Épisodes

  • CC: Aaron Zelin – New Syrian Government, Same Old Conflicts?

    CC: Aaron Zelin – New Syrian Government, Same Old Conflicts?
    Sep 24 2025
    This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by returning guest, Aaron Zelin - the Gloria and Ken Levy Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and founder of the acclaimed website Jihadology. Following up on their last conversation after the fall of the Assad regime, Aaron gives us an in-depth analysis of the current state of play in Syria as the new transitional government, led by Ahmad al-Shara, attempts to consolidate its power. Since the last time we spoke, Aaron has been on a trip to the new Syria, so he gives us a firsthand look at the complex realities on the ground. Thomas and Aaron discuss the narratives surrounding the new government, from claims of sectarian massacres to narratives of a burgeoning economic revival. Aaron explains how the violence in places like the coast and the Druze-majority city of Swaida reveals a country still wracked by internal tensions, where revenge, tribal dynamics, and foreign meddling from actors like Iran and Israel continue to complicate the path to stability. They also touch on the delicate dance between the new government and Syria's minorities, including the Kurds, and the implications of the ongoing sanctions waivers and international investment flowing into the country. You can find Aaron on X at @azelin and look for updates on his incredible website https://jihadology.net/ To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflictedLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    24 min
  • 7/7: The Inside Story – The Hunt • Episode 3

    7/7: The Inside Story – The Hunt • Episode 3
    Sep 22 2025
    Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! New episodes of this 6 part Conflicted special documentary series will release every Monday. But if you want to listen to them all right now and ad-free, you'll have to sign up to the Conflicted Community. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ -- With the smoke still rising from the attacks of 7/7, the race is on to find out who was responsible. As the authorities sift through the rubble, the emergence of a familiar name sends chills down the backs of UK counter-terror officials. Had they missed something obvious? In this third episode of Conflicted 7/7: The Inside Story, you’ll hear from the people responsible for leading the investigations in the days following the deadliest attacks on British soil. Who had done this? Where were they now? Most importantly, did they still pose a threat? Terrifyingly, just two weeks later, a copycat attack causes panic across London for a second time. Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery. Hosted by Thomas Small. This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak. Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean. Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    32 min
  • 7/7: The Inside Story – The Voices of Londonistan • Episode 2

    7/7: The Inside Story – The Voices of Londonistan • Episode 2
    Sep 17 2025
    Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! Episodes 1 & 2 are available from today, with the following episodes of this 6 part series on the terror attacks which changed the face of modern Britain coming every week... -- Four years before 7/7, there was 9/11. The attacks on New York's World Trade Center utterly changed the world and counter terrorism was conducted in the modern age. It left the question: could a similar attack happen in London/ In this second episode, host Thomas Small invites academics to trace the origins of British jihadism, showing how London earned its moniker, "Londonistan" through the 1990s, with dissidents from across the Arab world radicalising young people through events like the Rushdie affair and the return of fighters from Afghanistan. But you’ll also hear from the UK’s top counter terrorism officials about how the UK counter terrorism establishment responded to this. What were the biggest attacks they foiled before the cataclysm of 7/7? And why did they not see an attack on the London Underground coming? Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery. Hosted by Thomas Small. This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak. Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean. Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    51 min
  • 7/7: The Inside Story – A Thursday in July • Episode 1

    7/7: The Inside Story – A Thursday in July • Episode 1
    Sep 17 2025
    Conflicted: 7/7 The Inside Story is now live to all our dear listeners! Episodes 1 & 2 are available from today, with the following episodes of this 6 part series on the terror attacks which changed the face of modern Britain coming every week... -- On a regular Thursday in July 2005, the peaceful morning air was shattered as four bombs ripped through the underground in central London. 52 people were killed, over 700 others were injured. London had never seen bombings of this magnitude before, never with this coordination. In the first episode of this special series of Conflicted, we hear from survivors, emergency workers and a former Al Qaeda spy as we recount the heart-pounding and tumultuous events of that fateful Thursday in July. It sets up a series where we will investigate the last two decades of terrorism and counter terrorism in the UK. How did it develop? What were the motivations behind? And why did terrorism, and the perceived threat of it, change the way in which the UK thinks about its own citizens? Conflicted - 7/7 The Inside Story is produced by Message Heard for Wondery. Hosted by Thomas Small. This series was written and produced by Harry Stott and Leo Danczak. Production Coordinator is Kirsty McLean. Sound design and engineering by Alan Leer, Ivan Eastley and Lizzy Andrews. Music by Tom Biddle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    38 min
  • Conflicted Revisited... 9/11

