. If, like us, you consider that ranting Sina is peak Sina, you'll enjoy this episode!   Watch the video on their YouTube channel

    Syncretic imperialism: A forum on Spanish imperialism in Latin America

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 71:53


    A forum exploring some of the characteristics of Spanish imperialism in Latin America featuring comrade Alex Aviña, and co-hosts of Kuskalla podcast, Yojana Miraya Oscco and Renzo Aroni   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Is the Apocalypse Avoidable? Are We Headed for World War 3? w/ Sina Rahmani

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2025 158:07


    *I recently did two very long livestreams with friend of the show and comrade Jared Ware from Millenials are Killing Capitalism. I didn't want to subject all of you on the free feed to almost six hours of mostly Sina yeling so I put one of our conversations behind the paywall. You can watch that episode linked below* Back by popular demand. Sina Rahmani will return to the show to discuss whether we are in the early days of World War 3. Has it been "quietly" raging for a few years now? Are such questions hyperbolic or alarmist by nature? What possible futures actually await us in an era of extreme violence and geopolitical fluctuation? In particular, we will discuss the possibility of a US-Israeli detente with Iran, the continuation of hybrid war, or the escalation to a more direct hot war. How does the "trade war" with China figure into this?  Check out Friday's discussion if you missed it. Because 3 hours is a long conversation, we included "key moments" in the show description so you can navigate to specific parts if you prefer:   Support The Sameer Project - https://linktr.ee/thesameerproject Campaign for Ameer - https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ameer... Campaign for Mohammed - https://chuffed.org/project/120676-mo... Our BuyMeACoffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/makcapitalism Subscribe to The East Is A Podcast on YT:    / @theeastisapodcast   Their podcast feed: https://eastisapodcast.libsyn.com/ Support The East Is A Podcast Here:   / east_podcast   Support MAKC Here:    

    Team Barbarism is winning!

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 87:45


    *Producer's note: This episode begins with a request to help my friend Mohammed in Gaza. Please consider supporting Mohammed's fundraiser to support his family in their efforts to survive the genocide. As I explain in the episode, Mohammed's family has been displaced 5 times, most recently 10 days ago! Any sized donation is welcome!* Prof. Adnan Husain hosts a conversation with Nora Barrrows Friedman (@norabf), Alex Aviña (@Alexander_Avina/), and Sina Rahmani (@UrOrientalist) about the increasingly violent and dangerous turn of events both in the imperial core and West Asia. *Co-published with The Adnan Husain Show* Watch the video edition on Adnan's YouTube channel  Like, subscribe, share and support (if you can!): www.patreon.com/adnanhusain @adnanahusain on X adnanahusain.substack.com www.youtube.com/adnanahusain786 www.adnanhusain.org  

    Tankie Group Therapy #31: This is what imperial decline looks like

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2025 75:39


    **Note: We recorded this episode on Sunday afternoon, one day before the Ziofash Entity committed a heinous massacre and ended their ceasefire pretense.** After a brief hiatus, the Tankie Group Therapy crew (Sina, Alex, Nora, Mikey, Louis, Joe) reunite to discuss the ongoing genocide in Palestine and beyond. Video edition available here Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

    Why we write w/ Mary Turfah and Taylor Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2025 75:44


    Friend of the show Alex Avina returns to guesthost a conversation about writing and resistance with Mary Turfah and Taylor Miller. Check out some of their recent work below: "Against These Walls: A Unity of Struggle from Gaza to Sonora" Taylor Miller "Peace From Our Point of View" Mary Turfah "Points of Entry" Mary Turfah "Silicon Wadi, Silicon Desert" Taylor Miller Watch the video edition on our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/2XEPGfRF5-4   Bonus episode coming soon!   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Iran's History and Geopolitical Relations w/Prof. David N. Yaghoubian

