The Lede

Soccer’s Rising Stars of African Origin — with Segun Odegbami and Ponga Liwewe

On this episode of Global Insights on The Lede, host Kwangu Liwewe discusses the inexorable rise of soccer stars of African origin with former Nigeria player Segun “The Mathematical” Odegbami and soccer journalist Ponga Liwewe.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Trump’s Second Coming — With Meredith McCarroll, Danny Postel and Faisal Al Yafai

On this week’s episode of The Lede, host Faisal Al Yafai catches up with New Lines Politics Editor Danny Postel from Milwaukee, where Postel has been attending the Republican National Convention. Their conversation comes after a momentous week in U.S. politics that not only saw an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally, but also the announcement of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio as Trump’s running mate for the upcoming presidential election. Al Yafai also talks to Meredith McCarroll, author of a New Lines profile of Vance.
Further reading: J.D. Vance and the Myth of White Exceptionalism

America’s Autocratic Future? — With Mark Danner

On this week’s episode of The Lede, veteran journalist Mark Danner joins New Lines’ Politics Editor Danny Postel for a discussion on Donald Trump, Joe Biden and the possible autocratic future looming ahead for America.
Further reading:
The Mass Psychology of Trumpism — Watch the accompanying video hereThe United Auto Workers Rejected Trump. Members Aren’t So SureHow the War in Gaza Is Shaping the 2024 Elections — And the Future of the Democratic PartyA Deliberate Political Madness?
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Identity, Belonging and Reporting the World — With Hala Gorani and Faisal Al Yafai

On this episode of The Lede, veteran CNN correspondent Hala Gorani sits down with New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai for a discussion on identity and belonging following the publication of her new memoir, “But You Don’t Look Arab: And Other Tales of Unbelonging.”

Britain’s Boring Election? — With Lydia Wilson and Kwangu Liwewe

In this edition of Global Insights, New Lines Culture Editor Lydia Wilson sits down with host Kwangu Liwewe to discuss the upcoming election in the United Kingdom, which despite potentially heralding a change in government for the first time in 14 years, seems to be a bit lackluster.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

The End of Populism in the World’s Largest Democracy? — With Shruti Kapila and Surbhi Gupta

On this week’s podcast, Cambridge University academic Shruti Kapila, author of “Violent Fraternity: Indian Political Thought in the Global Age,” sits down with New Lines’ Surbhi Gupta to discuss the shock Indian election result and what it means for the future of the world’s largest democracy.
Further listening:The War on India’s Free Press — With Manisha Pande, Samar Halarnkar and Surbhi GuptaIndia’s Political Hinduism — With Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay and Surbhi Gupta
Further reading:Why the Indian Election Results Present Modi With a Defeat Within a WinThe Recent Elections Demonstrate India’s Growing Democratic Deficit
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Gaza and a Changing Middle East — With Ruth Michaelson, Chloe Cornish, Tara Kangarlou and Faisal Al Yafai

While the conflict in Gaza plays out on a tiny strip of land a fraction of the size of Los Angeles, its impact on the wider Middle East region has been huge.
New Lines’ Faisal Al Yafai speaks to the Guardian’s Ruth Michaelson, Chloe Cornish of the Financial Times and independent journalist Tara Kangarlou to assess how the war has changed the political and economic landscape in Turkey, Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Further listening:Living in a State of Hopelessness: On the Ground in Israel — With Lisa GoldmanOn the Ground in Gaza — With Arwa DamonIn the Firing Line — With Joumana Haddad
Further reading:The Cost of Leaving GazaHow the War in Gaza Is Shaping the 2024 Elections — And the Future of the Democratic Party
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Everest’s 100-Year Mystery — With Wade Davis and Finbar Anderson

On June 8, 1924, two climbers set off for what they hoped would be the first-ever summit of Mount Everest. As the mist closed in around them high up the mountain, they would never be seen alive again. A century later, the mystery of whether they reached the top continues to inspire fascination and debate, but is perhaps not the most interesting thing about the doomed expedition, anthropologist and former National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis tells New Lines’ Finbar Anderson on this week’s episode.

Filling the Vacuum: Russia’s Forays Into Africa — With Amie Ferris-Rotman and Kwangu Liwewe

In the two decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian influence in Africa was at a low ebb. But that’s all changed, New Lines Global News Editor Amie Ferris-Rotman tells Kwangu Liwewe on this week’s Global Insights on The Lede. Ferris-Rotman and Liwewe discuss Russia’s past in Africa and its more recent neocolonialist enterprises on the continent, as well as the private military companies acting as Russia’s enforcers and how Russian influence compares to the “long, slow game” played by China.
Produced by Finbar Anderson

Populism and Power in Mexico’s Historic Election — With Alma Guillermoprieto

Veteran Mexican correspondent Alma Guillermoprieto joins New Lines’ Danny Postel on The Lede for a discussion about how the upcoming election in Mexico is actually not about the two leading candidates, her sadness about the current situation in Nicaragua, and her secret — the celebrated journalist is not interested in politics.
Produced by Finbar Anderson