    Conflicted Revisited... 9/11
    Sep 11 2025
    On the anniversary, we go all the way back to where it all started with Conflicted, Episode One - 9/11. Where were you on 9/11? Thomas and Aimen use this historic event as a starting point as they tease out how al-Qaeda went from being a small army of jihadists seeking a caliphate in the Middle East to main player, at the centre of the global stage. Season 5 has ended, but if you still want to have your Conflicted fix , then you’ll have to join our Conflicted Community. Subscribers will get bonus episodes every other week, and can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up to the Conflicted Community is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h et 12 min
  • CC: Burcu Ozcelik – The End of the PKK & Turkey’s Great Game

    CC: Burcu Ozcelik – The End of the PKK & Turkey’s Great Game
    Sep 10 2025
    This week Thomas is joined by academic and RUSI fellow, Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, a leading expert on Turkish domestic and foreign policy, particularly its relations with the Kurds and the Middle East. With a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on the topic of the PKK and their path to political reconciliation, Burcu has written widely about the Kurds and their relationship with the Turkish state - you can find her work over on X @BurcuAOzcelik Burcu provides a deep dive into the history of the Kurds, a people divided across national borders after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and traces the evolution of the PKK from its Marxist-Leninist, separatist origins to a group that has now shifted its focus to achieving political and cultural rights within Turkey. The pair also explore the political motives of President Erdoğan and the Turkish establishment, who are seeking to finally resolve the Kurdish issue as a matter of long-term statecraft, before concluding with a forward-looking analysis of Turkey's role as a rising middle power in the post-Assad Middle East, which now prioritizes stability and economic connectivity over past ideological ambitions. To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 min
  • CC Revisited... Eugene Rogan – What do the 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ mean for the Middle East today?

    CC Revisited... Eugene Rogan – What do the 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ mean for the Middle East today?
    Sep 3 2025
    Another revisited Conflicted Community episode for you this week, as we gear up for a new season of Conflicted. This time we bring you the FULL episode of Thomas' conversation with Eugene Rogan, who back in 2024 told us about his latest book, 'The Damascus Events'. Enjoy... -- The 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empire. It’s an example of how previously harmonious communities can descend into brutal violence in a very short time span. But in the Ottoman Empire’s response to the violence, it’s also an example of how hostile communities can be brought back from the brink. To learn more about this fascinating historical episode and its resonances today, Conflicted welcomes Eugene Rogan to our community! Eugene is a Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History and a Fellow of St. Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford. His recent book, ‘The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World’ is available now at all good bookshops and is very much recommended for the Conflicted Community as a must read to learn more about the late Ottoman Empire. Thomas and Eugene discuss his incredible book, how late Ottoman reforms and war in Lebanon caused the crisis, how Ottoman leaders brought the communities back together after the terror, and what we can learn from this episode when looking at the conflicts occuring in the Middle East today. Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    1 h et 11 min
  • CC: Jakub Jajcay – The Raw Reality of Modern Warfare in Ukraine

    CC: Jakub Jajcay – The Raw Reality of Modern Warfare in Ukraine
    Aug 27 2025
    This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by an old friend and former housemate when they studied in Syria together, Jakub Jajcay. A man of many talents, Jakub studied Arabic with Thomas in Damascus before becoming a Slovakian army officer, while also continuing his studies about the Middle East, including working towards a PHD on Lebanese politics. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he decided to put his professional skills to use, joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a foreign volunteer. This episode is a raw, firsthand account of his experience of modern warfare. Jakub recounts his experiences as both an infantryman in the trenches and a drone operator, revealing surprising and often grim truths about the war's reality. The pair discuss a number of misconceptions about the war, from the overrated influence of Western weapons to the true nature of combat in the 21st century. They also dive into the effectiveness of drones, and the deeply personal motivations of Ukrainian soldiers, revealing a quiet, resolute patriotism that is less about grand political ideology and more about the fundamental desire for a sovereign homeland. This is a powerful and sobering conversation that grounds the abstract debates about international law and geopolitics in the grit, mud, and courage of those living it on the ground. To listen to the full episode, you’ll need to subscribe to the Conflicted Community. And don’t forget, subscribers can also join our Conflicted Community chatroom, where you can interact with fellow dearest listeners, discuss episodes past and future, get exclusive messages from Thomas and Aimen, ask future Q&A questions and so much more. All the information you need to sign up is on this link: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Conflicted is proudly made by Message Heard, a full-stack podcast production agency which uses its extensive expertise to make its own shows such as Conflicted, shows for commissioners such as the BBC, Spotify and Al Jazeera, and powerfully effective podcasts for other companies too. If you’d like to find out how we can help get your organisation’s message heard, visit messageheard.com or drop an email to hello@messageheard.com! Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    25 min