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242 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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The True Origins of Modern Terrorism
16 april 2026 · 1 uur 18 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist Jason Burke about his new book The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s. Lees meer
Jason explains:
Why the origins of modern terrorism lie earlier than the Afghan jihad of the 1980s
The global revolutionary ferment of the 1960s and 70s
Why early terrorist attacks were often designed to attract attention rather than cause mass casualties
The role of Palestinian militant groups in pioneering modern tactics like hijacking
Connections between European radicals, Japanese militants, and Middle Eastern groups
How states adapted to terrorism through new counterterrorism measures
The shift from theatrical violence to mass-casualty and suicide attacks
The relationship between secular revolutionary movements and later Islamist militancy
The Iranian Revolution as a turning point in the evolution of political violence
Why many common narratives about the origins of jihadism are incomplete
Find Jason on X: https://x.com/burke_jason
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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America Blockades Iran
14 april 2026 · 54 min
After the peace talks in Islamabad fail as expected, the United States adopts Plan B: a complete blockade of all Iranian maritime trade. Aimen explains this latest move in the Iran War. Lees meer
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Iran War: Will the Ceasefire Hold?
10 april 2026 · 1 uur 23 min
Aimen does his best to explain the sudden and somewhat unexpected ceasefire between the United States and Iran which was announced early on Tuesday. Lees meer
Aimen and Thomas discuss:
Pakistan's role: what game are they playing?
Russia's delicate balancing act between Iran and the GCC
How GCC leaders cope with President Trump's erratic shifts in messaging and policy
Did Netanyahu know about the ceasefire in advance?
The potential coup in Lebanon which Israel's intervention stopped
Whether Lebanon is included in the ceasefire or not
What U.S. military hardware is on its way to the region
Why European politicians and diplomats still support containment when it comes to Iran while being gung-ho against Russia
How energy dependence helps explain the posture of Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey
How the Islamabad talks between Vance and Ghalibaf are likely to go down
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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How Money Laundering Took Over the World
7 april 2026 · 1 uur
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist Oliver Bollough about his illuminating new book Everybody Loves Our Dollars: How Money Laundering Won. Lees meer
Oliver and Thomas discuss:
Iranian oil money flowing into London property
Russian oligarch wealth parked in Western banks
Al Capone to Miami: evolution of money laundering
Jeffrey Epstein and elite financial fixers network
$100 bills fuelling global criminal cash economy
White House insiders profiting from crypto and stablecoins
Chinese gangs laundering cartel money worldwide
Hawala and ancient trade-based money transfer systems
Find Oliver on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olbullough/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Why Freedom Failed in Syria
2 april 2026 · 1 uur 7 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to journalist and author Anand Gopal about his wonderful new book Days of Love and Rage, a profoundly moving and intellectually stimulating history of the Syrian revolution told from the perspective of the northern town of Manbij. Lees meer
Anand and Thomas discuss:
Anand's first-hand witnessing of 9/11
How Anand embedded with the Taliban
Revolution as a crisis of faith and collapse of social reality
Manbij as a microcosm of the tensions of Syrian modernity
The failure of Manbij's democratic experiment and the limits of liberalism
How ISIS exploited both material grievances and liberal norms
Baathism: egalitarian ethos vs authoritarian reality
Find Gopal on X: https://x.com/Anand_Gopal
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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IRGC Sleeper Cells: The Inside Story
31 maart 2026 · 1 uur 17 min
As all sides in the Iran War escalate their attacks, another spectre looms on the horizon: Iran-backed sleeper cell agents across the world launching terrorist attacks against strategic assets — including in the West. Aimen opens the lid on this little-known dimension of the IRGC's activity. Lees meer
Aimen and Thomas discuss:
How the U.S. will deal with the problem of Bandar Abbas before launching an amphibious assault on islands in the Gulf
The recent escalation: the Houthis join the war, an AWACS plane destroyed in Saudi Arabia, a desalination plant attacked in Kuwait
The history of the sleeper cell as a tool of revolutionary subversion
The five types of Iranian sleeper cell
Aimen's experience embedded in sleeper cells as a double agent
How Iranian sleeper cells launder money
The prevalence of sleeper cells in South America
Aimen's work investigating the finances of sleeper cells
How London restaurants are secret IRGC fronts
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Can Lebanon Ever Be Free of Hezbollah?
27 maart 2026 · 1 uur 18 min
Aimen's back after a few days away uncovering the secret info and true motivations behind the Iran War. Lees meer
Today he and Thomas focus on the Lebanon front in the war, telling the story of how the Lebanese state was progressively undermined over several decades, as non-state actors acted like a cancer on the body politic — with the largest tumour being, of course, Hezbollah.
Aimen and Thomas discuss:
The method behind the madness of Pres. Trump's chaotic messaging.
The likelihood of a U.S. assault on Iran's islands in the Gulf.
Whether Gulf leaders are really egging the U.S. on to bring an end to the regime.
The U.S.'s objective of 'regime destruction' and how that differs from 'regime change'.
The failure of energy traders to price risk properly.
Abdul Malik al-Houthi's speech on 26 March and what it reveals about his intentions
The long history of Lebanon's experience of militant non-state actors and foreign intervention
How Hezbollah was able to re-arm and re-build after the catastrophe of autumn 2024.
How deep corruption within the Lebanese government and military is preventing the state from disbanding Hezbollah.
What to think about all those seasoned analysts who are convinced that America will lose this war.
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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When Will Iran Play the Houthi Card?
