This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Isabelle Werenfels, a senior fellow in the Middle East and Africa Division of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. Together, they discuss how North African states are asserting their newly found leverage over European states, and how European states are changing the ways they ... Show More
May 22
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 15
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 8
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
Jan 2025
Ep93. Africa in the Age of Disorder
In 2024, the Disorder podcast looked a lot at Ukraine, Syria, Israel-Palestine, India, Bangledesh, and even north Africa… but we didn’t devote sufficient time to sub-saharan Africa. So what does Africa look like in the Age of Disorder? To find out, Jason is joined this week by P ... Show More
52m 2s
Jun 2024
Stephen Marr and Patience Mususa, "DIY Urbanism in Africa: Politics and Practice" (Zed Books, 2023)
Protracted economic crises, accelerating inequalities, and increased resource scarcity present significant challenges for the majority of Africa's urban population. Limited state capacity and widespread infrastructure deficiencies common in cities across the continent often requi ... Show More
49m 13s
Aug 2012
Bruce Whitehouse, “Migrants and Strangers in an African City: Exile, Dignity, Belonging” (Indiana UP, 2012)
Every so often a book lands on my desk about something so obviously interesting that I have never really considered it before. Bruce Whitehouse‘s Migrants and Strangers in an African City: Exile, Dignity, Belonging (Indiana University Press, 2012) is exactly like that, tackling s ... Show More
37m 11s
Jul 2024
What's behind the newly formed Alliance of Sahel States?
They left ECOWAS saying it's influenced by foreign countries. Now, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have set up their own bloc, calling it the Alliance of Sahel States. But what's behind their new agreement? And what impact will it have on the wider region? In this episode: Erwan De ... Show More
24m 40s