He Planned to Bomb a Mosque, Then Became Muslim: Richard McKinney’s Story
How does a decorated 25-year military veteran, wounded in combat and consumed by hatred, end up disarming the very bomb he built to destroy a mosque full of worshippers? On
Is Russia Trying to Rebuild the Soviet Union? Dr. Alexander Rahr Explains
How did decades of NATO expansion set the stage for the largest European war since 1945, and what does Russia actually want from the conflict it started? On this episode
Why Does Russia Refuse a Simple Ceasefire in Ukraine? Professor Paul Robinson Explains
Why has Russia repeatedly resisted calls for a simple ceasefire in Ukraine, even as the war drags on with mounting costs on all sides? On this episode of the Kianistan
Does Nonviolent Resistance Actually Work Better? Professor Steven Zunes Explains
Does taking up arms actually improve a movement’s odds of success, or does history show the opposite? On this episode of the Kianistan Podcast, host Tafhim Kiani speaks with Professor
Who Really Is Bashar al-Assad? Professor David Lesch Explains
Few Western scholars have had the kind of personal access to Bashar al-Assad that Professor David Lesch had over more than two decades, access that put him in a unique
Is Syria’s New Government Persecuting Minorities? Dr. Tim Anderson Explains
Across the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, the balance of power has shifted dramatically in recent years, from a weakened Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to a new government in Damascus
Could Ukraine Have Stayed Neutral? Dr. Pascal Lottaz Explains
Long before the current war, Ukraine’s constitution actually enshrined a policy of neutrality, a fact largely forgotten in most mainstream accounts of the conflict’s origins. On this episode of the
Why Is the US Bombing Yemen Without a Strategy? Dr. Alexander Rahr Explains
As American warplanes and warships have carried out repeated strikes against targets in Yemen, a nagging question keeps surfacing: what, exactly, is the strategic objective? On this episode of the
What Really Happened After the Pahalgam Attack? Ahmed Quraishi and Altaf Hussain Wani Explain
When a deadly attack struck tourists in the Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, the fallout was immediate and severe, not just for the victims, but for millions of residents of Indian-administered
Does Islam Believe in Free Will? Dr. Özgür Koca Explains
Does the Islamic intellectual tradition see human beings as genuinely free agents, or as actors within a divinely determined script? On this episode of the Kianistan Podcast, host Tafhim Kiani