The Fire These Times

For episode 154, French-Moroccan-Amazigh analyst Sahar Amarir joins Elia J. Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami to talk about her piece "Imperialist is Multiple, so Should be Our Solidarities: on the Need for Post-Post-Colonialism"  published in The Funambulist.  The best way to support The Fire These Times is: Through ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more. Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place. Tell your friends and enemies about it. Episode Credits: Hosts: Elia J. Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami Producer: Elia J. Ayoub Guest: Margaret Killjoy Music: ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠ Sound editor: Artin Salimi Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng

For episode 153, anarchist writer, musician and podcaster Margaret Killjoy joins Elia J. Ayoub and Aydın Yıldız to talk about the very easy topic of apocalypse. What does that even mean? And how do we deal with that without falling into complete despair? Many of y'all know that one of the taglines of this pod is building the new in the shell of the old, right? Well, this is about that. Sort of. It's mainly about staying sane and healthy and as hopeful as possible long enough to even want to build the new in the shell of the old. Margaret Killjoy, in our view, is one of the best minds on this difficult subject, and we think you'll agree. Transcript: This episode's transcript is available on the website. If you'd like to help make The Fire These Times more accessible you can help out with transcriptions by reaching out to Antidote Zine, the collective with whom we are working on transcripts. Show notes: Penumbra City, the new ttrpg by Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness Margaret's two pods: Live Like the World is Dying and Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff Margaret's essay for Slingshot Collective that's behind this episode's title as well as one of her podcasts Margaret's essay Don't Let Nazis Have Nice Things republished by Antidote Zine The best way to support The Fire These Times is: Through ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more. Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place. Tell your friends and enemies about it. Episode Credits: Hosts: Elia J. Ayoub and Aydın Yıldız Producer: Elia J. Ayoub Guest: Margaret Killjoy Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor: Elia J. Ayoub Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub

For episode 152, Dana El Kurd hosts Geoffrey Levin to talk about his book "Our Palestine Question: Israel and American Jewish Dissent, 1948-1978". Levin is assistant professor of Middle Eastern and Jewish Studies at Emory University and the Director of Undergraduate Engagement at Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies. Our Palestine Question is a new history of the American Jewish relationship with Israel focused on its most urgent and sensitive issue: the question of Palestinian rights. Given the ongoing genocide launched by the Israeli state on the Palestinians of Gaza, this book couldn't be more timely. Show notes: Fida Jiryis - Stranger in My Own Land: Palestine, Israel and One Family's Story of Home Ezra Klein - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/opinion/netanyahu-biden-israel-gaza.html David Klion - https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/01/28/the-exile-of-the-american-jewish-left/ The threshold of dissent - https://nyupress.org/9781479829316/the-threshold-of-dissent Necessity of Exile (Shaul Magid’s book) - https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9798986780313 The best way to support The Fire These Times is: Through ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more. Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place. Tell your friends and enemies about it. Episode Credits: Host: Dana El KurdProducer: Elia J. AyoubGuest: Geoffrey LevinMusic: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠Sound editor: Elia J. AyoubEpisode designer: Elia J. Ayoub

This is a compilation of 4 episodes of our new podcast Politically Depressed, a weekly podcast by Lebanese writer and organizer Ayman Makarem. These are episodes 5-8 compiled into one long episode (with time codes below). If you enjoy this podcast, please consider following and rating it on whatever app you use to listen to your podcasts! Time codes: 00:00 - Episode 5: Sounds of Silence 22:00 - Episode 6: White People Cannot Stop Fascism (Alone) 48:30 - Episode 7: Life on Pause 1:12:20 - Episode 8: Treat Us As Though We're Mourning The best way to support Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times.