24 maart 2026 · 1 uur 24 min
Aimen has been called away for important last-minute insider meetings, so sitting in for him on today's episode is Nadwa Al-Dawsari, veteran researcher, conflict analyst, and policy advisor with 20 years of field experience in Yemen and the broader Middle East. Lees meer
Nadwa and Thomas discuss:
How Yemeni tribalism really works
The IRGC agents who are in control of Houthi war policy
Houthi eschatological beliefs
When the Houthis are likely to join the Iran War in force
What the military capabilities of the Houthis really are
The long shadow of the Stockholm Agreement
Houthi techniques of indoctrination and control
The growing Houthi presence in the Horn of Africa
How the Houthis and Al Qaeda are now effectively allies
Why Western decision-makers get the Middle East so disastrously wrong
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find Nadwa on X: https://x.com/Ndawsari
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Capitalism Is Not What You Think
19 maart 2026 · 1 uur 9 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to Harvard professor Sven Beckert about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Lees meer
Sven explains:
Why the history of capitalism matters for understanding the present
How most histories of capitalism are too Eurocentric
How merchant communities in the medieval Muslim world and other regions laid the foundations of capitalism
How European merchants learned from and interacted with merchants in the Muslim world
Trust networks in global trade, including family, religious, and city-based merchant networks
How capitalism and state power grew together
European divergence: why Europe became central to capitalism
Effects of Ottoman control and European geopolitical weakness on Atlantic expansion
Role of conquest, slavery, and colonial expansion in building capitalist societies
Tension between capitalism’s drive for unlimited growth and nature’s limits
Challenges to neoliberalism from the left and the populist right
Find Sven on Bluesky: @svenbeckert.bsky.social
Visit Sven’s personal website: svenbeckert.com
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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The Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island: How America Intends to Win This War
17 maart 2026 · 1 uur 32 min
All eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island as the United States and its allies struggle to wrest full control of the Arabo-Persian Gulf from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Lees meer
Aimen and Thomas lay out the whole story of this geostrategically vital region, from ancient times all the way up to this very morning—explaining why this war is happening, and how it is almost certainly to end.
Aimen and Thomas discuss:
How the Strait of Hormuz caused Noah's Flood
The medieval Kingdom of Hormuz
How the Gulf is always caught up in the Iranian plateau's endless boom-and-bust political cycle
How Europeans staked a claim on Hormuz in 1507—and never really left
The fact that the U.S. did indeed go into this war with a plan for Hormuz
How the U.S. will take Kharg Island—and what they will do with it
The ingenuity of Gulf Arab leadership in planning workarounds for the eventuality of the Strait being closed
How European powers and other allies are really contributing to the war effort
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Iran: The Long Road to War
12 maart 2026 · 1 uur 4 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Ali Ansari, Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of St Andrews. Lees meer
Prof. Ansari discusses:
The depth and antiquity of Iranian culture
His childhood experiences inside the Shah's inner circle
The Shah's biggest mistake
How the revolution could have better built upon what it inherited
The huge incompetence and corruption that has undermined Iran's political economy
How the new Supreme Leader is the IRGC's man
The clarity of America's military aims alongside the opacity of its political aims
The real weaknesses of the Iran Nuclear Deal
How Iranians inside Iran feel about the regime and the war
Follow Prof. Ansari on X: https://x.com/aa51_ansari
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Who is Iran's New Supreme Leader and What Does He Believe?
10 maart 2026 · 1 uur 25 min
Iran has chosen its new Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei. Who is he? What does he believe? And most importantly, is his coming to power the fulfilment of ancient prophecy? Lees meer
Aimen and Thomas discuss:
Mojtaba's youth and his experience fighting in the Iran-Iraq War as a 17 year old
How he became his father's primary gatekeeper, and how he used this to amass great power and wealth
Mojtaba's self-belief: that he is "the Khorasani", a long-expected End Times figure in Shia eschatology
The long story of Islamic apocalypticism and how the Islamic Republic has used medieval prophecies to justify its ambitions
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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The Iran War: British Uncertainty vs. French Resolve
5 maart 2026 · 1 uur 5 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to two friends of the show about how Europe is responding to the war with Iran. In the first half, the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP — former chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee and former UK Security Minister — discusses Britain’s confused response to the conflict, and in the second half, French journalist Wassim Nasr explains France’s position. Lees meer
Sir Tom and Wassim explain:
The UK government’s uncertain response to the Iran war
What politicians mean when they talk about the ‘legal basis’ for military action
The lessons of the Iraq War and whether they are being misunderstood
Iran’s role in the insurgency against Western forces in Iraq
The debate over designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization in the UK
The state of the British military after decades of defence cuts
The strategic controversy surrounding Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands
France’s historic Arab Policy and its effort to maintain strategic independence in the Middle East
France’s military agreements with the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait
The E3 framework (France, Germany, UK) and its role in negotiations with Iran
Macron’s attempt to expand France’s nuclear deterrent to cover Europe
The evolving situation in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s weakening position
Intelligence cooperation between France, Israel, and regional partners
Whether Europe is entering a new era of strategic independence
Follow Sir Tom on X: https://x.com/TomTugendhat
Follow Wassim on X: https://x.com/SimNasr
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produce…
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The Death of Ayatollah Khamenei & The Future of Iran
3 maart 2026 · 1 uur 9 min
With missiles streaking across Middle Eastern skies and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader sending shockwaves through the region, Aimen joins Thomas from a Dubai under fire to unpack a historic turning point. Lees meer
They discuss:
Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile strikes across the GCC and Israel
Life under bombardment in Dubai and the regional military response
The assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and what it means for Iran’s future
Whether this war marks the death of the 1979 Islamic Revolution
The internal dynamics of the Iranian regime at this critical moment
The United States’ strategic calculus and the question of escalation
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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🚨 Emergency Episode: The Iran War Has Begun 🚨
28 februari 2026 · 56 min
In this very special Emergency Episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss the Iran War, which began this morning with wide-ranging air strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against IRGC and Iranian regime targets, and which almost immediately resulted in Iranian counter-strikes against seven states in the region — including in Dubai, where Aimen lives.
