PODCAST · news
The Lede
by New Lines Magazine
This is The Lede, the New Lines Magazine podcast. Each week, we delve into the biggest ideas, events and personalities from around the world. For more stories from New Lines, visit our website, newlinesmag.com
Episodes
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How 1980s Lebanon Made Today’s Middle East
On the podcast this week, journalist and author Kim Ghattas joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how the Beirut of the 1980s offers a prism through which to understand today’s regional rivalries, as set out in her new book, “The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's…
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The Forgotten Moment That Decided Palestine’s Fate
On this week's episode of the podcast, historian Rashid Khalidi joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss why Western public opinion on Israel has shifted faster than at any point in a century, whether that shift will reach Washington, and what his conversations with the writer Tariq Ali reveal about the...
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Why Ethiopia Is at War Once Again
Jalale Getachew Birru, East Africa regional expert for Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), and Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss the return of war to Ethiopia, the armed groups uniting against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the regional...
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How the Failed Revolutions of the 1970s Remade Our World
On the podcast this week, journalist and author Jason Burke joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the wave of leftist violence that swept Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s, why its defeat cleared the ground for Islamist movements, and what the West got wrong about political violence in the…
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Why Every Conflict Is Also a Love Story
On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist and author Sally Hayden joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss reporting on the artificial families formed by Rwandan genocide survivors, secret weddings under Islamic State rule in Iraq, reporting on the ongoing war in Lebanon — and why she believes...
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How 9/11 Remade America
On this week's episode of the podcast, political scientist Shadi Hamid joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss why Osama bin Laden got exactly the overreaction he wanted from 9/11, how 25 years of the war on terror reshaped America and the Middle East, and why he believes a more secular America has…
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Why We’re in a New Age of Conquest
On this week's episode of the podcast, Guardian senior international correspondent Luke Harding joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the war Europe is already fighting but won't admit to, the North Korean soldiers dying in the fields of western Russia, and why Trump's second term marks a breach with...
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Listen Again: How Authoritarianism Came to One Istanbul Street
With the podcast team away until the end of the month, listen again to this episode from earlier in the year. On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist and author Suzy Hansen joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how ordinary people experience authoritarianism in the 21st century, what a…
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Listen Again: How Defiance Began at Home in Assad’s Syria
With the podcast team away until the end of the month, listen again to this episode from earlier in the year. Loubna Mrie joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how the Syrian state’s authoritarianism seeped into her early home life, her role in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad and the painful...
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The Wars We’ve Learned To Live With
As the war in Iran drags on with no end in sight, journalist and humanitarian Arwa Damon joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the human cost of the Iran wars, the neglected conflicts in Sudan and Afghanistan, and why we no longer feel affected by atrocity.
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How Crime Built the Modern World
On this week's episode of the podcast, the historian and writer Ryan Gingeras joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the making of mafias from New York to Lebanon and Tokyo, how gangsters shaped the modern state, and his new book, "Mafia: A Global History." Produced by Finbar Anderson
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Why Israel Keeps Voting and Nothing Changes
Israel goes to the polls in October with a clear majority of voters opposed to Benjamin Netanyahu — and no obvious way to translate that into a government. On this month's episode of Global Insights on The Lede, pollster Dahlia Scheindlin and political analyst Rida Abu Rass join Kwangu Liwewe…
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How Power Corrupts Those Who Seek It
Journalists Chloe Hadjimatheou and Sarah Dadouch join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss what the story of former Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad reveals about power and the people who wield it, and their new podcast series “We Call Her Emma.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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The Arguments America Has Never Settled
On this week's episode of the podcast, constitutional law scholar Marcus Gadson joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the Declaration of Independence at 250, why Americans have never agreed on what liberty means, and how the country's oldest arguments — over religion, race and citizenship — continue…
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Soccer, Power and the Politics of America’s World Cup
On the podcast this week, Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper, author of “World Cup Fever” and co-author of “Soccernomics,” joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the politics of the 2026 World Cup, why he says America "isn't just Trump," and how soccer became a vehicle for money and...
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How a New Pandemic Exposes the Geopolitics of Disease
On the podcast this week, journalist Patrick Gathara and public health expert Tolbert Nyenswah join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei on Global Insights to discuss Kenya's decision to host an Ebola quarantine facility, the geopolitics of disease, and the deadly outbreak spreading across the DRC. Produced by...
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The Winners and Losers of the Iran Peace Deal
On the podcast this week, journalist Negar Mortazavi and New Lines’ Danny Postel join Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the chances that the Iran peace deal will hold, the unresolved fault lines from Hormuz to Lebanon and how the conflict leaves Donald Trump exposed. Produced by Finbar Anderson
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How Europe’s Hinterlands Became Its Front Line
On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist Hannah Lucinda Smith joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the rival geopolitical blocs reshaping the world, how Europe's margins — from Transnistria to the Balkans — became the front line of a conflict the West refuses to see, and her new book,...
