Inside the Makkah Defense Agreement: Zarrar Khuhro on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey’s New Pact
On 7 August 2026, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Makkah Defense Agreement — a pact built around a striking clause: an attack on one member is treated as
Six Months Into the Iran-US War: Is There Any Offramp Left? Mark Goldberg Explains
Six months into the Iran-United States war, there is still no offramp in sight, and few people are better positioned to make sense of the tangled diplomacy around it than
Saudi Arabia vs. the UAE in Yemen? Laith Marouf on the Zero-Sum War Reshaping the Region
Laith Marouf, the Syrian-Palestinian journalist based in Lebanon and founder of Free Palestine TV, returns to the Kianistan Podcast for a blunt, wide-ranging conversation with host Tafhim Kiani. A contributor
Is Israel Using the Iran War as Cover to Break Hezbollah? Jamal Wakim Returns to Explain
Professor Jamal Wakim of the Lebanese University in Beirut returns to the Kianistan Podcast for another wide-ranging conversation with host Tafhim Kiani, this time focused on Israel’s escalating pressure on
Investigating Ray Lewis, Guarding Muhammad Ali: Rasheed Abdul Salam’s Life Inside America’s Biggest Cases
From investigating the murder case that nearly ended Ray Lewis’s NFL career to working the 1993 World Trade Center bombing defense, Rasheed Abdul Salam has spent more than three decades
The Last American Journalist in Kabul: Holly McKay on Witnessing Afghanistan’s Collapse
When Kabul fell to the Taliban in August 2021, most foreign journalists had already evacuated. Holly McKay stayed. As one of the last remaining American journalists inside Afghanistan, she witnessed
Buried Gold and Buried History: Chris Cutler on the Science of Treasure Hunting
Buried Anglo-Saxon gold, forgotten Roman forts, and the quiet science hidden beneath ordinary English fields — for Chris Cutler, treasure hunting is as much about historical detective work as it
From Grenfell to the Counseling Room: Salia Islam on Faith, Marriage, and Community Resilience
As a marriage counselor and mediator for the Islamic Sharia Council of UK, psychotherapist Salia Islam has sat across from hundreds of couples at the breaking point of their relationships
From Milk Theft Sensors to AI Hype: Inside the World of Hardware Innovation With Rishikesh Kumat
From milk theft in rural Indian villages to camera-based vending machines, the world of hardware research and development is full of unglamorous, real-world problems that rarely make headlines — yet
Flotillas, Raids, and a Sinking Ship: Yvonne Ridley on Decades of Gaza Activism, Part One
Long before she became known for her captivity in Afghanistan, and in the decades since, journalist and human rights advocate Yvonne Ridley has repeatedly put herself in harm’s way to