The Inside Story of a Scandal at the White House
White House reporter Alex Thompson joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss his bestselling book, co-authored with CNN anchor Jake Tapper, on the cover-up that hid Joe Biden’s declining health.
Gaza and the Undoing of Zionism
A review of recent works on the Gaza war by Peter Beinart, Avi Shlaim and Pankaj Mishra explores how they converge on a single interpretation, long argued for by Palestinian scholars like Rashid Khalidi: The crisis is not an aberration, but the end point of a century-long project.
The Fordow Conundrum
By telegraphing that its Iran operation would take “weeks, not days,” Israel made clear that it has no intention of quitting until its objectives are met, with or without the U.S. But Israel’s coercive messaging to the White House, that nothing succeeds like success, appears to be working.
Perilously Close to Death, a Mother Continues Her Hunger Strike
Laila Soueif, mother of Egyptian political prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah, has been on hunger strike since September 2024 to protest her son's continued unlawful detention. Now critically ill, she persists, joined by Alaa himself.
The Tanzania-Zambia Railway Tracks the History of the Cold War
A journey on the Tazara train from Tanzania to Zambia reveals the present and past of this iconic railway, along with the history of Chinese influence in the region.