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African Slavery: The Untold Story
26 februari 2026 · 50 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to former BBC journalist Martin Plaut about his new book Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement, which tells the whole story of African slavery, a story far older and more global than the one that focuses only on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lees meer
Martin explains:
How Africa’s slavery story begins in the Nile Valley around 2900 BC
Why the trans-Saharan slave routes remain less examined than Atlantic slavery
What Islam did — and didn’t — change about slavery in practice
Indian Ocean slavery
Oman’s slave market in Zanzibar and its caravans that penetrated deep into central Africa
Indigenous African slavery in Ethiopia and the Sokoto Caliphate
The role of racial hierarchies and ‘slave blood’ stigma within societies
Barbary corsairs and European so-called ‘white slavery’
Contemporary chattel slavery in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, and Libya
Why major institutions still prefer commemorating slavery in the past to confronting it in the present
Follow Martin on X: https://x.com/martinplaut
And his personal website: https://martinplaut.com/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Conflicted Revisited: Spying for Saudi
24 februari 2026 · 1 uur 21 min
As Saudi Arabia celebrates Founding Day, and as the murky underbelly of GCC geopolitics is on everyone's minds, we're re-releasing this classic Conflicted episode from early 2022. Lees meer
Thomas & Aimen discuss:
The deep history of Arabia
The first foundations of Saudi Arabia
The transition from British to American dominance in the Middle East
Aimen’s family history within the British imperial system
The 1920 Iraqi revolt
St John Philby (Abdullah Philby)
The consolidation of Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud
Oil politics and the American-Saudi partnership
Cold War spy-craft and intelligence networks in Saudi Arabia
Espionage culture in the region
The murder of Jamal Khashoggi
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Rowan Bishop.
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The People Who Became Arabs
19 februari 2026 · 57 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to historian Yossef Rapoport about his new book Becoming Arab, and the revolutionary argument at its heart: that Arab identity in Egypt and the Levant was not the result of mass migration from Arabia, but was forged in the medieval countryside between the 11th and 15th centuries. Lees meer
Rapoport explains:
What the word ‘Arab’ meant in the early Islamic centuries
Why most medieval villagers in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine did not initially think of themselves as Arabs
Why migration models fail to explain Arabisation in the settled countryside
How Islamisation and Islamic governance reshaped rural society
The role of clan genealogies, taxation, and local leadership in creating Arab village identities
The extraordinary 1245 Fayyum survey and what it reveals about rural Egypt
The rise of popular Arab epics and the imagination of tribal ancestry
Ibn Taymiyyah’s critique of manufactured tribalism in the 14th century
How medieval Arabisation reshapes modern debates about identity, belonging, and land
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Trump, Netanyahu, and the Iran Endgame
17 februari 2026 · 57 min
With war clouds gathering once again over the Middle East, Aimen takes us behind the scenes of the indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. He narrates the shifting Iranian position, the will-he-or-won’t-he calculus surrounding Donald Trump, and the vital strategic role played by Israel as the White House formulates a way forward. Is this brinkmanship, miscalculation, or the prelude to full-scale war? Lees meer
They discuss:
Iran’s negotiating position over the past 17–18 days
The domestic factors informing Trump’s thinking
How the IRGC is united around a rejectionist position
How Israel may have helped provide the White House with the narrative it needs to get buy-in from U.S. citizens
What really went on during Netanyahu’s recent visit
The truth beyond Scott Bessent’s claims about causing a dollar crisis in Iran
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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How the US is Abandoning its Afghan Allies
12 februari 2026 · 52 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to U.S. Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, about the fate of Afghans who worked alongside American forces during the U.S. occupation, and how the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions are increasingly freezing them out. Lees meer
Shawn explains:
Who America’s Afghan allies were and the risks they took
The complex tragedy of the National Guardsmen shooting in Washington D.C.
