Kalam

Molly Crabapple is an artist and author from New York. She’s the author of the forthcoming book "Here Where We Live is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund". The Bund was a secular, progressive Jewish labour movement that existed in the first half of the 20th century in eastern and central Europe. The Bund, simply meaning organisation in Yiddish, was exactly the opposite of Zionism. They promoted the idea of hereness, which is to say that they did not need to go oppress Palestinians in a far off land to gain their freedom: They would stay and fight and liberate themselves. In the end, of course, the movement was destroyed by Hitler and Stalin. But today the movement serves as a powerful and important counterweight to the traditional Zionist narrative. Jews were not weak! They did not go like lamb to the slaughter! They fought back, and did everything they could to preserve Jewish dignity, Jewish life and Jewish progress, and their memory lives on. To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

Sam and Edgar give you an update on the latest developments in the Iran War. The killing of Ali Larijani – amazingly a scholar of Immanuel Kant – could blow up in Israel's face as a more hardline figure may replace him. We also detail how Syria and Iraq are faring in the midst of this war. To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

"El Sett" is the new Egyptian biopic about the great Arab diva, Umm Kulthum. After an exclusive screening of the film in Stockholm, Edgar invited Egyptian curator, Mariam Elnozahy, and Egyptian multidisciplinary artist, Amr Hamid, for a conversation about the film, reactions to it in Egypt and about the icon Umm Kulthum herself. To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

The US' lack of exit strategy from Iran becomes apparent as oil prices soar and Trump vacillates between talking about an "excursion" which will be "wrapped up very soon" and threatening to make it impossible "to recover that section of the world". To solve the problem of oil the US would have to take control of the Strait of Hormuz, but will that be possible without boots on the ground? Trump seems to think so but Sam and Edgar are sceptical. Also on this episode: –Israel renews blockade of Gaza as genocide continues. –Heavy fighting in Lebanon amid looming government collapse. –Tenuous calm in Syria as the US hands over control of army bases in the north-east to Damascus government and Assad-loyalists continue attacks in Latakia.To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

Rami Khouri is a Palestinian-American author and analyst and a Distinguished Public Fellow at the American University of Beirut. In today's episode, Edgar speaks with Rami about the US-Israeli war on Iran, why they're waging it and what it could mean for the region at large. To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

Once again the unprecedented has occurred as the US and Israel strike Iran, sparking the closest we've come to an all-out regional war since October 7. The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamanei, has been killed in an airstrike. Iran is retaliating with unprecedented force, against Israel and various Gulf Arab countries.More than 500 Iranians have been killed, a dozen or so Israelis and less than ten Americans and Gulf residents. To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

We are joined today by award-winning Iranian author Sahar Delijani. Sahar was born in the notorious Evin prison. A prison in Iran which has become synonymous with political oppression. Her debut novel, Children of the Jacaranda Tree, is partially inspired by her own family history, and recounts one of the bloodiest and most repressive phases of Iranian history: the mass executions in 1988. The most recent wave of protests in Iran last month were met with violent repression not seen since the days of 1988. Thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of Iranians have been killed by the Islamic Republic regime. In recent days, protests have resurfaced and there is once again rumours of possible American military intervention. Sahar was kind enough to speak to us, I interviewed her last week, about the nature of the protests, what it means that the US and Israel support them, and why so many Iranians support the seemingly incompetent son of a king who hasn’t been to the country in decades?To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/

The latest wave of protests in Iran shook the country to the core. Clearly, the Islamic Republic regime felt squeezed to the point of using excessive violence. Many thousands have likely lost their lives, with exact estimations varying greatly. The Middle Eastern expert and analyst, Rouzbeh Parsi, joins Edgar for a conversation about the background to this cycle of protests in Iran, about what makes it different but also what similarities it has with previous waves.To listen to the episode ad-free subscribe to our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/kalampodcastFollow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kalampodcast/