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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

25:39

CC: Wassim Nasr – Does Lifting Sanctions Equal...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/06/11

Another old friend is back on the show, to give our Dearest listeners an update on the ever evolving situation in Syria - so welcome back the gallic tones of France 24 journalist and fellow of the Soufan Centre, Wassim Nassr! In this conversation, Thomas Small and Wasim discuss the current state of Syria, focusing on the recent lifting of sanctions by Trump, the implications for President Ahmad Al-Shara's government, and the historical context of Franco-Syrian relations. As the remnants of ISIS

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84:55

The Syrian Civil War Pt.7: Life Under ISIS in Raqqa

CONFLICTED ·

2025/06/04

Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, welcoming a new guest onto the show to tell us about her experiences of living life under ISIS in the city of Raqqa – Rania Ali.Rania tells us about her experiences growing up in Raqqa, and the city's rich history - a place of conflict throughout the centuries. As the Arab Spring protests began, Rania became involved, and she details the secretive nature of organizing protests under a repressive regime. She tells us

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24:32

CC: Baraa Shiban – Does Trump Spell the End for the...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/05/28

An old friend returns to the Conflicted Community for a chat about his home country of Yemen. Yes, you guessed it, it’s the irrepressible Baraa Shiban…Thomas and Baraa once again discuss the complex and evolving situation in Yemen, focusing on the impact of U.S. administrations, the role of the Houthis, and the broader regional dynamics in the Middle East. The impact of the new Trump administration has entirely changed the situation on the ground there, while increased sanctions and strikes from

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24:29

CC: Rob Geist Pinfold – How the Settlers Captured the...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/05/21

In this episode for our Conflicted Community, we continue our survey of the Israel-Palestine question with another interview, as Thomas Small engages with Rob Geist-Pinfold, a lecturer in defense studies and international security.This week we focus particularly on the Israeli settler movement. The conversation delves into the historical roots of the settler movement, its evolution from a secular to a religiously motivated initiative, and the intricate relationship between settlers and the Israeli

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23:38

CC: Giri Rajendran Pt.2 – Trump's Military Moves and...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/05/14

Giri Rajendran is back for round 2 for the Conflicted Community, continuing our conversation about Donald Trump and his so-called ‘grand strategy’. This second part of our conversation delves into the decline of U.S. global power and the historical context of rising powers, particularly in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In this conversation, Thomas and Giri delve into the complexities of the Ukraine conflict, the implications of NATO's expansion, and the strategic calculations of

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73:48

The Syrian Civil War Pt.6: The Siege Ends, The Regime...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/05/07

This week on Conflicted we are drawing our narrative arc on Syria to a close with our second episode with filmmaker and political activist, Matar Ismaeel.Last time Matar told us about his experiences filming protests in 2011 as the Syrian revolution began, being tortured in Assad’s prisons, and witnessing firsthand the brutal siege of Southern Damascus. This episode Matar finishes his remarkable story with us - from recounting how Friends of his were radicalised by a ISIS to the battles he

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23:52

Conflicted Community: Giri Rajendran - Trump’s New...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/04/30

The Conflicted Community is back to talk about the headlines we can’t seem to escape - Donald Trump and his tearing up of the economic world order. This episode, Thomas sits down with Giri Rajendran, the holder of no fewer than 3 degrees in economics and finance from the London School of Economics. Giri has worked as an economist in transatlantic defence before moving to work in finance, first in private wealth management and then on to asset management, most recently at BlackRock, the largest

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96:15

Tom Khaled Würdemann – Israelism, Palestinianism and...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/04/23

The Conflicted Community returns with another episode on the complex and multifaceted Israel-Palestinian conflict, focusing on the ideological dimensions that shape perceptions and identities. This time, Thomas invites on Tom Khaled Würdemann, a PhD candidate at the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Heidelberg in Germany on the perspective of Palestinian intellectuals towards Israel between 1960 and 2000. He teaches there and at a German police college, and the central focus of his

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62:31

The Syrian Civil War Pt.5: The Siege of Southern...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/04/16

Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, this time with a new contributor, who begins today a two episode arc where we’ll be looking at the Siege of Southern Damascus…Thomas Small has invited on Matar Ismaeel, a documentary filmmaker and political activist from Masyaf, Syria. Now back in his homeland after years of exile, Matar speaks to us from Masyaf itself, relaying an extraordinary story of resilience and courage in the Syrian capital. Matar tells us

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22:16

CC: Hamza Howidy – Protest, Exile, and a Post-Hamas...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/04/09

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 rule and the constant threat of Israeli military action on the one hand, and the brutality of Hamas on the other.Hamza was forced to leave Gaza due to his involvement in protests against Hamas in 2019 and 2023, taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Europe to do so. Hamza offers a vital

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23:45

CC: Kahlil Sayegh – Palestinian Survival in the Face...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/04/02

