This week on a special edition of Babel, Will Todman speaks with Jon Alterman, the creator of Babel and the show’s host since it began in 2019. They discuss Jon’s reflections on 22 years directing the CSIS Middle East Program, his analysis of how the Middle East policy ecosystem ...Show more
Mohanad Hage Ali: Hezbollah and the Captagon Trade
This week on Babel, Jon Alterman speaks with Dr. Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. Mohanad's latest paper for Carnegie investigates the rise of a new form of drug smuggling in Lebanon. Together, they discuss Hezbollah’s i ...Show more
False flags, brutal military tactics and aspirations of greatness – Putin’s approach to the war in Syria, as he tries to prove Russia is still a power-broker in the Middle East. To understand how Putin views history and his place in it, Jonny Dymond is joined by:Professor Angela ...Show more
Cementing power in Russia, a revolution in Ukraine and a challenge to the US - Jonny Dymond examines Vladimir Putin’s second term as president. To help him make sense of how this tumultuous period from 2004 to 2008 began a path towards events we are witnessing today, he’s joined ...Show more
Playing cat and mouse games with the world and using so-called little green men for masked warfare – what Russia's annexation of part of Ukraine in 2014 tells us about Vladimir Putin.“Like tsars through the centuries, Putin sees himself as the rightful heir and the guardian of on ...Show more
Following President Biden’s first Middle East trip and on the eve of President Putin’s trip to Tehran, Fareed asks Vali Nasr, Professor of International Affairs and Middle East Studies at Johns Hopkins University if new cold war divisions are solidifying in the Middle East. Then, ...Show more