The Lede

In this podcast, Farkhondeh Akbari and Andrew Watkins join New Lines Magazine for a conversation on Afghanistan. They share their sentiments about the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, assessments on decades of American intervention and recent withdrawal, and reflect on the past, present and future.

David Kaye served as the U.N. special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Kareem Shaheen, he discusses justice and accountability for crimes in the Middle East; why justice is so essential for neighbors to keep living together; and why the phrase, “the walls have ears” is so common in the Middle East.

In a special podcast on the fall of Kabul and its aftermath, New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai speaks to three reporters who were on the ground in Afghanistan before, during and after the takeover by the Taliban. Emran Feroz, Fazelminallah Qazizai and Shelly Kittleson discuss reporting from around the country, firsthand testimony of what it felt like to see the Taliban walk unopposed into a city they were exiled from 20 years ago — and what the Taliban might do in the next weeks and months.

Isam Uraiqat created AlHudood, a satirical news site often compared to The Onion, to highlight some of the absurdities of the modern Middle East. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, Isam goes through some of his favorite — and most controversial — headlines; talks about censorship in the Middle East and whether there are any topics he would not poke fun at; and discusses the serious side of satire in an era of fake news.

Luna Safwan is an independent journalist based in Beirut and the host of the “Beyond Politics” podcast. Anthony Elghossain is a lawyer and contributing editor at New Lines Magazine, also based in Beirut. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, as the first anniversary of the deadly explosion in Beirut’s port approaches, they discuss what it felt like a year ago before and after the blast; the challenges of reporting on a city that is both a global story and also home – and why living in Beirut sometimes feels like waiting for life to restart.

Rime Allaf is a Syrian-born writer and political analyst. In a wide-ranging conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, she recalls living through the end of the Hafez al-Assad era and traces the Bashar years from the initial optimism of Syrians, through the end of the Lebanon occupation and the Iraq War, to the start of the Syrian revolution.

Arash Azizi is the author of “Shadow Commander: Soleimani, US & Iran's Global Ambitions” and the author of an essay for New Lines Magazine on Iran’s new president. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Rasha Elass and Cameron Khansarinia, policy director at the National Union for Democracy in Iran, based in Washington DC, they explore the new president’s background, whether Iran is going through a domestic crisis and what the future of American-Iranian relations will look like.

Peter Pomerantsev is senior fellow at the Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the author of "This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality." In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad, he discusses “Memory Wars”, the attempt to rewrite history to fit current political objectives, why that attempt is as relevant in Ukraine and Russia as it is in Syria and the United States, where he stands on the removal of statues – and why Russia seeks to manipulate sensitive topics like race in America.

Nafees Hamid is a cognitive scientist of political violence who wrote an essay for New Lines Magazine on why people join violent groups. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, he discusses his essay, “The Neuroscience of ‘Devoted Actors’ Within Extremist Groups”, explores similarities between jihadists who joined ISIS and the insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol – and explains why neuroscience shows that a feeling of being excluded can change what people are willing to fight – and die – for.

Nick Foretek is the author of “The Philosopher’s Wine”, a long-read for New Lines Magazine that tells the story of several years in the life of one Syrian fighter. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad, he discusses how he first met the fighter in Cairo, what prompted him to tell the story, why he made certain literary decisions – and whether he thinks the fighter is a sympathetic character.