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2025 56:36


    This is a preview of a recent episode of The Adnan Husain Show. The conversation continued for another full hour! Subscribe to Adnan's show on your podcatcher to listen to the full episode or watch it on YouTube linked below. Prof. Adnan Husain discusses the modern history of Iran from the late nineteenth century to contemporary relations with the US with friend and colleague Prof. David N. Yaghoubian of California State University-San Bernardino. We discuss Iran's traditions of statecraft and geopolitical relations with imperial powers, Russia and Britain, until the Cold War, when Iran became a pillar of US hegemony in the Middle East after subverting and overthrowing the nationalist government of Mossadegh. Prof. Yaghoubian shares his analysis of the current Iranian state's alliances with Russia and China to evade unremitting US sanctions as one of "grievances" rather than "interests" created by aggressive US policy. A wide-ranging conversation benefiting from Prof. Yaghoubian's thorough historical knowledge and trenchant political analysis. Dr. David N. Yaghoubian is Professor of Modern west Asian and Islamic History at California State University-San Bernardino and author of "Ethnicity, Identity, and the Development of Nationalism in Iran" (Syracuse, 2014) and co-editor of "Struggle and Survival in the Modern Middle East" (3rd edition forthcoming).  Please subscribe, share, and support this channel: https://adnanahusain.substack.com/ https://www.patreon.com/adnanhusain https://www.adnanhusain.org/  

    The tallest trees in the forest: Indigenous resistance and martyrdom w/ Nick Estes and Ali Alizadeh

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2025 76:33


    Longtime friends of the show and host of The Red Nation Podcast Nick Estes (@nickwestes) and Ali Alizadeh (@Ali7adeh) from Jedaal to look at the history of the Party of God and its martyred leaders against the wider backdrop of Indigenous resistance to settler colonialism. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Check out the documentary, Hezbollah: The Untold Story and subscribe to Jedaal English Nick's latest piece for his substack, "A prayer for Leonard Peltier" Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Canada vs. Mexico: Two models of anti-sovereignty

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 13, 2025 59:36


    *Producer's note: I put the audio of the final 15 mins of this conversation behind the paywall.  You can listen to that portion of the conversation by signing up for $5 a month at patreon.com/east_podcast or you can watch the entire episode for free on the EIAP YouTube channel linked below* A roundtable discussion featuring Tankie Group Therapy stalwarts Alex and Joe as well as Adnan Husain, who recently launched his own channel, to discuss the recent trade war threats from the Trump regime to his two largest trading partners. Watch the full conversation on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Gaza is Unconquered, Palestine is STILL the Issue w/ Sina Rahmani

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 9, 2025 63:21


    *I have been helping friend of the show Adnan Husain with his new media project.  This episode we recorded after our previous episode was lost (albeit temporarily) by our recording software. That episode is now available behind the paywall on my patreon and Adnan's linked below*  Professor Adnan Husain and Sina Rahmani (The East is a Podcast) discuss the political lessons and implications of the Gaza ceasefire agreement for the cause of Palestine, regional and geopolitics of resistance against US/Western empire, and on the direction of the anti-imperial solidarity movements across Europe and North America. Watch the video edition on our YouTube channel Subscribe to the podcast feed here Please subscribe, share, and support this channel: https://adnanahusain.substack.com/ https://www.patreon.com/adnanhusain https://www.adnanhusain.org  

    Refaat Alareer's voice from the archives

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2025 98:32


    *Friend of the show Nora Barrows-Friedman collected some of Refaat's audio archive.* In a special audio podcast episode dedicated to the voice and the words of Dr. Refaat Alareer, we weave together five separate interviews we conducted between 2014 and 2018. Alareer was a beloved professor, poet and mentor who helped sharpen countless young minds and who still inspires people all over the world. He was murdered by Israel on 6 December, 2023, along with six other members of his family in Gaza.  Read more:  https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/... 

    Never again? Germany and the Gaza Holocaust w/ Dror Dayan (pt.2)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2025 10:17


    **A preview of the latest bonus episode: the second half of my conversation with Dror Dayan about Germany's role in the Axis of Genocide. Subscribe on Patreon to access hundreds of bonus episodes and help support the show. Alternatively, you can watch the episode for free on YouTube**  Dror Dayan (@DrorDayan) is a filmmaker, political activist and film scholar based in Berlin and Liverpool.  Make sure to check out the first half of this conversation, posted on the main feed Check out "Not Just Your Picture: The Story of the Kilani Family" https://notjustyourpicture.com/ Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Tankie Group Therapy #30: They will never break them (or us)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2025 65:14


