Politically Depressed

Today it is officially one year exactly since I started this podcast. I look back and reflect on this year and talk about the year ahead. What has changed, what has stayed pretty much the same, what has gotten much worse? I ask these questions at the political, personal and polito-personal (to coin a term) level. Thank you to everyone who has listened over the last year. I appreciate every single...

So I got rejected from yet another writing grant. But I persist. From now I'm gna focus on doing my work and hoping those listening/reading appreciate enough/are able to support me. This episode is basically a free-association personal ramble about stuff I've been thinking about re my work and what I'm reluctantly calling 'diasporic discomforts'. Very little politics in this one, except brief talk...

It's finally happened. After 13 years of struggle, the Syrian people emerge victorious. What started as military operations in the north quickly escalated into country-wide revolt, built on decades of resentment, organising and, counter-revolutionary violence. Prisons liberated, Assad fled, and for the first time, in over a decade, Syrians are celebrating. They know, more than any of us, the work...

These horrible two months seem to have come to an end. At least for the time being. A brief bittersweet moment amongst all the horribleness. I share they thoughts and reflections about the ceasefire deal that was announced just two days ago. -- -- Want to give me a small tip? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip Jar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to become a member of our Patreon? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon...

I've been doing terribly. All of us are. But I can't go on like this. I will not cede them this victory. This is possibly my most personal episode yet as I try to make sense of it all. -- -- Want to give me a small tip? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip Jar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to become a member of our Patreon? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

What was meant to be a reflection on The Peoples Want festival ended up being a long discussion of how insane Germany has become. Doqsi (Egyptian living in Berlin) shares their experience and analysis of the current situation of the Palestine solidarity movement in Berlin as well as the intense and white supremacist crackdown from the state, the media, and liberal organizations. We do talk a bit a...

I had the extreme pleasure of spending the last week discussing and organizing with a group of activists and revolutionaries from across the global south. This happened at a conference hosted by The Peoples Want, a collective working on building genuine, strong internationalist bonds between struggles across the globe. Holding these conversations was intense but full of inspiration, especially at...

What is liberalism? Who are liberals? Where do they stand in relation to the colonies? Where do they on genocide? I think the answer to the last question is pretty obvious to anyone paying attention over the last year. But regardless, I thought I'd do an episode sharing my reflections and understanding of liberalism, as a historical movement and political tendency that is riddled top to bottom wit...

A question people have asked over the last year (and half a century). A constant mark of shame for the entire 'arab world' but also the beginning into a very serious inquiry - which I would contest has radical potentials that have yet to be fully explored. As I develop my next video essay, on this very topic, I'm doing this episode to just explore the things I'm thinking about out loud. I also pro...

It's so difficult to speak. Confirming in words what we know, but cannot believe, is happening. Lebanon, my home, has been subjected to an unfathomable aggression by Israel over the last week. Over 1600 people have been killed, thousands more injured, and approximately 1 million people internally displaced! Almost all of this in almost two weeks. In this episode I share my reflections as a Lebanes...

The criminal and vile escalation of Israel's aggression in Lebanon has forced 10s of thousands to flee the South. In lieu of a government, organizations, grassroots groups, and local communities have been stepping in and doing, essentially, the government's work - to provide for and protect its population. I'm dedicating this episode to talking about one of these groups, which has in fact been ope...

569 people killed in 2 days in Lebanon by the same people committing genocide in Gaza and moving to annex the West Bank. The Israelis are truly unhinged. Their aggression on the south of Lebanon has steadily increased over the last year. But yesterday was different. I provide an overview of what happened yesterday, Sept 23rd, and demonstrate that the Israelis are indeed speed-running through the p...

In the last 4 days, Israel has essentially declared war on all of Lebanon. With its mass electronic terrorist attack on Sept 17, followed by similar attacks the following down, and yesterday, Sept 20, they attacked the southern suburbs of Beirut with a bunker buster bomb. All told, Israel has killed more than 70 people and injured thousands of others. They have also increased their illegal, terror...

42 years ago today, far-right anti-Palestinian Christian militias in Lebanon committed the most horrendous massacre of the 15-year long Lebanese civil wars. With the heavy support of Israeli forces, who were occupying Beirut at the time, these militias (most notably the Lebanese Forces) killed up to 3500 Palestinians and Lebanese over 3 days. In this first filmed episode of this podcast, I talk ab...

'Hate' is a terrible way of understanding fascism and all forms of bigotry. Claiming to be against it seems to be more of a balm for the already protected subject, but does nothing for those that are violating, persecuting, and targeting by these violent structures. It is a moral statement, a pretty boring one, and not a political one. Despite this, its a very popular thing here in the imperial ce...

Its a genuine question. Is it even a thing? Or is there a better term/framework? I also talk about how it seems that tankies have finally realized Sudan exists and ofc are producing the worst takes - with it creating harm and distractions. -- -- Want to give me a small tip? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip Jar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to become a member of our Patreon? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

'Organize' is one of those words thats used a lot but needs to be critically examined for each respective situation, space, struggle etc. In building strong, long-lasting, and powerful movements, we need to make sure that the human connections within are built on trust, respect, and duty - especially enough to deal with conflict. I share my thoughts on this as well as other things like how there w...

I'm so tired. -- -- Tip Jar: https://buymeacoffee.com/poldep Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery

It's becoming increasingly difficult to talk about things, my feelings, my thoughts. --- --- Want to give me a small tip? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tip Jar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Want to become a member of our Patreon? --> ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

In preparation for a video essay I'm developing, I decided to do an episode where I talk about the themes, arguments, and histories I've been examining and trying to synthesize. Definitely a ramble, but a potentially interesting one. Also, I have this weird tendency to emulate people's manner of speech when I read/listen to them too much (in this case, there are certain points, I'm basically just...

The world, especially the global south, desperately needs a strong internationalist left. There are some who think they're part of it, but are in fact doing incredible amounts of harm to communities that they de-facto erase in their analysis. These are the 'Tankies'. Is it white supremacy on the left, a conspiratorial world view, or just a lazy inability to understand the many systems of power and...

It feels like fewer people are talking about Palestine. Has the supression of protests worked? Are people burntout, or have they lost interest? The unfathomable amount of violence cannot normalized. If it is, then its all doomed for sure. In this episode, I of course talk about G*z* as well as the nationalist mob violence against Syrian refugees in Turkey (and briefly in Lebanon). -- -- Want to gi...

I watched the 'debate'. I watched U.Sians (esp liberals) freaking out. Even the NYT is turning against Biden. It truly is a shitshow, but one in which all of our fates are attached. We need bold movements to counter both rising fascism and this privelaged resignation (e.g. 'we're so cooked'). I don't know, this episode is also a bit of a ramble. It's hard to think straight when Israel is threating...

With the grim prospects of an expanded war in Lebanon, I share my grim Lebanese analysis. --- --- --- Want to give me a small tip? --> ⁠⁠⁠Tip Jar⁠⁠⁠ Want to become a member of our Patreon? --> ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠

I've known this story for years. It has deeply affected my ways of thinking and understanding both myself and the world around me. I'll let it speak for itself for now, but I will probably discuss in a future episode what it means to me. I hope you appreciate this reading and apologize in advance for some of the clunky translations (the only English translation is from some white guy in the 80s an...