The Fire These Times

For episode 166, Dana & Elia are joined by Ahmed Moor & Antony Loewenstein, co-editors of the book "After Zionism: One State for Israel and Palestine" to talk about the ongoing genocide in Gaza and whether there is any hope for the One State Solution. Support us: The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our ⁠⁠"From The Periphery" Patreon⁠⁠. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host(s): ⁠⁠Elia Ayoub and Dana El Kurd Guest(s): Ahmed Moor & Antony Loewenstein Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠ Sound editor: Liam Evans Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠ Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠ Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠

For episode 165, Elia and Aydın are joined by investigative journalist and anarchist James Stout  of the It Could Happen Here podcast to talk about the 1936 anti-fascist Olympics in Barcelona and the fascists who destroyed it. There's a reason you've only heard of the more notorious Berlin one, and we're gonna get into it here. You can buy James' book: The Popular Front and the Barcelona 1936 Popular Olympics His NatGeo piece: The brutal story of the 1936 Popular Olympics: a boycott of fascism and Hitler The 'Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff' Episode on the Spanish Civil War: The Popular Olympics Antifascist Athletes Help Stop a Coup Support us: The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our ⁠"From The Periphery" Patreon⁠. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host(s): ⁠⁠Elia Ayoub and Aydın Yıldız Guest(s): James Stout Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠ Sound editor: Elliott Miskovicz Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠ Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠ Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠

For episode 164, Dana El-Kurd is joined by Michael Paarlbeg, associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University, to discuss the intersection between crime and authoritarian politics in Latin America. They particularly focus on the the state of emergency happening today in El Salvador, covering the rise of Nayib Bukele and the political implications of the “gang state” emerging in the country. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our "From The Periphery" Patreon. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Show notes: Transnational Gangs and Criminal Remittances (academic article, Comparative Migration Studies) The Emerging Gang State in El Salvador (Global Americans) Gang Membership in Central America: More Complex Than Meets the Eye (Migration Policy Institute) How a Fake Gang Crisis in the US Fueled a Real One in Central America (Duke conference) Gangs, Guns and Judas Priest (The Guardian) Credits: Host(s): ⁠⁠Dana El-Kurd Guest(s): Michael Paarlberg Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠ Sound editor: Liam Evans Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠ Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠ Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠

For episode 163, Elia Ayoub is joined by University of Bath researcher and repeated guest Dr. Aurelien Mondon to talk about the populist hype in the context of the gains by the Far Right in a number of Western countries. We spoke about the EU elections as well as the upcoming UK, France and US elections, asking the question: is the media covering the Far Right responsibly? (spoiler alert: no) Dr. Mondon is a senior lecturer in Politics, Languages & International Studies at the Centre for Qualitative Research and co-convenor of the Reactionary Politics Research Network. Correction: I said Bill McKibben when I meant to say Bill Fletcher Jr! Fletcher was a recent guest of TFTT. I was reading a McKibben article earlier that day and my brain must have confused Bills. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our Patreon. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host(s): ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠ Guest(s): Aurelien Mondon Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠ Sound editor: Liam Evans Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠ Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠ Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠

Sarah Hegazi was a queer Egyptian activist who was severely punished by the Sisi regime for waving a rainbow flag at the September 2017 Mashrou' Leila concert in Cairo. On the 14th of June, 4 years ago, Sarah died by suicide in exile in Canada. In this episode from September of that year, Hamed Sinno, lead singer of Mashrou Leila, reflects on her passing with Elia Ayoub. They also got into mental health, the port of Beirut explosion and what it was like to grow up queer in Lebanon. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our Patreon. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host(s): ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠ Guest: ⁠⁠Hamed Sinno Music: ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠ Sound editor: Elliott Miskovicz Episode designer: ⁠⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠⁠ (Artwork is from a Mashrou' Leila album) Team profile pics: ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠ Original TFTT design: ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠⁠Antidotezine⁠

For episode 162, host Ayman Makarem is joined by two guests, Malek Rasamny and Matt Peterson, to talk about their 10-year long multi-media project 'The Native and the Refugee'. The three talk about the project, its many manifestations, its focus on settler colonialism as a framework, as well as the current genocidal situation unfolded in Gaza. They also talk about their film 'Spaces of Exception' (2018), which is currently being screened across the globe. Malek Rasamny is a documentary filmmaker, researcher and writer. He is currently working on a doctoral research project at Paris Nanterre University concerning the social phenomenon of reincarnation within the Druze community of Lebanon. Matt Peterson is an organizer at Woodbine, an experimental space in New York City. He previously directed the documentary feature Scenes from a Revolt Sustained (2015), and co-edited the books In the Name of the People (2018) and The Reservoir (2022). The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our Patreon. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host: Ayman Makarem Producer: Ayman Makarem Guest(s): Malek Rasamny & Matt Peterson  Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor: Ayman Makarem Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine

