The Fire These Times

Our very own Ayman Makarem released his new video essay ‘ Where Are the Arabs? ’ on March 9, 2025. In this round table, he is joined by Elia and israa to expand on the topics discussed in the video, the context around it, and the need for more intellectual and class-based analysis on Arab nationalism and its many manifestations. If you haven’t watched the video yet you’ll still be able to follow t...

For episode 185, Elia Ayoub is joined by Ukrainian journalist and repeated guest Romeo Kokriatski to talk about the recent developments in Ukraine, especially in light of the Trump administration's open intentions to shift USA support from Ukraine to Russia, and what this means for Ukraine, Europe and the USA. Support: You can support my work with ⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠ ⁠ on Ko-fi M...

On Feb 27, Abdullah Öcalan, the long-time jailed leader of the PKK (Kurdish Worker’s Party), released a statement that shocked many. In the statement he called for the PKK to lay down their arms, which could spell the end of the 40-year long armed struggle against the Turkish state, and for the creation of a legal, diplomatic framework to ensure inclusion, rights, and dignity for the Kurdish commu...

In this special collab episode between Obscuristan  and The Fire These Times, Karena Avedissian and Anna are joined by Daniel Voskoboynik to discuss the life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and what his death means for those of us not quite at the heart of the Russian empire. Obscuristan and The Fire These Times are proud members of ⁠⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠ . Ch...

This is a conversation with ⁠ William C. Anderson⁠ , author of the book ⁠ The Nation on No Map⁠  (AK Press 2021) and co-author of ⁠ As Black as Resistance⁠  (AK Press 2018). He’s also the co-founder of ⁠ Offshoot Journal⁠  and provides creative direction as a producer of the ⁠ Black Autonomy Podcast⁠ . Support: You can support my work with ⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠ ⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass o...

Elia reads and comments on his essay " Punishing the land: Israeli symbolism during the Gaza genocide " for Hauntologies.net  He was also on Al Jazeera to talk about how the Israelis mark the lands they destroy (link in the newsletter). Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠ Newsle...

Elia Ayoub goes into his essay for hauntologies.net  in which he asks: what does it mean to lose the future? The film explored is Maher Abi Samra's 'We Were Communists' (2011). It will be part of our upcoming movie club on the patreon . The Hauntologies Podcast is a production of From The Periphery and part of The Fire These Times podcast. A newsletter version exists at hauntologies.net . To suppo...

It's finally happening. Ayman has finished his new video essay 'Where are the Arabs?'. 'Where are the Arabs?' is a long-form video essay about the history, failures, and nostalgia of Arab Nationalism. It's one Arab leftist's attempt to sift through this trend, see its remnant today, nd dispell its myths. Today, there is no Arab solidarity in action. But was there ever?...

Elia Ayoub reads from his Hauntologies.net piece "⁠ This Moment. Or, Why I Cannot Mourn Gaza ⁠" which is available for free. Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter : Subscribe to ⁠⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠⁠⁠ Social Media : I’m on ⁠⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠ , ⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠ ⁠Mastodon...

For episode 183, Leila and Elia are joined by Wendy Pearlman to discuss her newest book, The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora as well as her previous book We Crossed a Bridge and Trembled .  Note that we recorded this episode on November 9, 2024 – just weeks prior to the ousting of the Assad regime. As such, a few small details of the conversation are now ‘outdated’, howe...

For episode 182, Elia, Anna, and Dana are joined by author, scholar, and activist Naomi Klein to discuss her most recent book, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World , and the myriad connections her analysis of the cultural rise of fascism has to our work at From the Periphery.  Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠...

Elia Ayoub reads from his newsletter piece " Merry Christmas Homs: Tribute to Bassel Shehadeh's Last City " which is available for free. It is a reference to a short film directed by Bassel during Christmas 2011 in Homs under heavy shelling by the Assad regime. You can watch it on YouTube . Trigger warning: this audio features some sounds from the original film, including airstrikes....

For episode 181, Elia Ayoub is joined by Margaret Killjoy to talk about her piece " ⁠The Sky is Falling; We've Got This⁠ " published on her newsletter. We recorded this shortly after Trump was announced as the winner of the US elections and many people were feeling despair, understandably so. Check out Margaret's new book and first novel " The Sapling Cage " with Femini...

For episode 180, Leila Al-Shami and Elia Ayoub are joined by Dr Banah Ghadbian to talk about her piece " Give Us Our Land Back: The Golan Heights, Greenwashing, Syria and Palestine’s Intertwined Revolutions " published on Spectre Journal. We spoke of the importance of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights in the liberation of both Palestine and Syria. This was recorded before the fall of th...

For episode 179, Beirut-based journalist Justin Salhani  is joined with New York University professor and journalist Mohamad Bazzi  to talk about the situation in Lebanon before and after the ceasefire with Israel. Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter : Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Hau...

A lot has happened over the last week in Syria, so we figured we'd gather together, as members of From the Periphery, to discuss the latest developments and provide a historical and political background to help understand the current moment. We discuss a broad range of topics starting with an overview of the what's happened in the last week or so, including: the origins of the Syrian revol...

For episode 177, Leila is joined by Serge from Buzuruna Juzuruna, an agro-ecological farm and heirloom seed producer in the Bekka Valley working on food autonomy, and Abir from Hostel Beirut, a worker owned cooperative in the heart of the Lebanese capital committed to social and economic justice for all. We talk about the current situation in Lebanon following the Israeli invasion, the mutual aid...

In this rerun of episode 131, Elia is joined by Dr Yafa El Masri to talk about her paper “ 72 Years of Homemaking in Waiting Zones: Lebanon’s “Permanently Temporary” Palestinian Refugee Camps ” which she presented at the 2022 Pluriverse of Eco-social Justice summer school  in Coimbra, Portugal, where we met. Dr El Masri spoke from first hand experience of commoning in "permanently temporary&q...

For episode 176, Dana El Kurd is joined by Atalia Omer, professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame to discuss her work on the convergences between American neoconservatism, Christian Zionism, and Israeli politics, as well as how attacking Palestine is being used to advance right-wing politics around the world. Omer discusses the impact of American right-wing politi...

In lieu of an episode this week, we're pleased to announce a new podcast within the From the Periphery network. We'll return to regular TFTT releases next week. -- -- -- Welcome to The Mutual Aid Podcast. Join Ayman and israa every week as they discuss, share, and explore all things mutual aid. In this intro episode they talk about the reasons they started this project, what the project even is, a...

For episode 175, Elia Ayoub and Anna (co-host of Obscuristan ) are joined by Larisa Jašarević to talk about her new book “ Beekeeping in the End Times .” They delve into bees and Abrahamic faiths, climate change, folk tradition, and above all how we can all be connecting to the natural world while still remaining rooted in ourselves and our lives. Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-o...

For episode 174, Elia and Ayman sit down to talk about Lebanon. As our little country is in the news for all the worst reasons, we thought it a good idea to give y'all an overview of Lebanese history. Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter : Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠...

For episode 173, Elias Jahshan joins Elia Ayoub , israa abd elfattah and Leila Al-Shami to talk about " This Arab Is Queer " anthology, which he edited and was published by Saqi Books in 2022. Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is now open⁠⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter : Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠⁠⁠...

Ayman sits down with Elia to discuss his article " Hezbollah: 10 Things You Need To Know " which is available for free on his newsletter, hauntologies.net . We recorded this the day before Israel's mass terror attack on Lebanon on 21st of Sept' 24 which left nearly 500 people killed and over 1,000 injured. Elia has also written about that attack for 972mag: With pager blasts and...

For episode 172, Elia Ayoub and Daniel Voskoboynik talk about a very difficult topic: the Holocaust and the Nakba. The ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza brings up urgent questions about how memory is weaponized. Elia also talks about Jonathan Glazer,'s The Zone of Interest and the haunting parallels between the everyday life of the Nazi family portrayed in that movie, and the normalization of g...