    Lara Sheehi joins as our therapist with Jon Elmer(successfully pressured by your comments on the Day 467 Sit Rep), Nora, Mikey, Alex, and Joe. Hours before the ceasefire is set to go into effect, we debrief our worry, our awe and pride in the Palestinians, our rage at genocide, why we did this series of so-called "tankie therapy" and why some of us had to avoid it sometimes over the past 15 months. Will this be the last one? Watch the episode on The Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

    Tankie Group Therapy #29: No disclaimers necessary

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 14, 2025 68:32


    Two beloved members of the Tankie Group Therapy crew (Joe and Matteo) return after long absences to join Alex, Nora, and Sina to discuss some of the recent (not so very good) news. Watch the video edition on our YouTube channel (coming soon!) Check out Joe's essay, "My Health Ordeal of 2024" Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Never again? Germany and the Gaza Holocaust w/ Dror Dayan (pt.1)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2025 65:14


    Dror Dayan is a filmmaker, political activist and film scholar based in Berlin and Liverpool.    Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast      

    Imperial Debris: From 1492 to the Gaza pier w/ Taylor Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 27, 2024 63:48


    Alex Axina (@Alexander_Avina) returns as guest host to interview Taylor Miller about the meaning of Gaza "humanitarian pier" against the wider historical backdrop of genocidal settler colonialism. Check out Taylor's article, "Land Grab, By Sea" Consider supporting the podcast www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Tankie Group Therapy #28: Imperialism is the primary contradiction

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 16, 2024 69:56


    A reduced crew for Tankie Group Therapy featuring Nora, Alex, and Sina discussing the end of the Syrian Arab Republic and its wide-ranging consequences. Video edition coming soon!   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Chaos in the Levant: Fake ceasefire in Lebanon; hot war in Syria w/ Adnan Husain

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2024 95:24


    Adnan Husain (@adnanahusain), Medieval European and Middle Eastern historian at Queen's University and co-host of Guerilla History, returns to discuss recent developments in the region. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast Youtube channel or Adnan's (still under construction) personal channel (Coming soon!) Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    "The settlers and the land will never be one" w/ Good Shepherd Collective

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2024 90:41


    A conversation with GSC founders Bana Abu Zuluf and Cody O'Rourke. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel "The Good Shepherd Collective was formed in Palestine in 2017 in response to the restrictive NGO system and its inability to meet the needs of the moment. GSC understands oppression as rooted in the systems and laws guiding civil formation and order. As such, we are an anti-zionist, anti-colonial, and, by definition, anti-capitalist organization. We advocate for justice through a process of decolonization that ushers in a future where the material resources and political process are decoupled from capitalist systems of control and returned to the indigenous peoples. To learn more about our programs, click here." Support their work

    Tankie Group Therapy #27: Predict what you want, the precondition is liberation

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2024 77:23


    Actual therapist Lara Sheehi joins us with Justin, Sina, Mikey and Nora in the group. We talk about psychic intrusions, shame, the tricky ecosystem of the colonial assault on the mind, and setting the precondition as liberation. Watch the video edition on the Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel  

    Tankie Group Therapy #26: Liberals are the problem

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2024 104:07


    An extra large helping of Tankie Group Therapy featuring Sina, Mikey, Joe, Nick Estes and, in his debut, Adnan Husain, and also two surprise guests!  Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast  

    James Connoly: Requiem for a working class hero

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2024 105:48


    Conor McCabe (@CMacCaba) is a research fellow with Queen's Business School, Queens University Belfast and editor of The Lost & Early Writings James Connolly (2024), published by Iskra Books. Download the book for free or purchase a copy here https://www.iskrabooks.org/lost-and-early-writings   Watch the fantastic conversation between Conor and Jay from Millenials are Killing Capitalism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj6oMP4mMyM&ab_channel=MillennialsAreKillingCapitalismLive%21   Video edition available on the East is a Podcast Youtube channel https://youtu.be/UMr1D29SB-A   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Tankie Group Therapy #25: Conspiracy of silence

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2024 66:05


    Small therapy group convenes with Sina, Joe, and Alex. We talk about denial, shame, fear, historical lies and current ones. Watch the video edition on The Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Literary Gaza

