

The East is a Podcast
Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)
A critical lens on the history of the present on West Asia and North Africa. Interviews with experts and archival mashups.
Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)
Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 2, 2025 • 2h 4min
Break the Siege of Complicity! Sameer Project Fundraiser
A collaborative livestream discussion meant to support and fundraise for the Sameer Project, a Palestinian led mutual aid organization operating within Gaza, and especially its Mass Displacement Response Campaign for emergency relief. Streaming on multiple channels, the discussion is also sponsored by Jay of Millennials are Killing Capitalism and we will be joined by Sina of East is a Podcast, Benji and Sacha of Resistance is Fertile, Lara Sheehi, Jared of iMWiL!, Renee of Saturdays w/Renee on BLM, and Nick of The Red Nation Podcast. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Please consider supporting Mahmoud.

Sep 19, 2025 • 1h 58min
Airing More Grievances | An East is a Podcast & MAKC Fundraiser for Lifeline4Gaza
***Note: Jay and I did another fundraiser episode. This time, we used the website Lifeline4Gaza to help lift up some slow-moving campaigns. During the episode, I linked to two other campaigns whose organizers I know and who need your help: consider donating to Ahmed or Mahmoud*** As promised we are back to air more grievances! This week Sina and Jared are combining forces once again! Nora Barrows-Friedman from Electronic Intifada, and our frequent guest and comrade Alexander Aviña will be joining us, and some other special guests will join us as well! Last week Adnan Husain, Nick Estes, Mtume Gant, Sina Rahmani, and Jared Ware all joined forces for an "airing of the grievances" and to raise money for Mohammed and his siblings in Gaza For this conversation - in between the airing of the grievances - we will be promoting the work of Lifeline4Gaza. lifeline4gaza gathers links to existing appeals from families, individuals & grassroots community efforts in Gaza. Appeals are automatically ordered according to urgency, or cumulative donations, using software designed to prioritize those receiving the least donations over the past five days (calculated in real-time & accounting for currency conversions). Appeals supported by @gazafunds, @radiowatermelon & @palestineasdiqa are tagged as such (when identified). lifeline4gaza is an ever-evolving, open-source collaborative volunteer initiative to provide a lifeline to people in Gaza, Palestine during the usa-zionist genocide. Volunteers working on developing & maintaining this website met on x/twitter & can be reached at: @ll4gaza on x/twitter @lifeline4gaza on instagram Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel

5 snips
Sep 10, 2025 • 1h 12min
Pod Kapital #1: Seeing the Monster
Nick Estes, co-host of the Red Scare podcast, joins Sina Rahmani to launch their new project, Pod Kapital. They dive into the complexities of Marx’s 'Capital,' critiquing the challenges of academic discourse. The conversation touches on the relevance of Marx's insights in today's context, the unjust dynamics of capitalism linked to historical oppression, and the necessity for radical theories to be more accessible. They also discuss the limitations of present-day education and the importance of engaging critically with canonical texts.

Sep 10, 2025 • 2h 39min
The Airing of Grievances with Sina Rahmani & Friends
UPDATE ***Yesterday, Jay from MAKC hosted a livestream for me, Adnan Husain, and Nick Estes partly as a mini-fundraiser for my friend Mohammed in Gaza. The response has been amazing. As I mention in the episode, donations started pouring in from listeners/ viewers. Someone even donated $500!. It was really moving for me--I even shed a tear on the livestream! Thank you to all who donated. Mohammed was elated to see some money come in, as he has been trying to arrange for transport south for him and his siblings. For a few weeks, donations had dried up, and it was a source of anguish for him. Seeing him get excited as he watched the donations come in made me really happy. The happiness was short-lived. This afternoon (Tuesday) Mohammed messaged me to let me know his brother's wife just had a miscarriage. The Zionists have been shelling the north heavily as they accelerate the genocide, and it caused her to miscarry. Needless to say, they are devastated. Martyred before life! It goes without saying that there are a lot of really worthy campaigns. Here are two being run by a friends of mine https://chuffed.org/project/139183-help-ahmed-and-his-family-start-over-after-losing-everything https://chuffed.org/project/141277-help-mahmoud-and-his-family-survive-and-stand-again I once again want to thank all of you who have been donating and sharing/organizing campaigns. Our ruling class has decided that this starvation war is normal, and it's up to us to do everything we can to support Palestinians fighting to stay alive. I encourage you to adopt your own campaigns. Even if you don't have a large social media following, you can find ways to fundraise. There are a lot of people out there who are not online and would like to show their support. I have learned this first hand! I hope you enjoy this episode. It's a livestream and clocks in at over 2.5 hours. It was fun and chaoatic and very adhoc. I will endevour to do more in the coming weeks and months! -Sina *** The East is a Podcast will host a conversation with multiple friends, airing grievances, covering multiple topics, discussing news and raising funds for Mohammed and his siblings amid evacuation orders. This stream will feature Nick Estes from The Red Nation, Adnan Husain from The Adnan Husain Show, Jared Ware from Millennials Are Killing Capitalism, and possibly other special guests. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Aug 30, 2025 • 1h 21min
Tell me what anti-imperialism looks like w/ Max Ajl
EIAP shadow commander in charge of finding guests Max Ajl returns to the show after a long hiatus to discuss what lessons can be drawn from the 12-day war between Iran and ZioAmerikkan Empire. Check out his piece, "Peoples and Regimes: Anti-Imperialism and the Islamic Republic of Iran" Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Aug 20, 2025 • 1h 39min
Tankie Group Therapy #35 : Tie me to a missile!
Tankie Group Therapy is back! This time with an actual licensed therapist! Sina hosts alongside Adnan from @adnanhusainshow , Jay from @MAKCapitalism , and Lara Sheehi! Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Aug 1, 2025 • 1h 2min
Which way, Iranian man? w/ Navid Zarrinnal (Pt.1)
The first half of a long conversation with longtime friend of the show Navid Zarrinnal about Iran's perpetually tortured relationship with the West and how anti-imperialist resistance shapes attitudes of the population. Check out the second half of the conversation on @TheColonyArchive or subscribe to The East is a Podcast on Patreon to listen to the audio. Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Jul 30, 2025 • 25min
On John Carpenter's They Live (1988) w/ Sina Rahmani
**Nick Estes from The Red Nation Podcast invited me on his new project on Substack to talk about John Carpenter's They Live (1988). This is a preview of the episode. Support Nick on Substack to access this and other great bonus content!** Nick Estes in conversation with TRN Podcast producer and host of The East is a Podcast Sina Rahmani (@UrOrientalist) exploring what John Carpenter’s They Live (1988) can teach us how the ruling class uses ideaology to govern our daily lives—and how to break free of that control.

Jul 28, 2025 • 1h 35min
Tankie Group Therapy #34 - Gaza defends our humanity
Tankie Group Therapy is back! Sina, Alex, Nora, and Jay get together for another session to discuss the latest news from the Gaza Holocaust. Support Palestinians in Gaza through their fundraisers Watch the video edition on the East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Jul 16, 2025 • 1h 19min
The ruins of imperialism w/ Kit Klarenberg and Alexander Mckay
**I put the concluding 20 mins of the conversation behind the paywall on audio. If you want to listen to the entire episode, sign up for Patreon for less than $2 a month or watch it on our YouTube channel (linked below)** **Note: I managed-yet again-to mess up my audio settings at the last minute before we started recording resulting in me sounding blown out. Apologies!** Returning guest Alexander Mckay and Kit Klarenberg, co-hosts of the Decline and Fall, discuss the deepening crisis Western imperialism faces as it wages proxy wars against Iran and Russia simultaneously and economic war against China. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast