Music has long been central to Palestinian culture in general and specifically to the culture of resistance. Reem Talhami is a Palestinian actress and singer who gained recognition for her singing during the First Intifada in the late 1980's. Today, she continues to sing and act, despite the situation for Palestinians deteriorating rapidly. During our conversation we speak about Palestinian folklore and political expressions of music – as well as what has been lost in today's generation. You can...
Jan 14, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Minor military operations are still ongoing in Syria as HTS attempts to root out Assad loyalists in the city of Homs. In Gaza the genocide is ongoing, and Israel has forcibly disappeared doctor Hossam Abu Safiya, Director of the Kamal Adwan Medical Complex. Trump has promised to unleash hell in Gaza if hostages are not released – this comes just over a week before his inauguration on January 20. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to support the show, there is an excellent way to do so - by sign...
Jan 09, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 80
In the fourth instalment of Munadama, where the team behind Kalam "shoot the shit over alcoholic beverages", Sam, Nora, Edgar and Arthur discuss everything from Arabic grammar to dive bars in Damascus. These episodes are usually exclusively available for our Patreon subscribers, but in the (belated) spirit of the holidays we're unlocking this episode for all our listeners. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to support the show, there is an excellent way to do so - by signing up to our Patreon. ...
Jan 07, 2025•55 min•Season 1Ep. 79
The Syrian writer and political theorist, Yassin al-Haj Saleh, has lived a remarkable life. As a student activist affiliated with one of Syria's communist parties, Yassin spent 16 years in Hafez al Assad's prisons. Then, shortly after the revolution of 2011, Yassin's wife, Samira Khalil, was abucted by the Islamist militia Jaysh al Islam. Samira was also an activist and hasn't been heard from in over ten years. Yassin was kind enough to speak to us about the fate of his wife and the others abduc...
Jan 05, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Why are Palestinians among the most educated populations in the world? Many people cite community education initiatives that came out of the non-violent resistance movement in the late 80's, the First Intifada. One such organisation is Tamer Institute and earlier this year we had the pleasure of speaking to the General Director of Tamer, Renad Qubbaj. In 2023, Tamer Institute won the prestigious Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) for children and young peoples' literature. This episode, along...
Dec 19, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 77
The Palestinian Authority is cracking down on non-state militias in Jenin on the occupied West Bank – find out why Fatah is fighting Fatah. Israel is making incursions into Syria and bombing its weapons arsenal to bits – why is it doing this, and what does it mean? Finally, the Kurdish-controlled area in northeastern Syria is coming into question. Raqqa, for example, is a majority sunni Arab city under Kurdish control. How will this be resolved in a new Syria? If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want...
Dec 18, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 76
The Islamist militia HTS (Hay't Tahrir al-Sham≈Committee for the Liberation of Syria) has toppled the dictatorial Assad regime. Its leader, 42-year-old Ahmed al-Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, started his career under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS. This extremist jihadist background is worrisome, but al-Julani has proven to be a pragmatist. How far will this pragmatism go, however? Orwa Ajjoub, a PhD candidate at Malmö University, where h...
Dec 16, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 75
When Bashar al Assad’s government fell just a couple of days ago, after a two week whirlwind campaign by opposition forces which surprised the entire world, it signalled the end of more than 54 years of rule by the Assad family and it’s the so called Ba’th-party. While it has been no secret that Syria under Assad was a repressive and violent state, the images and stories of the prisoners released after decades in it’s notorious Sednaya prison as have raised awareness global to the plight of the ...
Dec 12, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 74
It's official, at least if you ask the world's leading human rights organisation, Amnesty International: Israel is guilty of committing the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. In today's episode the Secretary General of Amnesty International herself, Agnes Callamard, walks us through the organisation's damning report on the genocide in Gaza. We know there’s a lot going on in Syria right now, and we are working on bringing you a special series on the developing situation the...
Dec 10, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 73
The regime of Bashar al Assad has fallen and Syrians around the world are celebrating. So what happens now? Anything is possible in such times, and we must hope for the best for the people of Syria who so desperately deserve freedom, dignity and the right to choose their government. In today's episode we look at what recent events mean for regional and global players like Turkey, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the US and Iran as well as what the group who has taken over Syria says it wants to do ...
