The Fire These Times

For episode 218 of The Fire These Times, I talk to Luka Dowell ( Solarpunk Now! ), Ariel Kroon ( Solarpunk Presents ) and Andre ( HydroponicTrash ) about our changing relationships to Solarpunk given everything that's been going on in the world since the last time we all sat together (in 2023). ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon emergency relief⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly do...

For episode 217, I talk about Israel bombing my hometown of Ain Saadeh yesterday, and why it worries me more than anything they've done so far. ⁠⁠⁠Lebanon emergency relief⁠⁠⁠⁠ Support: You can support my work with ⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠⁠ ⁠Registration is still open for May 2026⁠⁠⁠ Newsletter : Subscribe to⁠ ⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Social...

For episode 216, I am joined by Lebanese writer and translator Lina Mounzer as well as Lebanese journalist Justin Salhani to talk about the ongoing consequences of Israel's war on Lebanon. This is an intra-Lebanese conversation that is meant to give you an idea of the sort of discussions happening in Lebanon while contextualising as much as we could so that you come out of it better informed a...

For episode 215, I talk about how Israel's wars on Iran and Lebanon will spread beyond the region, and what must be done to stop them. I also talked about the ongoing generational hauntings affecting everyone in Lebanon. ⁠⁠⁠Lebanon emergency relief⁠⁠⁠ Support: You can support my work with ⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠ ⁠Registration is now open for...

For episode 214, I talk about how Israel's war on Lebanon haunts our world, and why Israeli impunity is creating monstrous realities that can engulf us all. 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 213, I talk about the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, how we got here, and what this means for both Iran and Lebanon. Also: Israel's ideological opposition to the concept of accountability, Israel's decreasing popularity in the US, the Ayatollah's brutal reign, and finally Hezbollah's catastrophic decision to join the war and how this is causing a severe crisis in Leban...

In which I read my Hauntologies essay " Iranian protesters don't owe us an explanation " (00:00 to 09:50) and reflect on it (09:50-36:49). 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...

Elia Ayoub is joined by three folks from Minneapolis, sociologist Nicole Bedera and From The Periphery's very own Aydin and Ed from Antidote Zine, to talk about the ongoing resistance against the federal occupation of the state of Minnesota by ICE. What is happening? How are they resisting? What can we learn from it, here in the UK and elsewhere? Nicole also explained what 'symbolic compli...

For episode 210, William C. Anderson comes back to The Fire These Times to talk to Elia Ayoub about the current crises in the US and how we should try and understand our current authoritarian moment. Anderson is the author of The Nation on No Map (AK Press 2021) and co-author of As Black as Resistance (AK Press 2018). He writes a column for Prism called Another Way Out and is the co-founder of Off...

For episode 209, Elia sits down with Nicole Rose from The Solidarity Apothecary to talk about her Overcoming Burnout series, which is also a podcast and an e-book . We talked about burnout, grief, trauma, mutual aid, herbalism, and more. Note: this was recorded in November 2025, a few days before the death of my dog Flip. This is why it took until now to publish the episode. Support: You can suppo...

Hey everyone, I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be giving online classes starting this January, and that I’m still accepting new people for the very first class. I recommend doing so asap as I’ve already had to open up a second class due to that amazing response I’ve received so far. All details below. The class is entitled “Beware of Small States: An overview of Lebanon from 1975 to 2025.” W...

For episode 208, Elia and Dana talk about Zahrani Mamdani's victory and what it could mean for all of us. 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 ⁠ Contact: To collaborate, re...

In this collaboration episode, guest host israa’ is joined with Jordan and Prince from The Dugout Podcast and Dr. Mohamed Abdou. We got together to talk about Malcolm X, his evolution over time, his commitment to the below, and the role and impact of Islam on his journey towards collective liberation. Along the way, we talk about Malcolm’s impact on our lives and our politics and share insights on...

