CONFLICTED

Our penultimate episode of season 5 is here, continuing our journey across Syria to bring you the voices of the revolution and civil war, from all perspectives. In the series so far, we’ve given you the perspectives of a Kurd from Aleppo and Afrin, we’ve parachuted you into the siege of Southern Damascus, we’ve shown you what life was like in Raqqa under ISIS - and now, we bring you another...

After our emergency episode on Monday about the extraordinary events currently taking place in Iran and Israel, we don't want to leave Conflicted listeners without their Thomas and Aimen fix on a Wednesday, so this week we're bringing you an old episode of Conflicted from Season 3, which explains how the modern state of Iran came into being - the Iranian Revolution of 1979... Find the episode...

Thomas and Aimen are back together again with an emergency episode to discuss the extraordinary events that took place over the weekend: Israel’s massive wave of attacks throughout Iran - and Iran's subsequent response.Aimen is back with us to detail the implications of the military action, explaining from his sources on the inside just how strategic Israel were in their plans for degrading...

Another old friend is back on the show, to give our Dearest listeners an update on the ever evolving situation in Syria - so welcome back the gallic tones of France 24 journalist and fellow of the Soufan Centre, Wassim Nassr!In this conversation, Thomas Small and Wasim discuss the current state of Syria, focusing on the recent lifting of sanctions by Trump, the implications for President Ahmad...

Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, welcoming a new guest onto the show to tell us about her experiences of living life under ISIS in the city of Raqqa – Rania Ali.Rania tells us about her experiences growing up in Raqqa, and the city's rich history - a place of conflict throughout the centuries. As the Arab Spring protests began, Rania became involved,...

An old friend returns to the Conflicted Community for a chat about his home country of Yemen. Yes, you guessed it, it’s the irrepressible Baraa Shiban…Thomas and Baraa once again discuss the complex and evolving situation in Yemen, focusing on the impact of U.S. administrations, the role of the Houthis, and the broader regional dynamics in the Middle East. The impact of the new Trump...

In this episode for our Conflicted Community, we continue our survey of the Israel-Palestine question with another interview, as Thomas Small engages with Rob Geist-Pinfold, a lecturer in defense studies and international security.This week we focus particularly on the Israeli settler movement. The conversation delves into the historical roots of the settler movement, its evolution from a secular...

Giri Rajendran is back for round 2 for the Conflicted Community, continuing our conversation about Donald Trump and his so-called ‘grand strategy’. This second part of our conversation delves into the decline of U.S. global power and the historical context of rising powers, particularly in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In this conversation, Thomas and Giri delve into the...

This week on Conflicted we are drawing our narrative arc on Syria to a close with our second episode with filmmaker and political activist, Matar Ismaeel.Last time Matar told us about his experiences filming protests in 2011 as the Syrian revolution began, being tortured in Assad’s prisons, and witnessing firsthand the brutal siege of Southern Damascus.This episode Matar finishes his remarkable...

The Conflicted Community is back to talk about the headlines we can’t seem to escape - Donald Trump and his tearing up of the economic world order. This episode, Thomas sits down with Giri Rajendran, the holder of no fewer than 3 degrees in economics and finance from the London School of Economics. Giri has worked as an economist in transatlantic defence before moving to work in finance, first in...