From The Periphery Podcast

In this episode, israa’ and Leila are joined by two compas from The Peoples Want , Juls and Alaa, to talk about Revolutions of Our Times , an internationalist manifesto written by The Peoples Want. The Peoples Want is an internationalist from below network where israa’, Leila, Juls, and Alaa organize together, and where From the Periphery Media Collective is also a member as a media collective wor...

In this episode, israa’ reads a dispatch from Iraqi activist Jamal Al-Sayigh. In this important dispatch, Jamal shares an update of the impacts of the escalating violence in Iran and calls for international solidarity in support of: Iraqi civil society and independent activists Feminist and secular movements under threat Trade unions and grassroots organizers The right to political dissent without...

Last Saturday, the 28th of February, Israel and the United States launched an unprovoked attack against Iran. Iran responded by attacking both Israel and US bases in the region, as well as against neighbouring Gulf States. The next day Hezbollah fired rockets from Lebanon, triggering a vicious response by Israel, which greatly expanded the bombing of the country which it never ceased doing despite...

Protests have been raging across Iran since December 28, 2025. This is the 5th wave of mass protests in Iran since 2017. In this episode, Ayman reads an extensive essay (a compilation of 3 essays) published by Crimethinc on the protests movement, providing much needed historical, political, social, and economic context. The 3 essays are titled: Report on the Current Wave of Protests in Iran Contri...

Join co-hosts Ayman Makarem and Elia Ayoub to discuss the British hunger strikers who are currently at risk of death, as they await trial for alleged activities linked to UK-proscribed group Palestine Action. The discussion covers their plight, the denial of due process related to their case—as well as the indifference of the British media and political establishment. Hosts: Ayman Makarem ( ⁠Blues...

To mark one year since the fall of the Assad regime, Ayman Makarem (Politically Depressed), Karena Avidissian, and Leila al-Shami (Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution) sit together to reflect on the fall itself, the Syrian revolution which ultimately led to the fall, and the many many new developments that have occurred since. They discuss the new al-Sharaa administration, the assault and siege on...

In this episode of From the Periphery , we dissect Ilham Aliyev’s latest expansionist remarks and what they signal for the region. We revisit the history of the Armenia–Azerbaijan conflict and the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh in 2023, then examine how Aliyev’s rhetoric denies Armenian indigeneity and lays ideological groundwork for claims on Armenia’s territory. A conversation about imperial ambiti...

Large parts of the besieged Sudanese city of Al-Fashir has fallen to the RSF militia. After 18 months of siege, the RSF have entered. Thousands of civilians, who are already starving, are being displaced. The non-Arab populations of are at extreme risk of ethnic killings by the genocidal RSF militia. In this short episode, Ayman reads out a statement released by the Resistance Committee of Al-Fash...

Karena Avedissian interviews Elyse Semerdjian, a social historian of the Ottoman Empire at Clark University. Thediscussion considers the field of Armenian Genocide studies and its response—or lack thereof—to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. They also consider the pressures shaping Armenian Genocide studies, and the wider politics of speech, funding, and solidarity in academia. What responsibilities d...

FTP hosts Leila al Shami, Karena Avedissian, and Ayman Makarem grapple with what it means to stand in solidarity with Palestine. They reflect on the urgency of responding to injustice, the power of grassroots networks, and the role of activism even in remote rural communities. At the heart of this conversation is a question many of us struggle with: how do we keep showing up when it feels like not...

On May 12, following an extensive congress, the PKK (The Kurdish Workers Party) released a statement announcing their intention to dissolve and end their armed struggle against the Turkish State. This momentous statement comes almost 3 months after the similar call was announcement by Abdullah Ocalan, the party's ideological leader, who remains in captivity in Istanbul. To get more context abo...

In this episode we share 3 big updates from the war in Sudan, specifically concerning the involvement and complicity of the U.A.E as a major player. We also discuss a shocking article written by two Emiratis in the notorious magazine the Jerusalem Post, which attempts to justify the U.A.E’s role in the conflict. These developments mark a scary turning point in the war as well as the U.A.E’s calcul...

For episode 5 of the From The Periphery Podcast, Elia Ayoub is joined by Thinzar Shunlei Yi of the #Sisters2Sisters Myanmar campaign and Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network for Burma group to talk about the recent devastating earthquake in Myanmar, how the military junta responded to it, and what can be done to support the resistance groups on the ground doing it differently.  Myanmar...

50 years ago today, on April 13, 1975, a group of gunmen, belonging to the right-wing Kataeb party, opened fire on a bus of Palestinian civilians in Lebanon, killing 27 and injuring 20 others. Known notoriously as the bus massacre, this event is widely recognized as the trigger that sparked what would come to be known as the Lebanese Civil War. However, the roots of the conflict are far deeper and...

On the 26th of March, the Sudanese army recaptured the capital city Khartoum and expelled the forces of the Rapid Support Forces, which had controlled the city since the start of the war almost 2 years ago. This is a rare moment of joy and celebration amidst an ongoing war which has killed 10s of thousands, and displaced millions of people . The humanitarian catasrophe still going on in Sudan is b...

On Thursday the 27th of March, a new governer was named to head the Central Bank of Lebanon. To help us better understand who this new governer is, why its such a big deal, and how people are reacting to the news, Ayman Makarem and Elia Ayoub are joined by Beirut-based journalist Justin Salhani, who recently wrote an article for Al-Jazeera English on this very topic. They talk about recent develop...

On March 23, the president of Turkey, Erdogan, arrested one of his main political rivals, the current Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, alongside dozens of others. The arrest has sparked a wave of protests that has rocked the country, and with it, police repression, arrests, and mass confusion. To give us more background and an in-depth look at what's happening in the streets, Aydin is joined...