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PODCAST

CONFLICTED

An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.

history

All Episodes

79:26

Zohran Mamdani and the Ascendancy of Third Worldism

CONFLICTED ·

2026/01/01

Amid controversy surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s rise to power in New York City, Hussein Mansour tells Thomas all about the history of Third Worldism — where it comes from, what it originally meant, and why the term has resurfaced.Thomas and Hussein discuss: Zohran Mamdani as a symbol, not a cause, of a broader elite transformation The Third Estate, the French Revolution, and the revolutionary inheritance of modern radical politics Interwar Paris and the emergence of Third Worldist

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52:01

2025 Year in Review

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/30

As 2025 draws to a close, Thomas and Aimen take an unconventional tour of the Islamic world — looking beyond the usual headlines to the under-the-radar shifts that happened in 2025, with the potential to shape 2026 and beyond.They discuss: Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger forming the Alliance of Sahel States and what a new Sahel bloc might mean The geopolitical ‘cluster fuck’ of the Sudanese civil war The European Union’s re-entry into Central Asia The Gabala Summit and the

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82:38

Inside the Trenches of Ukraine

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/25

The war in Ukraine is back in the headlines as a peace agreement appears increasingly probable - though with major concessions to Russia. So as a Christmas present to our listeners, we’ve brought this episode from August out from behind the paywall.In it, Thomas speaks with his old university friend Jakub - a former Slovak Army officer who volunteered to fight in Ukraine - about the lived reality of modern warfare, from trench fighting to FPV strike drones. Drawing on nearly eighteen months at

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49:10

2025 Conflicted Christmas Special

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/23

What is ‘the Christmas story’ really? And how does it change when you tell it from within a different religious tradition? In Conflicted’s first-ever Christmas Special, Thomas and Aimen retell the Nativity as it appears in the Gospels and in the Qur’an. They discuss: Who were the Magi? Zoroastrian priests or Nabataean nomads? How the Nativity story differs between the Bible and the Qur’an A controversial theory about how local Christian traditions may have shaped the Qur’anic

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60:26

What Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy Means...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/18

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with global finance and security analyst Giri Rajendran about the Trump Administration’s newly published National Security Strategy — what it signals, what it omits, and what it suggests about America’s role in a multipolar world.Thomas and Giri discuss: How this report differs from previous US National Security Strategies The end of the old rules-based order of liberal internationalism The Middle East: a phase shift toward deeper

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52:58

The 2026 Middle East Forecast

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/16

What does the future hold for the Middle East — and the world — in 2026?In this special episode of Conflicted, Thomas instructs Aimen to peer into his crystal ball and offer his forecasts for the year to come. In this episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss: How professional geopolitical analysts make forecasts The impossibility of foreseeing Black Swan events Why an end to the war in Ukraine could reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics The likelihood of a U.S. war against the

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63:45

What the U.S. Gets Wrong About the Muslim Brotherhood

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/11

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Programme on Extremism at The George Washington University.What happens when an ideological movement is neither a terrorist organisation nor an ordinary religious group — but something in between? One of the world’s leading experts on the Muslim Brotherhood explains… The early history of Islam in America The first Brotherhood-linked students arriving in the U.S. in the 50s and 60s The formation

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55:30

Saudi Arabia’s New Bargaining Chip

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/09

The Middle East is shifting again, and fast. In this wide-ranging overview, Aimen and Thomas break down the hidden forces reshaping the geopolitical chessboard as 2025 draws to a close.In this episode, Aimen and Thomas uncover: The power of Saudi Arabia’s discovery of vast rare-earth reserves The U.S.–Saudi grand bargain Why the F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia rattled Israel and what it means for the future of the Abraham Accords Iran’s deepening water crisis and Gulf states’

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51:12

Has the Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrated the UK?