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2024 147:08


    *Audio recording of a panel orgnized by friend of the show Frances Hasso. Video edition coming soon!* Convened by Dr. Frances S. Hasso, Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, History, and Sociology, as part of The Palestine Seminar at Duke University https://gendersexualityfeminist.duke.edu/literary-gaza-hybrid Speakers “My Age is Thirty-five Years Old and Five Wars" Basman Aldirawi  Basman Aldirawi (also Basman Derawi) is a Palestinian and Gazan, a refugee from Bi'r al-Saba`, and currently in Egypt due to the aggression on Gaza. He works as a physiotherapist at the Gaza Ministry of Health and since 2018 has been a member of the Gaza Poets Society, the first spoken word community in Gaza. He has contributed dozens of stories and poems to many online platforms and publications, including We Are Not Numbers (2019), Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire (2022), and the We Are Not Numbers online platform that gives a voice to the victims of Israeli aggression in Gaza/Palestine. "The Demon of Gaza" Esmat Elhalaby Esmat Elhalaby is an Assistant Professor of transnational history at the University of Toronto. He works principally on the intellectual history of West and South Asia, particularly colonial and anti-colonial thought. “The 5 Stages of Grief, According to a Palestinian” Samah Serour Fadil Samah Serour Fadil is an Afro-Palestinian writer, editor and translator. Her work has been featured at the Yale University Art Gallery, Fresno State University and The Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery at Haverford College, among others.  “Tent in the Sky” Alaa Na`eem `Ali Al-Qatrawi:   Alaa Na`eem `Ali al-Qatrawi completed her PhD in 2022 in Arabic Literature and Criticism at the Islamic University in Gaza, focused on the poetry of Adonis. Her MA thesis at the Islamic University, which examined Ahmed Bakhit's poetry, won the Award for Best MA thesis in the Humanities in 2015. Dr. Al-Qatrawi is an accomplished poet and short story and operetta writer, winning among others the Abdulaziz Al-Babtain Award for the best poetry collection in the category of young poets in 2022, first in the Union of Palestinian Writers Competition in 2015, first in the Ministry of Culture's poetry competition among all Palestinian universities in 2013, first in short stories in the Arab world in the international competition organized by Chinese Books and Dar Fadaat Publishing House in Amman (2019), and first in the Letter to Jerusalem competition (2010). She works as an Arabic Language teacher in UNRWA schools at the elementary and secondary levels. She has previously worked as a linguist and screenwriter for UNRWA children's programming. Dr. Alaa's Instagram and Facebook pages. Sponsor Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies, Duke University Co-Sponsor(s) Asian & Middle Eastern Studies Program (AMES); History Department; Middle East Studies Center (DUMESC); Asian American & Diaspora Studies Program

    Open season on journalists w/ Asa Winstanley

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2024 68:51


    Asa Winstanley (@AsaWinstanley) is an investigative journalist with the Electronic Intifada and author of Weaponising Anti-Semitism: How the Israel Lobby Brought Down Jeremy Corbyn (2022).   Check out his latest bombshell on the widespread employment of the "Hannibal Directive" by the Zionist colonial military forces and police on October 7th, 2023.   https://www.asawinstanley.com/   Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast      

    Unholy alliance: Zionism, Philosemitism, and Imperialism w/ Nora Barrows-Friedman and Adam Horowitz

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2024 71:03


    Adam Horowitz (@mondowitz) is Executive Editor of Mondoweiss (@Mondoweiss)   Nora Barrows-Friedman (@norabf) is Associate Editor of The Electronic Intifada (@intifada), radio broadcaster, author, co-host of the EI Podcast and @thebriefpod   Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel     Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss  

    Tankie Group Therapy #24: I ain't reading all that, Free Palestine!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 7, 2024 82:15


    Tankie Therapy crew (Nora, Mikey, Alex, Joe, Sina, and Louis) gets together to reflect on one year after Al Aqsa Flood and the Gaza genocide. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    "Bury us under every stone and house, we will not leave Palestine": The martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah w/ Roqayah Chamseddine

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2024 32:16


    Roqayah Chamseddine (@roqchams) is a journalist and writer based in Lebanon and co-host of Delete Ur Account Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    "Weaker than a spider's web": The ghosts of the 2006 Lebanon war w/ Karim Makdisi

