The View From Here

Millions displaced, boats full of people going missing, and generations driven from their homes in what the United Nations has described as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing."

Yet still one of the world's gravest humanitarian crises has largely disappeared from public conversation.

In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal sits down with journalist and author Kaamil Ahmed, whose decade of reporting on the Rohingya uncovered uncomfortable truths about the international response, including an unpublished internal UN report that was never made public.

Together they explore how an entire people became stateless, why they've remained trapped in refugee camps, and why the world moved on from a crisis that never ended.

This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed 43-year-old General Mykhailo Drapatyi as the country's new Commander-in-Chief, replacing General Oleksandr Syrskyi in the most significant military reshuffle since Russia's full-scale invasion. More than a change in leadership, it raises a bigger question: What kind of Ukraine is emerging from this war?

In this week's episode, Jasmine speaks with Ukrainian Member of Parliament and Vice President of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Council of Europe Mariia Mezentseva about how the war has transformed Ukrainian society, shaped a new generation of leaders, and strengthened the country's sense of national identity. We discuss what resilience looks like after four and a half years of war, whether Ukraine can continue balancing democracy with an existential conflict, and how Ukrainians themselves think about the path to peace.

Migration has become one of the most politically divisive issues facing Europe. Governments are under growing pressure to control their borders, reduce irregular arrivals and restore public confidence in systems many voters see as overwhelmed or open to abuse. At the same time, thousands of people fleeing war, persecution, economic collapse and instability remain caught in inadequate systems that can leave them waiting for years.

The European Union’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum is meant to address that crisis of capacity and trust. It promises faster decisions, stronger border procedures and greater cooperation between member states. But human rights organisations warn that the new system could expand detention, weaken protections and place vulnerable people at even greater risk.

In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine speaks with Meghan Benton, Director of Global Programs at the Migration Policy Institute, about what the new pact will mean in practice, why Europe’s migration and asylum system has become so difficult to manage, and whether legal migration pathways could offer a more sustainable alternative to deterrence and irregular movement.

They also explore the political narratives shaping the debate, the legitimate pressures migration can place on local communities, and why governments so often imitate the language of the far right rather than articulate a clearer vision of their own. At the heart of the conversation is a question confronting democracies across Europe: can they maintain control, rebuild public trust and still treat people seeking safety with dignity and compassion?

Episode Notes:

EU Pact on Migration and Asylum: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/pact-migration-and-asylum_en

Meghan's recent talks:

Home Affairs Committee, Oral evidence: Asylum and Returns Policy, HC 1579, Tuesday 16 December 2025, https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16932/pdf

World of Migration: Why Is Immigration Policy So Hard to Get Right? (Podcast), Thursday Apr 02, 2026, https://migrationpolicy.podbean.com/e/world-of-migration-why-is-immigration-policy-so-hard-to-get-right/?utm_source=copilot.com

MPI Podcast, World of Migration: Humanitarian Protection at a Crossroads: What Future for the Strained Refugee System?, Friday Sep 19, 2025, https://migrationpolicy.podbean.com/e/wom-humanitarian-protection-crossroads/

With so many progressives winning primary elections, and with the Maine senate race in jeopardy - what can we learn about where the Democratic party is headed?

This week, we are re-sharing Jasmine’s conversation with Matt Duss, Vice President of the Center for International Policy, and former foreign policy adviser to Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders.

This conversation is from September last year, and a really important one as a lot of the things we spoke about have come to pass since - but many lessons and warnings Matt spoke about have not been heeded by the Democratic establishment.

Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next.

In this solo episode, Jasmine responds to questions from the audience around her time working at the Pentagon and the conflicts and ceasefires in the Middle East.

If you want a question answered on future Q and A episodes, please email us at [email protected] and we will make sure to get to it!

Episode notes:

See The View From Here episode "America in Crisis: Can the Democratic party rise to the moment?"

