The New Arab Voice

The New Arab Voice is back!For our fifth season, we're starting with a look at the recent upheaval witnessed in US-Saudi relations. Saudi Arabia sparked the ire of the US earlier in October, when it was announced that OPEC+ would be cutting oil production by 2 million barrels a day. Such a move is sure to keep prices at the pumps high, and threaten the electoral chances of Democratic candidates at the upcoming midterm elections. In Washington there is also concern that the decision signals a Saudi shift towards Russia, and that any increase in the price of oil, could aid the invading nation with their war in Ukraine. Why have OPEC+ opted to cut productions? What does Saudi Arabia have to gain? Why is the US so angered by the production cut? Can Saudi Arabia really survive without US support?On this week's episode, we speak with Imad K. Harb (@harb3imad), the Director of Research and Analysis at Arab Center Washington DC (@ArabCenterWDC), and Joanne Held Cummings (@PoJoCummings), Distinguished Senior Fellow on National Security at the Middle East Institute (@MiddleEastInst) and a retired Foreign Service Officer from the US Department of State.This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge. Theme music by Omar al-Fil. Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini has sparked mass protests across Iran. In at least 86 towns and cities, people - from different classes, backgrounds, and genders - have taken to the streets. Demands for accountability after Mahsa’s brutal death, which occurred while she was in the custody of the so-called morality police, have morphed into a wider challenge to the Iranian state. Despite the use of disproportionate force and live ammunition by authorities, the protesters are not backing down - risking their lives for the hope of a better future. This week on The New Arab Voice looks at Mahsa's brutal killing and why this has struck a chord with thousands of Iranians. Is this Iran’s tipping point? Can the Islamic Republic ever go back to the way it was? This episode features Sussan Tahmasebi (@sussantweets), director of FEMENA, an organisation which supports women’s organisations in the MENA region; Sanam Naraghi Anderlini MBE (@sanambna), Founder and CEO of International Civil Action Network ICAN and Hadi Ghaemi (@hadighaemi), executive director of the Centre for Human Rights in Iran. This podcast is written and produced by Rosie McCabe with help from Hugo Goodridge. Theme music by Omar al-Fil. Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, the Palestinian group Hamas announced that they would reconcile with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.The announcement marks a change in the policy of the Palestinian group, who in 2012 offered support to the Syrian rebels that were seeking to throw Assad from office. Since then, Assad has re-established, with Russian and Iranian help, some sort of control over Syria, and secured his future. To reach this point, approximately half a million Syrian died, and tens of thousands were thrown in the regime prisons. The recent announcement by Hamas, followed similar moves by Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on the Syrian opposition to normalise with the Assad regime, sparking anger and consternation among Syrian groups in the north of the country. This week on The New Arab Voice we asking why are the likes of Hamas and Turkey moving back to Syria and what does this mean for the revolution and those that continue to struggle for a life free from cruel and barbaric control.We're also looking at a different form of normalisation: the travel bloggers have secured Syrian regime sponsored visas, and have produced videos that are normalising the idea of a Syria ruled over by the brutal Assad regime. On this episode, we speak with Joseph Daher (@JosephDaher19), academic and researcher at the European University Institute (@EUI_EU) and the author of Syria After the Uprisings: The Political Economy of State Resilience; and with Ayman Abdel Nour (@aabnour) the founder of the Syrian Christians’ Initiative for Rights and Dialogue.This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge. Theme music by Omar al-Fil. Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, Google workers took to the streets to protest against their own company. In New York City, San Francisco, Durham, and Seattle they protested against Google, the tech giant's collaboration with Israel, and Project Nimbus. Project Nimbus is part of $1.2 billion contract between Israel, Amazon, and Google, to provide cloud computing services to the Israeli government, and it's feared that with this technology, Israel's intense surveillance and persecution of the Palestinian people will be rapidly increased and expanded. The San Francisco protest last week was led by Ariel Koren. Ariel is a former worker at Google and left the company in August, after publicly speaking out against Project Nimbus. Ariel maintains that she was forced from her job by Google, because of her activism.This week on The New Arab Voice, we speak with Ariel Koren (@ariel_koko) about her experience at Google and her efforts to raise the alarm about Project Nimbus. We also spoke with Nadim Nashif (@NadimNashif), the founder and director of Palestinian NGO 7amleh (@7amleh) about the digital weapons being used by Israel against Palestinians. This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge. Theme music by Omar al-Fil. 4Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a long selection process, Liz Truss was chosen by members of the UK Conservative Party to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the party and Prime Minister. The new Prime Minister will have a heavy workload, and a raft of urgent decision that need to be made.Truss will also have to decide how her new government approaches and engages with the Middle East and North Africa.On this week's episode of The New Arab Voice, we explore the UK's relationship and engagement with the Middle East. Has the UK ever had a positive impact in the region? Who are the UK allies? Does the UK need the Middle East to ensure national prosperity? What are the UK's priorities in the region?To help us, we were joined by Christopher Phillips (@cjophillips), Professor of International Relations at Queen Mary University of London (@QMUL), and one of the editors of What Next for Britain in the Middle East?This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge. Theme music by Omar al-Fil. Other music by Blue Dot Sessions. To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TheNewArabVoice or email [email protected]. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.