The Special Immigrant Visa system and why it failed
Trump’s first travel ban and the dismantling of refugee pathways
The Doha Agreement and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan
The creation of AfghanEvac and cooperation with the U.S. government
How Trump’s second term is closing the door on Afghan allies
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
Follow AfghanEvac:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfghanEvac
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghan_evac
X: https://x.com/afghanevac
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@afghanevac
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghanevac
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/afghanevac.bsky.social
Truth Social: @AfghanEvac
Follow Shawn VanDiver:
X: https://x.com/shawnjvandiver
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnjvandiver
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnvandiver/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shawnjvandiver.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnjvandiver
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnjvandiver
Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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The CIA’s Zero Units in Afghanistan
10 februari 2026 · 50 min
After a tragic shooting in Washington, D.C., Thomas and Aimen trace the story back to Afghanistan and to the CIA-backed Zero Units that carried out some of the coalition’s most clandestine kill-or-capture missions. Lees meer
They discuss:
The November 2025 D.C. shooting and the alleged link to a former Zero Unit operative
What the Zero Units were designed to do and why they were so controversial
Afghanistan's geography of terrorism and counterterrorism
The lifelong psychological damage caused by black ops
How the Doha Agreement sidelined the US’s Afghan partners
The halfway house vetting pipeline through German
The problem of PTSD, monitoring, and support for both Afghan allies and U.S. veterans
Whether America can fight future wars if local allies believe they’ll be left behind
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Why China’s Rise Cannot Be Stopped
5 februari 2026 · 1 uur 6 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to veteran Singaporean diplomat Prof. Kishore Mahbubani about his thesis that the 21st century will be remembered as ‘the Asian Century’, and how the West can prepare peacefully and optimistically for China's return as the fulcrum of world history. Lees meer
Drawing on his books Living the Asian Century, Has China Won?, and Can Asians Think?, Prof. Mahbubani explains:
Why the 21st century will be the Asian century and why this need not require Western decline
How colonialism shaped Asian self-perception, and the need for intellectual decolonisation
How other countries can adopt Singapore’s model for success
His meeting with Fidel Castro, Hafez al-Assad, and Yasser Arafat
The hypocrisy of Western power and diplomacy
How the United States keeps the UN weak on purpose
Why Pres. Trump’s China realism has been a good thing
The threat of war in Asia
Follow Prof. Mahbubani on X: https://x.com/mahbubani_k
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Trump vs Iran: The War That Wasn’t
3 februari 2026 · 1 uur 5 min
In this semi-emergency episode, Aimen helps Thomas unpack the last eight months of escalating tension and threats between the US and Iran, and explains why it’s now unlikely the American ‘armada’ President Trump sent to the Gulf will be going to war with Iran anytime soon. Lees meer
Thomas and Aimen discuss:
How the 12-Day War changed Iran
Why Israel’s Doha strike jolted the Gulf and accelerated a ceasefire
The Saudi–Pakistan defence pact and the Abraham Accords fallout
How the region became more militarized and less diplomatically aligned
Iran’s protest wave and the regime’s unspeakably brutal crackdown
How Trump’s promises were empty from the start
Why this may be Trump’s ‘Obama red line’ moment
What this latest example of TACO signals to China
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod
And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Paul Kenyon: 30 Years Under Fire as a BBC War Reporter
29 januari 2026 · 59 min
In this episode, Thomas talks to distinguished BBC journalist Paul Kenyon about his new podcast series Two Nottingham Lads. Paul recalls highlights from his remarkable career, which has taken him from Iran to Libya to Ukraine to Stockport —as he watched, in real time, America lose its grip on the international order. Lees meer
Paul talks about:
How two Nottingham lads ended up on opposite sides of the Ukraine War
The time he was detained by Iranian secret police
Watching anti-Gaddafi tribesmen ride into Benghazi on horseback
Accompanying unarmed Ukrainian guards as they marched uphill toward Russian troops
Getting to know the notorious ISIS brides in the Midlands
Being the only BBC journalist in Liverpool who witnessed the outbreak of the riots there in summer 2004
Listen to Two Nottingham Lads here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ntm9
Follow Paul on X: https://x.com/paulkenyonTV
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulkenyontv/
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Mali: When Jihadists Win
27 januari 2026 · 55 min
As jihadist violence in Mali escalates, Thomas and Aimen trace the history and present-day power of JNIM (‘Support Group for Islam and Muslims’), an Al Qaeda affiliate that has been laying siege to the capital Bamako. Will Mali’s secular state survive? Or is a jihadist takeover of the whole country now inevitable? Lees meer
**Including BONUS MATERIAL for subscribers to the Conflicted Community!**
Thomas and Aimen discuss:
The evolution of JNIM out of AQIM (‘Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’)
The jihadist ‘privateers’ who built the organisation
Slavery and racial hierarchy in the Sahel
Will JNIM’s leader Iyad ag-Ghali become the King of Mali?
Fuel blockades, economic warfare, and attacks on the capital, Bamako
Whether Mali can still exist as a sovereign state
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted
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And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Syrian Blitzkrieg: How Damascus Crushed the SDF
22 januari 2026 · 55 min
In this episode, Aaron Zelin returns to Conflicted to unpack the extraordinary collapse of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ position in northeast Syria over the past week — and what the fallout could mean for Syria’s fragile post-Assad order. Lees meer
Aaron explains:
Why the March 2025 framework agreement ultimately failed
Why Sunni Arab tribes abandoned the SDF — and how Damascus prepared the ground
How and why fighting erupted in Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo
The rapid fall of SDF-held areas in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah
What happened at ISIS prisons and detention camps during the collapse
Why claims of ‘Kurdish abandonment’ by the United States are misleading
The PKK factor — and the risk of a new insurgency or terrorism campaign
What Syria’s consolidation means for ISIS, regional stability, and the country’s future
Follow Aaron on X: https://x.com/azelin
This episode includes BONUS MATERIAL after the credits ONLY for subscribers to the Conflicted Community.