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How Revolutionary Iran Became a Mafia State
On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist Yeganeh Torbati joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the multiple revolutions stolen from the Iranian people by their rulers, why the Islamic Republic has thrived under sanctions and survived war, how the United States has failed to understand its...
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How Authoritarianism Came to One Istanbul Street
On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist and author Suzy Hansen joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how ordinary people experience authoritarianism in the 21st century, what a decade spent in one Istanbul neighborhood reveals about Turkey under Erdoğan, and why the West so often misreads…
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The War Crime No One Wants To Name
On this month's episode of Global Insights on The Lede, human rights lawyer Sari Bashi and journalist Sara Cincurova join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss sexual violence against detainees in Israeli prisons and in Russian captivity in Ukraine; why men so often go unrecognized as victims; and why...
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When Is a Revolution Actually Over?
Writer Robin Yassin-Kassab joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss why the Syrian revolution succeeded where others failed, what the new state has and hasn't reckoned with one year on, and his new book, "The Blood Between Us: Syria's Revolutionary Transition." Produced by Finbar Anderson
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How Elon Musk Fuses Rockets and Tech To Shape Modern Society
Historian Quinn Slobodian joins Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede to discuss what Elon Musk reveals about a new era of digital capitalism, the fusion of rockets and far-right ideology, and his new book, "Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed," co-authored with Ben Tarnoff. Produced by Finbar Anderson
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How a Life in Exile Reshapes the Generations That Follow
Novelist Hannah Lillith Assadi joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the century of Arab exile, the question of what it might mean to forget and the spiritual return at the heart of her new novel, "Paradiso 17." Produced by Finbar Anderson
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Is the Special Relationship Really Special Anymore?
On this month's episode of Global Insights on The Lede, journalist and historian Michael Smith and New Lines Culture Editor Lydia Wilson join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss the strains on the U.S.-U.K. special relationship in the wake of the Iran war, the enduring role of intelligence sharing...
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The Ethics of Bearing Witness
Investigative journalist Barbara Matejčić and author Jasmin Mujanović join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss Matejčić's New Lines investigation into a 1992 execution in Bosnia, the ethics of war photography and the long afterlife of the Bosnian genocide in today's far-right politics....
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Why Every Lebanese Crisis Feels Worse Than the Last
Journalists Nada Bakri and Zahra Hankir join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the latest strikes on Lebanon, the shrinking space of civilian safety and what it means to watch your country's destruction from afar. Produced by Finbar Anderson Far From the Land of Good News by Nada Bakri…
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How the World Order We Know Came Into Being – and Why It’s Breaking
On this week's episode of the podcast, novelist and essayist Rana Dasgupta joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss a world in crisis from China to Iran, why what we call fascism may just be the standard operating practice of the nation-state, and his vision for a political architecture that responds to...
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How the War in Iran Reached South Asia’s Kitchens
On this month's episode of Global Insights on The Lede, New Delhi restaurateur Anuj Wadhwa tells Kwangu Liwewe Agyei how the Iran war is squeezing his third-generation family business, while economist and Bloomberg columnist Mihir Sharma explains why South Asia is particularly vulnerable to the...
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Why Decades of Conflict From Syria to Iran Continue To Be Misunderstood
On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist and author Anand Gopal joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss two decades of conflict from Afghanistan to Iran, how the stories told by the powerful ignore the people who live under them, and what a forgotten democratic experiment in Syria can teach us...
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What the Epstein Files Reveal About How Elites Operate
Writer and anti-corruption expert Sarah Chayes and journalist Emran Feroz join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the Epstein files, global networks of kleptocracy from Washington to the remote valleys of Afghanistan, and what elites really get up to when they think we’re not watching....
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How the Iran War Came to the Gulf
As the war on Iran enters its second week, Bloomberg Economics Middle East lead Dina Esfandiary and Saudi analyst Sultan Alamer join Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how the war has come to the Gulf, upending years of careful diplomacy. Further reading: Saudi Arabia’s Break With Interventionism by…
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Death of the Ayatollah, and War Comes to Iran
In a special emergency episode of The Lede, journalist and The Iran Podcast host Negar Mortazavi and historian Arash Azizi join Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and what comes next for the country and the region. Produced…
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Trump Comes to Africa
On this month’s episode of Global Insights on The Lede, political scientist Zachariah Mampilly and Nigeria expert Ebenezer Obadare join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to examine Donald Trump's surprisingly hands-on approach to Africa, including airstrikes on northern Nigeria and the signing of trade and...
