With rapid change sweeping a region still in the throes of wars the Kurdish people spread across four nations see an opportunity to secure if not their dream of a nation then autonomy within national federal structures that would secure their rights and culture as a people. Arab Digest editor William Law invites the Kurdish-American journalist Sirwan Kajjo onto the podcast to discuss the possibilities and the promises that lie within reach of the Kurds.

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The Iran expert Sanam Vakil joins Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss the likelihood of Washington and Tehran striking a new nuclear accord. What sort of a pact will the Ayatollah and the self-proclaimed ‘dealmaker in chief’ arrive at and what will America's Gulf friends, to say nothing of the Israelis make of it? The White House has said it has put a proposal on the table. What it looks and how likely it would be to hold are questions today's podcast takes a hard look at.

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Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the energy analyst and Digest regular contributor Alastair Newton. Their conversation focusses on how Saudi Arabia is seeking to shape oil prices and the market to meet their financial requirements as Saudi Aramco profits dip and the costs for Mohammed bin Salman's multiple giga-projects continue to be a significant drag on the kingdom's purse.

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Two top Washington Middle East analysts join Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss President Trump's recent trip to the Gulf. Annelle Sheline and Jon Hoffman reflect on the deals made, Trump's meeting with the former jihadist and now president of Syria Ahmad al-Sharaa and the significance of the president deciding to bypass Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu as he swept through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

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Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by Middle East Eye's Dania Akkad and the focus of their conversation is GHF - the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - which popped up fully formed and already seemingly underway with a plan that closely mirrors Israeli strategy to use humanitarian aid to force Palestinians out of most of the Gaza Strip and into a tiny sliver of land from whence it will be possible to expel them.

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Arab Digest editor William Law welcomes the Libya specialist Tarek Megerisi back to the podcast to discuss Libya and the dangerous stalemate it has settled into. Two families preside over an extraordinary level of corruption that further impoverishes the Libyan people. Their criminality is aided and abetted by foreign players who see in the political stalemate an opportunity to advance geopolitical objectives and plunder the country of its wealth.

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The podcast returns after a short break with Arab Digest editor William Law in conversation with the Yemen expert Helen Lackner. As the world focusses on Donald Trump's egregious trampling of the rule of law and his destruction of the prevailing world order little notice is given to US strikes on claimed Huthi targets that are occurring on a daily basis while humanitarian aid has all but dried up. The consequences of both actions are devastating for the Yemeni people.

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Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the Levant expert Dr Lina Khatib. Their conversation focusses on new hope building in Lebanon after the crushing blow Israel delivered to Hezbollah and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria. With a new president and a new prime minister in place hope is running high that the country will find the political will to move away from the sectarianism that has inflicted so much damage on the Lebanese people.

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Syria expert Malik al-Abdeh joins Arab Digest editor William Law to discuss the latest developments in Syria as the country's new leadership struggles with internal sectarian rivalries and pressures from outside players in the neighbourhood including Israel and Türkiye. They explore too the role of Putin and Trump and what will happen as Washington pursues an isolationist approach to foreign relations.

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Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the New Lines Institute's Caroline Rose an expert on the illicit drug Captagon. With the fall of Bashar al-Assad his family's hold on the lucrative trade has suddenly evaporated but the drug hasn't disappeared from Syria and other actors and other countries are eying up opportunities as the Trump administration freezes US engagements in the global fight against illicit drugs.

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