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Trump vs USAID: The Rise and Fall of America’s Aid Empire
20 januari 2026 · 55 min
On the first anniversary of the dismantling of USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, Thomas and Aimen trace the history of the organisation and ask whether USAID’s collapse represents a failure of liberal internationalism itself, or simply the end of one particular way of organizing American power in the world. Lees meer
They discuss:
Trump’s 2025 executive order and the effective end of USAID
USAID, anti-communism, and the CIA
The Clinton-era debate over whether USAID should survive at all
USAID in the War on Terror: Iraq, Afghanistan, and counterinsurgency
The Arab Spring and the shift toward NGO-mediated governance
Corruption in USAID
What the end of USAID tells us about the end of the unipolar era
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
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And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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How Yemen Broke the Saudi-UAE Alliance
15 januari 2026 · 1 uur 25 min
In this episode, Yemeni researcher and political analyst Baraa Shiban (a great friend of the show) tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of how different visions for the future of Yemen led long-simmering tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia to explode into the open. Lees meer
For further reference, here’s a helpful map of Yemen showing current areas of control: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/info/infographic/49654
Baraa explains:
How Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered the war with different goals
The role Yemeni political parties and militias played in the conflict
Why southern Yemen has never been unified
The UAE’s obsessive fight against the Muslim Brotherhood
The emergence of parallel security structures and rival centres of power
How Saudi Arabia acted as a mediator between rival factions
The explosive gains, and rapid reversals, of Yemen’s renegade Southern Transition Council
Follow Baraa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baraashiban/
Follow Baraa on X: https://x.com/BShtwtr
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Crisis in the Gulf: Saudi vs UAE
13 januari 2026 · 52 min
A rare public rupture has emerged between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Triggered by a dramatic escalation over Yemen in late December 2025, the dispute has exposed deeper ideological and strategic differences between the two Gulf powers. Lees meer
In this episode, Thomas and Aimen step back from the battlefield to examine the historical roots of Saudi–Emirati rivalry and why Yemen became the arena where these differences finally collided in public.
They discuss:
The 30 December 2025 Saudi airstrikes and the ultimatum to UAE forces
Why Yemen is the arena, not the cause, of the Saudi–UAE dispute
Continental vs maritime power in the Arabian Peninsula
The British influence on the Emirati state
The Buraimi Oasis dispute
Tribal allegiance and ‘weird borders’ in Gulf geopolitics
Why the UAE tolerates breakaway regions and Saudi Arabia cannot
Whether this rupture will be patched up and what happens if it isn’t
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Alan Leer.
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Re-Thinking Islam’s Global History
8 januari 2026 · 1 uur
Islam is often treated as a civilisation apart — self-contained, resistant to modernity, and fundamentally at odds with the West. In this episode, Thomas speaks to Oxford professor James McDougall about why that framing is misleading, and how Islamic history is inseparable from the making of the modern world itself. Lees meer
Drawing on his new book Worlds of Islam: A Global History, McDougall explains:
Why Islamic and Western histories are deeply intertwined rather than civilisationally opposed
The extent to which Islam is an imperial and political project
Islam’s role in shaping global modernity before European dominance
What made European power different in the nineteenth century
How the Mongol sack of Baghdad reshaped the geography of the Islamic world
The importance of Central Asia, Indonesia, and West Africa to Islamic history
The debate over early Islamic sources and why scholarly scepticism has softened
Whether today’s tensions reflect a clash of civilizations — or a clash of perspectives
Follow James on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jamesrobertmcdougall
Follow James on Substack: substack.com/@mcdougalljames
Follow James of Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jamesrmcd.bsky.social
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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The Crisis in Iran: The History Behind US-Iran Tensions
6 januari 2026 · 56 min
As mass protests sweep Iran and President Trump declares the U.S. is ‘locked and loaded’, Thomas and Aimen revisit the event that shaped U.S.–Iran relations for the next half-century: the Iran Hostage Crisis. Then, in real time, the conversation veers into a fast-moving geopolitical shock: Venezuela, Iran’s global networks, and what a new era of American ‘muscle’ might actually look like. Lees meer
They discuss:
Iran’s 2026 protest wave: currency collapse, water crisis, and regime pressure points
Trump’s ‘locked and loaded’ warning
Why the embassy takeover began as ‘revolutionary entrepreneurship’
How and why Khomeini endorsed the hostage crisis
The shift to economic sanctions as America’s primary lever
U.S. back-channel diplomacy
Operation Eagle Claw: what the plan was and how it fell apart
Hostage diplomacy after 1979
The creation of the U.S. Special Operations Command
The Iran–Venezuela–Hezbollah nexus, and why Washington’s focus may be shifting
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Zohran Mamdani and the Ascendancy of Third Worldism
1 januari 2026 · 1 uur 19 min
Amid controversy surrounding Zohran Mamdani’s rise to power in New York City, Hussein Mansour tells Thomas all about the history of Third Worldism — where it comes from, what it originally meant, and why the term has resurfaced. Lees meer
Thomas and Hussein discuss:
Zohran Mamdani as a symbol, not a cause, of a broader elite transformation
The Third Estate, the French Revolution, and the revolutionary inheritance of modern radical politics
Interwar Paris and the emergence of Third Worldist intellectuals
Négritude, anti-colonial humanism, and the promise of historical redemption
Decolonisation, revolutionary violence, and the crisis of postcolonial states
How ideological failure was reinterpreted as structural oppression
The migration of Third Worldist ideas into Western universities and institutions
Edward Said, postcolonial theory, and the institutionalisation of grievance
Third Worldism today less as a political programme than an elite posture
Subscribe to Hussein’s Substack The Abrahamic Metacritique here: https://critiqueanddigest.substack.com
Follow Hussein on X here: https://x.com/HusseinAboubak
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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2025 Year in Review
30 december 2025 · 52 min
As 2025 draws to a close, Thomas and Aimen take an unconventional tour of the Islamic world — looking beyond the usual headlines to the under-the-radar shifts that happened in 2025, with the potential to shape 2026 and beyond. Lees meer
They discuss:
Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger forming the Alliance of Sahel States and what a new Sahel bloc might mean
The geopolitical ‘cluster fuck’ of the Sudanese civil war
The European Union’s re-entry into Central Asia
The Gabala Summit and the rising Turkic axis
How Bangladesh is diversifying away from India
Southern Thailand’s Malay-Muslim insurgency and why it’s so rarely discussed
In Iraq, Kata’ib Hezbollah and the breakdown of state sovereignty
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Inside the Trenches of Ukraine
25 december 2025 · 1 uur 23 min
The war in Ukraine is back in the headlines as a peace agreement appears increasingly probably — though with major concessions to Russia. So as a Christmas present to our listeners, we’ve brought this episode from August out from behind the paywall. Lees meer
In it, Thomas speaks with his old university friend Jakub — a former Slovak Army officer who volunteered to fight in Ukraine — about the lived reality of modern warfare, from trench fighting to FPV strike drones. Drawing on nearly eighteen months at the front, Jakub offers an unvarnished account of combat, morale, fear, boredom, and survival — and challenges many popular assumptions about how this war is actually being fought.
