The Lede

In this special episode on the Oct. 25 military takeover in Sudan, Sudanese American journalist Isma’il Kushkush and Khartoum-based activist Dallia Abdelmoniem talk New Lines Magazine’s Faisal Al Yafai through the chaotic events of the past two weeks — and the two years leading up to them. They explain why the coup has deep roots in Sudan’s troubled political past, what it feels like to be back ou...

Jonathan Powell is CEO of the conflict resolution charity Inter Mediate and has made a career talking to some of the world’s most dangerous people. He was U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s chief of staff, chief negotiator in the Northern Ireland peace process, and the author of “Talking to Terrorists: How to End Armed Conflicts.” In a frank, thoughtful and occasionally tense conversation with New L...

Nina Jankowicz is a fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. and the author of “How to Lose the Information War.” Natalia Antonova is a journalist, an expert in online security and the former editor of the investigations website Bellingcat. In this extensive podcast with New Lines Magazine's  Faisal Al Yafai, they discuss how Russia has weaponized disinformation, from the Middle East to Ame...

In this podcast, Farkhondeh Akbari and Andrew Watkins join New Lines Magazine for a conversation on Afghanistan. They share their sentiments about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, assessments on decades of American intervention and recent withdrawal, and reflect on the past, present and future.

David Kaye served as the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Kareem Shaheen, he discusses justice and accountability for crimes in the Middle East; why justice is so essential for neighbors to keep living together; and why the phrase, “the walls have ears” is so common in the Middle East.

In a special podcast on the fall of Kabul and its aftermath, New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai speaks to three reporters who were on the ground in Afghanistan before, during and after the takeover by the Taliban. Emran Feroz, Fazelminallah Qazizai and Shelly Kittleson discuss reporting from around the country, firsthand testimony of what it felt like to see the Taliban walk unopposed into a cit...

Isam Uraiqat created AlHudood, a satirical news site often compared to The Onion, to highlight some of the absurdities of the modern Middle East. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, Isam goes through some of his favorite — and most controversial — headlines; talks about censorship in the Middle East and whether there are any topics he would not poke fun at; and discusses the...

Luna Safwan is an independent journalist based in Beirut and the host of the “Beyond Politics” podcast. Anthony Elghossain is a lawyer and contributing editor at New Lines Magazine, also based in Beirut. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, as the first anniversary of the deadly explosion in Beirut’s port approaches, they discuss what it felt like a year ago before and after...

Rime Allaf is a Syrian-born writer and political analyst. In a wide-ranging conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, she recalls living through the end of the Hafez al-Assad era and traces the Bashar years from the initial optimism of Syrians, through the end of the Lebanon occupation and the Iraq War, to the start of the Syrian revolution.

Arash Azizi is the author of “Shadow Commander: Soleimani, US & Iran's Global Ambitions” and the author of an essay for New Lines Magazine on Iran’s new president. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Rasha Elass and Cameron Khansarinia, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, based in Washington DC, they explore the new president’s background, whether Iran is going throu...

Peter Pomerantsev is senior fellow at the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the author of "This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality." In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad, he discusses “Memory Wars”, the attempt to rewrite history to fit current political objectives, why that attempt is as relevant in Ukraine and Russia as it...

Nafees Hamid is a cognitive scientist of political violence who wrote an essay for New Lines Magazine on why people join violent groups. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, he discusses his essay, “The Neuroscience of ‘Devoted Actors’ Within Extremist Groups”, explores similarities between jihadists who joined ISIS and the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol – and...

Nick Foretek is the author of “The Philosopher’s Wine”, a long-read for New Lines Magazine that tells the story of several years in the life of one Syrian fighter. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad, he discusses how he first met the fighter in Cairo, what prompted him to tell the story, why he made certain literary decisions – and whether he thinks the figh...

Mustafa Akyol is the author of a new book, Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom and Tolerance. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, he discusses being arrested by the Malaysian religious police; why Islam needs reform; the coercive power of modern Muslim states; the revolutions of Turkey and Tunisia; and why his criticisms of Islam don’t include the role of pow...

In the midst of conflict in Israel and Palestine, award-winning journalist Rula Jebreal and Lisa Goldman, cofounder of +972 magazine, are in conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai about politics, ideology and war. In this podcast, Jebreal discusses her essay for the magazine on the similarities between Israel’s right-wing political parties and the Republican Party under Donald Trum...

The “Great Replacement” theory is behind the far right’s worst acts of terrorism, from Christchurch to El Paso. It has its roots in the Balkans, where it inspired Serb Nationalists to genocide. In this podcast, Jasmin Mujanović and Una Hajdari join New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai for a conversation about why the American far-right are so obsessed with the wars of Yugoslavia, how a cartoonish...

Alex Skolnick, lead guitarist for Testament, wrote a popular essay for Newlines Magazine about the importance of artists speaking up at a time of political turmoil. In this conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad he explains why artists should speak honestly about social and political upheaval, why he doesn’t worry about losing fans who disagree with him – and why h...