x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

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

12:46

Conflicted Community: Q&A – Hezbollah and Hamas...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/08/07

This week for our Conflicted Community, we answer your questions about the recent events and escalation in the Middle East. From Hezbollah bombing a Druze village in the Golan Heights, to the Israeli response of assassinating Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, and Hamas political leader Ismael Haniyeh, it looks like escalation into regional war could well be imminent. But how did Israel pull off these targeted killings? What next for Hezbollah and Hamas? And how will Iran respond? Thomas and Aimen are

en

69:41

Sudan Pt.1: The First Mahdi

CONFLICTED ·

2024/07/31

This week on Conflicted we embark on a four episode exploration of the history of Sudan, to explain the context of the conflict raging there today.In our first episode, we tackle a huge span of history – beginning with the country’s ancient Christian roots, before explaining the period of Islamification and various conquests by the Egyptians and of course the British. But who would rise in defiance of them all? Sudan’s Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, a self-styled revolutionary religious messiah who came to

en

61:26

Introducing… Life Sentences, a new podcast from...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/07/22

Our very own Thomas Small has started a brand new podcast over on Substack called ‘Life Sentences’ – and we want to give Conflicted listeners a listen to the first episode…Life Sentences is Thomas’ attempt to introduce the world to the Church Fathers – the Christian writers, theologians, mystics and divines who wrote in the first 1000 years of Christianity. The podcast sees Thomas read out the texts of the Church Fathers and comment on them as he goes, making them relevant to today. It’s a

en

61:55

Africa Through Muslim Eyes

CONFLICTED ·

2024/07/17

Season 5 of Conflicted is here!In this season, we’re delving deep into a continent whose Islamic heritage is often overlooked, but which is one of the most consequential and politically significant places in the world of geopolitics today. That’s right – in Season 5, Conflicted does Africa! In our opening episode, Thomas and Aimen are giving you an introductory overview of the continent, and we really are covering a lot. From the Islamisation of North Africa, to the ISIS cells forming on the East

en

63:56

Conflicted Community – Aimen Interviews Thomas

CONFLICTED ·

2024/07/10

All Conflicted fans know Aimen’s life story – but what about that of his co-host, Thomas Small? Avid listeners will have heard Thomas talk about his Orthodox Christian faith and his time as a novice monk at a monastery on the Greek island of Mount Athos, but the story of how he got there, and why he decided to leave the brotherhood, is a fascinating tale… This week, Thomas and Aimen switch roles to find out more about Thomas’ spiritual journey.We’re putting out this episode to all of our dear

en

12:33

Conflicted Community – Eugene Rogan Interview: What...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/06/26

The 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It’s an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire’s response to the violence, it’s also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink.To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today,

en

48:19

Conflicted Community: Karim Sadjadpour Interview Pt.1...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/06/12

Iran is rarely out of the news at the moment: from the death of President Raisi (which we covered in our last Conflicted Community episode), to the rumours of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s illness, and with unrest inside the country ever present, it feels like a country at the precipice. So this week, we again look to Persia to make sense of what Iran’s global strategy actually is.And this week, in a Conflicted Community first, we welcome a guest onto the show to help Thomas and Aimen on their way

en

10:38

Conflicted Community: Who Killed the Iranian President?

CONFLICTED ·

2024/05/29

Enjoy another clip from a new episode for our Conflicted Community! This week, Thomas and Aimen discuss the life and times of Iran’s President Raisi – ‘ The Butcher of Tehran’ – as well as doing a deep dive on the fascinating relationship between Iran and Azerbaijan, before Aimen gives us some intel on how Raisi might have died… To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can

en

6:03

Conflicted Community: Q&A - From the intricacies of...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/05/15

Enjoy a clip from the first exclusive Q&A episode for our Conflicted Community! Thanks so much to our supporters for sending in all these brilliant questions on our Discord chatroom.This week, Thomas and Aimen answer your burning questions, from Eurovision to Qatar, visiting corners of the world they’ve not touched on before… To keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can ask questions for future Q&As,

en

72:35

Bonus Content: Aimen gives evidence in Parliament

CONFLICTED ·

2024/05/13

Thomas introduces a whole hour of extra content, as Aimen gives evidence to the Foreign Affair Committee in the UK Parliament. To hear more about this trip to the palace of Westminster, as well as other bonus content, sign up to the Conflicted Community! Members also get access to our chatroom on Discord, where you can engage in riveting post-episode debates, and ask questions for upcoming exclusive Q&A episodes. All the information you need to sign up is on this link:

en

54:49

Conflicted Community: Jihadis for Hire

CONFLICTED ·

2024/05/01

The second episode for our Conflicted Community is here! This bonus episode is the final one going out to all of our dear listeners on this feed, so to keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. Subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, which is already brimming with conversation and analysis. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ For our second episode, Thomas and Aimen are returning to their bread and

en

76:54

Conflicted Community: The Gaza War – What Are Both...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/04/17

Welcome to the first episode for our Conflicted Community! We’ll be coming to you every two weeks with interactive episodes for our subscribers. We’re giving the first couple of episodes out for all of our dear listeners, but to keep listening, you’ll need to subscribe. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, to discuss everything you hear, and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link:

en

4:27

The Conflicted Community is Live!