Thomas and Jakub discuss:
Why Jakub left academia to fight in Ukraine
Life as a foreign volunteer inside a regular Ukrainian infantry battalion
The psychological reality of trench warfare
How artillery, drones, and attrition have reshaped the battlefield
The limits of NATO doctrine when confronted with peer warfare
What this war suggests about the future of European security
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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2025 Conflicted Christmas Special
23 december 2025 · 49 min
What is ‘the Christmas story’ really? And how does it change when you tell it from within a different religious tradition? In Conflicted’s first-ever Christmas Special, Thomas and Aimen retell the Nativity as it appears in the Gospels and in the Qur’an. Lees meer
They discuss:
Who were the Magi? Zoroastrian priests or Nabataean nomads?
How the Nativity story differs between the Bible and the Qur’an
A controversial theory about how local Christian traditions may have shaped the Qur’anic telling
The overlooked reason why Qur’an presumes its audience already knows the underlying stories
Christ’s ‘unfinished business’ in Islam: the Second Coming and the fight against the Antichrist
The sharpest divergence: the Crucifixion and what it implies about Jesus’ mission
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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What Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy Means For The World
18 december 2025 · 1 uur
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with global finance and security analyst Giri Rajendran about the Trump Administration’s newly published National Security Strategy — what it signals, what it omits, and what it suggests about America’s role in a multipolar world. Lees meer
Thomas and Giri discuss:
How this report differs from previous US National Security Strategies
The end of the old rules-based order of liberal internationalism
The Middle East: a phase shift toward deeper economic engagement
China: economic and industrial competition, not ideological crusade
Europe: NATO burden-sharing, culture-war politics, and coercion by inducement
Russia as a potential ally, no longer an enemy
Whether global governance can exist without global institutions
Follow Giri on X here: https://x.com/Trajan1898
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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The 2026 Middle East Forecast
16 december 2025 · 53 min
What does the future hold for the Middle East — and the world — in 2026? Lees meer
In this special episode of Conflicted, Thomas instructs Aimen to peer into his crystal ball and offer his forecasts for the year to come.
In this episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss:
How professional geopolitical analysts make forecasts
The impossibility of foreseeing Black Swan events
Why an end to the war in Ukraine could reshape Middle Eastern geopolitics
The likelihood of a U.S. war against the Houthis in Yemen
Renewed hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon
The strategic importance of the Gulf states
Iran’s nuclear programme, proxy network, and the risk of renewed confrontation
Add your predictions to your 2026 Forecast Card here: https://forms.gle/sMCbRFmFTBdcfEDd8
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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What the U.S. Gets Wrong About the Muslim Brotherhood
11 december 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Lorenzo Vidino, Director of the Programme on Extremism at The George Washington University. Lees meer
What happens when an ideological movement is neither a terrorist organisation nor an ordinary religious group — but something in between? One of the world’s leading experts on the Muslim Brotherhood explains…
The early history of Islam in America
The first Brotherhood-linked students arriving in the U.S. in the 50s and 60s
The formation of the first American Brotherhood cells
The Brotherhood’s gradual institutional influence across the 80s and 90s
Why CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) is so controversial
Germany’s three-fold classification system and what the U.S. can learn from it
Follow Lorenzo on: X, BlueSky, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Check out his books:
The New Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia University Press, 2010)
The Closed Circle: Joining and Leaving the Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Columbia University Press, 2020).
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Saudi Arabia’s New Bargaining Chip
9 december 2025 · 56 min
The Middle East is shifting again, and fast. In this wide-ranging overview, Aimen and Thomas break down the hidden forces reshaping the geopolitical chessboard as 2025 draws to a close. Lees meer
In this episode, Aimen and Thomas uncover:
The power of Saudi Arabia’s discovery of vast rare-earth reserves
The U.S.–Saudi grand bargain
Why the F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia rattled Israel and what it means for the future of the Abraham Accords
Iran’s deepening water crisis and Gulf states’ preparations for instability
The simmering tensions between India and Pakistan
Afghanistan’s compounded crises
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Has the Muslim Brotherhood Infiltrated the UK?
4 december 2025 · 51 min
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat about the Muslim Brotherhood. Lees meer
What happens when a Western democracy encounters an ideological movement it no longer has the language — or the institutions — to understand?
The former Security Minister and long-time observer of the Middle East explains what the Brotherhood is, how it operates, and why the British state is struggling to deal with it.
