Saint Martin's Cloak

Andrew Loftesnes and Miloš Maggiore
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Politics

Welcome to the Saint Martin’s Cloak podcast! Our mission is to shed light on humanitarian issues around the world in a way that will inform listeners of the ground truth, while always centering the human stories and voices of individuals and populations in focus. Our focus is on humans, not statistics. Over the course of this series, we will be speaking to humanitarian workers on the ground, as well as the people directly affected by the crisis at hand. We want to look beyond what is (or often isn’t) represented in the media and to remind ourselves of the human story behind the headlines. The purpose of knowledge is to inform action. At the end of each episode, we will always ask our participants to provide listeners with actionable steps they can take to help. We are already actively planning on episodes concerning Sudan, Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, and immigration in the United States among many others. If we haven’t covered a topic yet, it’s because we are searching for the right voice from that community to tell us that story. If you have any suggestions about topics to cover or people to talk to, please send us a DM here or an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com Wishing you courage and health, Andrew and Miloš

  1. 4d ago

    SMC - Ep. 23 - Dr. Suad Musa - Sudan - Darfur - El-Fasher - Sudanese Women in Civil Society

    Links to take direct action and support Sudanese aid workers are below. Check out a summary of the life saving work you can help Dr. Musa support at 1:05:19 The world is not talking about Sudan enough. At Saint Martin’s Cloak we are committed to changing that while informing listeners of how you can help save lives in Sudan - right now. In today’s episode we spoke with Dr. Suad Musa, an author, academic and humanitarian from the Darfur region of Sudan, specifically the city of El-Fasher. We about how food is used as a weapon of war in Sudan, the impact of the war on Sudanese women and girls, the impact of the war in Sudan on global stability, how Sudanese artists practice resistance, the strength of Sudanese communities and culture, and much more. If you don’t mind, take a moment to leave a review for the show on your app and share the episode. It really helps! Give us a follow @saintmartinscloak_pod Directly support Dr. Musa’s fundraiser - here About the fundraiser - “Please consider donating to the  Gender Centre for Peacebuilding & Justice. This justice includes protecting women from death at the hands of deadly war machines, from violence, sexual trafficking, and violations of their human rights and the rights of their children. It also includes protecting them from deprivation of healthcare, hunger, thirst, poverty, displacement, psychological trauma, and social isolation.” Buy Dr. Musa’s book Hawks and Doves in Sudan’s Armed Conflict - here Donate to Mutual Aid Sudan - here Donate to Khartoum Aid Kitchen - here Check out our documentary Voices from Lebanon - here For content related to peace building, conflict mediation and Kuchipudi classical dance, follow @qadamkp here

  2. Jul 9

    SMC - Ep. 22 - Emergency Response Sudan - el Obeid

    What is happening in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid? What can we do to help? In this emergency episode, we give a quick overview of the rapidly deteriorating situation in el-Obeid and the dangers of what may happen next. As the UN and NGOs warn of a repeat of the El-Fasher massacre last year, it is imperative that we continue to spread the word as much as we can. Are you currently working in Sudan and/or in assistance of Sudanese people impacted by the situation we discussed? Reach out to us at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com or send us a DM on instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod. We’d love to have you on the show and share your stories directly. Read the Lemkin institute’s report on genocide in Sudan here  Further reading on the situation in el-Obeid here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/7/why-el-obeid-matters-as-sudans-war-enters-a-new-phase Support the Mutual Aid Sudan coalition: https://www.mutualaidsudan.org/ Support Khartoum Aid Kitchen:  https://www.khartoumaidkitchen.org/ … and consider checking out our previous episodes on Sudan! Stay strong, stay safe, and stay brave, Miloš and Andrew

  3. Jul 1

    SMC - Ep. 21 - Emergency Response Venezuela - Earthquake Relief - NGO Fundacoven - Landis Rojas

    This is an emergency response episode to support grassroots humanitarian aid efforts in Venezuela after devasting 7.2 and 7.5 back to back earthquakes. Landis Rojas is originally from Caracas, and is currently based in the United States. supporting the efforts of the Venezuelan NGO Fundacoven. Landis is helping Fundacoven with logistics, fundraising, and English language communication efforts. He has recorded a message in both English and Spanish that Lan provides updates in both English and Spanish about the situation on the ground in Venezuela. To directly support earthquake response efforts in Venezuela, click here https://gofund.me/2ff949df0 Follow the Venezuelan NGO on Instagram @fundacoven To reach out to the Saint Martin’s Cloak Podcast, follow and DM us on Instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod or email us at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com To read recent Reuters and New York Times articles citing the figures referenced in this episode, click here and here

  4. Jun 27

    SMC - Ep. 20 - Imane Assaf - Ceasefire in Lebanon? - Ahla Fawda - Part 2

    This is the human story behind the headlines in Lebanon. We are honored to speak once again with our friend Imane Assaf, co-founder and president of the Lebanese NGO Ahla Fawda. This is a special episode, as this interview takes place following our recent trip to Beirut, where we met a number of the Ahla Fawda volunteers and saw their work up close. We hear from Imane about what the last four months of war have been like in Lebanon, the current situation on the ground, the spirit and culture of southern Lebanon, and much more. To support Ahla Fawda’s grassroots humanitarian aid efforts in Lebanon, click here or visit -  https://gogetfunding.com/ahla-fawdas-lebanon-war-relief-mission-2026/ To reach out to Ahla Fawda directly, click here or visit -  https://ahlafawda.org/ To reach out to the Saint Martin’s Cloak Podcast, follow and DM us on Instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod or email us at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com