Dec 09, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 72
The Syrian conflict has reignited as opposition forces under the leadership of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) broke out of Idlib, capturing key cities like Aleppo, Hama and finally Damascus, with minimal resistance. What does the apparent fall of the Assad Family's half-century hold on power mean for the country? In today's episode, Nora Adin Fares interviews Dr. Neil Quilliam, an analyst and associate fellow at Chatham House as we dive deeper into what this means for the Syrian people. Are they we...
Dec 08, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 71
The ripple effects of Israel's wars in the Middle East are spinning out of control. Just last week, the Islamist Syrian rebel group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) retook the city of Aleppo, the second-largest city in Syria. How did they manage to do so, and how does the severe weakening of Hezbollah play into it? Will this spell the end of Bashar al Assad's regime? In other news we speak about the fragile ceasefire in Lebanon and the on-going killing of Gaza. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to ...
Dec 03, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 70
In the second part of this miniseries Samuel and Edgar discuss the development of the Likud Party since its landslide victory in 1977. What demographic and political shifts cause its rise to dominance. How did the party of Benjamin Netanyahu come to dominate Israeli politics as massively as it has done for the last couple of decades? How did it achieve this position, who are its voters and support today, and how does its future look? This is a teaser. To listen to the full episode: join us on pa...
Nov 30, 2024•46 sec•Season 1Ep. 69
A lot has happened since our last news summary on Kalam Podcast. The ICC has officially issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant and as of today, a ceasefire deal has taken effect in Lebanon. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to support the show, there is an excellent way to do so - by signing up to our Patreon. For just $3 a month you'll gain access to full length interviews with all our guests and lots of bonus material - including our series Kalam Shorts: 10-15 expla...
Nov 27, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Palestinian theatre has been around for thousands of years through the tradition of the Hakawati , the storyteller. In modern times, the Palestinian theatre has inevitably served as an liberatory artistic platform. Palestinian theatre cannot be separated from the Palestinian struggle more generally. But as today’s guest, Iman Aoun argues, there’s a more universal dimension to this: Palestinian theatre serves not only to liberate Palestine but all of humanity, from the evils of colonialism, oppre...
Nov 24, 2024•35 min•Season 1Ep. 67
This episode is in Arabic! Sorry to all our non-Arabic speakers. You can watch the full episode with English subtitles on Youtube . Is there such thing as Palestinian cinema? And what has the genoc!de in Gaza meant for film in the strip? Ola Salama, herself from Gaza, is the Executive Director of Film Lab Palestine, an organisation aimed at revitalising the culture of films in Palestine, liberating it from the grasp of conventional European filmmaking industries and Hollywood. In this episode, O...
Nov 10, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 66
What will a Trump presidency mean for the war in Gaza and Lebanon and for the Middle East more broadly? Probably complete disaster, but still worth a discussion. Sam and Edgar spend the lion's part of the 14th installment of Kalam Digest speaking about Trump's stunning and decisive victory. As well as the crucial Arab vote which mostly sided with the man who last time around implemented the "Muslim Ban". We also mention the firing of former Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant. What does this ...
Nov 06, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Unbelievably, the destruction and killing of Gaza continues and is, in fact, escalating. Israel's relentless and genocidal war seems to know no bounds. In this week's news summary, Sam, Edgar and Nora speak about the impending doom that is the US elections. Muslims for Trump and floating piles of garbage aka Rudy Giuliani. The political opposition in Israel, Yair Lapid of the party Yesh Atid, admits to higher casualty figures than has been previously reported. Lapid also chastised Netanyahu for ...
Nov 02, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 64
What are the politics of Palestine, who can take over a Palestinian state when it is conceived? Aboud Hamayel, also known under his pen name Abdaljawad Omar is a writer and theorist and a Lecturer of Philosophy at Bir Zeit University on the Occupied West Bank. Abdaljawad gives us a detailed outline of the history of different political currents in Palestine. Interestingly, he does not give as much credence to the idea of an Islamist-secular split as other scholars of this field. This episode was...
Oct 31, 2024•27 min•Season 1Ep. 63
In this the first part of a miniseries Samuel and Edgar discuss the origins of Likud Party. For the last 30 years the Likud has dominated Israeli politics, and thus set the tone for the international politics of the region, not to mention the question of Palestine. Today it is an ultra-conservative party with neoliberal economics, bent on making the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories permanent, but what are the roots of the Likud Party? What leading figures shaped its policy, and ...
