

The Fire These Times
Elia Ayoub
The Fire These Times is a podcast by Lebanese writer and researcher Elia Ayoub and friends connecting academics, writers, artists and activists from around the world to “build the new in the shell of the old.”
It is a part of the From The Periphery Media Collective. To support: https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery
It is a part of the From The Periphery Media Collective. To support: https://www.patreon.com/fromtheperiphery
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 11, 2025 • 1h 4min
203/ The Kashmir Question: Resistance w/ Ather Zia, Hafsa Kanjwal and Abdulla Moaswes
Guest host Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian scholar and old buddy of mine, is joined by two scholars of Kashmir, Ather Zia and Hafsa Kanjwal to talk about Kashmir. It’s a long episode, but that’s because we wanted to make sure to present Kashmir’s history on its own terms, a Kashmir perspective that does not center Pakistan and certainly not India (or China). This is part 2 of the Kashmir Question series. The full version is already available on Patreon.For much of the last 3 decades, Kashmir has been among the most militarised places on Earth, with its territory divided between the three nuclear-armed states of India, Pakistan, and China. Earlier this year, events in the region acted as a prelude to an armed confrontation between India and Pakistan, which the former used as an opportunity to more deeply entrench an emergent settler colonial form of rule in the territory. Many view the Kashmir question as simply a territorial dispute between these three states, but as this podcast series will demonstrate, the Kashmir question is one about colonial occupation and anticolonial resistance. In this podcast series, Hafsa, Ather and Abdulla first outline the origins of the Kashmir crisis, explaining how the region came to be partitioned as a result of British and Indian colonialism. They contextualise Kashmir’s colonisation within the project of Indian statebuilding, as well as the territory’s relevance to regional geopolitics. In part 2, they discuss Kashmiri resistance over the decades, including the events that led to and comprised the Kashmir Intifada that broke out in the late 1980s. The third and final episode consists of an assessment of Kashmir’s current status and the guests’ outlook for the future. Ather Zia is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Gender Studies program at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley as well as a poet, short fiction writer, and columnist. Hafsa Kanjwal is an associate professor of South Asian History in the Department of History at Lafayette College in Easton, PennsylvaniaAbdulla Moaswes is a Palestinian writer, researcher, educator and translator.The Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.If you're not a supporter yet, please consider doing so with only $5 a month on Patreon.com/fromtheperipheryFor more:Kashmir LitElia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon and blogs at Hauntologies.net Abdulla Moaswes is on BlueskyAther Zia has a websiteHafsa Kanjwal has a websiteThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.Credits:Abdulla Moaswes (host), Elia Ayoub (producer, sound editor, episode design), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

Aug 4, 2025 • 45min
202/ The Kashmir Question: Origins w/ Ather Zia, Hafsa Kanjwal and Abdulla Moaswes
Guest host Abdulla Moaswes, a Palestinian scholar and old buddy of mine, is joined by two scholars of Kashmir, Ather Zia and Hafsa Kanjwal to talk about Kashmir. It’s a long episode, but that’s because we wanted to make sure to present Kashmir’s history on its own terms, a Kashmir perspective that does not center Pakistan and certainly not India (or China). This is part 1 of the Kashmir Question series. The full version is already available on Patreon.For much of the last 3 decades, Kashmir has been among the most militarised places on Earth, with its territory divided between the three nuclear-armed states of India, Pakistan, and China. Earlier this year, events in the region acted as a prelude to an armed confrontation between India and Pakistan, which the former used as an opportunity to more deeply entrench an emergent settler colonial form of rule in the territory. Many view the Kashmir question as simply a territorial dispute between these three states, but as this podcast series will demonstrate, the Kashmir question is one about colonial occupation and anticolonial resistance. In this podcast series, Hafsa, Ather and Abdulla first outline the origins of the Kashmir crisis, explaining how the region came to be partitioned as a result of British and Indian colonialism. They contextualise Kashmir’s colonisation within the project of Indian statebuilding, as well as the territory’s relevance to regional geopolitics. In part 2, they discuss Kashmiri resistance over the decades, including the events that led to and comprised the Kashmir Intifada that broke out in the late 1980s. The third and final episode consists of an assessment of Kashmir’s current status and the guests’ outlook for the future. Ather Zia is an associate professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Gender Studies program at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley as well as a poet, short fiction writer, and columnist. Hafsa Kanjwal is an associate professor of South Asian History in the Department of History at Lafayette College in Easton, PennsylvaniaAbdulla Moaswes is a Palestinian writer, researcher, educator and translator.The Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.If you're not a supporter yet, please consider doing so with only $5 a month on Patreon.com/fromtheperipheryFor more:Kashmir LitElia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon and blogs at Hauntologies.net Abdulla Moaswes is on BlueskyAther Zia has a websiteHafsa Kanjwal has a websiteThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.Credits:Abdulla Moaswes (host), Elia Ayoub (producer, sound editor, episode design), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