For episode 151, Joey Ayoub and Daniel Voskoboynik host Tory Stephens, Climate Fiction Creative Manager at Grist.org, to talk about Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors and why narrative work is an integral part of any climate solution. Why does Imagine 2200 choose hope over dystopia? What are effective narrative shifting tactics and strategies? Stephens is also on the Hollywood Climate Summit Board so Joey talked to him about moving beyond post/apocalyptic films. We also asked him how listeners can take part in Imagine 2200. Relevant Links: The Tobacco campaign mentioned by Joey: https://www.unsmokeyourworld.com/en/ Too Dystopian for Whom? A Continental Nigerian Writer’s Perspective by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki https://www.uncannymagazine.com/article/too-dystopian-for-whom-a-continental-nigerian-writers-perspective/ Imagine 2200 email updates: https://go.grist.org/signup/imagine-email  About Imagine 2200: https://grist.org/about-imagine-2200-climate-fiction/  2024 Collection Page: https://grist.org/imagine2200-climate-fiction-2024/ The best way to support The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about The Fire These Times. Credits Host(s): Joey Ayoub and Daniel Voskoboyni Producer(s): Joey Ayoub Guest(s): Tory Stephens Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor(s): Joey Ayoub Episode designer(s): Joey Ayoub Portrait Arts (Joey and Daniel's): Molly Crabapple Artist of the original image: Taj Francis - Imagine 2200 Collection Cover

For episode 150, Lebanese journalist Justin Salhani guest hosts Lebanese researchers Michelle Eid and Karim Safieddine to talk about the under-reported and overlooked war in southern Lebanon. They look at the human impact of this conflict on Lebanon - a country that in just over four years has experienced a stunted revolution, one of modern history's worst economic crises, and the destruction of large parts of its capital due to a port explosion. They dissect media narratives, share personal anecdotes, and tie the current conflict to history, recalling the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, and more.  Michelle Eid is a researcher focused on socio-economic rights and development in the Levant, with a focus on food sovereignty and agricultural politics. She is also the editor-in-chief of Al Rawiya, a digital magazine covering the Levant. Karim Safieddine is an organizer and researcher from Lebanon; he's completing his PhD in Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. Pieces by Salhani: Waiting for Nasrallah for The Dial Survivors of Israel’s siege of Beirut see history repeating itself in Gaza for Al Jazeera Palestinian refugees in Lebanon mourn, fear for family in war-torn Gaza for Al Jazeera ‘No work back home’: Lebanon’s foreign domestic workers fear Israel war for Al Jazeera Israel-Hamas war sparks south Lebanon exodus, as people flee border areas for Al Jazeera Pieces by Eid: Israel’s Environmental and Economic Warfare on Lebanon for TIMEP (In)Sovereign Soils: Lebanon’s Entrapment in a Global Monopoly on Agriculture for Al Rawiya Joey's Note: "October 17" isn't to be confused with "October 7". October 17 refers to the 2019 uprising in Lebanon whereas October 7 refers to the 2023 Hamas attack which was followed by Israel's ongoing genocidal war in Palestine. Book Recommendations:  House of Many Mansions - Karim Salibi Return to Haifa - Ghassan Kanafani Being Arab - Samir Kassir The New Left - Fawaz Traboulsi The best way to support The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about The Fire These Times. Credits Host: Justin Salhani Producer: Ayman Makarem Guests: Karim Safieddine, Michelle Eid Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor: Ayman Makarem Episode designer: Joey Ayoub

The Fire These Times is expanding into a network of autonomous, decentralized projects and podcasts from the periphery. The first new addition to this media ecosystem is Politically Depressed, a new weekly, blog-style podcast by Lebanese writer and organizer Ayman Makarem. We've compiled the first 4 episodes of Politically Depressed into this compilation (with time codes below). If you enjoy this podcast, please consider following and rating it on whatever podcast app you use. Stay tuned to hear about the many other projects and podcasts we have lined up! Time codes: 1:40 - Episode 1: Introductions 19:18 - Episode 2: Israel Attacks Beirut 48:45 - Episode 3: Genocide Golden Globes 1:11:25 - Episode 4: Sanity or Humanity --- The best way to support Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times.

