

Arab Digest podcasts
Arab Digest
Arab Digest is where business leaders and experts on the Middle East and North Africa come together to share analysis and insight about the issues in the region that matter most.
contact email: editor@arabdigest.org
contact email: editor@arabdigest.org
Episodes
Mentioned books

5 snips
Oct 30, 2023 • 30min
MENA and the impact of the Gaza war
In this episode, analyst and commentator Sami Hamdi discusses the impact of the Gaza war on the MENA region, including the response of Middle East regimes to popular support for Palestinians. They explore the limited area and restricted movement in Gaza, the shifting stance of Arab regimes, and the potential for protests and demands for revolution. They also analyze the positions of Mohammed Salman and C.C. on the war, highlight the danger of the conflict, and discuss the political ambitions of Netanyahu.

Oct 25, 2023 • 36min
A Washington take on the Gaza war
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Jon brings to the table insights into President Biden's handling thus far of the Gaza-Israel war and argues that Israel's military battering of Gaza offers no long-term solutions that will bring about security for Israel and end the suffering of the Palestinian people.
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Oct 24, 2023 • 10min
As a British-Arab, am I safe in the UK now?
Arab Digest editor William Law's guest is the British-Arab writer Layla Maghribi. Like many citizens of Arab descent in the UK and Europe Layla speaks out in defence of Palestinians as the bombardment of Gaza continues and civilian casualties continue to mount. And as she speaks she voices the fear that many Arabs feel that they are no longer safe in their own countries as their leaders give Israel unconditional support.
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Oct 18, 2023 • 31min
The power of narratives in the Gaza-Israel war
The podcast explores the prevailing narratives driving the Gaza-Israel war and the dangerous consequences. It discusses the humanitarian costs, US strategy, and the strategic advantages of Russia and China. The guest shares insights from his book on the weaponization of narratives. Overall, it highlights the urgent need for a peaceful resolution.

Oct 11, 2023 • 37min
Whispering Walls: "the Kurds are rich in stories"
Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the Kurdish writer and academic Choman Hardi. A distinguished poet, Choman has just had her debut novel Whispering Walls published by Afsana Press. It is an absorbing and powerful account of an Iraqi Kurdish family grappling, on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with their own history, entangled as it is with the history of the Kurds as a people without a country.
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Oct 4, 2023 • 27min
Oil: the long good-bye
Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the energy analyst Alastair Newton. Alastair, a regular contributor to the AD newsletter, takes a long hard look at the way the future of oil is playing out in the Gulf. Peak oil is coming and it may be sooner than Gulf oil producers think. The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the key players and between the two Alastair examines who is better prepared and what happens if the Saudis stumble at a time when the region and the world is gripped by a climate crisis caused in no small part by the addiction to oil.
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Sep 27, 2023 • 32min
Remember Yemen!
Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is the Yemen expert Helen Lackner. In a wide-ranging conversation they look at the situation on the ground, how negotiations between the Saudis and the Huthis are progressing, the role the UAE is playing in the south and the acute humanitarian situation as leaders of various factions inside the country and outside players jostle while the people continue to suffer in a largely forgotten war that has now gone on for more than 8 years.
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Sep 20, 2023 • 30min
The Haftars and the Derna disaster
William Law's guest this week on the AD podcast is the Libyan analyst Anas El Gomati. As the warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons spin a web of deceit and attempt to shirk responsibility for the massive flood that killed thousands, El Gomati strips away their lies to reveal how the Haftars' greed and incompetence are at the heart of the disaster and how the support of foreign players has enabled the family to plunder Libya.
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Sep 13, 2023 • 30min
Iraq and a way forward
Arab Digest editor William Law's guest this week is Renad Mansour, a Senior Research Fellow, Middle East and North Africa Programme and the Project Director of the Iraq Initiative at London’s Chatham House. Their conversation ranges widely, looking at the current government in place for nearly a year, the continuing role of Iran, what needs to happen to curb the corruption throttling the country and the determination of young Iraqis to replace a system that denies them with one that empowers their hopes and enables their aspirations.
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Sep 6, 2023 • 28min
Biden blunders in the Middle East
Arab Digest editor William Law is joined by the Middle East policy analyst Jon Hoffman from the Washington-based Cato Institute. Hoffman argues that Biden and his advisors are poised to make the gravest foreign policy blunder in the region since the Iraq war as the president pushes forward on securing a deal that would see Saudi Arabia join the Abraham Accords and recognise Israel.
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