This week on Babel, Jon is joined by Frederic Wehrey, senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. During their discussion, Fred breaks down the conflict in Libya, explaining who is involved and why. Fred and Jon also talk about foreign fighters, drones, and what's next for Libya. Then, Jon, Will, and McKinley d ... 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
Jul 2019
49. Libya: Warlords, Militias, and Western Abandonment
We speak to researcher and author Frederic Wehrey as he returns from the frontlines of the recent conflict in Libya, between General Haftar's forces and GNA militias. He explains what's going on, why it's happening, and what the war looks like on the front. - www.patreon.com/po ... Show More
35m 23s
May 2023
Libya: Political Gridlock, Regional Politics and Sudan’s War
<p>Last week, Libya’s parliament fired one of the country’s two prime ministers, Fathi Bashaga. Libya for years has been split between two rival governments. An internationally recognised prime minister, Abdelhamid Dabaiba, sits in the capital Tripoli and a rival government, unti ... Show More
45m 15s
Apr 2019
Tripoli threat: a warlord’s bid to take Libya
As rebel forces advance on Tripoli and American troops withdraw, we look at the Libyan general leading the march, and at the country’s fractured politics. There’s evidence that Facebook’s advertisement algorithms discriminate on the basis of race and gender. But who’s to blame, a ... Show More
20m 58s
May 2019
Venezuela, Libya and the Russian navy's beluga whale
First, Tommy and Ben talk about violent clashes in Venezuela, Trump pouring gas on Libya's civil war, designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, the Russian navy's beluga whale, good news out of Spain and GITMO becomes a retirement home. Then the Washington P ... Show More
41m 57s
May 2011
US/UK relations, Spanish unrest, the Arab spring and Japan's nuclear future
In this week’s podcast: the essential relationship between the US and the UK; Spain on the edge of a sovereign debt crisis; stalemate in Libya - what next for the Arab spring; and, we look to the future for Japan’s energy policy post Fukushima.Presented by Shawn Donnan with Sarah ... Show More
20m 56s