Podcast
Decrypted
Hosted by Politics and History Through Stories · EN
Decrypted is a podcast about politics and history, told through stories.
Each episode begins with a moment and follows how it unfolds, focusing on what often goes unnoticed.
History isn’t just the past, and politics isn’t something distant.
I’m Hafssa Fakher Elabiari, a political scientist focused on making complex ideas easier to understand through storytelling.
15episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Why Were These Shoes Buried?
2w ago00:09:35Tap to summarizeThey were just shoes.Until they weren’t.Somewhere in a forest, buried beneath the ground, they reappeared, decades later.And suddenly, they weren’t objects anymore.
Transcribe →North Korea’s Hidden Markets: The Women Behind Them
May 300:20:36Tap to summarizeIn North Korea, markets were never supposed to exist.And yet, they did.During the famine of the 1990s, as the state failed to provide food, people began trading to survive. What started as a desperate response slowly grew into something much larger, a hidden economy operating in plain sight.At the center of it were women.And in the process, survival came to depend on something the system had never intended.
Transcribe →Trailer
May 100:00:44Tap to summarizeDecrypted is a storytelling podcast about politics and history.Each episode explores the ideas, decisions, and experiences that shape the world, often focusing on what gets overlooked.From hidden markets in North Korea to pivotal moments like the 1953 Iran crisis, Decrypted traces the stories behind major events, focusing on the people living through them.More stories to come.
Transcribe →What happened in Iran in 1953? And Why it Matters
Apr 1000:18:02Tap to summarizeAugust 1953, Tehran.The CIA and MI6 overthrew Iran's Prime Minister Mosaddegh, reshaping the country's political destiny and collective memory.This episode tells the story of a covert operation that changed a country and its people forever.
Transcribe →Patrice Lumumba was Assassinated. Why?
Mar 1200:20:24Tap to summarizeJanuary 19, 1961. Katanga.The lifeless body of Patrice Lumumba was found near Elisabethville, the capital of Katanga province.In the official death certificate, it was written simply that he died "in the bush."What happened? Why would the democratically elected prime minister of a newly independent country end up dead in the wilderness? What interests did Lumumba's mere existence threaten?
Transcribe →What is Happening in Iran?
Jan 2600:16:28Tap to summarizeDecember 28, 2025. Tehran.Domestic unrest is once again shaking Iran. The political climate is tense, and security forces are launching a brutal crackdown.Despite a government-imposed blackout, first-hand accounts continue to emerge, and they are harrowing.What is happening in Iran?
Transcribe →A Year after Assad: How is Syria Really Doing?
Jan 700:17:02Tap to summarizeDecember 8th, 2024. Syria.The Assad regime collapsed almost overnight. Since then, everything has been moving fast. Despite a troubling past, the new president is shaking hands with world leaders. Western countries are lifting sanctions. Syria, once a pariah state, is welcomed back into the Arab League, received at the Élysée, and hosted at the White House.But one question lingers: How is Syria really doing?This is a partial account of what went right and what went wrong, beyond the handshakes, receptions, and press conferences.
Transcribe →Is the Western Sahara Conflict Over?
Dec 800:16:23Tap to summarizeOctober 31st, 2025. New York.Inside the quiet chamber of the UN Security Council, a historic vote took place: Resolution 2797.For many, this resolution is just one document among dozens adopted each year. But for Morocco, it marks the end of a 50-year struggle that weighed heavily on its economy, military, diplomacy, and people.This is the story of a vote that could end one of the last territorial disputes of the 21st century.
Transcribe →Post-Assad Syria: Sharing Lessons from the Past
Jan 4, 202500:19:56Tap to summarizeIn December 2024, the regime of Bashar al-Assad collapsed, ending the 61-year ruthless rule of the Ba'ath Party. Since then, Syria has been undertaking a difficult test. Assad's departure may signal Damascus is ready to break from its authoritarian past, but to what extent is this true? What makes the path ahead of Syria fragile and uncertain? Is it possible for dictatorship to resurface? How can such a scenario be prevented?
Transcribe →From the Glory to the Demise: The Oufkir Family
Dec 3, 202400:20:58Tap to summarizeThe Oufkir case is one of the dark chapters in Morocco’s history. It is a case about power, trust, treason and injustice. It is also a case about life and how it can turn upside down so quickly. So what happened? Who is Oufkir? How has this name become almost taboo in Morocco? And what is the price of treason?
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