The Lede

Nick Foretek is the author of “The Philosopher’s Wine”, a long-read for New Lines Magazine that tells the story of several years in the life of one Syrian fighter. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad, he discusses how he first met the fighter in Cairo, what prompted him to tell the story, why he made certain literary decisions – and whether he thinks the fighter is a sympathetic character.

Mustafa Akyol is the author of a new book, Reopening Muslim Minds: A Return to Reason, Freedom and Tolerance. In this podcast with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai, he discusses being arrested by the Malaysian religious police; why Islam needs reform; the coercive power of modern Muslim states; the revolutions of Turkey and Tunisia; and why his criticisms of Islam don’t include the role of power, colonialism and wars.

In the midst of conflict in Israel and Palestine, award-winning journalist Rula Jebreal and Lisa Goldman, cofounder of +972 magazine, are in conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai about politics, ideology and war. In this podcast, Jebreal discusses her essay for the magazine on the similarities between Israel’s right-wing political parties and the Republican Party under Donald Trump; Goldman recalls her experiences reporting on previous conflict in Gaza; and the three have a conversation about why a change in political ideology in Israel means this conflict will be different from those in the past.

The “Great Replacement” theory is behind the far right’s worst acts of terrorism, from Christchurch to El Paso. It has its roots in the Balkans, where it inspired Serb Nationalists to genocide. In this podcast, Jasmin Mujanović and Una Hajdari join New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai for a conversation about why the American far-right are so obsessed with the wars of Yugoslavia, how a cartoonish meme ended up part of a terrorist attack – and what the fantasy white, Christian society of Serb nationalists would actually be like.

Alex Skolnick, lead guitarist for Testament, wrote a popular essay for Newlines Magazine about the importance of artists speaking up at a time of political turmoil. In this conversation with New Lines Magazine's Faisal Al Yafai and Idrees Ahmad he explains why artists should speak honestly about social and political upheaval, why he doesn’t worry about losing fans who disagree with him – and why he wrote a rap song called “Trump Sucks”.