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2024 52:46


    *Note: This is the part of my conversation with Karim. We continued for another 45 mins! To listen to the entire episode, join The East is a Podcast Patreon. Help keep the show going and access hundreds of hours of bonus content!*  AUB professor and co-host of Makdisi Street Karim Makdisi (@KarimMakdisi) returns to the show after a five-year hiatus(!) to discuss the history of Israeli state terrorism against Lebanon and the decades-long histories of resistance that have confronted it.   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss  

    Tankie Group Therapy #23: What happened to us?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2024 73:58


    Louis, Mikey, Nora, Sina, Alex, and Joe join for our usual therapy session. We talk about the developing Israel-Lebanon war, the difficulty performing everyday life, Macklemore's new song, Hinds Hall 2, and the historical changes we're living through. Watch the episode on the Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    The Crusades and the origins of the West w/ Adnan Husain

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 18, 2024 49:40


    Adnan Husain (@adnanahusain) returns to the show to talk in-depth about the meaning of the Crusades to our understanding of contemporary imperialism. *Note: This is the part of my conversation with Adnan. We continued for another hour! To listen to the entire episode, join The East is a Podcast Patreon for $5 a month. Help keep the show going and access hundreds of hours of bonus content.  Alternatively, you can watch the episode for free on our YouTube channel linked below* Adnan Husain (@adnanahusain) is a Medieval European and Middle Eastern historian at Queen's University and co-host of Guerilla History. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss  

    Why the world needs China w/ Kyle Ferrana

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2024 65:39


    Kyle Ferrana (@KyleTrainEmoji) is a writer, software engineer, and tenant organizer.  He is the author of Why the World Needs China: Development, Environmentalism, Conflict Resolution & Common Prosperity (2024) Check out his latest article,"The Occupation of East Asia"  Watch the video edition on the East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

    Tankie Group Therapy #22: The Bad Guys

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 25, 2024 74:30


    Nora, Alex, Sina, Joe, and Mikey join for our normal therapy session just after Hizbollah's response and after a particularly rough week with the RNC and DNC disconnecting with multiple massacres in Gaza. We talk about our narrowing social circles and how we fend off the siren call of nihilism. Watch the episode on the Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss

    "The decolonization of Palestine is the liberation of the region" w/ Adnan Husain

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 60:09


    *Note: This is the first hour of my conversation with Adnan. We continued for another 45 mins! To listen to the entire episode, join The East is a Podcast Patreon for $5 a month. Help keep the show going and access hundreds of hours of bonus content.  Alternatively, you can watch the episode for free on our YouTube channel linked below* Adnan Husain (@adnanahusain) is a Medieval European and Middle Eastern historian at Queen's University and co-host of Guerilla History. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss

    Gaza Palestine Hearing: International People's Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2024 115:37