Elia and Ayman talk about Gaza, and why this genocide changes everything. Demand a complete arms embargo on Israel immediately. Sanctions immediately. Cut off all diplomatic immediately. To hold Israel accountable for genocide means making them pay for reparations, sending its war criminals to The Hague, and conditioning going back to normal relations on the implementation of full rights to Palestinians. Due to the time-sensitive nature of this episode, it is being released for Patreons and for the general public at the same time. Palestine Children's Relief Fund: https://www.pcrf.net/ Credits: Host(s): Ayman Makarem and ⁠Elia J. Ayoub Producer: ⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠ Music: ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠ Sound editor: Elia J. Ayoub Episode designer: ⁠Elia J. Ayoub⁠ Team profile pics: ⁠Molly Crabapple Original TFTT design: ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ TFTT Transcripts: ⁠Antidotezine

For episode 160, Dana El Kurd, Fabien Goa and Elia Ayoub are joined by Nikesh Shukla to discuss his book 'Brown Baby: A Memoir of Race, Family and Home' which the three of us read with Gaza on our mind (although it was written in 2021 and is not on Palestine). More broadly, we talked about what it's like to raise a brown kid in a world where racialized lives are easily disposable. On Brown Baby: From the editor of The Good Immigrant. We have to believe in hope in these dark uncertain times. Hope brings us together. How do you find hope and even joy in a world that is racist, sexist and facing climate crisis? How do you prepare your children for it, but also fill them with all the boundlessness and eccentricity that they deserve and that life has to offer? Nikesh Shukla explores themes of racism, feminism, parenting and our shifting ideas of home. This heartbreaking, compelling, intensely relatable memoir is a love letter to the author’s late mother – who passed away just before his eldest daughter was born – and to his two young daughters. In Brown Baby, Shukla examines, with humour and sharp, beautiful prose, how to raise the next generation with a sense of joy in an often bleak world. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to become a member of our Patreon. For only 5$ a month (and less if you pay yearly) you get perks such as early access, exclusive episodes, an invitation to our monthly hangout, upcoming book clubs, and more. You can also help a lot by leaving a review wherever you listen to podcasts. Credits: Host(s): Dana El Kurd, Fabien Goa and Elia J. Ayoub Producer: Elia J. Ayoub Guest: Nikesh Shukla Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor: Mae-Li Evans (May-Lee) Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine

For Episode 159, Dana El Kurd and Elia Ayoub are joined by Ukrainian researcher Yuliia Kishchuk who signed the Ukrainian Letter of Solidarity with Palestinian people published on the Ukrainian journal Commons, a site that both Dana and Elia have also contributed to in the past. In this episode, they argue for Palestinian-Ukrainian solidarity and explore the obstacles preventing it from happening more broadly. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. With a monthly or yearly subscription, 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. Further Reads: - “The right to resist.” A feminist manifesto by The Feminist Initiative Group - Cross-stitches that bind us together: on Ukrainian and Palestinian embroidery by Yuliia Kishchuk Credits: - Host(s): Dana El Kurd and Elia J. Ayoub - Producer: Elia J. Ayoub - Guest: Yuliia Kishchuk - Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ - Sound editor: Karena Avedissian - Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub - Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple - Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng - TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine

For Episode 158, Elia Ayoub is joined by Lebanese journalist and friend of the pod Justin Salhani to talk about recent calls for and acts of violence by far right Lebanese Christians against Syrian refugees. In addition to giving context with regards to what's happening, they talk about Lebanon as a structurally violent state, one which has always scapegoated refugees, first Palestinians and now Syrians. The consequences of the ongoing calls for violence will be long-reaching and long-lasting, with government officials from multiple parties joining in the scapegoating party. The result has been an increasingly dangerous atmosphere for a population that is already amongst the most vulnerable ones. The best way to support The Fire These Times is to: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes⁠⁠. With a monthly or yearly subscription, 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(s): Elia J. Ayoub Producer: Elia J. Ayoub Guest: Justin Salhani Music: ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠ Sound editor: Artin Salimi Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine