The Blue Wave and the Blame Game

Few expected the Democrats’ midterm victory to be this big. Historian Lily Geismer and New Lines’ Danny Postel join Faisal Al Yafai to unpack the results — from Abdul El-Sayed’s win in Michigan to the paradox facing Republicans after the Iran war — and look ahead to the 2028 race on both sides. Produced by Finbar Anderson

Writer Zaina Arafat joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss belonging to multiple cultures, how New York became “Habibi City,” and her new book “Our Arab: On Longing, Belonging and Hope.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this month’s episode of Global Insights on The Lede, author and Caine Prize winner Tope Folarin and AI researcher Tuhin Chakrabarty join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss the AI accusations that have hit major literary prizes this year, why African writers feel pressure to tell the stories their editors in London and New York expect, and whether detection software can conclusively tell human writing from machine-made text. Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week’s episode of the podcast, author Anand Giridharadas joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the divisive death of Jordan Neely on a New York subway train in 2023, why Americans across the political divide feel abandoned by the institutions meant to protect them, and what it would take to address the polarization felt across the country, as set out in his new book “Man in the Mirror.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

On the podcast this week, journalist and author Kim Ghattas joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss how the Beirut of the 1980s offers a prism through which to understand today’s regional rivalries, as set out in her new book, “The Best Kind of American: A True Story of Murder, War, and America's Undoing in the Middle East.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week's episode of the podcast, historian Rashid Khalidi joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss why Western public opinion on Israel has shifted faster than at any point in a century, whether that shift will reach Washington, and what his conversations with the writer Tariq Ali reveal about the story of Palestine, as set out in their new book, “The Neck and the Sword: Palestine's Unfinished Struggle.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

Jalale Getachew Birru, East Africa regional expert for Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), and Alan Boswell of the International Crisis Group join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei to discuss the return of war to Ethiopia, the armed groups uniting against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the regional rivalries fueling the conflict for this month's edition of Global Insights on The Lede. Produced by Finbar Anderson

On the podcast this week, journalist and author Jason Burke joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the wave of leftist violence that swept Europe and the Middle East in the 1970s, why its defeat cleared the ground for Islamist movements, and what the West got wrong about political violence in the decade that followed, as set out in his book, "The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s." Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist and author Sally Hayden joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss reporting on the artificial families formed by Rwandan genocide survivors, secret weddings under Islamic State rule in Iraq, reporting on the ongoing war in Lebanon — and why she believes journalism loses sight of the people at the center of every crisis, as set out in her recent book, “This Is Also a Love Story.” Produced by Finbar Anderson

On this week's episode of the podcast, political scientist Shadi Hamid joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss why Osama bin Laden got exactly the overreaction he wanted from 9/11, how 25 years of the war on terror reshaped America and the Middle East, and why he believes a more secular America has become a more polarized one, as set out in his new book with Matthew Kaemingk, “Can Religion Save Democracy?” Produced by Finbar Anderson