CONFLICTED COMMUNITY

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CONFLICTED

Message Heard

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.

  1. -13 T

    Conflicted Revisited: Spying for Saudi

    As Saudi Arabia celebrates Founding Day, and as the murky underbelly of GCC geopolitics is on everyone's minds, we're re-releasing this classic Conflicted episode from early 2022. Thomas & Aimen discuss: The deep history of Arabia The first foundations of Saudi Arabia The transition from British to American dominance in the Middle East Aimen’s family history within the British imperial system The 1920 Iraqi revolt St John Philby (Abdullah Philby) The consolidation of Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud Oil politics and the American-Saudi partnership Cold War spy-craft and intelligence networks in Saudi Arabia Espionage culture in the region The murder of Jamal Khashoggi Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Rowan Bishop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1 t 21 min
  2. The People Who Became Arabs

    -5 D.

    The People Who Became Arabs

    In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to historian Yossef Rapoport about his new book Becoming Arab, and the revolutionary argument at its heart: that Arab identity in Egypt and the Levant was not the result of mass migration from Arabia, but was forged in the medieval countryside between the 11th and 15th centuries. Rapoport explains: What the word ‘Arab’ meant in the early Islamic centuries Why most medieval villagers in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine did not initially think of themselves as Arabs Why migration models fail to explain Arabisation in the settled countryside How Islamisation and Islamic governance reshaped rural society The role of clan genealogies, taxation, and local leadership in creating Arab village identities The extraordinary 1245 Fayyum survey and what it reveals about rural Egypt The rise of popular Arab epics and the imagination of tribal ancestry Ibn Taymiyyah’s critique of manufactured tribalism in the 14th century How medieval Arabisation reshapes modern debates about identity, belonging, and land Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    57 min

  3. 17. FEB.

    Trump, Netanyahu, and the Iran Endgame

    With war clouds gathering once again over the Middle East, Aimen takes us behind the scenes of the indirect negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. He narrates the shifting Iranian position, the will-he-or-won’t-he calculus surrounding Donald Trump, and the vital strategic role played by Israel as the White House formulates a way forward. Is this brinkmanship, miscalculation, or the prelude to full-scale war? They discuss: Iran’s negotiating position over the past 17–18 days The domestic factors informing Trump’s thinking How the IRGC is united around a rejectionist position How Israel may have helped provide the White House with the narrative it needs to get buy-in from U.S. citizens What really went on during Netanyahu’s recent visit The truth beyond Scott Bessent’s claims about causing a dollar crisis in Iran Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    57 min
  4. How the US is Abandoning its Afghan Allies

    12. FEB.

    How the US is Abandoning its Afghan Allies

    In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to U.S. Navy veteran Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, about the fate of Afghans who worked alongside American forces during the U.S. occupation, and how the Trump administration’s immigration restrictions are increasingly freezing them out. Shawn explains: Who America’s Afghan allies were and the risks they took The complex tragedy of the National Guardsmen shooting in Washington D.C. The Special Immigrant Visa system and why it failed Trump’s first travel ban and the dismantling of refugee pathways The Doha Agreement and the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan The creation of AfghanEvac and cooperation with the U.S. government How Trump’s second term is closing the door on Afghan allies Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Follow AfghanEvac: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfghanEvac Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afghan_evac X: https://x.com/afghanevac TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@afghanevac LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/afghanevac BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/afghanevac.bsky.social Truth Social: @AfghanEvac Follow Shawn VanDiver: X: https://x.com/shawnjvandiver Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shawnjvandiver LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnvandiver/ BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/shawnjvandiver.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shawnjvandiver TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnjvandiver Find Conflicted on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sdlF1mY5t4 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    52 min

  5. 10. FEB.

    The CIA’s Zero Units in Afghanistan

    After a tragic shooting in Washington, D.C., Thomas and Aimen trace the story back to Afghanistan and to the CIA-backed Zero Units that carried out some of the coalition’s most clandestine kill-or-capture missions. They discuss: The November 2025 D.C. shooting and the alleged link to a former Zero Unit operative What the Zero Units were designed to do and why they were so controversial Afghanistan's geography of terrorism and counterterrorism The lifelong psychological damage caused by black ops How the Doha Agreement sidelined the US’s Afghan partners The halfway house vetting pipeline through German The problem of PTSD, monitoring, and support for both Afghan allies and U.S. veterans Whether America can fight future wars if local allies believe they’ll be left behind Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    50 min
  6. Why China’s Rise Cannot Be Stopped

    5. FEB.

    Why China’s Rise Cannot Be Stopped

    In this Conflicted Conversation, Thomas speaks to veteran Singaporean diplomat Prof. Kishore Mahbubani about his thesis that the 21st century will be remembered as ‘the Asian Century’, and how the West can prepare peacefully and optimistically for China's return as the fulcrum of world history. Drawing on his books Living the Asian Century, Has China Won?, and Can Asians Think?, Prof. Mahbubani explains: Why the 21st century will be the Asian century and why this need not require Western decline How colonialism shaped Asian self-perception, and the need for intellectual decolonisation How other countries can adopt Singapore’s model for success His meeting with Fidel Castro, Hafez al-Assad, and Yasser Arafat The hypocrisy of Western power and diplomacy How the United States keeps the UN weak on purpose Why Pres. Trump’s China realism has been a good thing The threat of war in Asia Follow Prof. Mahbubani on X: https://x.com/mahbubani_k Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced and edited by Thomas Small. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1 t 6 min

  7. 3. FEB.

    Trump vs Iran: The War That Wasn’t

    In this semi-emergency episode, Aimen helps Thomas unpack the last eight months of escalating tension and threats between the US and Iran, and explains why it’s now unlikely the American ‘armada’ President Trump sent to the Gulf will be going to war with Iran anytime soon. Thomas and Aimen discuss: How the 12-Day War changed Iran Why Israel’s Doha strike jolted the Gulf and accelerated a ceasefire The Saudi–Pakistan defence pact and the Abraham Accords fallout How the region became more militarized and less diplomatically aligned Iran’s protest wave and the regime’s unspeakably brutal crackdown How Trump’s promises were empty from the start Why this may be Trump’s ‘Obama red line’ moment What this latest example of TACO signals to China Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/ Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod And YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ConflictedYoutube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. Produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1 t 5 min
  8. Paul Kenyon: 30 Years Under Fire as a BBC War Reporter

    29. JAN.

    Paul Kenyon: 30 Years Under Fire as a BBC War Reporter

    In this episode, Thomas talks to distinguished BBC journalist Paul Kenyon about his new podcast series Two Nottingham Lads. Paul recalls highlights from his remarkable career, which has taken him from Iran to Libya to Ukraine to Stockport —as he watched, in real time, America lose its grip on the international order. Paul talks about: How two Nottingham lads ended up on opposite sides of the Ukraine War The time he was detained by Iranian secret police Watching anti-Gaddafi tribesmen ride into Benghazi on horseback Accompanying unarmed Ukrainian guards as they marched uphill toward Russian troops Getting to know the notorious ISIS brides in the Midlands Being the only BBC journalist in Liverpool who witnessed the outbreak of the riots there in summer 2004 Listen to Two Nottingham Lads here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002ntm9  Follow Paul on X: https://x.com/paulkenyonTV  And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulkenyontv/ Join the Conflicted Community here: https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm  Find us on X: https://x.com/MHconflicted And Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MHconflicted And Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/conflictedpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Conflicted is a Message Heard production. Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    59 min
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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.

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