
For Episode 159, Dana El Kurd and Elia Ayoub are joined by Ukrainian researcher Yuliia Kishchuk who signed the Ukrainian Letter of Solidarity with Palestinian people published on the Ukrainian journal Commons, a site that both Dana and Elia have also contributed to in the past. In this episode, they argue for Palestinian-Ukrainian solidarity and explore the obstacles preventing it from happening more broadly.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is to:
Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly subscription, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Further Reads:
- “The right to resist.” A feminist manifesto by The Feminist Initiative Group
- Cross-stitches that bind us together: on Ukrainian and Palestinian embroidery by Yuliia Kishchuk
Credits:
- Host(s): Dana El Kurd and Elia J. Ayoub
- Producer: Elia J. Ayoub
- Guest: Yuliia Kishchuk
- Music: Rap and Revenge
- Sound editor: Karena Avedissian
- Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
- Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
- Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng
- TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine
May 3, 2024
47 min

For Episode 158, Elia Ayoub is joined by Lebanese journalist and friend of the pod Justin Salhani to talk about recent calls for and acts of violence by far right Lebanese Christians against Syrian refugees. In addition to giving context with regards to what's happening, they talk about Lebanon as a structurally violent state, one which has always scapegoated refugees, first Palestinians and now Syrians. The consequences of the ongoing calls for violence will be long-reaching and long-lasting, with government officials from multiple parties joining in the scapegoating party. The result has been an increasingly dangerous atmosphere for a population that is already amongst the most vulnerable ones.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is to:
Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly subscription, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Host(s): Elia J. Ayoub
Producer: Elia J. Ayoub
Guest: Justin Salhani
Music: Rap and Revenge
Sound editor: Artin Salimi
Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng
TFTT Transcripts: Antidotezine
Apr 26, 2024
1 hr 2 min

For episode 157, Elia Ayoub sits with Bill Fletcher Jr to talk about why downplaying authoritarianism is so dangerous, whether with regards to the upcoming US elections or even in organising spaces. We spoke about the US, Lebanon, Syria, Zimbabwe and more.
Bill Fletcher Jr is a longtime USA-based labor and social justice activist who has worked for several unions and organizations. Fletcher is the former president of TransAfrica Forum; a Senior Scholar with the Institute for Policy Studies; and in the leadership of several other projects. Fletcher is the co-author (with Peter Agard) of “The Indispensable Ally: Black Workers and the Formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, 1934-1941”; the co-author (with Dr. Fernando Gapasin) of “Solidarity Divided: The crisis in organized labor and a new path toward social justice“; and the author of “‘They’re Bankrupting Us’ – And Twenty other myths about unions.” Fletcher is a syndicated columnist and a regular media commentator on television, radio and the Web.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is to:
Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly subscription, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Host(s): Elia J. Ayoub
Producer(s): Elia J. Ayoub
Guest(s): Bill Fletcher Jr
Music: Rap and Revenge
Sound editor(s): Elia J. Ayoub
Episode designer(s): Elia J. Ayoub
Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng
Apr 19, 2024
1 hr 22 min

In this special collab episode between Obscuristan and The Fire These Times, Karena Avedissian and Anna are joined by Daniel Voskoboynik to discuss the life of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and what his death means for those of us not quite at the heart of the Russian empire. Plus, Anna and Karena announce that they're joining the wider TFTT collective!
Obscuristan is available wherever you listen to podcasts. About:
Join political scientist Karena and total civilian Anna on a trip to Obscuristan. Each week, Karena and Anna dive into a truly bizarre story from Eurasia in its full political, social, and imperialist context. Join us, and you’ll find out why Obscuristan isn’t so strange at all when you consider the sh*t it’s been through.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is to:
Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly subscription, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Hosts: Karena Avedissian and Anna
Producer: Anna
Guest: Daniel Voskoboynik
Music: Sarven Yapar
Sound editor: Anna
Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
Mar 22, 2024
1 hr 9 min

This is a compilation of 4 episodes of our new podcast Politically Depressed, created by writer and organizer Ayman Makarem. These are episodes 9-12 compiled into one long episode (with time codes below).
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider following and rating it on whatever app you use to listen to your podcasts (It really makes a huge difference to our visibility.)
Time codes:
00:00 - Episode 9: This Fire Will Consume You Too
20:20 - Episode 10: Do Protests Work?
41:45 - Episode 11: I Caught a Zionist Infiltrator at a Palestine Solidarity Protest
59:00 - Episode 12: Community of Grief w/ Lina Mounzer
The best way to support Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times is through Patreon.com/firethesetimes.
The other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times.
Mar 16, 2024
1 hr 44 min

