Reground

Antony Loewenstein is an Australian journalist, filmmaker and author of the book The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation to the World. For over 20 years he has been documenting Israeli policy, arms trade and global digital surveillance. In this episode we talk about: – what "The Palestine Laboratory" is — how the occupied territories became a global testing ground for drones, spyware and facial recognition systems; – Israel's relationships with Eastern Europe — why Poland, Hungary and other countries in the region are buying Israeli weapons and what that says about their priorities; – the impact of October 7th on the arms trade — did the Hamas attack change anything about global demand for Israeli military technologies; – alternatives to Israel's arms monopoly — what the international community can do and what signals are already emerging; – the divide within the global Jewish community — how the genocide in Gaza is reshaping the diaspora–Israel relationship and what that means for the future.

In this episode, Dr. Ewa Górska sits down with Dr. Mark Griffiths, a political geographer whose work focuses on military ecologies, weapons supply chains, and colonial space in Palestine and Iraq. We discuss his latest book, 'Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine', published in 2025 by University of Minnesota Press. Checkpoint 300 is a large border crossing between Bethlehem and Jerusalem that controls the movement of thousands of West Bank Palestinians daily. In 2005, Israel upgraded it to 'terminal status' with airport-like corridors, turnstiles, and biometric systems. We talk about how it functions as a border mechanism built on Palestinian land—not an actual border between Palestine and Israel. The conversation covers who can cross the checkpoint: mainly Palestinian men with labor permits working in Israeli construction and agriculture. The permit system operates through unwritten rules—men must be of working age, married with children, and free of political activism. We examine how this creates gendered effects, with women largely confined to care-giving roles and domestic labor while men spend hours commuting through checkpoints. We also explore how Checkpoint 300 exemplifies colonial space—connecting the checkpoint corridors to domestic spaces, villages across the West Bank, and international technology companies that develop surveillance systems used both at checkpoints and in civilian settings worldwide. The discussion covers Rachel's Tomb, tourist movements, privacy violations through biometric data collection, and how Palestinians resist and reshape the space around them despite the occupation.

In this episode, dr. Ewa Górska sits down with Professor Irus Braverman from the University at Buffalo to discuss her book, 'Settling Nature: The Conservation Regime in Palestine/Israel'. We talk about how settler colonialism operates through nature, not just politics and society. Nearly 25 percent of Israel's land has been designated as nature reserves or national parks – and these protected areas have resulted in the removal of human populations. We discuss the 'Judaization' of nature, including the reintroduction and protection of biblical landscapes. We also look at how animals are managed in this settler colonial context – the divisions between domestication and wilderness, desired and undesired species, and 'legal' versus 'illegal' animals. The conversation covers the relationship between militarization and nature in Israel, with the griffon vulture as one example of how nature and technology are entangled. The episode ends with a question: while nature protection is generally considered important, can conservationism in Palestine-Israel be neutral or positive?

In this episode, Dr. Ewa Górska, the host of the show, sits down with a special guest, Professor Maurits Berger from Leiden University. They talk about Professor Berger's life story, exploring how a Dutchman came to study law and Arabic, and how his passion for the so-called Middle East developed. They also discuss the reasons why a European lawyer would choose to study Islamic law in the so-called Middle East. Listeners will gain valuable insights into the myths and misconceptions surrounding Islam and how they are woven into the fabric of European culture. Dr. Górska and Professor Berger also explore the challenges of researching and teaching about Islam in the West, particularly in Europe.

Hello. I’m Ewa Górska, a researcher and scholar based in Poland. For years, I’ve been fascinated by the invisible lines that shape our world—lines drawn by law, by power, by history. The borders that divide us, the stereotypes that ‘other’ us, the land that’s taken or reclaimed, and the systems that make it all possible. That’s why I created Reground—a podcast where I sit down with researchers, scholars, and thinkers who are digging into these questions. Together, we explore the spaces where justice, geography, and power collide. We talk about how settler colonialism reshapes nature, how checkpoints in Palestine become symbols of control, and how the technologies of occupation travel across the globe. We’ll unpack the stereotypes that erase Muslims from Europe’s long history and examine the scars that war leaves on landscapes and communities—from Gaza to Congo, from Iraq to Poland. This isn’t just an academic conversation. It’s about understanding the systems that shape our world and imagining how we might challenge them. Each episode, we’ll ground ourselves in research, but we’ll also ask: What does justice look like in these spaces? Who gets to draw the lines, and who gets erased by them? If you’re curious about the hidden geographies of power— or if you’ve ever wondered how the past and law shapes the spaces and borders we live with today— join me and my guests. Let’s reground our understanding of the world, one conversation at a time. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!