This week, Jon Alterman, Will Todman, and McKinley Knoop talk about who joins militant jihadi groups and why. Then, Jon talks with Elisabeth Kendall, an Oxford University-based scholar of Arabic literature who has focused on poetry among Yemeni jihadis. They discuss poetry in Yemen, what makes “good” jihadi poetry, and differences between al Qaeda and ISIS p ... 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 2018
Yemen And The Houthis Part I
In September 2014, the Houthis captured the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. A few months later, Saudi Arabia launched a campaign to remove the Houthis and reinstall President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi to power. The Saudi-led coalition has pummeled Yemen with airstrikes, leading to thousands ... Show More
50m 7s
May 2023
Le jihadisme européen: un phénomène enraciné?
Depuis le 11 septembre 2001, près de 150 attentats islamistes ont été commis en Europe, de Madrid à Paris, de Londres à Berlin, en passant par Bruxelles ou Stockholm. Bilan : quelque 800 morts, près de 5 000 blessés... Depuis l’effondrement de Daech et la perte de son califat aut ... Show More
50 m
Nov 2023
Yemen: The Arab Spring Revolution
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 ma ... Show More
1h 12m
Feb 2024
Using OSINT to understand Yemen
In this episode of The World of Intelligence, I delve into the complexities of Yemen, a nation often overlooked until recent conflicts thrust it into the spotlight. Joined by senior research analyst James Trigg, we explore the intricate web of actors involved in Yemen's turmoil, ... Show More
35m 6s