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/04

In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat about the Muslim Brotherhood.What happens when a Western democracy encounters an ideological movement it no longer has the language — or the institutions — to understand? The former Security Minister and long-time observer of the Middle East explains what the Brotherhood is, how it operates, and why the British state is struggling to deal with it. In this episode, Thomas questions Tom about… Tom’s time

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52:29

Conflicted Returns: A New Era Begins

CONFLICTED ·

2025/12/02

Conflicted is back. Aimen and Thomas return with a renewed mission and a bold vision for the future of the show. In this special relaunch episode, they look back at the journey so far, celebrate the global community that’s grown around Conflicted, and reveal what’s coming next in an ever-more turbulent world. In this episode, Aimen and Thomas: Offer a sweeping recap of Conflicted’s story arcs, themes, and analyses Reveal what the next phase of Conflicted has in store for dear

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90:22

Conflicted Revisited: Ethiopia’s Overlooked Conflict

CONFLICTED ·

2025/11/26

This week on Conflicted, we’re unlocking another episode we first released for members of the Conflicted Community. In this interview from last January, I talk with Martin Plaut, a distinguished journalist who has reported on conflicts across Africa for decades, and whose book Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray War was an essential resource for us in preparing our series on Ethiopia. We discuss: Ethiopia’s recent Tigray War and why it proved so consequential for the Horn of Africa How

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74:22

India and the Future of World Order: A Conversation...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/11/20

This week on Conflicted, Thomas is joined by T.V. Paul, Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.Prof. Paul is one of the world’s leading thinkers in international relations and author of Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era and The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi. In this wide-ranging conversation, Thomas speaks with Prof. Paul about: India’s strategy as

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76:00

Conflicted Revisited… Husam Mahjoub – How Foreign...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/11/12

This week on Conflicted, we’re unlocking for everyone an episode we first released a year ago for members of the Conflicted Community — an interview with Hussam Mahjoub, a Sudanese journalist, political activist, and founder of the independent TV channel Sudan Bukra, which has become a vital source of truth amid the chaos of war.When it was recorded, Sudan was already sliding into catastrophe. But in the months since, the country has fallen even further into one of the world’s most devastating

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74:44

CC: Patrick McGee – How Apple Built a Superpower

CONFLICTED ·

2025/11/05

This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by Patrick McGee, technology reporter and author of the phenomenal new book, Apple in China. Patrick provides an exclusive look at how Apple, in its relentless pursuit of operational excellence, drove a unique form of globalization that profoundly reshaped the economic and geopolitical world.Thomas and Patrick dissect the story of Apple's pivot from near-bankruptcy to becoming a global superpower, focusing on the often-overlooked genius of CEO Tim

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95:23

Conflicted Revisited… Hamza Howidy – Protest, Exile,...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/29

Another revisited interview from the Conflicted Community Interview archive this week, as we get ready for more Conflicted episodes coming soon… This time, the FULL interview with Hamza Howidy - a Gazan who years ago was forced to flee to Europe, telling us about his experiences and his vision for a post-Hamas Gaza…– This week, Thomas speaks with Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian activist originally from Gaza now living in exile in Germany. Hamza shares his extraordinary story of growing up under Hamas

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24:19

CC: Emma Ashford – The Collapse of America's Unipolar...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/22

This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by Dr. Emma Ashford, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and an expert on US grand strategy. Emma brings a clear-eyed, realist perspective to the current global debates, arguing that the emerging multipolar world is an opportunity, not a catastrophe, for the United States.Thomas and Emma dissect the end of the American unipolar moment, exploring whether the US's pivot to global primacy after the Cold War was driven by naive idealism or

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71:46

The Gaza Peace Deal: Behind the Scenes with Aimen Dean

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/15

This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by co-host Aimen Dean, who returns to the show to provide a vital debrief on the recent Gaza peace deal. The episode focuses on the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, which has brought a temporary halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Aimen is back with his signature, deeply informed analysis, answer your and Thomas’ questions to get beyond the narrative we normally hear about the conflict…Thomas and Aimen unpack the hidden

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48:09

7/7: The Inside Story – A New Terror Paradigm •...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/13

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: ⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠ -- When a horrific terrorist attack against children spawned some of the most violent riots in recent UK history, it

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24:15

CC: Alex Vatanka – How has the 12 Day War Changed Iran?

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/08

This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a leading scholar of Iranian domestic and foreign policy. Together, they explore the profound impact of the recent 12-Day War between Iran, Israel, and the United States on the Islamic Republic. As an Iranian who has studied the regime for decades, Alex offers a vital look into the power struggles between revolutionary ideology and Iranian nationalism that are now at play in

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53:08

7/7: The Inside Story – The Lone Wolf • Episode 5

CONFLICTED ·

2025/10/06

Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: ⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠ -- On March 22, 2017, the Westminster Bridge attack killed five people, marking the start of a year which would see five

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