Rapid population growth is a major catalyst for many of the issues currently facing the Middle East. Juan Cole, a commenter on the Middle East and a historian at the University Michigan, says the demographic bulge has implications on a number of things, such as unemployment and infrastructure. The large number of young people also puts a strain on education. “You have a country like Egypt which is a relatively poor country and the government education system is pretty ramshackle. They have very

Suzette Grillot talks with Joshua Landis about the Trump administration's plan to end covert support for the anti-Assad rebels in Syria. Then, Suzette begins a two-part series of discussions with historian Juan Cole about the causes of conflict in the Middle East.

From Alaska, Rebecca Cruise discusses how Alaskans are reacting to the testing of North Korean missiles that could potentially reach that state. From Jerusalem, Suzette Grillot talks about Friday's attack that killed two Israeli police officers at the Western Wall. Then Suzette talks with filmmaker Gary Marcuse about his film Waking the Green Tiger and the environmental movement in China.

China’s environmental movement is one of the few areas in which Chinese citizens can generally speak their mind, according to documentary filmmaker and journalist Gary Marcuse. Marcuse, whose documentary Waking the Green Tiger explores the demonstrations that blocked a dam project in the Tiger Leaping Gorge, says there are between 50,000 and 100,000 environmental demonstrations every year in China. Many citizens protest the country’s high levels of smog and other environmental issues. “They've

Historian Salim Yaqub says instability in the Middle East can be traced back to economic stagnation, authoritarian leaders, widespread frustration among the people, and a long history of Western intervention.

Joshua Landis talks with historian Salim Yaqub about the factors that create instability in the Middle East, and why the Israeli-Palestinian peace process has stalled.

Sanitation and waste treatment is underdeveloped in Haiti, a nation that has suffered massive earthquakes and hurricanes, a cholera epidemic and ineffective governance. Now, non-profit organizations like Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods, or SOIL , are collaborating with the Haitian government to help improve waste treatment and sanitation.

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the French trial of Equatorial Guinea's vice president, and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the White House. Then, Suzette talks with SOIL director of strategy Nick Preneta about his organization's work in Haiti to turn human waste into fertilizer.

Mateo Farzaneh was recently visiting the Iranian city of Khorramshahr, a border city that put up a battle against Iraqi forces in 1980 during the Iran-Iraq War. The city fended off troops for 34 days before the Iraqis finally occupied it. Inside a mosque that is famous for its resistance to the foreign occupation, Farzaneh noticed an oversight. “I walked in and I saw a ton of portraits of men as being the martyrs and people that sacrifice everything. But there was not a single photograph of

Suzette Grillot and Rebecca Cruise discuss the Trump administration's changes to Cuba policy, and the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Then, Suzette talks with Mateo Farzaneh about the role of Iranian women in the Iran-Iraq War. Farzaneh's forthcoming book is Iranian Women and Gender in the Iran-Iraq War .