  5. Jun 20

    SMC - Ep. 19 - Return to Beirut - Lebanon

    In this episode we discuss Andrew's recent trip to Beirut. We get a close up look at the humanitarian aid response to the ongoing war, being led by Imane Assaf and the volunteers with the NGO Ahla Fawda. We also provide an update on some projects that we are working on as a result of that trip, to continue supporting our friends in Lebanon. Stay strong, stay safe, and stay brave,  Andrew and Miloš To support Ahla Fawda’s grassroots humanitarian aid efforts in Lebanon, click here or visit -  https://gogetfunding.com/ahla-fawdas-lebanon-war-relief-mission-2026/ To reach out to Ahla Fawda directly, click here or visit -  https://ahlafawda.org/ Drop us an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com or give us a follow on Instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod

  6. Jun 16

    SMC - Ep. 18 - Armenia - Maggie Arutyunyan & Gevorg Vardanyan - CFTJ - Uncovering War Crimes

    This is a conversation about the Armenian people, justice, and the preservation of the truth. We are honored to speak with Gevorg Vardanyan and Maggie Arutyunyan, two lawyers with the Center for Truth and Justice, or CFTJ. Their mission? To document and collect witness testimony for evidence of war crimes committed by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, more commonly known as Nagorno-Karabakh. Set up in 2020 in response to the 44 Day War between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the team at CFTJ have made it their goal to hold the perpetrators of these atrocities to account. Maggie and Gevorg share powerful stories about their personal experiences from the war, their motivations on working with CFTJ, the atrocities they've documented as part of their work, and the strength of the Armenian people. We also discuss the process of documenting war crimes and presenting them to international tribunals and governments in order to ensure that the world does not forget what has happened in Armenia, and much more. Stay strong, stay safe, and stay brave,  Andrew and Miloš To learn more about the work of the CFTJ in Armenia, check out their website here To directly support the CFTJ in their pursuit of justice, check out their donation page here Drop us an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com or give us a follow on Instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod

  7. Jun 5

    SMC - Ep. 17 - Mohanad El-Balal - Khartoum Aid Kitchen - Sudan - June 3, 2026

    The world is not talking about Sudan enough. At Saint Martin’s Cloak we are committed to changing that. We spoke with Mohanad El-Balal, the co-founder of Khartoum Aid Kitchen about the realities that the Sudanese people are enduring amid the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, how the Sudanese led efforts and volunteers of Khartoum Aid Kitchen are saving lives on the ground on a daily basis, the history of UAE support to the RSF militia in Sudan, Colombian mercenaries, the impact of foreign aid cuts, misconceptions of Sudan in the media, how the international community has failed Sudan, the human stories behind the headlines, and much more. If you are involved with humanitarian aid that the world needs to know about, we want to hear from you. Drop us an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com or follow us on Instagram at saintmartinscloak_pod Stay strong, stay safe, and stay brave,  Andrew and Miloš To donate to Khartoum Aid Kitchen’s life saving efforts, click here To follow and get in touch with Khartoum Aid Kitchen -  Khartoum Aid Kitchen websiteKhartoum Aid Kitchen Twitter Mohanad ElBalal personal TwitterReports on genocide, war crimes, and foreign involvement in Sudan - Limkin Institute Active Genocide Alert in Sudan Refugees International report on UAE enabling of RSF genocide in Sudan  Antony Blinken declaration of RSF genocide in Sudan UN report on RSF genocide in al-Fasher Conflict Insights Group (CGI) report on Colombian mercenaries presence in al-Fasher BBC article on UAE recruitment of Colombian mercenaries

  8. May 22

    SMC - Ep. 16 - Jessie Ebersole - Washington English Center - American Immigration Series (Part 1)

    America is a nation of immigrants and so we’re proud to be kicking off our American immigration series - to provide actionable ways you can help immigrants in America right now. In today’s episode, we’re speaking with Jessie Ebersole, who is the Director of Programs at the Washington English Center. The mission of the Washington English Center is “To provide affordable English-language instruction and workforce programs to adult immigrants using volunteers.” We hear from Jessie about her personal motivations to teach English language classes to immigrants and refugees, how language instruction can change someone's life, the importance of community, the personal stories of some of the students she’s worked with, how the Washington English Center is making a real impact in people's lives, and much more.  To reach out to the Washington English Center and register to volunteer, sign up for classes, and support their mission, click here www.washingtonenglish.org To reach out to Jessie directly to learn how you can support the Washington English Center, email her at - jebersole@washingtonenglish.org  Drop us an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com or give us a follow on Instagram @saintmartinscloak_pod Stay strong, stay safe, and stay brave, Andrew and Miloš

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About

Welcome to the Saint Martin’s Cloak podcast! Our mission is to shed light on humanitarian issues around the world in a way that will inform listeners of the ground truth, while always centering the human stories and voices of individuals and populations in focus. Our focus is on humans, not statistics. Over the course of this series, we will be speaking to humanitarian workers on the ground, as well as the people directly affected by the crisis at hand. We want to look beyond what is (or often isn’t) represented in the media and to remind ourselves of the human story behind the headlines. The purpose of knowledge is to inform action. At the end of each episode, we will always ask our participants to provide listeners with actionable steps they can take to help. We are already actively planning on episodes concerning Sudan, Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, and immigration in the United States among many others. If we haven’t covered a topic yet, it’s because we are searching for the right voice from that community to tell us that story. If you have any suggestions about topics to cover or people to talk to, please send us a DM here or an email at saintmartinscloak@protonmail.com Wishing you courage and health, Andrew and Miloš

Information

  • Creator
    Andrew Loftesnes and Miloš Maggiore
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    24
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Andrew Loftesnes and Miloš Maggiore
  • Show Website
    Saint Martin's Cloak