War, Death, and Financial Collapse in the Middle East

The Taliban - we all know them, few of us love them, and it looks like they’re going to rule Afghanistan - again.So, what was it like the first time the Islamic militants took over, in 1996?Today, we ...

16 Apr 202159min

When Islamic State’s capital, Raqqa, finally fell in late 2017, America wasn’t really paying close attention. We’d had nearly a year of turmoil here at home, and, in many ways, Islamic State was old n...

9 Apr 202135min

Guns, guns, guns. America loves them and their use is enshrined in the second amendment. It’s such a big deal here that an entire culture has grown around it. From the outside looking in, gun culture ...

1 Apr 202147min

Billions of people eat fish every day and as the global population has exploded, so too have human efforts to catch more and more fish. As more people take to the high seas looking for protein, very h...

26 Mar 202134min

Syria’s Bashar Al Assad had no such hesitancy. Thousands of people died. The U.S. threatened to strike Syria, but Russia suggested striking a deal instead.It was weird.To talk us through the Assad reg...

22 Mar 202136min

What do mid-century funnyman Tom Lehrer, nuclear Armageddon, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have in common? They’re all features of the excellent podcast The Deal—a show all about the Iran...

19 Mar 202139min

Ah international waters. A quiet place to do some crimes or have crimes done to you. Welcome to Angry Ocean, a series we’re doing that examines the underreported topic of conflict on the high seas. Th...

12 Mar 202146min

It’s a weird time for the US military.Endless small-scale wars.Veterans joining the riots at the capital.Right-wing extremism in the ranks.Tens of thousands of troops refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.So,...

5 Mar 202139min