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Today we’re joined by Bill Fletcher Jr. Over 2 years ago, this longtime USA-based labor and social justice activist was on TFTT to talk about the threats of what was then a theoretical disaster: a second Trump administration. I’m sorry to say that our predictions came true, and I don’t think I have to tell any of you how disastrous the 2nd Trump admin has been, even by the low standards of the first iteration. This is why I wanted to have Bill on again, partly to reflect on these past 2 years of Trump 2, its impact on both the US and the world, but also, along the way, what we have learned on how to prepare ourselves against the ongoing dangers of authoritarianism and fascism. Bill also put his organiser’s hat on to tell us how to better organise our side in order to take on our opponents. Book Recs: Russia’s New Imperialism: Capital and Ideology by Ilya Budraitskis and Ilya Matveev Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities by Mahmood Mamdani The Years Of Rice And Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson Film Recs: Exterminate All the Brutes Blade Runner (both) Series: Strategist Kanbei Bill’s novels: The Man Who Fell From the Sky The Man Who Changed Colors Admin: You can still register for my November class, the 5th and last class on modern Lebanese history and politics before I take a long break from it all. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Lebanon and why it matters so much to today’s geopolitical nightmare, I think you’ll benefit from taking this class.  I also wanna make the case for joining the Patreon of TFTT at Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes Not only do you get early access to everything I do as well as other perks such as the monthly hangouts and exclusive video interviews, but you only need to commit to the first year. It’s cheaper to subscribe on a yearly basis anyway, but I understand that not everyone can commit for longer than that. If that’s you, please know that you can continue being on the Patreon for free after that initial year. Just message me closer to the date and I’ll send you a free invite.  That initial support is, I’m hoping, enough for me to make this project financially sustainable, and I’m grateful for the 200 or so listeners who currently support TFTT on Patreon.  Just a note: If you have an iPhone, I recommend subscribing from a browser instead of your Patreon application as it’s less expensive for you to do so since Apple decided it can rip people off through the Patreon app. Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies Social Media: I'm on Bluesky and Instagram. Contact: To collaborate, reach out on [email protected] / Signal @ Ayoub.02 Credit: Elia Ayoub (host, sound editor, episode design), the rosa artist (TFTT theme design, 2026-), Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design, 2022-2026),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

Early this year, I had Nicole Bedera, Aydin and Ed on to talk about the resistance against ICE that was happening in their town of Minneapolis and that was making headlines all around the world. Since then, enough time has passed for today’s guest, mags, to have written a powerful piece called “Will Minneapolis Choose Melancholy?” I wanted to have them on, alongside a returning Ed, to talk about the trappings of melancholy that leftwing and progressive movements, but also just people-who-take-part-in-protests more generally, have been dealing with for a very long time. We also borrowed from my own experience from Lebanon, as well as that of Hong Kong. Recs: The Kurdish Women’s Movement: History, Theory, Practice by Dilar Dirik Hope Without Hope - Rojava and Revolutionary Commitment by Matt Broomfield Days of Love and Rage by Anand Gopal Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund by Molly Crabapple Also: A Summer Reading List for Minneapolis 2026 Elia also brought up We, Traitors: Bundist Writings on Zionism, Palestine, and Socialism by Nathan Tankus and Eyshe Beirich, both of whom are upcoming guests of TFTT. But first, some admin: You can still register for my November class, the 5th and last class on modern Lebanese history and politics before I take a long break from it all. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Lebanon and why it matters so much to today’s geopolitical nightmare, I think you’ll benefit from taking this class.  I also wanna make the case for joining the Patreon of TFTT at Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes Not only do you get early access to everything I do as well as other perks such as the monthly hangouts and exclusive video interviews, but you only need to commit to the first year. It’s cheaper to subscribe on a yearly basis anyway, but I understand that not everyone can commit for longer than that. If that’s you, please know that you can continue being on the Patreon for free after that initial year. Just message me closer to the date and I’ll send you a free invite.  That initial support is, I’m hoping, enough for me to make this project financially sustainable, and I’m grateful for the 200 or so listeners who currently support TFTT on Patreon.  Just a note: If you have an iPhone, I recommend subscribing from a browser instead of your Patreon application as it’s less expensive for you to do so since Apple decided it can rip people off through the Patreon app. Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies Social Media: I'm on Bluesky and Instagram. Contact: To collaborate, reach out on [email protected] / Signal @ Ayoub.02 Credit: Elia Ayoub (host, sound editor, episode design), the rosa artist (TFTT theme design, 2026-), Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design, 2022-2026),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