This week for the Conflicted Community we begin a series of conversations about the conflict in Israel and Palestine, with Palestinians themselves, to shed some light on the Palestinian perspective of this most complex of conflicts. And this week it is the turn of Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian Christian political analyst, who shares his personal journey from Gaza to Ramallah, to Washington D.C. In this episode, Khalil tells us about his opposition to Hamas, the impact of war on his life, and gives

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84:06

The Syrian Civil War Pt.4: Afrin Under Siege & Exile...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/03/26

Conflicted brings to an end our three part series with Ronnie Hamada, a Syrian Kurdish civilian, whose experience of the Civil War has been thrilling us over the past few episodes... Thomas and Ronnie open with the impact of the Battle of Aleppo on the Kurdish province of Afrin, highlighting the rise of jihadist groups and the challenges faced by the Kurdish community. Ronnie also shares his harrowing experiences living under siege in Afrin, describing dire conditions, economic lockdowns and food

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23:49

CC: Q&A – The Truth Behind the Violence in Syria

CONFLICTED ·

2025/03/19

Thomas and Aimen are back together for another Q&A! This week we answer your questions on the many and varied crises that seem to be engulfing the Middle East and the world in 2025…Thomas and Aimen begin by analysing the complex and tumultuous situation in Syria, exploring the recent resurgence of violence, the role of disinformation, and the internal conflicts among the Alawite community which have been sparking new fears of intense violence. They also discuss the new Syrian government's

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70:48

The Syrian Civil War Pt.3: The Arab Spring Hits Aleppo

CONFLICTED ·

2025/03/12

This week on Conflicted, Ronnie Hamada is back with Thomas to describe his experiences as a Kurdish civilian during the Syrian Civil War, as we continue our retrospective on that most complex of conflicts. And this week, after setting up some Kurdish history last time, Ronnie takes us through what it was like to live through the Arab Spring protests as a university student, where he saw his classmates attacked by Assad backed thugs, and as violence increased around him by the day. In a gripping

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24:34

Conflicted Community: Elisabeth Kendall – Politics,...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/03/05

This week for our Conflicted Community members, we return to Yemen for an interview with, Dr Elisabeth Kendall, an academic whose work has covered so many varied manifestations of the country’s culture, politics, and the conflict that has engulfed it for the past decade.Elisabeth is a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Cambridge, where she is also the Mistress of Girton College. Her research explores how militant jihad groups use 'soft' culture (poetry, literature, song)

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70:15

The Syrian Civil War Pt.2 – The Kurds Rise Up

CONFLICTED ·

2025/02/26

This week on Conflicted, we begin in earnest our retrospective on the Syrian Civil War, where we will be inviting actual Syrians from a multitude of different perspectives, to tell us about their experiences of the war. After setting the scene with our old friend Wassim Nasr last time, over our upcoming episodes, we’ll be creating a kind of narrative history for you, our listeners, as we make sense of this most complex of conflicts from as many angles as we can. In this episode, Thomas invites on

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23:48

Conflicted Community: Dalia Ziada – Liberal Activism...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/02/19

This week for our Conflicted Community members, we have an interview with the Egyptian political activist Dalia Ziada, whose incredible personal story crosses so many of the major events in the modern middle east, from the Arab Spring, to October 7th.Dalia is an award-winning Egyptian writer and political analyst whose work focuses on governance, geopolitics, and defense policy. In Egypt, she co-founded the Liberal Democracy Institute in 2015, she is the Executive Director of the Center for Middle

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90:11

The Syrian Civil War Pt.1: Wassim Nasr Meets Al-Sharaa

CONFLICTED ·

2025/02/12

Conflicted takes on… the Syrian Civil War. In the wake of the fall of Assad, with the Syrian Civil War over, at least for the moment, Conflicted is bringing you a bit of a retrospective. In the coming episodes, we’ll be inviting Syrians and other people who experienced the conflict, from a multitude of different perspectives, onto the show to tell us about their experiences of the war. In doing so, we want to create a kind of narrative history as we make sense of this most complex of conflicts

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23:15

Conflicted Community: Q&A – What now for Israel and...

CONFLICTED ·

2025/02/05

The Conflicted Community is back for another Q&A for all of our dearest listeners. This week, in the first time Thomas and Aimen have got together since the Gaza ceasefire deal, they discuss its implications for the region and the world, with the help of listeners' questions.From the motivations of the parties involved in the ceasefire, to the question of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, to what Trump has planned for the region and some questions about the Palestinian Authority and the future

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73:45

Ethiopia Pt.3: The Shadow of the Derg

CONFLICTED ·

2025/01/29

Conflicted comes to the end of our Ethiopia series with an episode beginning at the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, and charting the country's tumultuous course through the late 20th century. This was a time characterised by a brutality the country had not witnessed before, as the Communist military dictatorship, known as the Derg, wreaked havoc on the country.Ethiopia in the 70s and 80s was one dominated by horrifying episodes of mass death – from the Red Terror which engulfed the country

en

162 results

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