Jul 29, 2025 • 56min
201/ This Cannot Be The New Normal
In this special episode of The Fire These Times, Elia is joined by four members of the From The Periphery media collective to talk about the ongoing famine in Gaza, Israel's genocide and the world's complicity. Despite the obviously horrific nature of this topic, we insisted on not giving in to despair. The génocidaires cannot win.The five participants connected to the Gaza genocide through their own respective experiences: Leila Al-Shami (Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution) is a Syrian-British activist and writer who lived in Gaza for three years; Karena Avedissian (Obscuristan) is an Armenian scholar who continues to reflect on the legacy of the Armenian genocide and the role of Genocide studies today; Daniel Voskoboynik (Hidah: Jewish Counter-Colonial Thoughts) joined us from what used to be the Warsaw Ghetto, site of one of the most infamous episodes of the Holocaust; israa' (The Mutual Aid Podcast) has been involved in Gaza mutual aid (click here for the link); and finally Elia is a Palestinian-Lebanese whose grandfather was a Palestinian refugee.They spoke about pushing back against despair, and the importance of rejecting Israel's genocide as the new normal. It got very personal at times.The Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.If you're not a supporter yet, please consider doing so with only $5 a month on Patreon.com/fromtheperipheryFor more:Elia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon and blogs at Hauntologies.net Leila Al-Shami is on Bluesky, Mastodon and blogs hereKarena Avedissian is on Blueskyisraa is on BlueskyDaniel Voskoboynik is on Bluesky and blogs at The Ecology of UsThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.Credits:Elia Ayoub (host, producer, sound editor, episode design), Leila Al Shami (host), israa (host), Daniel Voskoboynik (host), Karena Avedissian (host), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

Jun 30, 2025 • 1h 6min
200/ The Rise of End Times Fascism w/ Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor
For episode 200 (!) of The Fire These Times, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor join Dana & Elia to talk about their piece "the rise of end times fascism." Naomi Klein is the author of Doppelganger, On Fire, How to Change Everything, the Shock Doctrine & No Logo, among others. Astra Taylor is the co-founder of the Debt Collector and is the author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We'll Miss It When It's Gone, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age and The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart, among others.The Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.Support FTP on Patreon!Referenced:Sitt Marie Rose by Etel AdnanCool People Who Did Cool Stuff podcast (on all podcast apps)Resistance is Fertile: The Star Trek Anarchist Podcast (on all podcast apps)The Book of Records For more:Naomi Klein has a website, a newsletter, and is on Instagram and BlueskyAstra Taylor has a website and is on BlueskyElia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram and blogs at Hauntologies.net Dana El Kurd is on BlueskyThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and YouTube and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.Credits:Elia Ayoub (host, producer, sound editor, episode design), Dana El Kurd (host), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

Jun 26, 2025 • 1h 14min
199/ The Stories That Fascism Fears Most w/ Jessie Gender (Special Crossover w/ Resistance is Fertile)
“Fascism isn’t just about power—it’s about controlling the stories we tell. It warps narratives to justify oppression, trapping us in cycles of dominance and despair. But stories can also resist, break those cycles, and open the door to something new.“ This is how YouTuber and hardcore Trekkie Jessie Gender starts her video essay “The Stories Fascism Fears Most“ which we highly recommend. A few weeks ago, Elia Ayoub sat down with Jessie to talk about it. They got into their love of Star Trek - because of course they did - as well as other franchises like The Matrix. This is a special crossover episode between The Fire These Times and Resistance is Fertile, a Star Trek Anarchist podcast by Elia and carla joy bergman. Show NotesSupport the making of RIF on PatreonRIF BlueSky: @thestartrekpod.bsky.socialRIF IGElia’s workcarla’s workJessie Gender’s YouTube channelMusic by NinePulseTech by Chris BergmanRIF is co-produced by carla and EliaThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and YouTube and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are usually done by Antidote Zine and published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive. However, this time it's the RIF gang that did the transcripts. Thanks for listening!

