The Lede

This week’s episode of Global Insights on The Lede looks at the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif, with insight from Itamar Mann, a professor at the University of Haifa’s Faculty of Law, New Lines’ Middle East Editor Kareem Shaheen and Global...

On this week’s episode of the podcast, Middle East cultural expert Diana Darke joins New Lines’ Lydia Wilson to discuss the unacknowledged influence of Islamic architecture on medieval buildings throughout Europe. Further reading | A New Theory: European Cathedrals Show Traces of Ancient Egypt Produced by Finbar Anderson

One week after the American election, New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai is joined by the novelist and commentator Hari Kunzru for a discussion on the changing currents of American society and culture, the author’s recent novels, and Kunzru’s new introduction to the Edward Said classic “Culture and Imperialism.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

Throughout 2024, The Lede has covered a number of elections. Few of them are likely to be as consequential as the reelection of Donald Trump in the United States. A panel of New Lines editors discuss what Trump’s victory means both for America and around the world. Further reading: The Threat Trump Poses Is Real, but Democrats Must Learn Through Defeat Produced by Finbar Anderson

Once again, the debate over whether or not Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump might be a threat to the future of America’s democracy is dominating the narrative around November’s knife-edge election. But that debate, political scientists John Sides and Sheri Berman tell New Lines’ Danny Postel, is unlikely to be where the election is actually won or lost. Produced by Finbar Anderson Addi...

In this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, Gazan journalist Abeer Ayyoub tells New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe about a recent trip to Cairo, Egypt, to which her sister has recently fled from Gaza. Ayyoub also tells Liwewe about her parents’ decision to stay in the beleaguered northern part of Gaza. Produced by Finbar Anderson

This week’s episode of The Lede welcomes back returning guest Ece Temelkuran, whose book “How To Lose a Country,” has just been republished with the subtitle, “The Seven Steps From Democracy to Fascism.” Temelkuran joins Faisal Al Yafai to test the pulse of global democracy and consider the rise of fascism since her last appearance on the podcast.   Produced by Finbar Anderson

In this week’s episode of The Lede, New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai is joined by The Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign affairs correspondent, Yaroslav Trofimov, for a discussion about modern Ukraine and Trofimov’s new novel, “No Country for Love,” set in the country’s turbulent early 20th century. Produced by Finbar Anderson

In this week’s episode, New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai discusses the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and the outsize role the Hezbollah leader had in the Arab world and Israel with the magazine’s Middle East Editor Kareem Shaheen and Yair Wallach, a reader in Israeli studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. Further reading: The Day After Hassan Nasrallah Produced by Fi...

On this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, the executive director of the joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, Winnie Byanyima, joins New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe to examine the global response to the mpox outbreak in Africa, and how it relates to the continent’s past and ongoing struggle against HIV. Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week’s episode of The Lede, renowned professor of Holocaust and genocide studies Omer Bartov of Brown University joins New Lines’ Lisa Goldman to discuss his recent trip to Israel and how his position in the debate on genocide has fundamentally changed. Produced by Finbar Anderson

For this first episode of the new season of The Lede, New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai sits down with journalist Paul Caruana Galizia, whose mother was murdered in Malta as a result of her reporting, to discuss the importance of investigative journalism and the terrible price it can exact. Produced by Finbar Anderson

As The Lede takes a summer break, listen again to one of our favorite conversations from the past year, which was shortlisted in the International Women's Podcast Awards. This week, we go back to a conversation between Zahra Hankir, author of “Eyeliner: A Cultural History,” and New Lines’ Ola Salem about the fascinating history of the humble eyeliner. Produced by Finbar Anderson

As Global Insights on The Lede takes a summer break, listen again to one of our favorite episodes from the past year. We published this episode about the rise of toxic masculinity in Kenya and South Africa following the murders of two Kenyan women this January, with insight from South African author Rosie Motene and Caroline Kimeu, The Guardian’s East Africa global development correspondent.  Prod...

On this week’s episode of The Lede, sociologist Eman Abdelhadi and David Faris, author of “It’s Time To Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics,” join New Lines’ Danny Postel in Chicago to discuss the ongoing battle to determine the future of the Democratic Party. Further reading: Kamala’s Progressive Skeptics Produced by Finbar Anderson

Ex-Pentagon adviser Jasmine El-Gamal sits down with New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede for a wide-ranging discussion that covers her time working as a translator during the Iraq War and at Guantanamo Bay, the unique perspective she gained working as an adviser to the Pentagon for three U.S. defense secretaries, and Joe Biden’s failures on Gaza. Further reading: Lost and Found in Guantanamo Bay...

Lebanon is no stranger to conflict. For many of its citizens, a vicious 15-year civil war and a short but brutal war with Israel in 2006 are within living memory. Now, another conflict simmers on the country’s southern border with Israel and threatens every day to expand across the country. New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai speaks to Lebanese translator and writer Lina Mounzer to understand what the atmo...

In 100 episodes on The Lede over five seasons, we have had the pleasure of interviewing politicians, authors, academics, thinkers, explorers and plenty of journalists. To celebrate our 100th episode, we held a live event in front of an audience to discuss how the United Kingdom is viewed from an outsider’s perspective. Our guests were the foreign correspondents Barbara Serra and Michael Peel as we...

On this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, host Kwangu Liwewe discusses the inexorable rise of soccer stars of African origin with former Nigeria player Segun “The Mathematical” Odegbami and soccer journalist Ponga Liwewe. Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week’s episode of The Lede, host Faisal Al Yafai catches up with New Lines Politics Editor Danny Postel from Milwaukee, where Postel has been attending the Republican National Convention. Their conversation comes after a momentous week in U.S. politics that not only saw an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, but also the announcement of Sen. J.D. Van...

On this week’s episode of The Lede, veteran journalist Mark Danner joins New Lines’ Politics Editor Danny Postel for a discussion on Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the possible autocratic future looming ahead for America. Further reading: The Mass Psychology of Trumpism — Watch the accompanying video here The United Auto Workers Rejected Trump. Members Aren’t So Sure How the War in Gaza Is Shaping th...

On this episode of The Lede, veteran CNN correspondent Hala Gorani sits down with New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai for a discussion on identity and belonging following the publication of her new memoir, “But You Don’t Look Arab: And Other Tales of Unbelonging.”

In this edition of Global Insights, New Lines Culture Editor Lydia Wilson sits down with host Kwangu Liwewe to discuss the upcoming election in the United Kingdom, which despite potentially heralding a change in government for the first time in 14 years, seems to be a bit lackluster. Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week’s podcast, Cambridge University academic Shruti Kapila, author of “Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age,” sits down with New Lines’ Surbhi Gupta to discuss the shock Indian election result and what it means for the future of the world’s largest democracy. Further listening: The War on India’s Free Press — With Manisha Pande, Samar Halarnkar and Surbhi Gupta I...

While the conflict in Gaza plays out on a tiny strip of land a fraction of the size of Los Angeles, its impact on the wider Middle East region has been huge. New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai speaks to the Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson, Chloe Cornish of the Financial Times and independent journalist Tara Kangarlou to assess how the war has changed the political and economic landscape in Turkey, Egypt, Iran,...