Podcast
CONFLICTED
Hosted by Message Heard · EN
An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.
63episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Capitalism Is Not What You Think
Mar 1901:09:26Summary readyIn this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to Harvard professor Sven Beckert about his new book Capitalism: A Global History. Sven explains: Why the history of capitalism matters for understanding the present How most histories of capitalism are too Eurocentric How merchant communities in the medieval Muslim world and other regions laid the foundations of capitalism How European merchants learned from and interacted with merchants in the Muslim world Trust networks in global trade, including family, religious, and city-based merchant networks How capitalism and state power grew together European divergence: why Europe became central to capitalism Effects of Ottoman control and European geopolitical weakness on Atlantic expansion Role of conquest, slavery, and colonial expansion in building capitalist societies Tension between capitalism’s drive for unlimited growth and nature’s limits Challenges to neoliberalism from the left and the populist right Find Sven on Bluesky: @svenbeckert.bsky.social Visit Sven’s personal website: svenbeckert.com Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SummaryThe Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island: How America Intends to Win This War
Mar 1701:32:08Summary readyAll eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz and Kharg Island as the United States and its allies struggle to wrest full control of the Arabo-Persian Gulf from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Aimen and Thomas lay out the whole story of this geostrategically vital region, from ancient times all the way up to this very morning—explaining why this war is happening, and how it is almost certainly to end. Aimen and Thomas discuss: How the Strait of Hormuz caused Noah's Flood The medieval Kingdom of Hormuz How the Gulf is always caught up in the Iranian plateau's endless boom-and-bust political cycle How Europeans staked a claim on Hormuz in 1507—and never really left The fact that the U.S. did indeed go into this war with a plan for Hormuz How the U.S. will take Kharg Island—and what they will do with it The ingenuity of Gulf Arab leadership in planning workarounds for the eventuality of the Strait being closed How European powers and other allies are really contributing to the war effort Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Iran: The Long Road to War
Mar 1201:03:56Summary readyIn this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks with Ali Ansari, Professor of Modern Middle East History at the University of St Andrews. Prof. Ansari discusses: The depth and antiquity of Iranian culture His childhood experiences inside the Shah's inner circle The Shah's biggest mistake How the revolution could have better built upon what it inherited The huge incompetence and corruption that has undermined Iran's political economy How the new Supreme Leader is the IRGC's man The clarity of America's military aims alongside the opacity of its political aims The real weaknesses of the Iran Nuclear Deal How Iranians inside Iran feel about the regime and the war Follow Prof. Ansari on X: https://x.com/aa51_ansari Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SummaryWho is Iran's New Supreme Leader and What Does He Believe?
Mar 1001:24:34Summary readyIran has chosen its new Supreme Leader: Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently assassinated Ayatollah Khamenei. Who is he? What does he believe? And most importantly, is his coming to power the fulfilment of ancient prophecy? Aimen and Thomas discuss: Mojtaba's youth and his experience fighting in the Iran-Iraq War as a 17 year old How he became his father's primary gatekeeper, and how he used this to amass great power and wealth Mojtaba's self-belief: that he is "the Khorasani", a long-expected End Times figure in Shia eschatology The long story of Islamic apocalypticism and how the Islamic Republic has used medieval prophecies to justify its ambitions Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Iran War: British Uncertainty vs. French Resolve
Mar 501:05:22Summary readyIn this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to two friends of the show about how Europe is responding to the war with Iran. In the first half, the Rt Hon Tom Tugendhat MP — former chair of the UK Foreign Affairs Select Committee and former UK Security Minister — discusses Britain’s confused response to the conflict, and in the second half, French journalist Wassim Nasr explains France’s position. Sir Tom and Wassim explain: The UK government’s uncertain response to the Iran war What politicians mean when they talk about the ‘legal basis’ for military action The lessons of the Iraq War and whether they are being misunderstood Iran’s role in the insurgency against Western forces in Iraq The debate over designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization in the UK The state of the British military after decades of defence cuts The strategic controversy surrounding Diego Garcia and the Chagos Islands France’s historic Arab Policy and its effort to maintain strategic independence in the Middle East France’s military agreements with the UAE, Qatar, and Kuwait The E3 framework (France, Germany, UK) and its role in negotiations with Iran Macron’s attempt to expand France’s nuclear deterrent to cover Europe The evolving situation in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s weakening position Intelligence cooperation between France, Israel, and regional partners Whether Europe is entering a new era of strategic independence Follow Sir Tom on X: https://x.com/TomTugendhat Follow Wassim on X: https://x.com/SimNasr Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SummaryThe Death of Ayatollah Khamenei & The Future of Iran
