The Fire These Times

We got a new podcast! We're happy to announce that Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution (STIR) is now out on Patreon and wherever you listen to podcasts. In this episode,⁠ ⁠Leila Al-Shami⁠⁠ (⁠⁠Burning Country⁠⁠) and Elia Ayoub (⁠⁠The Fire These Times⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Hauntologies⁠⁠) introduce themselves and the podcast.What is STIR about? From the Assad regime to the Arab Spring and beyond, we will dive into questions of reconstruction, prisoners, the forcibly disappeared, transitional justice, minority rights, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, environmental politics, culture and more.STIR is part of the From The Periphery Media Collective. To support all of our projects please head out to⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery⁠⁠STIR is also on⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠!Credits and More:Leila Al Shami (Host, Lead Researcher). More:⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Mastodon⁠⁠ and her⁠ ⁠Blog⁠⁠Elia Ayoub (Host, Producer). More:⁠ ⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Mastodon⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and his⁠ ⁠Newsletter⁠⁠Hisham Rifai (Illustration)Omar Offendum and Sami Matar (Music)

Elia Ayoub and Lebanese journalist Justin Salhani have one thing in common: their parents lived through the Lebanon wars (1975-1990). Claude Salhani was a well-known photojournalist  United Press International and Reuters. The photo featured in this episode shows him in the middle, injured after an Israeli strike on Beirut in 1982. We also talked about a recent gallery of Claude’s photographs published by Al Jazeera.For this episode of The Fire These Times, and to close off our discussions on the Lebanon wars - check our the recent episode Elia did with Ayman Makarem on our sister podcast ‘From The Periphery Podcast’ - we thought it meaningful to add one more layer: if the wars aren’t really over, where does that leave us, the ‘children of the children of war’? The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast⁠, ⁠Politically Depressed⁠, ⁠Obscuristan⁠, and ⁠Antidote Zine⁠.To support our work and get access to all kinds of perks, please join our Patreon on Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery Announcement: Justin Salhani is joining the FTP fam! He will be mostly contributing to the From The Periphery Podcast as our Beirut-based correspondent focusing on regional affairs. For more:Elia Ayoub is on ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠Mastodon⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and blogs at ⁠Hauntologies.net⁠ Justin Salhani is on Bluesky and InstagramThe Fire These Times is on Bluesky,⁠ Instagram⁠ 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). 

For episode 190 of The Fire These Times, Dr. Michael Paarlberg talks to Dana El Kurd about El Salvador’s ‘state of exception’ under Nayib Bukele, how Trump sees that as a model, the conditions of Salvadorian prisons and what happens to the Venezuelan and other refugees and migrants deported from the USA by Trump and the unaccountable state actors doing his bidding.Paarlberg is associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and non-resident fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. He was previously on TFTT in August of 2024 (episode 164) to talk about how Bukele created a ‘Gang State’ in El Salvador. As that was before Trump’s election, it is a good primer into what is it about El Salvador today that makes it so appealing to the maga movement.The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: 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 at Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery For more:Dana El Kurd is on BlueskyMichael Paarlberg 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: Dana El Kurd (host), Elia Ayoub (producer, episode designer), ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design) and ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics). 

For episode 189 of The Fire These Times, Elia Ayoub is joined by friend of the pod Molly Crabapple to talk about the Jewish Labor Bund and how their concept of Doikayt (‘Hereness’) can help us build a better world than the hellscape being proposed by techno-dystopianism and end-time fascism. Molly’s upcoming book is called “here where we live is our country: the story of the jewish labor bund.” Speaking of end-time fascism, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor will be joining Elia and Dana El Kurd on TFTT to talk about their essay “The rise of end times fascism.” To get early access to that episode as well as other perks (monthly hangout, movie club, exclusive content and so on) you can join our patreon on Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: 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 Molly has a website and newsletterThe 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). Molly’s portrait on the cover photo is also done by her.

How did Sudanese revolutionaries organize neighborhood and resistance committees to resist state and non-state violence? What are some of the principles underpinning their worldview? What can we learn from them?For episode 188 of The Fire These Times, Elia Ayoub is joined by Sudanese journalist Eiad Husham to talk about his piece "revolutionary aid in Sudan" for The New Internationalist and try and answer those questions.The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠. This episode was first released on the FTP Patreon page. Please consider supporting us directly there and you'll get early access to all of the FTP podcasts, exclusive content, an invitation to join our monthly hangout as well as our ongoing movie club on Lebanese cinema - and more! You can also help by leaving us a review wherever you listen to podcasts and telling your friends and enemies about us.Other FTP projects: 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 Eiad is on X and writes for The Internationalist, The New Humanitarian, Geeska and 3ayin among others.The 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). Original photo by Ela Yokes for The New Internationalist.

