Podcast

Art, Music and Freedom in Iran — with Malu Halasa and Nahid Siamdoust
The death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Iranian morality police inspired the largest uprising Iran has seen since the 1979 revolution. A year after the protests began, Malu Halasa and Nahid Siamdoust join New Lines’ Danny Postel to talk about how art, poetry and music formed the movement's pulse.

Somaliland’s Secession Struggle — with James Barnett
Once hailed as an island of stability, the unrecognized Republic of Somaliland is threatened by a new crisis in Somalia’s long civil war. James Barnett joins New Lines’ Joshua Martin to talk about what it means for the fractured nation’s delicate balance of power.

India’s Star Crossed Lovers — with Mansi Choksi
“Young people in India are just trying to figure themselves out, like anywhere else in the world.” Journalist and author Mansi Choksi joins New Lines’ Surbhi Gupta to talk about the fraught politics of marriage in modern India.

The Sound of Struggle in Zimbabwe — with Thomas Mapfumo
“People are not supposed to be ruled. People are supposed to rule.” Days before Zimbabwe’s next election Thomas Mapfumo, the father of Zimbabwe’s Chimurenga music, joins New Lines magazine’s Kwangu Liwewe to talk about his 60-year career of music and struggle.

The American Money Driving Official Homophobia in Africa — with Lydia Namubiru
“There's some sense that this is the last frontier for conservative Christianity. They fight for it as the last bit of territory that they hold.” Journalist Lydia Namubiru joins New Lines magazine’s Kwangu Liwewe to talk about the American money behind homophobic lawmaking in Uganda.

Behind the Abaya Ban — with Rim-Sarah Alouane
The abaya is a loose, flowing robe popular with many Muslim women for its modest cut. Why did France just ban it from public schools? Rim-Sarah Alouane, Rasha Al Aqeedi and Erin Clare Brown break it down on The Lede.

Ukraine’s Cluster Bomb Dilemma — with Sera Koulabdara and Romeo Kokriatski
Can the use of weapons as harmful as cluster bombs ever be justified? Sera Koulabdara and Romeo Kokriatski join New Lines magazine’s Danny Postel to debate their use in Ukraine against the Russian invaders.