The Chatterbox

Jake Romm joins us to discuss the construction of the liberal international order, the latent imperialism of just war theory, and the legal infrastructure of the war on terror. This is part one of a two part conversation. Part two—in which we cover October 7th, the collapse of the liberal international order, and Jake’s work with the Hind Rajab Foundation—will be released for paid subscribers on January 30th.

Works referenced: Acts Harmful to the Enemy by Jake Romm and Dylan Saba, Why Trump’s Venezuela Attacks Matter So Much by Jake Romm, America, América by Greg Grandin, A History of Bombing by Sven Lindqvist, Kill Anything that Moves by Nick Turse. Also check out Jake’s piece Against the Wound.

Jake Romm is a New York City based writer and the Associate Editor of Protean Magazine. He is the U.S. Representative for the Hind Rajab Foundation.

To support the work of the Hind Rajab Foundation, you can contribute here.

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Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

In 2022, nonprofit neighborhood groups, backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, helped recall a progressive district attorney in San Francisco. What happened next would change the country. 

In Part One of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz uncovers how a local experiment unlocked a new formula for political power.

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The history of the climate crisis is often told as a story about technology. 

Growing out of the dark satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution, and accelerating along with new forms of production and consumption in the mid-twentieth century, we often hear that is technological development and innovation that got us into the mess we’re in. But it can also, apparently, get us out of it: what’s needed is a new green industrial revolution, or else other forms of technology like nuclear power or some form of geoengineering.

Could a more nuanced, and more accurate, history of technology and production tell us something new about the politics of the climate crisis? And could it even help us to think about new directions beyond fossil fuelled capitalism?

This week we’re joined by David Edgerton, historian and author of books including The Rise and Fall of the British Nation, and The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History Since 1900. He joins John Merrick,  deputy editor of The Break–Down in his first podcast appearance, to discuss how his historical work has shaped his understanding of the climate crisis, the rise of China as both an emissions and a green tech powerhouse, the new retro revivalism of the British right, and the ubiquity of AI boosterism.

The unifying youth culture across the Arab region is characterized by a proud new Arab identity and the changing standards of beauty with the rise of "Arab beauty" (A beauty), which celebrates Arab features and aesthetics. The founder of Mille World and Mille Creative, Sofia Guellaty, talks about her journey launching the first Arab youth platform in the Arab world, the role of media professionals as "editors of conversations," and the emergence of a new, proud Arab identity among both Gen Z and millennials. She discusses how she uses fashion and pop culture as a tool for "soft power" to talk about liberation, representation, and diversity, moving away from superficial content. She reflects on her early career, her shift from being fascinated by the West to "unbashedly proud to be Arab," and the challenges faced by Arab talent, including visa issues and the lack of an Arab-centric market. The conversation also delves into how her platform, Mille World, aims to address the lack of authentic Arab youth representation by giving a voice to young creatives who want to define their own stories, not be perceived through a "western gaze". 

Explore Mille World 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mille_world/
 

0:00 Introduction

2:06 The First Arab Youth Platform

3:51 Media Consumption and Identity & Obsession with the West

7:20 Fashion’s Role: Beyond Clothes to Communication Techniques

10:47 Becoming Editors of Conversations

18:47 Representation in Modeling: the Arab Face

20:07 Barriers for Arab Talent: Visa Issues and Market Size

24:46 Structurally Flawed Media and the Need for Critique

29:27 The Complexities of Arab Identity and Community

34:04 The Unifying New Arab Identity and Its Pillars

36:16 Changing Standards: The Rise of Arab Beauty

40:56 Cultural Blind Spots and Local Talent in the Region

45:00 Homegrown Talent Shaping the New Narrative

49:14 Fixing the Creative Industries with Unlimited Capital

52:57 Stories of Pride: Being the Torchbearer of Anti-Colonial Sentiment

Sofia Guellaty is the founder and creative director of Mille World, a digital magazine that chronicles Arab youth culture and style currents. She has grown the Dubai-based business into a cultural platform covering art, fashion, beauty, music and travel scenes across the Middle East and North Africa, featuring bold storytelling and sharp commentary from underrepresented voices in both Arabic and English. Under Guellaty’s leadership, Mille has become a vital alternative voice in the Arabic media landscape and a refreshing read for Gen Z and Millennials across the region. Blending her sleek editorial vision with fearless cultural commentary and an unconventional perspective, Mille explores everything from Libyan streetwear to Palestinian DJs and Lebanese jewellery designers. Beyond her editorial work, Guellaty serves as a board member of Fashion Trust Arabia and operates Mille Creative, a Dubai- and Riyadh-based marketing and creative agency producing campaigns for global brands. She launched Mille in 2017 after serving as editor of Condé Nast’s first Middle East venture, Style.com/Arabia, while contributing to Vanity Fair France. Born and raised in Tunisia, Guellaty began her media career in Paris, freelancing for Elle France and later publishing her novel ‘Le Sablier’.

Connect with Sofia Guellaty 👉 

https://instagram.com/sofiaguellaty

Hosted by: 
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

FOLLOW & RATE THE AFIKRA PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/lb/podcast/the-afikra-podcast/id1529437743
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5nafoF1Zs7F48mGZjlhrze
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1014643869

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK 
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

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Can Swiftynomics save America? That’s the intriguing thesis at the heart of Misty Heggeness’ new book about Swift’s impact on the American economy. Entitled Swiftynomics, it’s as much about Taylor Swift’s fans as it is about the megastar herself. “Taylor Swift is not moving mountains in local communities,” Heggeness acknowledges. “Her fans are. They are willing to fork out thousands of dollars, travel to another city, stay in hotels, get their hair done - that’s the real economic engine.” So Swiftynomics is really about what Taylor Swift unleashes, not who she is.

A conversation with Michael Lazarus about his recent book, "Absolute Ethical Life: Aristotle, Hegel, and Marx" (Stanford University Press).

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Danny and Derek welcome to the show Alice Lovejoy, professor of film and media studies at the University of Minnesota, to talk about the intersections of cinema, corporate power, and the military. They discuss how film production became entangled with military and chemical sectors; how corporate interests and state power shaped the technologies of cinema; the ways photographic film recorded and was shaped by Cold War geopolitics; and cinema as both a cultural expression and an product of industrial and geopolitical forces.

Read Alice’s book Tales of Militant Chemistry: The Film Factory in a Century of War.

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In our inaugural episode, we speak with two giants of Ethnic Studies and social movement scholarship: Robin D.G. Kelley (University of California, Los Angeles) and George Lipsitz (University of California, Santa Barbara). Together, they’ve shaped how we understand the intersections of race, culture, resistance, and solidarity for nearly four decades. In this wide-ranging conversation, we explore the origins and evolution of Ethnic Studies, its role in preparing citizens for our diverse democracy, and how scholarly work connects to organizing and social movements.

• Forensic Architecutre: A Cartography of Genocide
• Forensic Architecture: Investigation into Aid in Gaza (The Architecture of Genocidal Starvation)
• Forensic Architecture in Artforum
• Investigative Aesthetics: Conflicts and Commons in the Politics of Truth by Matthew Fuller and Eyal Weizman 
• Júlia's in Verso: The Target Factory
• Forensis: The Architecture of Public Truth

• SETA report on AI-assisted warfare in Gaza
• The Guardian and
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