This is a special announcement episode broadcast on all FTP channels. We at FTP are hosting a series of weekly film screenings and discussions on the Lebanese wars starting this Sunday April 20. In this short episode, Elia and Ayman go through the list of films they selected, what you can expect from the screenings, and how you can participate. To sign up and join the watch parties head over to ⁠our Patreon⁠ where you'll find ⁠this post with the invitation link⁠.Invites are immediately available to all Patreon members. If you don't want to become a member, you can buy the link with a one-time purchase.--All the films (except the last) are already publicly available on ⁠this playlist⁠ on our Youtube Channel.The films we'll watch are: ⁠A Feeling Greater than Love⁠ (2017) dir. Mary Jirmanus Saba - A feature-length documentary about the class struggle and labour movements in the lead up to the outbreak of the war in 1975.⁠Lebanon's War⁠ - Part 3: Explosion (2001) - A 42 minute episode of a documentary series by Al-Jazeera on the Lebanon Wars that covers in great depth the 1975 outbreak of the civil war with incredible, rare interviews.⁠Beirut, My City⁠ (1983) dir. Jocelyne Saab - A 38 minute film by a legendary Lebanese filmmaker filmed in Beirut amidst the Israeli siege that serves as a timeless intimate meditation on a city tortured by war and occupation.⁠Souha, Surviving Hell⁠ (2001) dir. Randa Chahal Sabagh - A 57 minute documentary following communist resistance fighter South Bechara as she returns to the south of Lebanon after its liberation from Israeli occupation in 2000.⁠Last Days of the Man of Tomorrow⁠ (2017) dir. Fadz - A short film that serves as a brilliant, illuminating, and humorous retrospective on the war by the post-war generation.-- -- Hope to see you at the film screenings! ⁠Here again is the link to sign up. ⁠

Elia reads and comments on his essay "⁠Restorative vs reflective nostalgia⁠" for ⁠Hauntologies.net⁠ The Hauntologies Podcast is a production of From The Periphery and part of The Fire These Times podcast. A newsletter version exists at hauntologies.net but most recordings will be for Patreon supporters only.To support us, please head out to Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery to subscribe. For More:Elia is on ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Mastodon⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠From the Periphery is on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠The Fire These Times is on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠InstagramFrom The Periphery is built by Elia Ayoub, Leila Al-Shami, Ayman Makarem, Dana El Kurd, Karena Avedissian, Daniel Voskoboynik, Anna M, Aydın Yıldız, Ed S, Alice Bonfatti, israa abd elfattah, with more joining soon!

Our very own Ayman Makarem released his new video essay ‘⁠Where Are the Arabs?⁠’ on March 9, 2025. In this round table, he is joined by Elia and israa to expand on the topics discussed in the video, the context around it, and the need for more intellectual and class-based analysis on Arab nationalism and its many manifestations. If you haven’t watched the video yet you’ll still be able to follow this episode since Ayman provides a brief overview of the main themes. If you have watched the video, there are some key additions and interventions made by all 3 hosts that explore the themes of the video deeper. This is part 2 of that discussion, first published on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: the (newly aired!) ⁠⁠Mutual Aid Podcast⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Politically Depressed⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Obscuristan⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠.You can support us on⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more.For more:Ayman Makarem is on ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Elia Ayoub is on ⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Mastodon⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and blogs at ⁠⁠Hauntologies.net⁠⁠ Israa is on ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠The Fire These Times is on⁠⁠ 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:Ayman Makarem (host, producer, sound editor), Elia Ayoub (host), Israa (host), ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (original TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design), ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics), Elia Ayoub (episode design).From The Periphery is built by Elia Ayoub, Leila Al-Shami, Ayman Makarem, Dana El Kurd, Karena Avedissian, Daniel Voskoboynik, Anna M, Aydın Yıldız, Ed S, Alice Bonfatti and israa abd elfattah.⁠⁠The Fire These Times⁠⁠ by⁠⁠ Elia Ayoub⁠⁠ is licensed under⁠⁠ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Our very own Ayman Makarem released his new video essay ‘Where Are the Arabs?’ on March 9, 2025. In this round table, he is joined by Elia and israa to expand on the topics discussed in the video, the context around it, and the need for more intellectual and class-based analysis on Arab nationalism and its many manifestations. If you haven’t watched the video yet you’ll still be able to follow this episode since Ayman provides a brief overview of the main themes. If you have watched the video, there are some key additions and interventions made by all 3 hosts that explore the themes of the video deeper. This is part 1 of the discussion. Part 2 will be released next week. The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: the (newly aired!) ⁠Mutual Aid Podcast⁠, ⁠Politically Depressed⁠, ⁠Obscuristan⁠, and ⁠Antidote Zine⁠.You can support us on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠. You’ll get early access to all podcasts, exclusive audio and video episodes, an invitation to join⁠ ⁠⁠⁠our monthly hangouts⁠⁠⁠⁠, and more.For more:Ayman Makarem is on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠Elia Ayoub is on ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠, ⁠Mastodon⁠, ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and blogs at ⁠Hauntologies.net⁠ Israa is on ⁠Bluesky⁠The Fire These Times is on⁠ 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:Ayman Makarem (host, producer, sound editor), Elia Ayoub (host), Israa (host), ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (original TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design), ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics), Elia Ayoub (episode design).From The Periphery is built by Elia Ayoub, Leila Al-Shami, Ayman Makarem, Dana El Kurd, Karena Avedissian, Daniel Voskoboynik, Anna M, Aydın Yıldız, Ed S, Alice Bonfatti and israa abd elfattah.⁠The Fire These Times⁠ by⁠ Elia Ayoub⁠ is licensed under⁠ Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

In a thought-provoking conversation, Ukrainian journalist Romeo Kokriatski shares his insights on the emotional complexities of living through war in Ukraine. He discusses shifting public sentiments and the fading hope for resolution amidst political disappointments. Kokriatski highlights geopolitical dynamics affecting military aid and European responses to the conflict. He also reflects on the importance of combating isolationism in American politics and fostering hope through truthful media initiatives. His expertise provides a deeper understanding of the challenges facing Ukraine today.