The Lede

For this week’s episode of Global Insights on The Lede, Byline Times Editor-in-Chief Hardeep Matharu and New Lines’ Jos Betts join host Kwangu Liwewe to discuss the British right’s evolving relationship with identity and race, and whether a focus on immigration in the national conversation could translate into political gain for the far-right Reform UK party. Produced by Finbar Anderson Further reading: The UK’s Fragmenting Politics by Jos Betts and Lydia Wilson

Writer and political pundit Anand Giridharadas joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, political violence in America, and how to bridge the huge gulf currently dividing the country. Produced by Finbar Anderson

Veteran BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss her new book on Afghanistan, “The Finest Hotel in Kabul,” the highs and lows of a career in journalism, and why she almost didn’t make the interview due to an Israeli strike on Doha. Produced by Finbar Anderson

The recent meeting of global leaders in Beijing, foremost among them Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was a major moment in modern geopolitics. New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai asks whether it could also signify the rise of a new multipolar world order, and an end to decades of global American dominance. Produced by Finbar Anderson

Listen again to this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, in which economist James Shikwati and New Lines’ North Africa Editor Erin Brown consider the impact of drastic cuts to American aid in Africa with host Kwangu Liwewe, and wonder what the continent’s future might look like without such aid. Produced by Finbar Anderson

Listen again to the acclaimed writer and journalist Omar El Akkad in conversation with New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai for a frank, difficult and moving discussion about the personal impact and wider implications of the war in Gaza. Further reading: The Courage and Death of Anas al-Sharif by Kareem Shaheen

Historian Luka Ivan Jukić joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to unpack the idea at the heart of his new book, “Central Europe: The Death of a Civilization and the Life of an Idea.” They explore how the concept of Central Europe — revived during the Cold War by the novelist Milan Kundera — still shapes the way nations like Poland, Hungary and Croatia see themselves today. And in the shadow of the Ukraine war, that identity is much more than purely symbolic. Produced by Finbar Anderson

The historian and writer Fara Dabhoiwala joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the complex history of free speech and the irreconcilable tensions in the ideas that underpin it, as set out in his new book “What Is Free Speech? The History of a Dangerous Idea.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

Robin Yassin-Kassab, co-author of “Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War” and author of the novel “The Road From Damascus,” and journalist and New Lines contributor Zaina Erhaim join New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede to discuss the recent violence in southern Syria, Israeli bombing, and what they mean for the country’s future. Produced by Finbar Anderson

Tanzanian rights campaigner Maria Sarungi-Tsehai and Mary Kambo of the Kenya Human Rights Commission join New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe on the podcast to discuss the political violence both women have directly experienced and the increasing repression in the region. Produced by Finbar Anderson