For episode 206, guest host Dana El Kurd is joined by Pablo Abufom, translator, scientist, and organizer with the Coordinadora Por Palestina in Chile . We talk about the largest Palestinian diaspora population outside the Middle East, the limits of ethnic and national affinities, and what it means to organize against the backdrop of American hegemony. Support: You can support my work with ⁠ ⁠a one...

For episode 205, Daniel joins me from what used to be the Warsaw Ghetto to talk about Gaza. 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 ⁠ Contact: To collaborate, reach out on ⁠ ⁠ ayo...

Guest host Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian scholar and old buddy of mine, is joined by two scholars of Kashmir, Ather Zia and Hafsa Kanjwal to talk about Kashmir. It’s a long episode, but that’s because we wanted to make sure to present Kashmir’s history on its own terms, a Kashmir perspective that does not center Pakistan and certainly not India (or China). This is part 3 of the Kashmir Question s...

Guest host Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian scholar and old buddy of mine, is joined by two scholars of Kashmir, Ather Zia and Hafsa Kanjwal to talk about Kashmir. It’s a long episode, but that’s because we wanted to make sure to present Kashmir’s history on its own terms, a Kashmir perspective that does not center Pakistan and certainly not India (or China). This is part 2 of the Kashmir Question s...

Guest host Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian scholar and old buddy of mine, is joined by two scholars of Kashmir, Ather Zia and Hafsa Kanjwal to talk about Kashmir. It’s a long episode, but that’s because we wanted to make sure to present Kashmir’s history on its own terms, a Kashmir perspective that does not center Pakistan and certainly not India (or China). This is part 1 of the Kashmir Question s...

In this special episode of The Fire These Times, Elia is joined by four members of the From The Periphery media collective to talk about the ongoing famine in Gaza, Israel's genocide and the world's complicity. Despite the obviously horrific nature of this topic, we insisted on not giving in to despair. The génocidaires cannot win. The five participants connected to the Gaza genocide throu...

For episode 200 (!) of The Fire These Times, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join Dana & Elia to talk about their piece " the rise of end times fascism ." Naomi Klein is the author of Doppelganger , On Fire , How to Change Everything , the Shock Doctrine & No Logo , among others. Astra Taylor is the co-founder of the Debt Collector and is the author of Democracy May Not Exist, but W...

“Fascism isn’t just about power—it’s about controlling the stories we tell. It warps narratives to justify oppression, trapping us in cycles of dominance and despair. But stories can also resist, break those cycles, and open the door to something new.“  This is how YouTuber and hardcore Trekkie Jessie Gender starts her video essay “ The Stories Fascism Fears Most “ which we highly recommend. A few...

For episode 198, Elia Ayoub is joined by Venezuelan researcher - and old friend - Laura Vidal to talk about, and around, Venezuela. We got into why Venezuelans flee the Maduro regime, how Venezuela(ns) is often covered, and the broader discourse battles that may or may not include people who still think Maduro is a passionate defenders of the Palestinians (pause for laughter). Laura was actually o...

It's been 20 years since the Assad regime assassinated Samir Kassir, the Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian historian, journalist and writer in Beirut on June 2nd 2005. Joining Elia Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami today is Lebanese-French political researcher and academic Ziad Majed, a friend and comrade of Kassir, to talk about his legacy in the two decades that have passed given how much has changed since...

Palestinian journalist Maram Humaid joins us from Gaza to talk about the many layers of Israel’s genocide, the everyday of those trying to survive it. This is part 2 of the episode with Elia Ayoub and israa'. ⁠It is already available in full on Patreon for free.⁠ More: ⁠Maram’s articles on Al Jazeera⁠ ⁠Gaza Mutual Aid⁠ ⁠This American Life episode with Maram’s daughter Banias “The Narrator, Epi...

Palestinian journalist Maram Humaid joins us from Gaza to talk about the many layers of Israel’s genocide, the everyday of those trying to survive it. This is part 1 of the episode with Elia Ayoub and israa'. It is already available in full on Patreon for free. Support: You can support my work with ⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠ ⁠ on Ko-fi Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: ⁠ ⁠Registration is n...