For episode 149, Joey sat down with Karena Avedissian and Anna, TFTT returnees and co-hosts of Obscuristan, a podcast which is soon joining the broader network (whaaat? - We talk about that at the beginning of the episode). We talked about Azerbaijan hosting COP29 next year, the global climate conference, and why it might be a problem for a petro-dictatorship to host a climate conference. We discussed how Azerbaijan is trying to greenwash its recent genocide of the Armenians of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh by claiming the area, devoid of its human population, has now achieved net-zero (yes, we're not joking). We also talked more broadly about the Armenian struggle for justice and what we might learn from the Palestinian one. You'll also hear Joey's exclusive, world-premiere take on Aliyev's ridiculous mustache. -- The best way to support The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about The Fire These Times. -- Links Learn For Artsakh on Instagram Azerbaijan presents green energy potential of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur at COP28 in Dubai (Archived link) Augmented Azerbaijan? The return of Azerbaijani irredentism by Laurence Broers Don’t water it down: The role of water security in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war by Nareg Kuyumjian The Azerbaijan pavilion at COP28 in Dubai (Archived link) Nvard Yerkanian: They Came With Peace Wikipedia overview of COP28 -- Episode Credits Hosts: Joey Ayoub, Karena Avedissian and AnnaProducer: Joey AyoubMusic: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠Main theme design: ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠Sound editor: Joey AyoubEpisode design: Joey Ayoub

For episode 148, Dana El Kurd and Joey Ayoub are joined by Diana Greenwald and Alexei Abrahams to talk about seen and unseen violence in Israel-Palestine. They explore the many forms of violence of the Israeli occupation that led to the October 7 massacre and the brutal Israeli response in Gaza. What is kinetic violence? What is structural violence? And how do these two differ? Diana is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at The City University of New York. Her research  focuses on the politics of the Middle East, nationalism, conflict, and  state-building. She obtained her Ph.D. in political science from the  University of Michigan in 2017. From 2017-8, she was Postdoctoral  Research Fellow at the Middle East Initiative at the Harvard Kennedy  School. Her current book manuscript examines Palestinian local politics  under Israeli occupation. This project draws on elite interviews and  local data on policing and taxation collected in the West Bank between  2014 to 2019. Alexei leads the digital trace team at the Canadian Media Ecosystem Observatory (MEO), McGill University. He is the author of a forthcoming book, Social Media Observatory (No Starch Press, 2024), on how to code full-stack web applications for public interest research on contemporary political discourse. He's also the author of "Seeing absence and all its instruments: How decontextualization of kinetic violence undermines our understanding of the Israel-Palestine Conflict." The best way to support The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about The Fire These Times. Episode Credits Host: Joey Ayoub Producer: Ayman Makarem Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Main theme design: ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ Sound editor: Ayman Makarem Episode design: Joey Ayoub

This is an episode that Joey recorded a few months ago. We're releasing it now to take a bit of a break from our exploration of Israel-Palestine and because Solarpunk is how at least one of us, Joey, tries to create hope where none exists.  This episode was recorded after the four of us - Joey, Ariel Kroon, Luka Dowell and Andre aka @HydroponicTrash took part in the Solarpunk conference.  Solarpunk has an eye to a better future, but how do we get there? What is necessary for us to do, and how can we think differently, in order to make this better future possible? We focus on the relationship between speculative fiction, dual power, world-building, and political action. The best way to support The Fire These Times is through ⁠⁠Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. The other best way is to leave a review about The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about The Fire These Times. Episode Credits Host: Joey Ayoub Producer: Artin Salimi Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Main theme design: ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ Sound editor: Artin Salimi Episode design: Joey Ayoub Links: https://anarchosolarpunk.substack.com Hydroponic Trash on TikTok Solarpunk Now! Solarpunk Presents