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Israel
Syria
Ukraine
Iran
Donald Trump
United States
Middle East
Russia
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Democratic Party
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China
Bashar Al-Assad
Hamas
Hassan Nasrallah
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Turkey
Immigration

This is The Lede, the New Lines Magazine podcast. Each week, we delve into the biggest ideas, events and personalities from around the world. For more stories from New Lines, visit our website, newlinesmag.com

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Latest Episodes

On the podcast this week, journalist Patrick Gathara and public health expert Tolbert Nyenswah join Kwangu Liwewe Agyei on Global Insights to discuss Kenya's decision to host an Ebola quarantine facility, the geopolitics of disease, and the deadly ou... more

On the podcast this week, journalist Negar Mortazavi and New Lines’ Danny Postel join Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the chances that the Iran peace deal will hold, the unresolved fault lines from Hormuz to Lebanon and how the conflict leaves Donald Trum... more

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On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist Hannah Lucinda Smith joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the rival geopolitical blocs reshaping the world, how Europe's margins — from Transnistria to the Balkans — became the front line of a conflict th... more

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On this week's episode of the podcast, journalist Yeganeh Torbati joins Faisal Al Yafai to discuss the multiple revolutions stolen from the Iranian people by their rulers, why the Islamic Republic has thrived under sanctions and survived war, how the... more

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Recent Guests

Yeganeh Torbati
New York Times reporter and co-author of Stolen Revolution
New York Times
Episode: How Revolutionary Iran Became a Mafia State
Suzy Hansen
Author of From Life Itself, Turkey and Istanbul in the Age of Erdoğan
Author
Episode: How Authoritarianism Came to One Istanbul Street
Sari Bashi
Internationally renowned human rights lawyer
Committee Against Torture / Former Global Research Director at Human Rights Watch
Episode: The War Crime No One Wants To Name
Sara Cincurova
Reporter who has covered sexual violence in Ukraine, Libya and Venezuela
Independent journalist (based in Ukraine)
Episode: The War Crime No One Wants To Name
Robin Yassin-Kassab
Author, researcher on Syria
Author of The Blood Between Us, Syria After the Fall of Assad
Episode: When Is a Revolution Actually Over?
Quinn Slobodian
Historian and co-author of Muskism, A Guide for the Perplexed
Boston University / Institute for Global Law and Policy
Episode: How Elon Musk Fuses Rockets and Tech To Shape Modern Society
Hannah Lillith Assadi
Author of Paradiso 17
Author
Episode: How a Life in Exile Reshapes the Generations That Follow
Michael Smith
Historian and journalist; former military intelligence officer; defense correspondent for the Daily Telegraph
Daily Telegraph (journalist)
Episode: Is the Special Relationship Really Special Anymore?
Lydia Wilson
Culture editor at New Lines Magazine
New Lines Magazine
Episode: Is the Special Relationship Really Special Anymore?

Hosts

Faisal Al Yafai
Host of The Lede; affiliated with The Lede / New Lines Magazine; regular moderator and interviewer.
Kwangu Liwewe Agyei
Co-host featured on episodes covering global insights and policy analysis.

Reviews

4.8 out of 5 stars from 83 ratings
  • A Necessary Counterpoint on Doctor Dahesh

    Finbar — I appreciated your interview and the tone you brought to the conversation. It’s clear you’re genuinely interested in getting to the truth, and that’s precisely why I’m writing this.

    Having now read both the European and U.S. editions of Dr. Raphael Cormack’s book, I felt it was important to share a documented counterpoint directly. I previously posted the following open letter on what appeared to be his public Facebook page. It was removed the next day. I am reposting it here for the r... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Mario Henri Chakkour
    United States4 months ago
  • Conventional capitalist ideologues rehash tired neoliberal tripe!

    Podcast Addict
    2
    Harold N.
    a year ago
  • Great Journalism

    New Lines Podcast and Magazine are a highly recommended source of quality international news.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    benrem
    Canada2 years ago
  • Insightful and thought provoking

    A welcome addition to the geopolitical podcasts that is refreshingly different from the standard Anglo/Western worldview. Using the Middle East as a launching point, this podcast expands horizons to important discussions about social, political and historical forces that shape our world today. One suggestion is to keep the episodes shorter (under 30 minutes) to be commuter friendly - can be broken into multiple episodes. Another suggestion is to add a current news update tying to the episode... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Almond1
    United States4 years ago
  • Excellent podcast

    Fantastic podcast with important discussions on SWANA/MENA issues!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Swarz Seawalker
    United States4 years ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Delivers important discussions on SWANA/MENA issues with depth and rigor.
Provokes thoughtful, sometimes challenging perspectives; tends to broaden horizons on Middle East and SWANA issues.
A nuanced counterpoint with thorough documentation that challenges conclusions and highlights methodological balance.
High-quality international news with strong recommendations for global insights.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

How Elon Musk Fuses Rockets and Tech To Shape Modern Society
Q: Why do you frame Musk as a symptom of broader social and economic changes rather than a unique outlier?
Because Musk embodies the convergence of state-backed demand, private capital, and frontier technologies, which together reveal how contemporary capitalism has reorganized around platform logic, mass-scale capital, and a new social contract that rewards risk and promises a future, even as it disrupts traditional labor and political processes.
How the World Order We Know Came Into Being – and Why It’s Breaking
Q: What do you think the chief problems with the current nation-state configuration are?
Dasgupta explains that the nation-state is not disappearing but is failing to deliver the freedoms and economic security it promised, with global power shifting among empires and new technologies altering the balance of sovereignty.
How the World Order We Know Came Into Being – and Why It’s Breaking
Q: So I thought we would start with that and why you thought it was so important to tell this particular story.
Rana says we're in a moment where something is breaking, and the book uses stories about the nation-state to interrogate whether a new political order is possible, exploring what might come after and how technology could reshape governance.
How the Iran War Came to the Gulf
Q: For the audience, tell us which strikes you're talking about and why you think they're weird.
We discuss a pattern of strikes that broaden from military targets to civilian infrastructure and energy sites, suggesting a deliberate attempt to widen the cost of conflict beyond conventional military objectives.
Trump Comes to Africa
Q: What do you think went wrong on Washington's side? Was it clumsy diplomacy or bad political reading of the country and the region, or maybe something deeper about how US officials understand African states like Niger?
It's likely a combination of all three factors contributing to the deterioration of relations.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About The Lede

What is The Lede about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A globe-trotting, idea-forward current affairs show that centers on geopolitics, economics, technology, and global governance through rigorous interviews with historians, journalists, economists, and authors. Episodes frequently explore how power, policy, and narrative shape world events—from tech oligarchy and state strategy to energy security, conflicts, and transnational corruption. Notable strengths include a consistently policy-focused, evidence-driven approach and guests who offer deep context and nuanced analysis. Listeners likely include professionals seeking rigorous, globally aware perspectives on contemporary issues and the forces that drive them.

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How many listeners does The Lede get?

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How many subscribers and views does The Lede have?

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Which podcasts are similar to The Lede?

These podcasts share a similar audience with The Lede:

1. Independent Thinking
2. Hold Your Fire!
3. In Moscow's Shadows
4. Ones and Tooze
5. The LRB Podcast

How many episodes of The Lede are there?

The Lede launched 5 years ago and published 266 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact The Lede?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

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Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Lede from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on The Lede?

Recent guests on The Lede include:

1. Yeganeh Torbati
2. Suzy Hansen
3. Sari Bashi
4. Sara Cincurova
5. Robin Yassin-Kassab
6. Quinn Slobodian
7. Hannah Lillith Assadi
8. Michael Smith

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