Jasmine's article on "elite impunity": https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-machinery-of-impunity-how-washingtons-elite-stays-above-the-law-and-how-to-end-it/

What does it look like when a childhood is stolen?

A new UN report accuses Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, documenting what it describes as the destruction of childhood through death, injury, displacement and psychological trauma. The report has already become deeply politicised, with supporters and critics fiercely debating its findings.

But beyond the politics are the children themselves.

In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with humanitarian Arwa Damon, founder of INARA, and pediatrician Dr. Seema Jilani, two women who have spent years caring for children in war zones, including Gaza.

Together they discuss what they witnessed on the ground, how Gaza compares with other conflicts they've worked in, what prolonged war does to childhood, and why so many people have become desensitised to images of suffering. They also reflect on the challenge of bearing witness, whether testimony can still change minds, and what they wish every policymaker—and every one of us—could understand about the daily lives of children living through war.

Episode Notes:

INARA (International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance):

https://www.inara.org/

UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry report:

"The essence of childhood has been destroyed": Israel's deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/coi-report-23jun26/

Arwa's Substack: https://substack.com/@arwadamon

FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised the 2026 World Cup would be the biggest, most inclusive tournament in history. Instead, fans are being priced out, supporters from qualifying nations are barred from entering the US, players have been detained and questioned at the border, and Iran's team is sleeping in Mexico because of restrictions on staying overnight in the country after they play. Amnesty International warns the tournament risks becoming a "stage for repression" — and ICE agents will be inside the stadiums.

What happens when the world's biggest celebration of sport collides with the politics of its host? And how much of the blame belongs to FIFA itself?

Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen — Middle East fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute and author of Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer — about sports diplomacy, sportswashing in reverse, and what this World Cup reveals about America's place in the world.

Did Donald Trump change the Republican Party forever, or will he one day be remembered as an exception rather than a transformation?

For nearly a decade, Trump has reshaped American politics. But as debates emerge over foreign policy, particularly Israel, Iran, Ukraine, and America's role in the world, questions are growing about what comes next for the Republican Party. Is the MAGA movement evolving into something new? What is the difference between MAGA and America First? And what happens to conservatism after Trump?

In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with Andrew Day, Senior Editor of The American Conservative, about the evolution of conservative politics in the United States, the changing Republican coalition, debates over foreign intervention, the role of Israel in Republican politics, and the future of the America First movement.

Together they explore whether Trump permanently transformed the GOP, what younger conservatives believe, why foreign policy has become a dividing line within the Republican coalition, and what the future of American conservatism may look like after the Trump era.

Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next.

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Can the Democratic Party learn from the mistakes that cost it the last election?

For years, conventional wisdom in American politics held that foreign policy doesn’t really move voters. That assumption is being tested. Gaza, Israel, Palestine, America’s role in the world, and questions of morality in foreign policy have become increasingly important to many voters — and they’ve made that clear.

Public opinion has shifted. Some candidates have shifted. But the machinery of Democratic politics — consultants, donors, party institutions, and the networks that shape power and influence — has often moved much more slowly, or not at all.

So what does political inclusion actually mean today? Who gets heard? And how do communities transform representation into real political power?

In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with James Zogby — founder and president of the Arab American Institute, longtime civil rights advocate, and veteran of Democratic Party politics — about why this moment in American politics feels so potentially transformative.

They discuss Democratic Party strategy, Gaza, coalition politics, voter frustration, political machinery, and the changing relationship between identity, representation, and power in American public life.

Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next.

SUBSCRIBE:

YouTube: ‪@viewfromherepod

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I went to Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march to hear directly from people attending and left thinking we should engage MORE, not less, with them.

Many people disagree, arguing that people who attend a march led by a convicted criminal who has been banned from multiple countries and social media platforms should be shunned or shamed.

But my question is, if we don't talk to each other, what is the alternative?

To unpack this question, I spoke to Julie Siddiqi and Ibrahim Said from the UK Muslim Network.

Let us know what you think in the comments.