The Lede

After War, What Does Justice Look Like? — with Janine di Giovanni, Kareem Shaheen and Faisal Al Yafai

One of the most pressing questions facing communities from Ukraine to Syria concerns the roles accountability and justice should play in the transition out of periods of conflict. Janine di Giovanni, executive director of The Reckoning Project, joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on the podcast after returning from a trip to Syria, as does New Lines’ Middle East Editor Kareem Shaheen.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Ukraine’s Dilemma — with Mykhaylo Shtekel, Amie Ferris-Rotman and Kwangu Liwewe

On this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, Ukrainian journalist Mykhaylo Shtekel and New Lines’ Amie Ferris-Rotman join host Kwangu Liwewe to discuss how U.S. President Donald Trump’s upending of established alliances has presented Ukraine with a dilemma that may change the course of its future.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

AI Is Transforming Geopolitics — with Bruno Maçães and Faisal Al Yafai

The global geopolitical landscape is changing, but not in the way you might think. In place of traditional armies facing off on the battlefield, or nuclear-backed superpowers, there's a new force: AI. On this week’s episode of The Lede, politician and New Statesman columnist Bruno Maçães, author of “World Builders: Technology and the New Geopolitics,” tells New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai how the battle lines are being drawn in a virtual world — and how the builders of the strongest AI language models will be the true power brokers of the future.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Fakirs and Holy Men: Mysticism in America, Europe and the Middle East — with Raphael Cormack and Finbar Anderson

On this week’s episode, writer Raphael Cormack tells New Lines’ Finbar Anderson about the mystics who fused elements of the spiritual and the modern to build huge followings from Beirut to New York in the early 20th century, as described in his new book “Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult.”
Produced by Finbar Anderson

America’s Era of the Entrepreneur — with Erik Baker and Faisal Al Yafai

On this episode, Erik Baker, author of “Make Your Own Job: How the Entrepreneurial Work Ethic Exhausted America,” tells New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai how the culture of entrepreneurialism came to dominate modern America.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Alliances, Antagonism and Ambitions: Inside the BRICS Group — with Gustavo de Carvalho and Kwangu Liwewe

On this episode of the podcast, New Lines’ Kwangu Liwewe discusses the poorly understood BRICS group with Gustavo de Carvalho, a senior researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs, against the backdrop of U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of heavy sanctions against the group should they pursue a rumored policy of moving away from the U.S. dollar.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

House and Home in Syria and in Exile — with Ammar Azzouz, Wendy Pearlman and Lydia Wilson

Following the dramatic recent political developments in Syria, Ammar Azzouz, author of “Domicide: Architecture, War and the Destruction of Home in Syria,” and Wendy Pearlman, author of “The Home I Worked To Make: Voices From the New Syrian Diaspora,” join New Lines’ Lydia Wilson on The Lede to discuss how conflict and exile have shaped Syrians’ idea of home, and how that might change in an uncertain future.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

The Decline of the American Empire — with Robert Kaplan and Faisal Al Yafai

On this week’s episode, acclaimed journalist and author Robert Kaplan joins New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai on The Lede for a discussion on Donald Trump, the Iraq War and his new book “Waste Land: A World in Permanent Crisis.”
Further listening: The American Experiment From Outside and Within — with Hari Kunzru and Faisal Al Yafai
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Looking Ahead in 2025 — with Kareem Shaheen, Lisa Goldman, Danny Postel and Faisal Al Yafai

Will 2025 bring resolutions to the many news stories of the previous year? Four of New Lines’ editors consider the upcoming second Donald Trump presidency, the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, possible turbulence in Europe and the future for Syria.
Further listening:Survival and Statehood in Ukraine — with Yaroslav Trofimov
Produced by Finbar Anderson

How To End the Forever Wars — with Mary Kaldor and Lydia Wilson

Returning to the podcast, Mary Kaldor, professor emeritus of global governance at the London School of Economics, joins New Lines’ Lydia Wilson for a discussion on how to end the various intractable wars still raging in 2025, from Gaza to Ukraine.
Produced by Finbar Anderson