      The International People's Tribunal on US Imperialism: Sanctions, Blockades and Economic Coercive Measures condemns the Israeli assassination of Yasser Adnan Ibrahim al-Derawi, 31 year old attorney from Gaza, Palestine. He served as an expert witness in our Gaza hearing on May 13, 2023.   We recently learned of Yasser's murder after local journalists searched for him to discuss his research on the Israeli blockade and other war crimes in Gaza, Palestine. They informed us that Yasser was targeted during an Israeli bombing campaign of his home in December 2023, following a series of letters he sent to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in collaboration with the Center for the Protection of Human Rights documenting Israeli war crimes in Palestine and Gaza specifically. He testified before the International People's Tribunal (@sanctionstribunal) during the fifth day of an active Israeli bombardment campaign against Gaza. Two witnesses left the hearing abruptly because the homes near them were being bombed as they testified.  In the morning of Yasser's testimony, he attended a fact-gathering meeting at Al-Shifa Hospital, which has since been completely destroyed by the Israelis and is described by the World Health Organization as “an empty shell with human graves.” He explained that this meeting was to document Israeli atrocities committed during the May 2023 bombardment. In his powerful testimony before the Tribunal, he stated repeatedly that the “Israelis don't distinguish between women, children, elderly. They kill all civilians without distinguishing between targets. They declare war on civilians, targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.” He noted the use of internationally banned weapons and cited multiple violations of international law, including Article 33 of the Geneva Convention. He stated that the Israeli objective is to “destroy the Palestinian will to resist and live.” Yasser was keenly aware of the US role in perpetrating war crimes against Palestinians and the people of Gaza. He noted that the Israelis cannot make any decisions unless they get an agreement from Washington DC, and that just two days prior, the US blocked the condemnation of Israel before the Security Council. “We call it the United States of imperialism, that's what supports the Israelis.” Yasser concluded his testimony with the following statement: “We join this Tribunal with the hope that we can prosecute the apartheid regime of Israel. We are ready to present any evidence that you want us to provide to document and show the crimes of the Zionist occupation in Gaza…. We've asked multiple times for the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into these crimes, but the Court is slow to respond.” The People's Tribunal on US imperialism understands that international institutions such as the ICC are rooted in legacies of colonialism and shaped by the diktats of US imperialism, which materially and politically supports the settler colonial state of Israel as its imperial outpost. This has undermined the international community's ability to take the action needed–action Yasser so powerfully called for in his testimony–to prevent the genocide currently underway in Gaza. Had the world heeded the calls of Yasser and other Palestinians, we could have prevented the deaths of over 186,000 Palestinians and the extensive destruction and waste of life, land and infrastructure produced by this imperialist-zionist assault on the Palestinian people. Despite its limitations, Yasser was committed to working within the framework of international law. He held a Masters degree in Public Law and his dissertation was entitled “The Powers of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.” At the time of his assassination, he was attending a doctoral program in International Criminal Law, and had participated in numerous conferences advocating for Palestinian liberation. He was actively training to participate in prosecuting Israel in international legal fora and was a member of the War Crimes Protection Committee of the Center for the Protection of Human Rights. Yasser is survived by his wife and children. We send our profound condolences to his family during this unimaginable time of grief. In addition to this personal loss, we understand Yasser's martyrdom as a loss for the Palestinian national liberation movement, as well as for the international community of anti-imperialist lawyers. The best way we can honor Yasser is to continue his fight for justice and accountability for Zionist crimes and for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea. https://solidarityiran.org/2024/08/20/israel-assassinates-sanctions-tribunal-expert-witness-in-gaza/   https://sanctionstribunal.org/

    Tankie Group Therapy #21 : Single Issue Empire

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 11, 2024 70:42


    The group gets together after two weeks of assassinations, literal mask-off moments, and massacres. The idea of the "single issue voter" arises - but perhaps it's a single-issue empire. Sina, Nora, Alex and Mikey all join for our therapy session. Watch the video edition on the Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alYojyLDoZE Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss

    Stranger in My Own Land w/ Fida Jiryis

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2024 75:25


    Friend of the show Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) guest hosts a conversation with Fida Jiryis, author of Stranger in My Own Land: Palestine, Israel and One Family's Story of Home (2023) Read an excerpt of the book here https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/27/no-place-like-home-my-bitter-return-to-palestine Watch the episode on our YouTube channel https://youtu.be/NIcKWLqQ9iE   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out The Anti-Imperialist Archive http://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss    

    Tankie Group Therapy #20: Yemen's Sacrifice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2024 72:40


    Another session of Tankie Group Therapy featuring the old crew: @justinpodur, @norabf, @karaokecomputer, @rosendo_joe,  @alexander_avina, and Urorientalist.The session seemed to revolve mostly around Ansarallah ("Houthis") statements after they attacked Tel Aviv and were bombed by Israeli F-35s. The disconnect between their response and Western solidarity. And then we got the news of Biden stepping down, so some quick reactions to that at the end. Watch the video edition on Justin's fantastic YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast  

    "Palestinians are the glue that holds Israel together" w/ Mary Turfah

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2024 65:26


    Founder of Liberated Texts and longtime supporter of the show Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) returns to guest host an episode with Mary Turfah (@maryturfah) about her article on Zionist sadism.  Watch the episode on our YouTube channel "Running Amok"  https://thebaffler.com/latest/running-amok-turfah Liberated Texts https://liberatedtexts.com/ Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    "Landscape of deathmaking": The Palestine/Mexico Border w/ Taylor Miller

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 70:01


    Friend of the show Alex Aviña guests hosts an episode with geographer Taylor Miller about the intertwined systems of carceral border control policing the US/Mexico border and Palestine.  Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel "A Pause, On Possibility"  https://www.averyreview.com/issues/65/a-pause-on-possibility The University of Arizona's Institutionalized Border Violence https://thenewinquiry.com/the-university-of-arizonas-institutionalized-border-violence/ Consider supporting the show  www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    "The commando who never fired a gun": Lessons from the life of Ghassan Kanafani w/ Louis Allday