In this episode, Thomas questions Tom about…
Tom’s time in Egypt during the Arab Spring
His conversations with Brotherhood members
The UK government’s secretive 2014 review of the Brotherhood a nd why Parliament challenged it
The institutional blind spots inside Whitehall and MI5
How Brotherhood-linked networks operate in Britain today
Why talking openly about the Brotherhood is so politically and legally fraught
Strategies for the UK government to tackle the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Subscribe to Tom Tugendhat’s Substack here: https://tomtugendhat.substack.com/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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Conflicted Returns: A New Era Begins
2 december 2025 · 52 min
Conflicted is back. Aimen and Thomas return with a renewed mission and a bold vision for the future of the show. In this special relaunch episode, they look back at the journey so far, celebrate the global community that’s grown around Conflicted, and reveal what’s coming next in an ever-more turbulent world. Lees meer
In this episode, Aimen and Thomas:
Offer a sweeping recap of Conflicted’s story arcs, themes, and analyses
Reveal what the next phase of Conflicted has in store for dear listeners
Reassert Conflicted’s commitment to rising above the polarisation and simplifications dominating mainstream media
Celebrate the many friends of the show—journalists, scholars, analysts—who have helped Conflicted become a global phenomenon
Thank the listeners whose engagement, questions, and curiosity have shaped Conflicted’s direction (and good-naturedly endured Aimen’s dad jokes)
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.
Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.
Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews.
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Conflicted Revisited: Ethiopia’s Overlooked Conflict
26 november 2025 · 1 uur 30 min
This week on Conflicted, we’re unlocking another episode we first released for members of the Conflicted Community. Lees meer
In this interview from last January, I talk with Martin Plaut, a distinguished journalist who has reported on conflicts across Africa for decades, and whose book Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray War was an essential resource for us in preparing our series on Ethiopia. We discuss:
Ethiopia’s recent Tigray War and why it proved so consequential for the Horn of Africa
How the federal government — with Eritrean support — turned against the Tigray region despite its long rule in Ethiopia
Martin’s personal story of growing up in apartheid South Africa and his early political activism
His current work on the history of African slavery and common misconceptions surrounding it
Speaking of slavery in Africa, Martin’s latest book Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement has recently been published. I hope to get Martin back onto the podcast to talk all about it!
Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted
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India and the Future of World Order: A Conversation with T.V. Paul
20 november 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
This week on Conflicted, Thomas is joined by T.V. Paul, Distinguished James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University. Lees meer
Prof. Paul is one of the world’s leading thinkers in international relations and author of Restraining Great Powers: Soft Balancing from Empires to the Global Era and The Unfinished Quest: India’s Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Thomas speaks with Prof. Paul about:
India’s strategy as a rising power in a shifting multipolar world
How ‘soft balancing’ works as an alternative to military alliances
The benign and malign dimensions of American hegemony
Why globalization both empowered and destabilized the global middle class
India’s complex status anxiety and its quest for recognition
How China and India navigate rivalry, nationalism, and regional threats
The future of the liberal international order—and whether it can survive
What a new global settlement might require from the West, China, and India alike
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Conflicted Revisited… Husam Mahjoub – How Foreign States are Fuelling Sudan’s Civil War
12 november 2025 · 1 uur 16 min
This week on Conflicted, we’re unlocking for everyone an episode we first released a year ago for members of the Conflicted Community — an interview with Hussam Mahjoub, a Sudanese journalist, political activist, and founder of the independent TV channel Sudan Bukra, which has become a vital source of truth amid the chaos of war. Lees meer
When it was recorded, Sudan was already sliding into catastrophe. But in the months since, the country has fallen even further into one of the world’s most devastating wars. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces has shattered the country: communications have collapsed, hospitals have shut, and millions are displaced or facing famine.
In this conversation, Hussam helps us understand how Sudan got here. He traces the rise of the RSF from the Janjaweed militias that terrorised Darfur twenty years ago, and walks us through Sudan’s modern history, from the long dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir, to the 2019 revolution, and the collapse of hopes for civilian rule.
Hussam also offers an insider’s view of the regional powers shaping Sudan’s fate — Egypt, the Gulf states, and Russia’s Wagner network — and how rivalries over gold, trade, and influence have turned Sudan’s agony into a proxy struggle.
Listening now, his analysis feels prophetic. The structural forces he identified then have since erupted into the full-scale war we see today.
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CC: Patrick McGee – How Apple Built a Superpower
5 november 2025 · 1 uur 15 min
This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by Patrick McGee, technology reporter and author of the phenomenal new book, Apple in China. Patrick provides an exclusive look at how Apple, in its relentless pursuit of operational excellence, drove a unique form of globalization that profoundly reshaped the economic and geopolitical world. Lees meer
Thomas and Patrick dissect the story of Apple's pivot from near-bankruptcy to becoming a global superpower, focusing on the often-overlooked genius of CEO Tim Cook - the operations mastermind who built a manufacturing model that, while pioneering, effectively hollowed out US industrial capacity. They explore the critical role of Taiwan’s Foxconn and its founder, Terry Gou, who understood that Apple’s demanding processes were not exploitation, but a unique, fast-track training program that turned China into an advanced manufacturing powerhouse. The conversation follows the narrative from production to consumption, revealing the chaos and extraordinary demand of the Chinese retail market, the political awakening of the company under Xi Jinping's rising power, and the ultimate irony: Apple, the champion of individual liberty, forging a $275 billion partnership with America's foremost geopolitical rival. The episode is a must-listen for understanding the true forces that built the 21st-century global economy.