Oct 28, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Once again we are delighted to have Lebanese political analyst and researcher Ralph Baydoun on the show. Ralph joins us live from Beirut, a city under constant Israeli bombardment. In today's episode Ralph and Edgar speak about Israel's plan to redraw the map of the Middle East, and how this can have unintended consequences as other powerful actors in the region attempt to take advantage – namely Erdogan's Turkey. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to support the show, there is an excellent way...
Oct 27, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 61
The attack in the Turkish capital, Ankarra, considered by Turkish authorities to be a terrorist attack, seems to have been carried out by Kurdish militants affiliated with PKK. This has led to Turkey striking Kurdish positions in Syria and Iraq. At the same time, Israel is attempting to redraw the map of the Middle East - something Turkey wants to benefit from, many analysts believe. The war in Lebanon and Gaza is intensifying, Sam and Edgar look at a remarkable piece of journalism, where CNN in...
Oct 24, 2024•19 min•Season 1Ep. 60
There are 18 recognised religious "sects" in Lebanon, including various Christian denominations, Shia and Sunni Muslims, the Druze and Jews. Sects in this context does not refer to a kind of cult but rather different religious groupings. How did the Lebanese republic organise itself and how did the sectarian system contribute to the bloody civil wars fought in the mid to late 20th century? Find out in part two of a two-part series for Kalam Shorts about sectarianism in Lebanon, available exclusi...
Oct 16, 2024•2 min•Season 1Ep. 59
This week we saw harrowing images of Gazans literally burning alive when Israel struck a makeshift hospital in Northern Gaza. One person was in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV when the flames engulfed and ultimately killed him. Why are we seeing this brutal escalation, and how is this affecting the front in Lebanon? Israel demanded that the UN peacekeeping troops in Lebanon be removed "from harms way", after several UN soldiers were injured as a result of Israeli fire. This request was denied ...
Oct 15, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 58
The United Nations estimates that 800,000 of bombed-out debris in Gaza may be contaminated with the toxic mineral asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral that poses little threat to humans when undisturbed, but is highly carcinogenic - that is, it leads to severe forms of cancer, mainly in the lungs - when it is released into the atmosphere and inhaled by humans. In today's programme Edgar speaks with Nora about this terrifying piece of news and what it could mean for the future of Gaza's population, al...
Oct 11, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 57
It's been a year since Hamas launched its attack on October 7, 2023 prompting Israel to commence what a growing number of legal scholars consider to be a genocide. In today's episode, Edgar and Sam discuss the failure of Israel's war on Gaza since Hamas managed to launch rockets at Tel Aviv on the literal one year anniversary. We also discuss the latest developments in the Lebanese front and the impending sense of doom we all are feeling. If you enjoy Kalam Podcast and want to support the show, ...
Oct 10, 2024•18 min•Season 1Ep. 56
There are 18 recognised religious "sects" in Lebanon, including various Christian denominations, Shia and Sunni Muslims, the Druze and Jews. Sects in this context does not refer to a kind of cult but rather different religious groupings. How is it that such a diverse religious and ethnic mix of people came to live in so close proximity to each other in and around Mount Lebanon? And why did the French colonial authorities decide to organise their mandate in Lebanon by dividing the country across ...
Oct 08, 2024•1 min•Season 1Ep. 55
"There are decades when you fuck around, there are weeks when you find out." This is our third Munadama session when Edgar, Sam and Arthur - the creators of Kalam Podcast - sit down for a relaxed discussion of the last few weeks' events. To listen to the full episode, go to patreon.com/kalampodcast For continuous updates, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Oct 06, 2024•43 sec•Season 1Ep. 54
Earlier this week, Iran retaliated against Israel for the killing of the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah, Ismael Haniyeh and Hassan Nasrallah respectively, by launching the largest ballistic missile barrage in history. It is still unclear what was hit and how much damage was inflicted, due to heavy Israeli military censorship. We do know that the Iron Dome did not intercept all of the missiles, and many did hit their intended target. We are so delighted to announce the newest addition to the Kala...
Oct 04, 2024•32 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Last week the Secretary General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. This marks the most high profile political assassination Israel has ever carried out. What does this mean for Lebanon and the broader region? In more news, Israel has launched its ground invasion of Southern Lebanon following airstrikes and heavy artillery bombardment of alleged Hezbollah positions. Sam and Edgar discuss this and more in this week's news summary. Hezbollah is considered a terroris...
Oct 01, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 52
