Turbulence

Darryl Li joins us to discuss his work deconstructing the concept of the “foreign fighter” and how ideology shapes our perception of who is fighting for what on battlefields from Palestine, to Afghanistan, to Syria, and beyond.

Darryl Li is an anthropologist and legal scholar thinking mostly about questions of war, law, migration, empire, and racialization in the currents between the Middle East, South Asia, and the Balkans. He is the author of The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity (Stanford University Press, 2020), an ethnographic and archival study of "jihadist foreign fighters" in the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

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Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We continue our coverage of what’s been called the “The Ramadan War” with a discussion of the strategic landscape, the supposed ceasefire negotiations, Iran’s development of the “Hormuz weapon,” and the prospects of a US ground invasion.

This is a special public release of our News of the Week series, which is usually available exclusively to paid subscribers.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We continue our coverage of the Iran war with a discussion of shifting US and Israeli strategies, attacks on energy infrastructure, the assassination of Ali Larijani, and Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon.

Please consider donating to support families displaced from southern Lebanon here, here, here, and here.

We’re committed to independence and will n…

Darryl Li joins us to assess the post-October 7 conjuncture, the US-Israel relationship, and the new regional order emerging out of the Iran war.

This is the first part of a two part conversation. Part 2, where we discuss Darryl’s work deconstructing the concept of the “foreign fighter,” will be available as an exclusive for paid subscribers on April 3.

Texts mentioned: Arghiri Emmanuel, White-Settler Colonialism and the Myth of Investment Imperialism.

Darryl Li is an anthropologist and legal scholar thinking mostly about questions of war, law, migration, empire, and racialization in the currents between the Middle East, South Asia, and the Balkans. He is the author of The Universal Enemy: Jihad, Empire, and the Challenge of Solidarity (Stanford University Press, 2020), an ethnographic and archival study of “jihadist foreign fighters” in the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We continue our coverage of the Iran war with a discussion of the new Supreme Leader, Iranian and American strategic narratives, the Axis of Resistance, and the war’s global economic fallout.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subsc…

Helen Yaffe joins us to discuss the Trump administration’s escalating attacks on Cuba, the country’s history of medical internationalism, and Che Guevara’s developmentalist socialism.

Helen Yaffe is a Professor of Latin American Political Economy at the University of Glasgow, specialising on Cuba. Since 1995, she has spent time living and researching in Cuba. She is the author of Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009) and We Are Cuba! How a Revolutionary People Have Survived in a Post-Soviet World (Yale, 2020). She co-hosts Cuba Analysis podcast https://linktr.ee/cuba.analysis and has co-produced three documentaries, including Cuba & Covid-19: Public Health, Science, and Solidarity (2020) and Cuba’s Life Task: Combatting Climate Change (2021).

Twitter/X: @HelenYaffe

People from around the world can support or join the Nuestra América Convoy, for which people will travel to Havana by land, air and sea, for a mass mobilization on March 21.

Fundraising links:

* Let Cuba Live is purchasing solar panels

* Saving Lives Campaign and Global Health Partners are procuring medical equipment

* The Hatuey Project provides cancer medicines for Cuban children

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We discuss the rapidly expanding scope, duration, and intensity of the Iran war.

Please consider donating to support families displaced from southern Lebanon here, here, here, and here.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We discuss the US and Israel’s war of aggression on Iran that has dragged the entire region into chaos.

This is a special public release of our News of the Week series, which is usually available exclusively to paid subscribers.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

We discuss the killing of “El Mencho” in Jalisco, an attempted gusano infiltration of Cuba, a looming war with Iran, SCOTUS knocking down Trump’s tariffs, cases against the Prairieland 19 in Texas and Pal Action in the UK, and Snowgazi in New York City.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman

In the first installment of our Political Economy of Genocide series, we are joined by Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss the use of artificial intelligence in war, Silicon Valley’s relationship with Israel, and ongoing resistance within the industry.

Texts mentioned: The Eye of the Master by Matteo Pasquinelli

Edward Ongweso Jr. is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, NY. Most of his work centers around tech criticism, labor and financial reporting, and book reviews. From 2019 to 2023, he was a staff writer at Motherboard, the technology section at VICE News. After leaving VICE, he was a Reporter-in-Residence at the Omidiyar Network and a guest columnist for The Nation. In 2023, He joined Logic(s) as a columnist and finance editor. In 2024, he became a Senior Researcher at Security in Context, where he focuses on artificial intelligence.

We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or take money from institutions. That means Turbulence is entirely listener-funded.

For $5 a month, paid subscribers gain access to weekly news analysis bonus episodes, where we respond to events as they unfold, follow up on previous discussions, and draw connections across the conflicts shaping our world.

Most importantly, paid subscriptions make it possible for us to keep doing this work independently, week after week.

Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.com

Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod

Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)

Art: Vivek Venkatraman