Uncovering the Human Stories Behind Global Politics
Hosted by Faisal Al Yafai and Lydia WilsonFeaturing Yaroslav Trofimov and Christina LambProduced by Finbar AndersonAssistant Producer Henry Wilkins Listen to and follow The LedeApple Podcasts | Spotify | Podbean Storytelling has a different imperative when closer to home, The Wall Street Journal’s Yaroslav Trofimov tells New Lines’ Faisal Al…
Stalled Reconciliation Leaves Hama’s Alawites in Limbo
In Syria’s Hama province, displaced Alawite villagers are unable to return to houses and lands now occupied by their former Sunni neighbors, whose own homes were destroyed. With property disputes unresolved and pistachio orchards — the region’s economic lifeblood — neglected, the fragile coexistence that once defined these communities risks collapse.
For Israelis, the Ceasefire Is Only About the Hostages
Israelis are euphoric over the ceasefire in Gaza because it means the hostages will come home. The liberals see this as proof that their mass protests worked and that they still have influence. They have already forgotten the war, and there is no reckoning with its cost to Palestinians.
Haile Selassie’s Band of Armenian Orphans
Armenians the world over remember their close link with Ethiopia, symbolized by the royal adoption of 40 orphan musicians. The legacy of this act endures: Ethiopian music, exported around the world, still reflects this Armenian influence.
I Believed I Had Seen the Worst Humanity Could Inflict — Until Gaza
A doctor who has led four medical missions to Gaza describes the war’s devastating impact on the territory’s besieged inhabitants and hospitals, and the desperation of his fellow medical professionals. He also recounts a revealing — and ultimately dispiriting — conversation with President Joe Biden.