This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Max Gallien, a political scientist specializing in informal and illegal economies and North African politics. He is a research fellow at the Institute of Development Studies and the International Centre for Tax and Development at the University of Sussex. Together, they discuss the political, social, and economic ... 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
Jan 2023
Michael Willis on Recent Developments in the Maghreb
Michael Willis joins Almanac to discuss his new book, Algeria: Politics and Society from the Dark Decade to the Hirak, recent developments in Tunisia and Morocco, and why studying the area “West of Cairo” is of critical importance to Middle East Studies.
34m 23s
Jan 2024
Colonialism, Zionism, Sectarianism w/ Ussama Makdisi
Featuring Ussama Makdisi on how Western colonialism and Zionism exploited, exacerbated, and imposed sectarianism across the Arab Middle East. This is the SECOND of a two-part interview. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Contact Spotify and tell them: stop hiding The Dig! Why ... Show More
1h 39m
Apr 2025
Former German Minster of Economic Affairs on Trump’s Tariffs
Today on the show, Fareed speaks with former German Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier about the impact of President Trump’s tariffs in Europe and around the world. Next, Ehud Barak, former Israeli prime minister, joins the show to discuss Israel’s renewed war in Gaza wh ... Show More
40m 50s
Jan 2025
Shifting Landscape of Middle East Cooperation
In this episode of MEnbar, host Marc Owen Jones welcomes Galip Dalay, a nonresident senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, to explore the shifting landscape of Middle East cooperation. Dalay discusses regional integration efforts, from the Abraham Accords to ... Show More
52m 11s
Oct 2023
Free Palestine: The National Liberation Struggle against Zionism, Colonialism, and Apartheid
<p>In this critical episode of Guerrilla History, we bring on Max Ajl and Patrick Higgins to discuss some recent history and the ongoing situation regarding Palestinian resistance to the Zionist project and the ongoing bombardment on Gaza. Max and Patrick provide some absolutely ... Show More
1h 55m