Mar 301:08:37Summary readyWith missiles streaking across Middle Eastern skies and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader sending shockwaves through the region, Aimen joins Thomas from a Dubai under fire to unpack a historic turning point. They discuss: Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile strikes across the GCC and Israel Life under bombardment in Dubai and the regional military response The assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei and what it means for Iran’s future Whether this war marks the death of the 1979 Islamic Revolution The internal dynamics of the Iranian regime at this critical moment The United States’ strategic calculus and the question of escalation Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Summary🚨 Emergency Episode: The Iran War Has Begun 🚨
Feb 2800:56:10Summary readyIn this very special Emergency Episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss the Iran War, which began this morning with wide-ranging air strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against IRGC and Iranian regime targets, and which almost immediately resulted in Iranian counter-strikes against seven states in the region — including in Dubai, where Aimen lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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African Slavery: The Untold Story
Feb 2600:49:44Summary readyIn this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to former BBC journalist Martin Plaut about his new book Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement, which tells the whole story of African slavery, a story far older and more global than the one that focuses only on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Martin explains: How Africa’s slavery story begins in the Nile Valley around 2900 BC Why the trans-Saharan slave routes remain less examined than Atlantic slavery What Islam did — and didn’t — change about slavery in practice Indian Ocean slavery Oman’s slave market in Zanzibar and its caravans that penetrated deep into central Africa Indigenous African slavery in Ethiopia and the Sokoto Caliphate The role of racial hierarchies and ‘slave blood’ stigma within societies Barbary corsairs and European so-called ‘white slavery’ Contemporary chattel slavery in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, and Libya Why major institutions still prefer commemorating slavery in the past to confronting it in the present Follow Martin on X: https://x.com/martinplaut And his personal website: https://martinplaut.com/ Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
SummaryConflicted Revisited: Spying for Saudi
Feb 2401:21:00Summary readyAs Saudi Arabia celebrates Founding Day, and as the murky underbelly of GCC geopolitics is on everyone's minds, we're re-releasing this classic Conflicted episode from early 2022. Thomas & Aimen discuss: The deep history of Arabia The first foundations of Saudi Arabia The transition from British to American dominance in the Middle East Aimen’s family history within the British imperial system The 1920 Iraqi revolt St John Philby (Abdullah Philby) The consolidation of Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud Oil politics and the American-Saudi partnership Cold War spy-craft and intelligence networks in Saudi Arabia Espionage culture in the region The murder of Jamal Khashoggi Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Rowan Bishop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The People Who Became Arabs
Feb 1900:56:56Summary readyIn this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to historian Yossef Rapoport about his new book Becoming Arab, and the revolutionary argument at its heart: that Arab identity in Egypt and the Levant was not the result of mass migration from Arabia, but was forged in the medieval countryside between the 11th and 15th centuries. Rapoport explains: What the word ‘Arab’ meant in the early Islamic centuries Why most medieval villagers in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine did not initially think of themselves as Arabs Why migration models fail to explain Arabisation in the settled countryside How Islamisation and Islamic governance reshaped rural society The role of clan genealogies, taxation, and local leadership in creating Arab village identities The extraordinary 1245 Fayyum survey and what it reveals about rural Egypt The rise of popular Arab epics and the imagination of tribal ancestry Ibn Taymiyyah’s critique of manufactured tribalism in the 14th century How medieval Arabisation reshapes modern debates about identity, belonging, and land Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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