155/ The '82 Israeli Siege of Beirut: Similarities and Differences with Gaza Today w/ Justin Salhani
For episode 155, Ayman sits with Beirut-based journalist and friend of the show, Justin Salhani, to talk about his recent essay for Al-Jazeera. Expanding on the essay, the two talk about parallels between the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and siege of Beirut and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. As two children of survivors of the '82 siege, their conversation moves between political/military analysis and discussions of memory and narratives as tools of agency.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is to:
Become a member of our Patreon at Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly subscription, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Hosts: Ayman Makarem
Producer: Ayman Makarem
Guest: Justin Salhani
Music: Rap and Revenge
Sound editor: Ayman Makarem
Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng
Mar 8, 2024
1 hr 5 min

For episode 154, French-Moroccan-Amazigh analyst Sahar Amarir joins Elia J. Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami to talk about her piece "Imperialist is Multiple, so Should be Our Solidarities: on the Need for Post-Post-Colonialism" published in The Funambulist.
The best way to support The Fire These Times is:
Through Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Hosts: Elia J. Ayoub and Leila Al-Shami
Producer: Elia J. Ayoub
Guest: Margaret Killjoy
Music: Rap and Revenge
Sound editor: Artin Salimi
Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Team profile pics: Molly Crabapple
Original TFTT design: Wenyi Geng
Mar 1, 2024
1 hr 22 min

For episode 153, anarchist writer, musician and podcaster Margaret Killjoy joins Elia J. Ayoub and Aydın Yıldız to talk about the very easy topic of apocalypse. What does that even mean? And how do we deal with that without falling into complete despair? Many of y'all know that one of the taglines of this pod is building the new in the shell of the old, right? Well, this is about that. Sort of. It's mainly about staying sane and healthy and as hopeful as possible long enough to even want to build the new in the shell of the old.
Margaret Killjoy, in our view, is one of the best minds on this difficult subject, and we think you'll agree.
Transcript:
This episode's transcript is available on the website. If you'd like to help make The Fire These Times more accessible you can help out with transcriptions by reaching out to Antidote Zine, the collective with whom we are working on transcripts.
Show notes:
Penumbra City, the new ttrpg by Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness
Margaret's two pods: Live Like the World is Dying and Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff
Margaret's essay for Slingshot Collective that's behind this episode's title as well as one of her podcasts
Margaret's essay Don't Let Nazis Have Nice Things republished by Antidote Zine
The best way to support The Fire These Times is:
Through Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Hosts: Elia J. Ayoub and Aydın Yıldız
Producer: Elia J. Ayoub
Guest: Margaret Killjoy
Music: Rap and Revenge
Sound editor: Elia J. Ayoub
Episode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Feb 23, 2024
1 hr 25 min

For episode 152, Dana El Kurd hosts Geoffrey Levin to talk about his book "Our Palestine Question: Israel and American Jewish Dissent, 1948-1978". Levin is assistant professor of Middle Eastern and Jewish Studies at Emory University and the Director of Undergraduate Engagement at Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies.
Our Palestine Question is a new history of the American Jewish relationship with Israel focused on its most urgent and sensitive issue: the question of Palestinian rights. Given the ongoing genocide launched by the Israeli state on the Palestinians of Gaza, this book couldn't be more timely.
Show notes:
Fida Jiryis - Stranger in My Own Land: Palestine, Israel and One Family's Story of Home
Ezra Klein - https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/opinion/netanyahu-biden-israel-gaza.html
David Klion - https://www.nybooks.com/online/2024/01/28/the-exile-of-the-american-jewish-left/
The threshold of dissent - https://nyupress.org/9781479829316/the-threshold-of-dissent
Necessity of Exile (Shaul Magid’s book) - https://mitpressbookstore.mit.edu/book/9798986780313
The best way to support The Fire These Times is:
Through Patreon.com/firethesetimes. With a monthly or yearly donation, you get perks including early access, exclusive videos, monthly hangouts, access to the video and book clubs, merch and more.
Leave a review wherever you listen to podcasts. This allows us to show up on these platforms in the first place.
Tell your friends and enemies about it.
Episode Credits:
Host: Dana El KurdProducer: Elia J. AyoubGuest: Geoffrey LevinMusic: Rap and RevengeSound editor: Elia J. AyoubEpisode designer: Elia J. Ayoub
Feb 16, 2024
49 min

This is a compilation of 4 episodes of our new podcast Politically Depressed, a weekly podcast by Lebanese writer and organizer Ayman Makarem.
These are episodes 5-8 compiled into one long episode (with time codes below).
If you enjoy this podcast, please consider following and rating it on whatever app you use to listen to your podcasts!
Time codes:
00:00 - Episode 5: Sounds of Silence
22:00 - Episode 6: White People Cannot Stop Fascism (Alone)
48:30 - Episode 7: Life on Pause
1:12:20 - Episode 8: Treat Us As Though We're Mourning
The best way to support Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times is through Patreon.com/firethesetimes.
The other best way is to leave a review about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times wherever you listen to podcasts. Please do this if you haven't already. It makes a huge difference to our visibility.
And the other other best way is to tell your friends and enemies about Politically Depressed and The Fire These Times.
Feb 9, 2024
1 hr 34 min
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