This week on Babel, Jon Alterman welcomes Jason Rezaian back to the podcast. Jason is a former hostage and alongside Jon, he is the co-executive director of the CSIS Commission on Hostage Taking and Wrongful Detention. They speak about the growing phenomenon of hostile governments and groups imprisoning Americans to gain leverage against the United States, w ... Show More
May 2025
Babel Special: Jon Alterman's Next Chapter
This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ... Show More
34m 59s
May 2025
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ... Show More
50m 16s
May 2025
Analysis: Will Trump’s Houthi Deal Stick?
On Tuesday, May 6, President Trump declared that the United States would immediately halt its bombing of Houthi targets, bringing an end to months of intensified U.S. strikes across Yemen. The president linked the policy reversal to what he described as the Iran-backed Houthis’ c ... Show More
6m 13s
Jun 2025
U.S. Says NUKING IRAN Is The ONLY OPTION, Trump Won't Rule It Out w/ Stacy Washington
Tim, Phil, & Ian are joined by Stacy Washington to discuss the US saying a nuclear strike might be the only option against Iran, lawyers demanding the release of No Kings Protest shooting victim, and the accused Democrat assassin claiming Tim Walz instructed him to target Seantor ... Show More
2h 2m
Jul 2025
The Truth with Lisa Boothe: One Year Later: Revisiting the Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump with Jonathan T. Gilliam
<p>In this episode, Lisa welcomes back former Navy SEAL and FBI agent Jonathan T. Gilliam to reflect on the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, PA, exposing glaring security failures and a lack of accountability from federal agencies. They highlight political bi ... Show More
37m 40s
Jun 2025
True Spies Debriefs: Stephen Davis on Flight 149
Journalist Stephen Davis has spent 30 years working to uncover the truth behind one of the most secretive chapters of the Gulf War. When British Airways Flight 149 landed in Kuwait on the 2nd of August, 1990, Saddam Hussein's invading army took the passengers hostage. Today, some ... Show More
44m 45s
<p>Plus, Drake sues his own music label. </p><p> </p><p><strong>On Today’s Episode:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/world/middleeast/gaza-cease-fire.html" target="_blank"><strong>Negotiators Agree to Long-Awaited Cease-Fire and Hostage Deal for Gaza</s ... Show More
