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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. Why China’s Rise Cannot Be Stopped

    12 HR AGO

    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

    1h 6m

  2. 2 DAYS AGO

    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

    1h 5m
  3. 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

  4. 27 JAN

    Mali: When Jihadists Win

    As jihadist violence in Mali escalates, Thomas and Aimen trace the history and present-day power of JNIM (‘Support Group for Islam and Muslims’), an Al Qaeda affiliate that has been laying siege to the capital Bamako. Will Mali’s secular state survive? Or is a jihadist takeover of the whole country now inevitable? **Including BONUS MATERIAL for subscribers to the Conflicted Community!** Thomas and Aimen discuss: The evolution of JNIM out of AQIM (‘Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’) The jihadist ‘privateers’ who built the organisation Slavery and racial hierarchy in the Sahel Will JNIM’s leader Iyad ag-Ghali become the King of Mali? Fuel blockades, economic warfare, and attacks on the capital, Bamako Whether Mali can still exist as a sovereign state 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

    55 min
  5. Syrian Blitzkrieg: How Damascus Crushed the SDF

    22 JAN

    Syrian Blitzkrieg: How Damascus Crushed the SDF

    In this episode, Aaron Zelin returns to Conflicted to unpack the extraordinary collapse of the Syrian Democratic Forces’ position in northeast Syria over the past week — and what the fallout could mean for Syria’s fragile post-Assad order. Aaron explains: Why the March 2025 framework agreement ultimately failed Why Sunni Arab tribes abandoned the SDF — and how Damascus prepared the ground How and why fighting erupted in Kurdish neighbourhoods of Aleppo The rapid fall of SDF-held areas in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor, and Hasakah What happened at ISIS prisons and detention camps during the collapse Why claims of ‘Kurdish abandonment’ by the United States are misleading The PKK factor — and the risk of a new insurgency or terrorism campaign What Syria’s consolidation means for ISIS, regional stability, and the country’s future Follow Aaron on X: https://x.com/azelin This episode includes BONUS MATERIAL after the credits ONLY for subscribers to the Conflicted Community. 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

    55 min

  6. 20 JAN

    Trump vs USAID: The Rise and Fall of America’s Aid Empire

    On the first anniversary of the dismantling of USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, Thomas and Aimen trace the history of the organisation and ask whether USAID’s collapse represents a failure of liberal internationalism itself, or simply the end of one particular way of organizing American power in the world. They discuss: Trump’s 2025 executive order and the effective end of USAID USAID, anti-communism, and the CIA The Clinton-era debate over whether USAID should survive at all USAID in the War on Terror: Iraq, Afghanistan, and counterinsurgency The Arab Spring and the shift toward NGO-mediated governance Corruption in USAID What the end of USAID tells us about the end of the unipolar era 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 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

    55 min
  7. How Yemen Broke the Saudi-UAE Alliance

    15 JAN

    How Yemen Broke the Saudi-UAE Alliance

    In this episode, Yemeni researcher and political analyst Baraa Shiban (a great friend of the show) tells the thrilling behind-the-scenes story of how different visions for the future of Yemen led long-simmering tensions between the UAE and Saudi Arabia to explode into the open. For further reference, here’s a helpful map of Yemen showing current areas of control: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/info/infographic/49654  Baraa explains: How Saudi Arabia and the UAE entered the war with different goals The role Yemeni political parties and militias played in the conflict Why southern Yemen has never been unified The UAE’s obsessive fight against the Muslim Brotherhood The emergence of parallel security structures and rival centres of power How Saudi Arabia acted as a mediator between rival factions The explosive gains, and rapid reversals, of Yemen’s renegade Southern Transition Council Follow Baraa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baraashiban/ Follow Baraa on X: https://x.com/BShtwtr 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. This episode was produced by Thomas Small and edited by Lizzy Andrews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    1h 25m

  8. 13 JAN

    Crisis in the Gulf: Saudi vs UAE

    A rare public rupture has emerged between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Triggered by a dramatic escalation over Yemen in late December 2025, the dispute has exposed deeper ideological and strategic differences between the two Gulf powers. In this episode, Thomas and Aimen step back from the battlefield to examine the historical roots of Saudi–Emirati rivalry and why Yemen became the arena where these differences finally collided in public. They discuss: The 30 December 2025 Saudi airstrikes and the ultimatum to UAE forces Why Yemen is the arena, not the cause, of the Saudi–UAE dispute Continental vs maritime power in the Arabian Peninsula The British influence on the Emirati state The Buraimi Oasis dispute Tribal allegiance and ‘weird borders’ in Gulf geopolitics Why the UAE tolerates breakaway regions and Saudi Arabia cannot Whether this rupture will be patched up and what happens if it isn’t 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 by Thomas Small and edited by Alan Leer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    52 min
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4.7
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Message Heard
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    172
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    CONFLICTED
  • Provider

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