You can find Patrick @patrickmcgee_
To listen to more episodes like this - and to get lots more benefits upcoming very soon - you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.
All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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Conflicted Revisited… Hamza Howidy – Protest, Exile, and a Post-Hamas Vision of Gaza
29 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 35 min
Another revisited interview from the Conflicted Community Interview archive this week, as we get ready for more Conflicted episodes coming soon… This time, the FULL interview with Hamza Howidy - a Gazan who years ago was forced to flee to Europe, telling us about his experiences and his vision for a post-Hamas Gaza… Lees meer
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This week, Thomas speaks with Hamza Howidy, a Palestinian activist originally from Gaza now living in exile in Germany. Hamza shares his extraordinary story of growing up under Hamas rule and the constant threat of Israeli military action on the one hand, and the brutality of Hamas on the other.
Hamza was forced to leave Gaza due to his involvement in protests against Hamas in 2019 and 2023, taking the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean from Turkey to Europe to do so. Hamza offers a vital and nuanced perspective on life in Gaza, the internal political dynamics between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, and his vision for a future free from Hamas's governance. He candidly discusses the brutal realities faced by those who dissent against Hamas and his own experiences of protest and imprisonment.
Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com!
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CC: Emma Ashford – The Collapse of America's Unipolar Moment
22 oktober 2025 · 24 min
This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by Dr. Emma Ashford, a Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and an expert on US grand strategy. Emma brings a clear-eyed, realist perspective to the current global debates, arguing that the emerging multipolar world is an opportunity, not a catastrophe, for the United States. Lees meer
Thomas and Emma dissect the end of the American unipolar moment, exploring whether the US's pivot to global primacy after the Cold War was driven by naive idealism or institutional hubris. They analyze the four competing camps in US foreign policy - from Liberal Order Primacists to America First Hawks - and champion the case for realist restraint as the most pragmatic way forward. The conversation delves into the strategic implications of a truly multipolar world, including how nuclear weapons change the dynamics of great power competition and why the US must retrench from costly, over-leveraged commitments in the Middle East to prioritize competition in Asia.
You can find Emma on X @EmmaMAshford
To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.
All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com!
Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted
And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/M…
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The Gaza Peace Deal: Behind the Scenes with Aimen Dean
15 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 12 min
This week on Conflicted, Thomas Small is joined by co-host Aimen Dean, who returns to the show to provide a vital debrief on the recent Gaza peace deal. The episode focuses on the fragile ceasefire deal brokered by President Trump, which has brought a temporary halt to hostilities between Israel and Hamas. Aimen is back with his signature, deeply informed analysis, answer your and Thomas’ questions to get beyond the narrative we normally hear about the conflict… Lees meer
Thomas and Aimen unpack the hidden diplomatic maneuvers behind the deal, including the motivations of key players like Saudi Arabia and France, whose diplomatic efforts set the stage for peace talks by applying intense pressure on the Israeli government. Aimen shares his explosive, albeit speculative, intel on the Israeli airstrike on Doha in September and its profound consequences, including the potential for Saudi Arabia to acquire nuclear weapons as a deterrent. The conversation also delves into the military realities on the ground in Gaza, assessing the successes and failures of the IDF's campaign and the prospects for Hamas's future. The episode offers a sobering look at a peace deal that, while celebrated as a triumph, may be little more than a temporary ceasefire in a region still teetering on the brink.
Want more of Thomas and Aimen? Then you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.
All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for …
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7/7: The Inside Story – A New Terror Paradigm • Episode 6
13 oktober 2025 · 48 min
Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! Lees meer
New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community.
All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
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When a horrific terrorist attack against children spawned some of the most violent riots in recent UK history, it revealed a sinister undercurrent of racial, religious, and multicultural tensions flowing just beneath the surface of British society.
Fuelled by voices from the Far-Right, the riots saw a mosque burned and a hotel housing asylum seekers set on fire. But the killer, Axel Rudukabana, was neither muslim or an immigrant. He was British - and known to the security services as a risk.
So what does this attack reveal about the future of terror attacks in the United Kingdom? And why was this attack met with violence rather than anguish? What’s changed in the fabric of our society? And what can we do about it?
In this final episode of 7/7: The Inside Story we explore the existential questions of British identity raised by this series, culminating in an exclusive interview with former Minister of Security, and long time Conflicted listener, Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat.
Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery.
Hosted by Thomas Small.
This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak.
Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean.
Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews.
Music by Tom Biddle.
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CC: Alex Vatanka – How has the 12 Day War Changed Iran?
8 oktober 2025 · 24 min
This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and a leading scholar of Iranian domestic and foreign policy. Together, they explore the profound impact of the recent 12-Day War between Iran, Israel, and the United States on the Islamic Republic. As an Iranian who has studied the regime for decades, Alex offers a vital look into the power struggles between revolutionary ideology and Iranian nationalism that are now at play in Tehran. Lees meer
Thomas and Alex discuss the main events of the war, the strategic decisions made by all sides, and the unexpected conclusion that has left Iran in a precarious position. They delve into how the conflict's strategic and economic fallout - from widespread internet blackouts to the regime's military and technological limitations - has humiliated the ruling elite and exposed their vulnerability. The conversation also explores how the war has intensified internal debates, with pragmatic and moderate voices now pushing for political reform and a change in Iran's foreign policy. The episode offers a sobering, yet essential, look at a regime that must now confront its own failures and decide whether to change course or risk total collapse.
You can find Alex on X @AlexVatanka
To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more.
All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/
Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other compa…