Jun 9, 2025 • 52min
198/ A Liquid Convo About Venezuela w/ Laura Vidal
For episode 198, Elia Ayoub is joined by Venezuelan researcher - and old friend - Laura Vidal to talk about, and around, Venezuela. We got into why Venezuelans flee the Maduro regime, how Venezuela(ns) is often covered, and the broader discourse battles that may or may not include people who still think Maduro is a passionate defenders of the Palestinians (pause for laughter).Laura was actually one of the first guests of TFTT back in the ancient year of 2020 when Elia was still learning how to use the Audacity sound editing software. The Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.To get early access to our episodes as well as other perks (monthly hangout, movie club, exclusive content and so on) you can join our patreon on Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery For more:Elia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram and blogs at Hauntologies.net Laura Vidal is on BlueskyThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, IG and YouTube and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteTranscriptions: Transcriptions are done by Antidote Zine and will be published on The Fire These Times' transcript archive.Credits:Elia Ayoub (host, producer, sound editor, episode design), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

Jun 2, 2025 • 30min
197/ Our Region After Samir Kassir: Special 20 Years Commemoration w/ Ziad Majed
It's been 20 years since the Assad regime assassinated Samir Kassir, the Lebanese-Syrian-Palestinian historian, journalist and writer in Beirut on June 2nd 2005. Joining Elia Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami today is Lebanese-French political researcher and academic Ziad Majed, a friend and comrade of Kassir, to talk about his legacy in the two decades that have passed given how much has changed since for Lebanon, Palestine and of course Syria.This is a special cross-over episode between The Fire These Times (TFTT) and Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution (STIR). We are both part of the From The Periphery Media Collective. To support all of our projects please head out to Patreon.com/fromtheperipheryResources:Dans la tête de Bachar al-Assad by Ziad Majed, Farouk Mardam-Bey and Subhi HadidiSyrian melancholy in Lebanon’s revolution by Elia Ayoub and Dara Foi’ElleThe 2020 TFTT episode (26) with Ziad MajedSamir Kassir:Beirut (History)Being Arab/The Arab MalaiseArchives of Samir Kassir in the Revue d'études palestiniennes (French)Credits and More:Leila Al Shami (Host). More: Bluesky, Mastodon and her BlogElia Ayoub (Host, Producer). More: Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram and his NewsletterSTIR is also on BlueskyTFTT is on Bluesky, Instagram and has a websiteFrom The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteHisham Rifai (Illustration)Omar Offendum and Sami Matar (Music)

May 28, 2025 • 54min
196/ The Wars Within the War on Gaza w/ Maram Humaid (Part 2)
Palestinian journalist Maram Humaid joins us from Gaza to talk about the many layers of Israel’s genocide, the everyday of those trying to survive it. This is part 2 of the episode with Elia Ayoub and israa'. It is already available in full on Patreon for free.More:Maram’s articles on Al JazeeraGaza Mutual AidThis American Life episode with Maram’s daughter Banias “The Narrator, Episode 849” December 13, 2024Elia’s piece on Hauntologies: Why I Cannot Mourn GazaThe Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.For more:Elia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram and blogs at Hauntologies.net israa' is on BlueskyThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, Instagram and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteCredits:Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design), israa' (host), Ayman Makarem (producer, sound editor), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

May 26, 2025 • 54min
195/ The Wars Within the War on Gaza w/ Maram Humaid (Part 1)
Palestinian journalist Maram Humaid joins us from Gaza to talk about the many layers of Israel’s genocide, the everyday of those trying to survive it. This is part 1 of the episode with Elia Ayoub and israa'. It is already available in full on Patreon for free.More:Maram’s articles on Al JazeeraGaza Mutual AidThis American Life episode with Maram’s daughter Banias “The Narrator, Episode 849” December 13, 2024Elia’s piece on Hauntologies: Why I Cannot Mourn GazaThe Fire These Times is a proud member of From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution, From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast, Politically Depressed, Obscuristan, and Antidote Zine.For more:Elia Ayoub is on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram and blogs at Hauntologies.net israa' is on BlueskyThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky, Instagram and has a website From The Periphery is on Patreon, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, and has a websiteCredits:Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design), israa' (host), Ayman Makarem (producer, sound editor), Rap and Revenge (Music), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), Hisham Rifai (FTP theme design) and Molly Crabapple (FTP team profile pics).

May 23, 2025 • 42min
194/ Holocaust Studies and the Gaza Genocide w/ Amos Goldberg (Part 2)
Amos Goldberg, a renowned Professor of Holocaust History at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, dives deep into the intersections of Holocaust studies and contemporary issues in Gaza. He discusses the controversial open letter from Holocaust scholars linking the Holocaust to the events in Gaza, urging for a reevaluation of historical narratives. The conversation also touches on the moral implications of Israeli actions, advocating for an egalitarian binational future, and highlights the necessity of amplifying marginalized voices in discussions of trauma and genocide.