The View From Here

With so many progressives winning primary elections, and with the Maine senate race in jeopardy - what can we learn about where the Democratic party is headed?This week, we are re-sharing Jasmine’s conversation with Matt Duss, Vice President of the Center for International Policy, and former foreign policy adviser to Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders.This conversation is from September last year, and a really important one as a lot of the things we spoke about have come to pass since - but many lessons and warnings Matt spoke about have not been heeded by the Democratic establishment. Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next.

In this solo episode, Jasmine responds to questions from the audience around her time working at the Pentagon and the conflicts and ceasefires in the Middle East.If you want a question answered on future Q and A episodes, please email us at [email protected] and we will make sure to get to it!Episode notes:See The View From Here episode "America in Crisis: Can the Democratic party rise to the moment?"Jasmine's article on "elite impunity": https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/the-machinery-of-impunity-how-washingtons-elite-stays-above-the-law-and-how-to-end-it/

What does it look like when a childhood is stolen?A new UN report accuses Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, documenting what it describes as the destruction of childhood through death, injury, displacement and psychological trauma. The report has already become deeply politicised, with supporters and critics fiercely debating its findings.But beyond the politics are the children themselves.In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with humanitarian Arwa Damon, founder of INARA, and pediatrician Dr. Seema Jilani, two women who have spent years caring for children in war zones, including Gaza.Together they discuss what they witnessed on the ground, how Gaza compares with other conflicts they've worked in, what prolonged war does to childhood, and why so many people have become desensitised to images of suffering. They also reflect on the challenge of bearing witness, whether testimony can still change minds, and what they wish every policymaker—and every one of us—could understand about the daily lives of children living through war.Episode Notes:INARA (International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance):https://www.inara.org/UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry report:"The essence of childhood has been destroyed": Israel's deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023https://www.un.org/unispal/document/coi-report-23jun26/Arwa's Substack: https://substack.com/@arwadamon

FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised the 2026 World Cup would be the biggest, most inclusive tournament in history. Instead, fans are being priced out, supporters from qualifying nations are barred from entering the US, players have been detained and questioned at the border, and Iran's team is sleeping in Mexico because of restrictions on staying overnight in the country after they play. Amnesty International warns the tournament risks becoming a "stage for repression" — and ICE agents will be inside the stadiums.What happens when the world's biggest celebration of sport collides with the politics of its host? And how much of the blame belongs to FIFA itself?Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with Dr. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen — Middle East fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute and author of Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer — about sports diplomacy, sportswashing in reverse, and what this World Cup reveals about America's place in the world.

Did Donald Trump change the Republican Party forever, or will he one day be remembered as an exception rather than a transformation?For nearly a decade, Trump has reshaped American politics. But as debates emerge over foreign policy, particularly Israel, Iran, Ukraine, and America's role in the world, questions are growing about what comes next for the Republican Party. Is the MAGA movement evolving into something new? What is the difference between MAGA and America First? And what happens to conservatism after Trump?In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with Andrew Day, Senior Editor of The American Conservative, about the evolution of conservative politics in the United States, the changing Republican coalition, debates over foreign intervention, the role of Israel in Republican politics, and the future of the America First movement.Together they explore whether Trump permanently transformed the GOP, what younger conservatives believe, why foreign policy has become a dividing line within the Republican coalition, and what the future of American conservatism may look like after the Trump era.Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next.SUBSCRIBE:YouTube: ‪@viewfromherepodApple: https://apple.co/3O5btAESpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zqHD2tWKPGLiGMSI2do3c?si=761c1534b5dd4fa9

Can the Democratic Party learn from the mistakes that cost it the last election?For years, conventional wisdom in American politics held that foreign policy doesn’t really move voters. That assumption is being tested. Gaza, Israel, Palestine, America’s role in the world, and questions of morality in foreign policy have become increasingly important to many voters — and they’ve made that clear.Public opinion has shifted. Some candidates have shifted. But the machinery of Democratic politics — consultants, donors, party institutions, and the networks that shape power and influence — has often moved much more slowly, or not at all.So what does political inclusion actually mean today? Who gets heard? And how do communities transform representation into real political power?In this episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal speaks with James Zogby — founder and president of the Arab American Institute, longtime civil rights advocate, and veteran of Democratic Party politics — about why this moment in American politics feels so potentially transformative.They discuss Democratic Party strategy, Gaza, coalition politics, voter frustration, political machinery, and the changing relationship between identity, representation, and power in American public life.Please leave us a comment with your questions, and where you think our view should come from next. SUBSCRIBE: YouTube: ‪@viewfromherepod Apple: https://apple.co/3O5btAESpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zqHD2tWKPGLiGMSI2do3c?si=761c1534b5dd4fa9

I went to Tommy Robinson's Unite the Kingdom march to hear directly from people attending and left thinking we should engage MORE, not less, with them.Many people disagree, arguing that people who attend a march led by a convicted criminal who has been banned from multiple countries and social media platforms should be shunned or shamed. But my question is, if we don't talk to each other, what is the alternative?To unpack this question, I spoke to Julie Siddiqi and Ibrahim Said from the UK Muslim Network.Let us know what you think in the comments.

President Donald Trump is in China this week for a high-stakes summit with President Xi Jinping and the world is watching the relationship that may define this century.For most people, US-China relations can feel abstract. A contest between two great powers, played out through issues like trade and technology. The reality is that this relationship affects almost every aspect of our daily lives: from the prices we pay at the pump and in grocery stores, to the technology we use, and even the information we consume online.China seems increasingly confident, while the United States is entering these talks under the weight of a war in the Middle East, economic anxiety at home, and growing questions about America’s role in the world.So what kind of relationship are these two countries, these two men, really building? Is it based on rivalry? Interdependence? Or something more complicated?This week I spoke to Ali Wyne, Senior Research and Advocacy Advisor for U.S.-China Relations, at the international crisis group and Author of the book, “America’s Great-Power Opportunity” (Polity, 2022)

Antisemitism is on the rise, and Jewish communities around the world are ever more fearful for their safety. Meanwhile, the conversations in the media around how to tackle this growing problem are more often than not divisive and oversimplified. So I reached out to Rabbi Daniel Epstein, former Chief Rabbi at the Western Marble Arch Synagogue in London and now in Australia, to have what we knew would be a tough discussion. We have been in an ongoing conversation for over two years about many of the issues you will hear in this episode. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Is the UK-US Special Relationship over, or has it just changed beyond recognition? This week, Britain's own ambassador to Washington admitted the US’s special relationship is "probably Israel." Meanwhile, Trump has rebuked Starmer over Iran, and King Charles flew to Washington on a charm offensive. I sat down with a former senior British diplomat in the United States and former Ambassador to Iran Sir Richard Dalton, to get a real--and brutally honest--perspective.We cover:→ Is the Special Relationship with the US still intact?→ What the King Charles state visit actually achieved→ The UK's role in a world reshaped by Trump and the Middle East→ What British foreign policy should look like right now