Friday, August 15, 2026, Paris

One kidnapped innocent people and forced them into concentration camps. Another aired a forced confession live on television. Yet another stole people’s homes and terrorized their inhabitants.

In this very special, jam-packed episode of badlands, three misbehaving governments compete for the dubious honor of “rogue regime of the week.”

I also give a quick update on the latest scheme by the administration of Donald Trump to laumch a new pressure campaign against Iran.

Plus, in an inteview with India’s NewsX World, I discuss the latest comments from Norway’s foreign minister about the Persian Gulf crisis as well as the latest on the Israeli offensive in southern Lebanon.

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Thursday, August 13, 2026, Paris

Foreign policy podcaster and former US Department of Defense official Jasmine El-Gamal joins badlands for a lively discussion on Syria, her area of focus when she was in government, as well as on latest diplomatic and security machinations surrounding the Iran war.

Among the topics of discussion Syria’s death sentence against Bashar al-Assad, the return of refugees to Syria, and its enigmatic, ascendant new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, as well as the convuluted thinking that has gotten the US and the Western countries mired in countless quagmires.

“We tried to do the whole Shia crescen and Sunni thing and it just isn’t a helpful way to look at the region because what happens is that then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy in how other countries, particularly Western countries, view the region,” she says. “And then these become the good guys and these become the bad guys.”

Please check out and subscribe to Jasmine’s excellent podcast now!

Also in this edition of badlands, I discuss the Pakistani interior minister’s visit to Tehran and ongoing repression of Palestinians in the West Bank in an inteview with India’s NewsX World.

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Paris

Recent comments by US President Donald Trump on Iran show how stuck he is in his Iran failures.

In the latest episode of badlands, host Borzou Daragahi breaks down Trump’s latest lies and misinformation and sketch out how Iran has become a hell of his own making.

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Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026, Paris

A Syrian court just sentenced former dictator Bashar al-Assad to death in absentia over his role in the country’s 13-year civil war. His brother Maher and cousin Atef Najib were also convicted and sentenced to death by a Syrian court.

Assad fled to Russia in 2024 as rebel forces seized control of the country after a years-long conflict which left more than half a million people dead.

In the second part of Syrian-British author Robin Yassin-Kassab’s interview with badlands, we discuss whether the original democratic and civil spirit that spurred the Syrian uprising in 2011 still exists.

We also discuss a range of topics including:

* How Hezbollah laid the seeds of its own demise by taking part in the Syrian civil war on behalf of the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

* How Syrian president and former rebel leader Ahmed al Sharaa should be assessed.

* Turkey’s outsized role in promoting Syrian interests and Sharaa on the international stage.

Robin is the author of the recently released book, “The Blood Between Us.”

In this episode, I also discuss the latest Ukraine strikes deep inside Russia, and how they are undermining the US plan to keep oil prices low by helping tankers dodge Iranian missiles and drones on the way out of the Strait of Hormuz.

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Monday, August 10, 2026, Paris

American defeat over Iran can lead to a smarter, less militaristic, and ultimately more succesful US.

Meanwhile, an Islamic Republic victory could lead to a more arrogant, belligerent, repressive Iran—a regime with a measure of historic legitimacy and a renewed lease on life.

On the latest edition of badlands, I step back from the headlines a bit to discuss what the emerging modus vivendi in the Persian Gulf conflict could mean in the long run, even as the war continues to unfold, with much of the latest fighting in the Red Sea and Yemen.

In interviews with India’s NewsX World, I also discuss the latest talks over the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman and the escalating conflict between Houthis and Saudi Arbia and its allies along the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula.

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Friday, August 7, 2026, Chicago

Two major developments in the Middle East this week. The US appears poised to hand over control of the Strait of Hormuz over to the Iranians, even as it whines that it doesn’t need it anyway.

Meanwhile, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan inked a major security partnership, dissing the US attempt to corral the countries of the region into the pro-Israel Abraham Accords. That promoped pro-Israel shills to downplay the Mecca agreement and predict its demise.

As a bonus for Arabic speakers, I was interviewed by Egypt’s Al Qahera TV about the latest developments in the Iran conflict.

badlands is a listener-supported podcast. To receive new episodes and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe

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Thursday, August 6, 2026, Chicago

Israel continues to hammer away at Lebanon and occupy much of the country’s south, even as the US and Iran appear to be heading toward another deal on the Persian Gulf.

In the latest episode of badlands, scholar Nadim Shehadi joins me for a deep analysis and debate about which country—Iran, Israel, or the US—ultimately played the biggest role in turning Lebanon into a basketcase, and a site for regional conflict.

Also in the episode, I discuss the latest effort by corporate Democrats in the US to grapple with the rise of Michigan Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed and the leftwing of the party. Instead of voting blue no matter who, they are launching a $15 million effort to sabotage Democrat Socialists of America by digging up dirt and publicly smearing them.

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Wednesday, August 5, 2026, Chicago

Progressives and sane people celebrated an imporant victory for Senate candidate Abdul el-Sayed, who defeated Congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Party primary.

The Israel lobby and other corrupt donors spent more than $60 million Stevens, but the very narrow margin of victory will likely convince them they could have won if they’d only lavished a few more million on the campaign.

Sayed will face an even tougher challenge as he takes on Republican Mike Rogers in the general elections coming up in November, I say in an interview with India’s NewsX World.

Meanwhile, it looks like missile depletions combined with market troubles are forcing the US to give in to Iranian demands on the Strait of Hormuz. Despite the obvious US losses and the seemingly impossible path to anything resembling a US victory, warmongering warmongers won’t let up, and appear unable to learn anything. Perhaps they need to take up a hobby.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe

Tuesday, August 4, 2026, Chicago

It’s not just the Israel lobby. It also the defense lobby. And the insurance, gun, banking, law, pharamaceutical, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates lobbies. Washington has become a fetid cesspool of corruption that is increasingly failing ordinary Americans, whether they are trying to get through a summer storm or through a disastrous airport.

In the latest episode of badlands, I discuss the Michigan Democratic Party primary election today between Abdul el-Sayed and Congresswoman Haley Stevens. It is now considered the most expensive US Senate primary in history and a battle between the pro-Israel establishment and the insurgent wings of the party.

I discuss how the race has been especially sensitive for Michigan Jews, including those for or agaisnt Sayed, as chronicled in a New York Times video.

Featured in the episode is part two of my interview with College of Dupage professor David Goldberg and a discussion of what it was like for him to break away from the pro-Israel ideology of the Jewish community.

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe

Monday, August 3, 2026, Chicago

Donald Trump backed off again from his latest threat to launch a major campaign against Iran, citing a fresh breakthrough in talks between Iran and Oman over re-establishing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

In the latest episode of badlands, I discuss why Iran feels entitled to keep control of the Strait of Hormuz, which it sees as its spoils in a war that was unjustly launched against it.

I also address the neocon argument that Iran has been at war agaisnt the US have been at war for “47 years.”

In an interview with Fahd Hassan of Pakistan’s Express 24/7 News I discuss why the war seems to keep going through constant cycles of escalation and diplomacy.

I also the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the latest security and diplomatic developments with India’s NewsX World.

Finally, in an interview with NPR’s Here & Now, I discuss the prospects for a peace deal in Gaza.

badlands is a listner-supported podcast. To receive the latest episodes as quickly as possible and to support this work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe