Tahrir Podcast - بودكاست التحرير

In episode 57 of Tahrir Podcast, Robin Yassin-Kassab joined to discuss his new book, "The Blood Between Us: Syria After the Fall of Assad" (Saqi Books, 2026) . This book offers a first-hand account of Syria's abrupt transformation after the collapse of the brutal Assad regime, tracing how decades of protest, repression and resistance culminated in the swift fall of a sixty-year dicta...

In episode 56 of Tahrir Podcast, Abdalla Nasef sits down in-person at Harvard University with former Tunisian Prime Minister Dr. Youssef Chahed for a conversation about Dr. Chahed's rise within Tunisian politics as the youngest head of government in Tunisia's history, and the longest serving since 2011. The conversation touched on day-to-day governance, counter-terrorism, Tunisian democrac...

In episode 55, Barbara Slavin and Nilo Tabrizy tuned in to discuss the war in Iran, how it came to be, how likely it is to end, as well as OSINT. Now streaming on all platforms. Episode on YouTube: youtu.be/wOBl0aB4ddM Barbara Slavin is a Distinguished Fellow at The Stimson Center and former founding director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center & Middle E...

In episode 54 of Tahrir Podcast, Killian Clarke joined to discuss his new book, " Return of Tyranny: Why Counterrevolutions Emerge and Succeed " (Cambridge University Press, 2025)⁠. The book offers one of the first systematic studies of counterrevolution. Drawing on global data since 1900 and new evidence from Egypt’s 2011 revolution, the book explains why counterrevolutions emerge and w...

This episode was recorded on 08 December 2024, the day Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad fled the country, ending over 50 years of brutal Assad family rule, and concluding a brutal 14-year civil war. In this episode that I now release a full year later, Danni Makki joined me from Damascus as opposition forces took over the capital, liberating it.

Episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FV2a5IGZYsY Streaming everywhere! ⁠⁠⁠ https://linktr.ee/TahrirPodcast⁠⁠⁠ Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com Support us on Patreon for as low as $2 per month ($20 per year)! https://www.patreon.com/TahrirPodcast

In episode 52 of Tahrir Podcast, Aaron Magid tuned in to discuss his book, The Most American King: Abdullah of Jordan (Universal Publishers, 2025) ⁠, as well as commentate on Jordanian politics. Drawing on interviews with over 100 people—including King Abdullah’s classmates, former Jordanian ministers, and even CIA directors—Aaron offers a deeply reported portrait of one of the Middle East’s most...

In episode 51 of Tahrir Podcast, Professor Vali Nasr joined to discuss his new book, Iran’s Grand Strategy: A Political History (Princeton University Press, 2025) . Drawing on decades of internal debates, foreign policy shifts, and national security doctrine, the book unpacks how the Islamic Republic has navigated threats and opportunities since 1979 — from the trauma of the Iran-Iraq War to proxy...

In episode 50 of Tahrir Podcast , Emmy-winning journalists Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud join us to talk about their book, Pegasus: How a Spy in Your Pocket Threatens the End of Privacy, Dignity, and Democracy (Henry Holt & Co. 2023) — a gripping account of the global investigation that exposed how governments have turned smartphones into tools of surveillance and control. Based on their...

Erik Skare is a historian at the University of Oslo and the author of the award-winning " ⁠ A History of Palestinian Islamic Jihad: Faith, Awareness, and Revolution in the Middle East ⁠ " (Cambridge University Press, 2021) . He specializes in Palestinian history with a particular focus on religion and secular politics. In episode 48 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed his most recent book, “...

Ömer Taşpınar is a Professor at the National Defense University and Johns Hopkins SAIS in Washington, D.C. He is a scholar, author, and policy expert specializing in Middle East politics, U.S. foreign policy, and Turkish affairs. His research focuses on the intersection of political economy, nationalism, and security in the Middle East, with a particular emphasis on Turkey. In episode 47 of Tahrir...

John Lechner is a writer and researcher specializing in security issues in Central Africa, the Sahel, Turkey, Russia, and the former Soviet Union. Fluent in Russian and several other languages, he has spent years analyzing Russia’s growing influence in Africa and its global military networks. In episode 46 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed his book, " Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and t...

Tahrir Podcast turns 4! In episode 45, we celebrate this milestone by flipping the script—our host, Abdalla Nasef takes the guest seat as Gabriel Gluskin-Braun interviews him about the journey of the podcast. Since its first episode in 2021, Tahrir Podcast - بودكاست التحرير has featured 44 conversations with academics, activists, journalists, and political analysts, covering Egypt, Palestine, Syri...

Rusha Latif is an Egyptian-American researcher and author based in the San Fransisco Bay Area. In episode 44 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed her book, “Tahrir's Youth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution,” (American University in Cairo Press, 2022) which explores the role of the Revolutionary Youth Coalition (RYC) in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Rusha challenges the prevailing narrative that the r...

جابر بكر كاتب وروائي وصانع أفلام وسجين سياسي سوري سابق.في الحلقة ال٤٣ من بودكاست التحرير و الثالثة باللغة العربية، انضم جابر بكر لمناقشة كتابه، "الجولاج السوري: سجون الأسد 1970 - 2020" متناولًا منظومة سجون الأسد والقمع في سوريا عبر الوقت وأفكار أخري في حلقة شديدة التعمق. YouTube - يوتيوب: http://youtu.be/9AxHoCstWRg رابط الكتاب: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/syrian-gulag-9780755650224/ Special tha...

Anita R. Gohdes is a Professor of International and Cyber Security at the Hertie School in Berlin. In episode 42 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed her most recent book, “Repression in the Digital Age: Surveillance, Censorship, and the Dynamics of State Violence,” (Oxford University Press 2023) which theoretically and empirically investigates how governments use cyber controls to support their strate...

Jerome Drevon is a Senior Analyst in Jihad and Modern Conflict at the International Crisis Group, where he undertakes research and analysis on Islamist militancy across regions. In episode 41 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed his most recent book, “From Jihad to Politics: How Syrian Jihadis Embraced Politics,” (Oxford University Press 2024) which looks at why and how jihadis were able to take over t...

Alex Rowell is a journalist, writer, and online editor at New Lines Magazine. In episode 40 of Tahrir Podcast, we discussed his most recent book, “We Are Your Soldiers: How Gamal Abdel Nasser Remade the Arab World,” which offers an eccentric but provocative retelling of modern Arab history, providing an engaging account of Nasser's influence on the Middle East. The book delves into Nasser’s role i...

Mairav Zonszein is an Israel-Palestine senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. She has been covering Israeli politics and U.S foreign policy for over a decade. In episode 38 of the Tahrir Podcast, Mairav tuned in to speak about how the current right-wing Israeli government, led by Bibi Netanyahu, came to be. She discussed the military objectives of Israel's brutal war in Gaza, the Israel...

Khalil Sayegh is a Palestinian political analyst. In episode 37 of Tahrir Podcast, Khalil joined me to speak on Gaza's humanitarian crisis as Israel continues to block aid from going in while continuing to indiscriminately bomb the strip, Hamas, ceasefire prospects, what the future might hold for Gaza, and the Israel's expansion in the West Bank. Episode on YouTube: youtu.be/CzSSgfYm2AU Streaming...

Nadwa Al-Dawsari is a researcher and conflict practitioner with over twenty years of field experience in Yemen where she worked with tribes, civil society, local authorities, security actors, and non-state armed groups. Nadwa is currently a nonresident Scholar with the Middle East Institute and a fellow at the Center on Armed Groups. In episode 36 of Tahrir Podcast, Al-Dawsari joined me from Washi...

Omenya is a Khartoum resident who joined me from Wad Madani, Sudan as it fell to the RSF to talk about the harrowing situation unfolding there. A safe haven for those who fled from Khartoum as the war broke out in April 2023, Wad Madani fell to the RSF just four days ago. A safe haven no longer, hundreds of civilians are now trapped in the city. Hospitals are no longer functional. Tune in to hear...

In this episode, I carry on from where I left off in EP 30, further analyzing Egypt's 2024 Presidential Election, touching on nearly everything related to it now that we're only nearly two weeks away. Episode on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r45NY89FUk4 Streaming everywhere! ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/TahrirPodcast⁠⁠ Support us on Patreon for as low as $2 per month ($20 per year)! ⁠https://ww...