Tahrir Podcast - بودكاست التحرير

Nadwa Al-Dawsari is a researcher and conflict practitioner with over twenty years of field experience in Yemen where she worked with tribes, civil society, local authorities, security actors, and non-state armed groups. Nadwa is currently a nonresident Scholar with the Middle East Institute and a fellow at the Center on Armed Groups. In episode 36 of Tahrir Podcast, Al-Dawsari joined me from Washington D.C to speak on Yemen‘s Houthis, their ideologies, origins, Iran links, and the Red Sea crisis.

Cameron Hudson is a senior associate at the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). An analyst and consultant on African peace, security, and governance issues, Hudson has held various positions such as Intelligence analyst in the Africa Directorate at the Central Intelligence Agency, Chief of Staff to successive presidential special envoys for Sudan and Director for African affairs on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House during the Bush administration.

In episode 26 of Tahrir Podcast, he joins me from Durham to talk about how the conflict started (Sudan 2023), why ceasefires have been failing, the international dyanmics of the conflict, and how it could be ultimately resolved.

Dr. Aaron Salzberg is a distinguished Holzworth professor in the department of environmental sciences and engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), and is the director of the Water Institute. He was previously the U.S State Department's First Special Coordinator for Water where he led the development and implementation of U.S foreign policy on water and sanitation, water resources management, and transboundary water and conflict. 

In episode 24 of Tahrir Podcast, Dr. Salzberg joined me to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), its implications, uses, harms, and the fight to secure an agreement among Nile basin countries, namely Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

Dr. Zaynab El Bernoussi is an assistant professor of International Politics at Sciences Po Rabat, International University of Rabat. 

El Bernoussi’s most recent publication and first book, “Dignity in the Egyptian Revolution: Protest and Demand During the Arab Uprisings,” (Cambridge University Press 2021) explores the concept of Dignity (or Karama in Arabic) in the context of the Egyptian Revolution (#Jan25). Based on interviews with participants in the 2011 protests and analysis of the art forms that emerged during protests, Zaynab El Bernoussi explores understandings of the concept of dignity, showing how protestors conceived of this concept in their organisation of protest and uprising, and their memories of karama in the aftermath of the protests, revisiting these claims in the years subsequent to the uprising. 

Dr. El Bernoussi’s book: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/dignity-in-the-egyptian-revolution/E66234FA0A694166A7FEC7EF62582A15 

Dr. Erin A. Snider is an assistant professor in the Department of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University.

Farah Darwish is a Syrian student activist, founder, and president of the Lebanese International University (LIU)'s Secular club. Darwish took part in Lebanon's 2019 uprising that lead to --then Prime Minister-- Saad Hariri's resignation. In this episode, Darwish gets into what it felt like protesting the government in Beirut, being Syrian in Lebanon (even though her mother is Lebanese), and what the future holds for the country.

Kate Romashko is an Ukrainian teacher, and Kyiv resident. In this episode of Tahrir podcast, she gets into how the Russian invasion of Ukraine had changed life in Ukraine, as Russian troops close in on Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. 

The episode was recorded on the 26th of February, 2022. 

Kate Romashko's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/romashko_kate/

Kate Romashko's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/romashkokate

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com

Charlotte Streinger is a French blogger and tutor. Joining us from Damascus, Syria, in this episode, Streinger, among many things, talks about how she ended up in Damascus, how sanctions are affecting Syrians as of 2021, and the catastrophe that looms. 

Streinger's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlota_green_/ 

Streinger's Blog: http://carlotagreen.com/

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com

Laura Kasinof was one of the few foreign journalists in Yemen as the Arab Spring started to unfold there. From Yemen, she reported for the New York Times. Kasinof is also the author of "Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen." 

In this episode of Tahrir Podcast, she talks about how she met Nobel peace prize winner Tawakkol Karman, how Abdurrabuh Mansur Hadi--current Yemeni President-- called her so she could hand the phone over to Karman so he could congratulate her, and much more. 

Kasinof's book "Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen."  : https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Afraid-Bullets-Accidental-Correspondent/dp/1628726482 

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com 

Laura Kasinof was one of the few foreign journalists in Yemen as the Arab Spring started to unfold there. From Yemen, she reported for the New York Times. Kasinof is also the author of "Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen." In this episode of Tahrir Podcast, she talks about how she ended up in Yemen, how that was motivated by a conversation she had at a DC party, and why Yemenis aren't afraid of bullets (and RPGs). 

Kasinof's book: https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Afraid-Bullets-Accidental-Correspondent/dp/1628726482  

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com 

Hollie S. McKay is a foreign policy expert and war crimes investigator. McKay has worked on the frontlines of several major warzones and covered humanitarian and diplomatic crises in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Turkey, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Burma, Russia, Africa, Latin America, and other areas. Her most recent work is the Amazon best-seller "Only Cry For the Living: Memos from Inside the ISIS Battlefield," where she offers a raw, chronological construction, through her memos, of the historical impact of ISIS across Iraq and Syria as seen through the eyes of sex slaves, internally displaced people, persecuted minorities, humanitarian workers, religious leaders, military commanders and even the terrorists themselves. McKay joins us from Kabul, Afghanistan.  

Only Cry for the Living: Memos from the ISIS Battlefield book: https://www.amazon.com/Only-Cry-Living-Battlefield-Foreword/dp/1942549636 

Hollie McKay: http://holliemckay.com/  

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com  

A staunch Egyptian communist, Ahmed Nada speaks on the role Egyptian Anarchists and Communists played during the revolution, showcasing the similarities between what happened in 1952, 1956, 1977, 2011, 2015. Nada has been a member of the Egyptian Communist Party for nearly six consecutive years. He had also participated in the Egyptian Revolution, and for the 7 years to follow, had been getting treatment for the PTSD it caused. Did you know Egypt's current PM is a former Communist? Listen to the episode.

The episode is now out on all podcast streaming platforms—YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, etc.

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com

Born and raised in LA, Michael Roque was traveling around in 2011, where he happened to find himself in Egypt as the Arab Spring unfolded. In this episode of the Tahrir Podcast, Roque talks about his experience and how it had impacted and remains to impact him. 

The episode is now out on all podcast streaming platforms—YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, etc.

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com

Ryan Klawitter had visited Egypt in 2010 for a summer program at the American University in Cairo, and two years later decided to pursue his graduate studies, also at the American University in Cairo, during the Arab Spring's unfolding. In this episode, we dive deep into some of the crazy situations he's been in. From why he decided to set foot in Cairo in 2010, to witnessing protests, and eventually being taken in custody for a couple of hours while jokingly taking some pictures for friends and family, to random music gigs at different Cairo coffeeshops. 

The episode is now out on all podcast streaming platforms—YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, etc.

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com

Ameen is a Syrian artist and a student at the Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts. Ameen lives in Damascus, Syria. In this episode, he takes us on a journey into how life in Damascus, Syria, is like in 2021. He also goes into depth about his art, photography, and future projects he's working on. 

Ameen's Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/ameenakaseem/

The episode is now out on all podcast streaming platforms—YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, etc.  

Reach out! TahrirPodcast@gmail.com