FTP hosts Leila al Shami, Karena Avedissian, and Ayman Makarem grapple with what it means to stand in solidarity with Palestine. They reflect on the urgency of responding to injustice, the power of grassroots networks, and the role of activism even in remote rural communities. At the heart of this conversation is a question many of us struggle with: how do we keep showing up when it feels like nothing is changing and when we're burned out? Today, we’ll share examples that, we hope, remind us why continuing matters.

On May 12, following an extensive congress, the PKK (The Kurdish Workers Party) released a statement announcing their intention to dissolve and end their armed struggle against the Turkish State. This momentous statement comes almost 3 months after the similar call was announcement by Abdullah Ocalan, the party's ideological leader, who remains in captivity in Istanbul. To get more context about this and understand what exactly this declaration entails, two FTP hosts, Aydin and Karena, sat with returning guest Dilan, a kurdish academic and organizer who has spent the last decade engaging with the Kurdish struggle. Their conversation is a deep-dive that goes far beyond the headlines and lackluster coverage of the mainstream media.

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Resources:

Episode on Ocala's Statement

Firat News Agency 

Book on The Kurdish Women's Movement

Book of Ocalan's Writings

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From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today.⁠⁠⁠⁠ You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

In this episode we share 3 big updates from the war in Sudan, specifically concerning the involvement and complicity of the U.A.E as a major player. We also discuss a shocking article written by two Emiratis in the notorious magazine the Jerusalem Post, which attempts to justify the U.A.E’s role in the conflict. These developments mark a scary turning point in the war as well as the U.A.E’s calculations within it. 

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Other episode from FTP on Sudan:

FTP Pod:

Khartoum is Free, but the War Rages on /w Sarah al-Hassan and Dalia Mohammad (2025)

The Fire These Times:

Revolutionary Aid in Sudan w/ Eiad Husham (2025)

Sudan in Revolution and War w/ Dalia Abdelmoniem and Raga Makawi (2023)

Politically Depressed:

Distraught About Sudan w/ Sara Al-Hassan (2024)

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Mentioned article by Mat Nashed: ⁠How RSF is adopting Israeli's template for genocide⁠.

Opinion Article on JPost by Emirati 'journalist'

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Hosts:

Ayman Makarem (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠)

Aydin Yildiz

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From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠⁠⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today.⁠⁠⁠ You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

This is a special announcement episode broadcast on all FTP channels.

We at FTP are hosting a series of weekly film screenings and discussions on the Lebanese wars starting this Sunday April 20.

In this short episode, Elia and Ayman go through the list of films they selected, what you can expect from the screenings, and how you can participate.

To sign up and join the watch parties head over to our Patreon where you'll find this post with the invitation link.

Invites are immediately available to all Patreon members. If you don't want to become a member, you can buy the link with a one-time purchase.

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All the films (except the last) are already publicly available on this playlist on our Youtube Channel.

The films we'll watch are:

A Feeling Greater than Love (2017) dir. Mary Jirmanus Saba

- A feature-length documentary about the class struggle and labour movements in the lead up to the outbreak of the war in 1975.

Lebanon's War - Part 3: Explosion (2001)

- A 42 minute episode of a documentary series by Al-Jazeera on the Lebanon Wars that covers in great depth the 1975 outbreak of the civil war with incredible, rare interviews.

Beirut, My City (1983) dir. Jocelyne Saab

- A 38 minute film by a legendary Lebanese filmmaker filmed in Beirut amidst the Israeli siege that serves as a timeless intimate meditation on a city tortured by war and occupation.

Souha, Surviving Hell (2001) dir. Randa Chahal Sabagh

- A 57 minute documentary following communist resistance fighter South Bechara as she returns to the south of Lebanon after its liberation from Israeli occupation in 2000.

Last Days of the Man of Tomorrow (2017) dir. Fadz

- A short film that serves as a brilliant, illuminating, and humorous retrospective on the war by the post-war generation.

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Hope to see you at the film screenings! Here again is the link to sign up.

For episode 5 of the From The Periphery Podcast, Elia Ayoub is joined by Thinzar Shunlei Yi of the #Sisters2Sisters Myanmar campaign and Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network for Burma group to talk about the recent devastating earthquake in Myanmar, how the military junta responded to it, and what can be done to support the resistance groups on the ground doing it differently. 