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The Invisible Lines That Divided South Asia
On this week’s episode of the podcast, the historian Sam Dalrymple joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the partition of the Raj from Myanmar to Yemen; how borders continue to shape our lives today and their influence on nationalism and ethnic conflict; and his new book, “Shattered Lands: Five...
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How Defiance Began at Home in Assad’s Syria
Loubna Mrie joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how the Syrian state’s authoritarianism seeped into her early home life, her role in the uprising against Bashar al-Assad and the painful memories brought up in the writing of her new memoir, “Defiance.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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What’s Behind Iran’s Protests
Journalist Nilo Tabrizy joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the dynamics of Iran’s uprisings that get lost in Western coverage, reporting on her country of birth from a position of exile, and her new book, “For the Sun After Long Nights.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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1,000 Days of War in Sudan
For this month’s edition of Global Insights on The Lede, journalist Isma’il Kushkush and international law expert Mutasim Ali join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss the lack of international attention on the war in Sudan, and the prospect of success for peace talks underway in Cairo. Produced by...
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Inside the System That Built the Modern World
Sven Beckert joins Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede to unpack how capitalism came to shape our modern world, as set out in his new book, “Capitalism: A Global History,” taking in Aden, Cairo, and Guangzhou along the way. Produced by Finbar Anderson
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Inside the Rise of France’s Far Right
The Financial Times journalist and writer Victor Mallet joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss the rise of the far right in France, the prospects of victory for Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, and his new book, “Far-Right France.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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Queens, Cities and States in the Making of Africa
In this first episode of 2026, award-winning broadcaster Zeinab Badawi joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss why traditional histories of Africa miss the mark, remarkable African figures from Cleopatra to Shaka Zulu, and Badawi’s book “An African History of Africa.” Produced by Finbar...
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Listen Again: How America’s Margins Became the Mainstream
Listen again to this rerun episode of the podcast, in which journalist Gabriel Gatehouse, host of The Coming Storm and the documentary “Seeking Satoshi,” joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how exploring America’s fringe movements is the key to understanding the modern United States....
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From Emotional Video Games to Early Music Chanting: The Christmas Episode
For this year’s Christmas special episode, New Lines editors highlight some of their favorite stories from the magazine and reflect on the power of culture to bring people together. A Palestinian Citizen of Israel Reflects on Life in the Shadow of Genocide in Gaza – by Rida Abu Rass Confessions…
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Making the Case for American Power
Author and political scientist Shadi Hamid joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to argue his case for a U.S.-led world order, as set out in his new book, “The Case for American Power.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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How Power Hides Itself
Following the National Guard shootings in Washington, D.C., and recent revelations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and, separately, a Syrian charity, investigative journalists Murtaza Hussain and Lynzy Billing join Faisal Al Yafai to consider why and how powerful institutions and people cover their…
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Lifting the Lid on the Criminal Underworld
On this week’s episode, the historian and writer Mark Galeotti joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss his new book about the global criminal underworld, “Homo Criminalis,” and why he thinks Donald Trump’s controversial peace plan for the Russia-Ukraine conflict could be a useful starting...
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Why the Internet Got Bad, and How To Fix It
On this week’s episode, bestselling author and tech blogger Cory Doctorow joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss why the internet has steadily, but noticeably, become unusable, as he sets out in his new book “Enshittification.” Produced by Finbar Anderson
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The Power Shifts Changing the Middle East, from Baghdad to Riyadh
The Financial Times’ Raya Jalabi and writer Robin Yassin-Kassab join Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss elections in Iraq, and White House visits by Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Produced by Finbar Anderson
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Hala Alyan Reflects on Motherhood, Exile and the Geography of Loss
Palestinian-American writer and poet Hala Alyan joins Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast to discuss her recent memoir, motherhood and the politics of writing during the Gaza war Produced by Finbar Anderson
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The Pillars of China’s Global Rise
Emmy-nominated journalist Melissa Chan joins Amie Ferris-Rotman on the podcast to discuss the foundations of China’s increasing global dominance, and the authoritarianism that led to her forcible expulsion from the country as a reporter. Produced by Finbar Anderson
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
This is The Lede, the New Lines Magazine podcast. Each week, we delve into the biggest ideas, events and personalities from around the world. For more stories from New Lines, visit our website, newlinesmag.com
HOSTED BY
New Lines Magazine
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Lede have?
The Lede currently has 280 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Lede about?
This is The Lede, the New Lines Magazine podcast. Each week, we delve into the biggest ideas, events and personalities from around the world. For more stories from New Lines, visit our website, newlinesmag.com
How often does The Lede release new episodes?
The Lede publishes regularly with 280 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Lede?
You can listen to The Lede on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Lede?
The Lede is created and hosted by New Lines Magazine.
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