CONFLICTED ·

2024/04/10

The Conflicted Community is now live! Want to hear bonus episodes of Conflicted and chat with fellow Dear Listeners? Now you can! We’re going to be putting out new interactive episodes every two weeks for subscribers, as well as giving access to our Conflicted Community chatroom on Discord, where you can engage in riveting post-episode debates. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ This is a paid for community and these new episodes and

en

11:15

Listen Now: The Spy Who

CONFLICTED ·

2024/02/27

These are stories you were never meant to hear. The invisible but vital work of the world’s intelligence services: secret operatives playing to very different rules. The Spy Who, hosted by Indira Varma and Raza Jaffrey, takes you deep inside that shadow world to meet spies who risked everything in the national interest – or, sometimes, their own.Search and follow The Spy Who wherever you listen to podcasts, or binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wondery+ on Apple Podcasts or the Wondery

en

66:46

Q&A - Airstrikes on Yemen and the Future of the...

CONFLICTED ·

2024/01/18

On Friday, January 12th, the Houthis added their muscle to the spreading conflict in the Middle East. By attacking commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea, they have brought reprisal strikes from a US and UK led coalition which could bring the west into the war and even reignite the Yemeni civil war which has engulfed the country since 2014. We covered Yemen extensively over 5 episodes at the end of Conflicted season 4, so it was only right that Thomas and Aimen come back together to answer our

en

66:22

Yemen: From Civil War to World War?

CONFLICTED ·

2023/11/29

The state of Yemen in 2023 is precarious. After the Arab Spring revolution descended into civil war, the Houthis have cemented their power over large swathes of Northern Yemen, while the traditional ruling parties have fractured and, in many cases, disintegrated. In this final episode of our mammoth exploration of the history of Yemen - and indeed season 4 of Conflicted - we bring things up to the modern day, stepping back from historical narrative to try and make sense of what has happened and what

en

76:54

Yemen: From Revolution to Civil War

CONFLICTED ·

2023/11/22

The Arab Spring of 2011 may have brought with it hope for a new dawn in Yemen, one of democracy and liberal reforms outside the rule of strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh. But the years that followed saw this quickly undone. The GCC Initiative brokered by Gulf States quickly broke down due to an intense culture of mistrust between all the parties within it. And with the insurgent Houthis growing ever more confident in the north, their malign influence ensured that this move for democracy was doomed to

en

72:01

Yemen: The Arab Spring Revolution

CONFLICTED ·

2023/11/15

2011 was a pivotal year for Yemen, and indeed the entire Middle East. After years of wars against the insurgent Houthis in the North, and with years of protests against President Ali Abdullah Selah’s attempts at radical constitutional changes, the Arab Spring which engulfed so many Muslim countries came to Yemen, too. It saw a bottom up revolution take hold in Sanaa, quickly filtering out across the country. It was a cry for democracy from a people fed up with their strongman ruler’s increasingly

en

66:26

Yemen: Dancing on the Heads of Snakes

CONFLICTED ·

2023/11/08

Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen from 1990 - 2012, described the process of governing Yemen as akin to “Dancing on the heads of snakes”. Such were the profound splits in Yemeni society, and with other strongmen, tribes and insurgent groups vying for their own power, Saleh knew that to keep his newly unified country together from the 1990s onwards would take a dance of real precision. In this second episode of our five part series on the history of Yemen, we find out if Saleh was nimble

en

71:47

Yemen: In the Shadow of the Imam

CONFLICTED ·

2023/11/01

Ask anyone from the Middle East about Yemen, that country on the southern tip of the Arabian peninsula, and they’ll tell you tales about the Queen of Sheba, Frankincense and Myrrh. It’s a place steeped in ancient history and paints a vivid picture in the imagination. But it’s also a place currently riven by conflict, engulfed in a civil war which has now been raging since 2014. But how did it get there? And what can the country’s history tell us about the bleak current state of affairs? For the next

en

164 results

Similar Podcasts

The Old Front Line

Paul Reed

Today In History with The Retrospectors

The Retrospectors

جنود خلدهم التاريخ

ALSUMOOD PODCAST

Film History - Daily

Inception Point Ai

Madonna - Audio Biography

Inception Point Ai