Myanmar groups and initiatives to support:

• https://www.mutualaidmyanmar.org

• https://www.facebook.com/MyanmarERCU

• https://sisters2sisters.org

• https://burmacampaign.org.uk

• https://www.betterburma.org

• https://www.facebook.com/catsassociation.mm

Host:

Elia Ayoub (⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠⁠ Mastodon⁠⁠, Newsletter)

From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠⁠⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today. ⁠⁠⁠You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

50 years ago today, on April 13, 1975, a group of gunmen, belonging to the right-wing Kataeb party, opened fire on a bus of Palestinian civilians in Lebanon, killing 27 and injuring 20 others. Known notoriously as the bus massacre, this event is widely recognized as the trigger that sparked what would come to be known as the Lebanese Civil War. However, the roots of the conflict are far deeper and are in fact many different wars wrapped up in one. All told, the wars would rage on for at least 15 years, killing at least 150,000, displacing millions, and reconfiguring the entire country and the region.

In this episode of the From The Periphery Podcast Elia Ayoub and Ayman Makarem go into depth about the many wars that raged in Lebanon since 1975. We provide an overview of key events and try to tie together the many different strands, struggles, and conflicts that make up what is better called the Lebanon Wars. We also try as much as possible to connect this history to the present moment because, as we discuss, in many ways, the wars never really ended.

If you want to learn more about the Lebanese wars, I will be hosting a series of online screenings of Lebanese films and documentaries that cover different phases and aspects of the wars. The screenings will be held weekly starting on April 20 and continuing every Sunday for 5 weeks. The screenings will also be followed by a group discussion. Invitations to these screenings will be available through our Patreon, where all members will get immediate access. If you’re not yet a member, but want to join the screenings there are two things you can do: become a member, or buy the invitation via one-time purchase also available on our Patreon.

Hosts:

Ayman Makarem (⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠)

Elia Ayoub (Bluesky⁠,⁠ Mastadon⁠)

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From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today. ⁠⁠You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

On the 26th of March, the Sudanese army recaptured the capital city Khartoum and expelled the forces of the Rapid Support Forces, which had controlled the city since the start of the war almost 2 years ago. This is a rare moment of joy and celebration amidst an ongoing war which has killed 10s of thousands, and displaced millions of people . The humanitarian catasrophe still going on in Sudan is being described as the worst in human history. Despite that the war still receives very little coverage.

So today I, Ayman Makarem, am joined by two brilliant Sudanese commentators, Sarah el-Hassan and Dallia Abdelmoniem, to talk about the recent developments in Sudan as well as giving an overview of the current war and the revolution that it crushed. They talk about the problematic narratives and discourses around the war and the need for internationalist solidarity to support people on the ground. 

Socials:

Sarah is on Instagram, Bluesky, and Twitter

Dallia on Twitter and Bluesky

Ayman is on Bluesky⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

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From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today. ⁠⁠You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

On Thursday the 27th of March, a new governer was named to head the Central Bank of Lebanon. To help us better understand who this new governer is, why its such a big deal, and how people are reacting to the news, Ayman Makarem and Elia Ayoub are joined by Beirut-based journalist Justin Salhani, who recently wrote an article for Al-Jazeera English on this very topic. They talk about recent developments, a brief history of the banking sector in Lebanon, and the wider implications of this appointment.

Justin's Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/30/is-lebanons-new-central-bank-governor-another-riad-salameh

Hosts:

Ayman Makarem

- Bluesky

- Instagram

Elia Ayoub

- Bluesky

- Mastadon

Guest:

Justin Salhani

- Bluesky

- Twitter

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From The Periphery Podcast is supported by the community around us. ⁠Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today. ⁠You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.

On March 23, the president of Turkey, Erdogan, arrested one of his main political rivals, the current Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, alongside dozens of others. The arrest has sparked a wave of protests that has rocked the country, and with it, police repression, arrests, and mass confusion.

To give us more background and an in-depth look at what's happening in the streets, Aydin is joined by two activists;

Efe Levent, writer and co-founder of Istanbul-based media collective Mangal Media

Kadir Ersoy, a traveler street artist based in Istanbul.

Recommended readings: Aposto English

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From The Periphery podcast is supported by the community around us. Please consider becoming a member of our Patreon today. You not only help us make more episodes like this, but you get exclusive access to other content, an invitation to our monthly hangout, and direct contact with the rest of the team.