
An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.
| Publishes | Twice weekly | Episodes | 215 | Founded | 8 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Religion & SpiritualityHistory | |||

As Aimen works hard to uncover the truth of what's going on in the region now that the MoU has been torn to shreds — or so it seems — and in recognition of Syria being taken off the State Sponsor of Terrorism list, we are rerunning this episode from ... more
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas discusses the true foundations of modernity with Clifton Crais, author of The Killing Age: How Violence Made the Modern World.
Clifton explains:
• The Mortecene as an alternative to the Anthropocene
• Wh... more
In this special episode, we bring you an exclusive audio episode of ‘Undiscovered’ the new YouTube-first documentary series from Conflicted’s executive producer and Message Heard founder, Jake Warren.
Jake sits down with the legendary journalist Rob... more
In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas sweats his way through a personally revealing exchange with Quinn Slobodian, Professor of International History at Boston University and the author of Hayek’s Bastards: The Neoliberal Roots of the Populist Righ... more
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Distasteful jokes about blowing up women, brazen untruths about the war situation, absurd attempts to justify bloodshed and war crimes. Even Hitler comparisons, like it’s 1985. I can’t believe people take the commentator at face value. “Like and I mean”. UPDATE: the episode in the “memorandum of misunderstanding” eloquently confirms it. An hour of a dimwitted crashing out and insults. Hilarious.
Thomas Small is without question an erudite and earnest commentator with a good faith mission to bring understanding to the region. His interview with Anand Gopal on Syria was an absolute standout. Aiman Deen, on the other hand seems to lack any moral compass. His comments on “letting Bibi finish the job” in Iran were shocking. His vanity and boastfulness are hard to take, and his predictions are mostly wrong. Please, can we have more episodes that focus on actual research and scholarship rathe... more
This is 2 stars to acknowledge the contribution by Aimen Dean. Other than that the guests are not worth listening to for a conservative listener. Just listened to one with Sir Vince Cable about the dangers of the U.S. abandoning the world order as it was until Trump, and especially abandoning Europe - instead of acknowledging the parasitic nature of that relationship on the side of Europe, and the swift kick off the couch European socialists needed badly in order to contribute their share to th... more
Nice to hear another perspective, but a little too Gulf and Israeli centric. Just because of our historical meddling and support of certain regimes, this should not dictate our future course. Support of certain countries and deployments of troops has created targets of opportunities and vulnerabilities that are then used to justify further military actions. This in turn creates a dependence of certain countries and an expectation that they don’t have to do the heavy lifting in their own backyard... more
I listened to most of its episodes because of my research interests and long-standing passion for the Middle East. While I found many discussions engaging, I also came away feeling that both hosts — especially Aimen — often approach issues with a strong ideological lens. In several episodes, their analysis seemed biased and, at times, lacking accuracy or nuance.
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
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Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
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A geopolitics-focused show featuring in-depth conversations between a former MI6 asset and a former monk-turned-filmmaker as they analyze war, terrorism, and regional power dynamics in the Middle East. Across episodes, topics span covert diplomacy, intelligence history, and the social and political forces shaping conflict in Iraq, Syria, Iran, and the broader Islamic world, often backed by firsthand experience and on-the-ground observations. Notable strengths include high-signal guest expertise from former operatives, journalists, and scholars, plus candid takes on regional alliances, sanctions, and statecraft that help listeners understand complex crises beyond simplistic narratives.
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CONFLICTED launched 8 years ago and published 215 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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