Hebah Fisher, Co-Founder and CEO of Kerning Cultures Network, discusses trends in media consumption in the Middle East, the power of sound and storytelling, and why young people in the region are turning to podcasts instead of radio. Also: Andrew’s take on why the Biden Administration is well-placed to help the break the deadlock in the Nile Dam talks.

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Elizabeth Tsurkov, an Israeli-Russian scholar and a fellow at the Center for Global Policy who has followed the Syrian conflict from the ground since the beginning, talks with Amberin about how over the past decade a peaceful civilian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad degenerated into a seemingly endless series of conflicts within conflicts. The country is effectively divided into at least three separate zones of influence. Tsurkov addresses how the incoming Biden administration is likely to approach Syria, and the prospects for lasting peace. 

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Al-Monitor Senior Correspondent Amberin Zaman discusses why US-Turkey relations are unlikely to get better; the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria; why an Israel-Turkey rapprochement is not imminent; and her new role as the other host of ‘on the Middle East….also Andrew’s take on Hamas and Egypt’s vital role in regional peace efforts.

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Leila Hamadeh, Co-founder and CEO of Finyal Media, explains how Arab youth are seeking new media outlets and platforms for expression and connection, and to bridge the gap between traditional and modern culture.

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Mick Mulroy -- former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, retired CIA officer and co-founder of the Lobo Institute—discusses why the US needs to stay engaged in the Middle East, including militarily, to prevent ISIS 2.0; the prospects for the US-Saudi partnership and the future of Yemen; and whether and how US partners could endorse a new Iran deal. Also:  Andrew’s take on whether Sudan launched a sequel to the Arab Spring in December 2018.

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Elizabeth Hagedorn, Adam Lucente, and Jared Szuba discuss what the Biden Administration can expect, and what we might expect from the Biden Administration and the next Congress, in dealing with the Middle East, including policies toward Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, human rights, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and more.

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Al-Monitor columnist and media activist Daoud Kuttab breaks down the present and future of Palestinian politics, assesses the impact of Israel’s normalization agreements and the prospects for a renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace track, and explains why he is optimistic, and relieved, about a Joe Biden Administration…as well as Andrew Parasiliti’s comment on the signals from Tehran on the pathways to a US-Iran nuclear deal.

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Ms. Micky Aharonson, senior research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, and a former senior director on Israel’s National security council, discusses why she is upbeat about US-Israel relations under a Biden Administration; Russian President Vladimir Putin’s role in the region; why Israel would prefer an Arab strategy to try to break Assad’s ties to Iran ; and the prospects for further normalization and an Israeli-Palestinian peace conference, as well as my comments on the catastrophic food crises in Syria and Yemen.

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Dr. Karen Young, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses why the Biden Administration needs early and clear communication regarding US policy toward Saudi Arabia and Iran; prospects for healing the rift within the GCC; the potential and constraints of economic normalization between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain; the prospects for Egyptian and GCC economies post-COVID; and more…as well as my recommendations for the best books on US President-elect Joe Biden.

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Dr. Philip Gordon, Mary and David Boies Senior Fellow in US Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, former White House Coordinator for the Middle East, and author of Losing the Long Game: The False Promise of Regime Change in the Middle East, discusses the lessons learned, and not learned, from US regime change efforts in the region; trends in US policies toward Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq; the benefits and limits of Israel’s normalization agreements with the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan; and the challenges the Biden Administration will face in the Middle East.

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