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2024 68:24


    [Producer's note: My conversation with Louis went on for another 30 minutes so if you are interested in listening sign up for Patreon at $5 a month]  Longtime friend of the show Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) is back to discuss the 52nd anniversary of Ghassan Kanafani's martyrdom. Check out Anni Kanafani's Ghassan Kanafani which features Louis' fantastic introductory text,  “A Race Against Time”: The life and death of Ghassan Kanafani Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show  www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

    Tankie Group Therapy #19: Running Amok

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2024 69:12


    On June 18, The Baffler published an article by Mary Turfah called "Running Amok" in which Mary tried to understand the psychology underlying Israeli troops and citizens' production of trophy videos and photos we have been seeing during the war. Our therapy group (@justinpodur, @norabf, @karaokecomputer, @rosendo_joe, @louis_allday, @alexander_avina), got together with Mary to talk through the article and use it to understand the Israeli mentality that has left us stunned for all these months.   Watch the video edition on Justin's fantastic YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Poetry for Liberation: From Haiti to Palestine

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2024 98:28


    On 10 May 2024, the Early Caribbean Society hosted a virtual, communal, poetry reading noting connections between Haiti, Sudan, DRC, Palestine, and Indigenous people on Turtle Island, facing invasion and genocide. Program available here https://earlycaribbeansociety.org/events/poetry-for-liberation-from-haiti-to-palestine/ Watch the video edition of The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Donate to CareForGaza and to the family of one of our poetry readers Consider supporting the show  www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Bonus Episode 182 - Palestine and the right to defensive violence w/ Alex Avina

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 11:34


    This is a preview of the latest bonus episode. Sign up for $5 a month to access the entire conversation. Friend of the show Alex Aviña (@Alexander_Avina) joined me for an episode on the perennial questions of violence and self-defence. CBC Documentary about Palestinian resistance in Gaza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J__Burgr8qU&t=312s&ab_channel=AnnaBens

    Indigenous solidarity in the time of genocide: Standing against settler colonialism from the Turtle Island to Palestine w/ Madonna Thunder Hawk

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2024 80:37


      Walaa Alqaisiya (@walqaisiya) is a Palestinian academic born and raised in Hebron in the West Bank. She is a Marie Curie Fellow based at the University of Venice, Italy. Walaa's work draws on anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist, and feminist approaches to highlight the deeply gendered and ecocidal nature of Zionist settler colonialism and US-led imperialism. Madonna Thunder Hawk is a Lakota activist best known as a member and leader in the American Indian Movement (AIM), co-founding Women of All Red Nations (WARN) and the Black Hills Alliance,and as an organizer against the Dakota Access Pipeline. She established the Wasagiya Najin Grandmothers' Group on the Cheyenne River to help build kinship networks while also developing Simply Smiles Children Village. She also serves as the Director of Grassroots Organizing for the Red Road Institute. Thunderhawk has spoken around the world as a delegate to the United Nations and is currently the Lakota People's Law Project principal and Tribal liaison. She was an international Indian Treaty Council delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva and a delegate to the U.N. Decade of Women Conference in Mexico City.   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

    Imperial scheming and the "humanitarian pier" in Gaza w/ Ahmed Alqarout

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2024 78:58


    The US regime has spent over 300 million USD constructing a port on the Gaza coast and is calling it a "humanitarian pier". Ahmed Alqarout (@MENAUnleashed), a political economist from Gaza based in the UK, explores the darker motivations behind the construction of the port. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the podcast www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

    Tankie Group Therapy #18 - Tank you for being a friend

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2024 65:14


    We're back for another round of group therapy talking about the latest developments in the Gaza genocide with a small group of Tankies therapees: Sina (@UrOrientalist, Rob (@robrousseau) and Mikey (karaokecomputer). Sadly, our comrade Joe Emersburger was on the call but his file didn't upload so we sometimes reference his contribution. Please send your complaints to Podcastle.ai for their shitty, unstable platform. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the podcast www.patreon.com/east_podcast

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