One thing you’ll get from this episode - and from reading Abdelrahman’s memoir Huna: A Memoir of Revolution, Prison, and Becoming recounting his six years in Sisi’s nightmarish prisons in Egypt - is a lot of empathy, not just towards what he went through, what others like Ayman Moussa - who was 19 when arrested in 2013 and is still serving a 15-year sentence - are still going through, but the sense that Abdelrahman himself remains empathetic, and dare I say hopeful. I was really struck by not only how eloquent he is, but how he’s able to navigate extremely difficult topics that must still haunt him with dignity. You’ll see what I mean in this episode. This includes a reading of Huna by Abdelrahman himself. This is part of a two-parter on the Egyptian dictatorship led by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Check out Imprisoning a Revolution: Writings from Egypt's Incarcerated by Collective Antigone with a forward by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. Abdelrahman's Recs: The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study by Fred Moten and Stefano Harney Poetics of Relation by Édouard Glissant From the Clinic to the Streets: Psychoanalysis for Revolutionary Futures by Lara Sheehi Admin: You can still register for my November class, the 5th and last class on modern Lebanese history and politics before I take a long break from it all. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Lebanon and why it matters so much to today’s geopolitical nightmare, I think you’ll benefit from taking this class.  For non-Patreons, I wanna make the case for joining the Patreon of TFTT at Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes Not only do you get early access to everything I do as well as other perks such as the monthly hangouts and exclusive video interviews, but you only need to commit to the first year. It’s cheaper to subscribe on a yearly basis anyway, but I understand that not everyone can commit for longer than that. If that’s you, please know that you can continue being on the Patreon for free after that initial year. Just message me closer to the date and I’ll send you a free invite.  That initial support is, I’m hoping, enough for me to make this project financially sustainable, and I’m grateful for the 200 or so listeners who currently support TFTT on Patreon.  Just a note: If you have an iPhone, I recommend subscribing from a browser instead of your Patreon application as it’s less expensive for you to do so since Apple decided it can rip people off through the Patreon app. Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies Social Media: I'm on Bluesky and Instagram. Contact: To collaborate, reach out on [email protected] / Signal @ Ayoub.02 Credit: Elia Ayoub (host, sound editor, episode design), israa' (host), the rosa artist (TFTT theme design, 2026-), Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design, 2022-2026),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

Last time, I sat down with Shui-yin Sharon Yam to talk about ambiguous loss, diasporic parenting and grieving the what-ifs. Thank you to those who sent me nice feedback about that one. As you might imagine, it wasn’t an easy one to record, but it felt necessary after I realised that we all experience ambiguous loss in one way or another.  Today I’m talking to Heba Gowayed. She is a writer and associate professor of sociology at CUNY Hunter College and Graduate Center. Her research and writing centers the lives of people who migrate across borders and the unequal and often violent institutions they face.  I wanted to have Heba on to talk about a piece she had written for In These Times called “On Parenthood and Genocide,” which was republished in the book “We Grow the World Together: Parenting Toward Abolition” edited by Maya Schenwar and Kim Wilson. Heba, like me, has a kid who is roughly the same age as mine. We’re both raising them in mixed Arab/non-Arab families in the diaspora in the West, and we have both been deeply impacted by what it all means in the context of a genocide against our people, especially as both of our kids were born end of 2023. In fact, this episode will be out not long before the third anniversary of the ongoing Western-backed Israeli genocide against Palestinians, which itself started about a week before my own kid was born. So it’s all been a bit much to be honest with you, but I hope you’ll find something in this episode regardless of whether you’re a parent or not. The monstrosities unleashed by the Israelis have contributed to an acceleration of the decline of whatever is left of international human rights, a decline that authoritarian governments everywhere are enjoying. I believe that part of how we fight back is through understanding what is actually happening, and the stories we talk about here - mine and Heba’s - are only a part of a much wider trend that is affecting millions. Admin: You can still register for my November class, the 5th and last class on modern Lebanese history and politics before I take a long break from it all. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Lebanon and why it matters so much to today’s geopolitical nightmare, I think you’ll benefit from taking this class.  I have a lot - and I do mean a lot - of episodes that I’m recording in the coming weeks. If you choose to support this podcast on Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes, you’ll get early access to al of them. If you have an iPhone, I recommend subscribing from a browser instead of your phone as it’s less expensive for you to do so because Apple thought it wasn’t screwing over creators enough.. You’ll also get exclusive access to the video episodes, our monthly hangout as well as other perks such as the upcoming Discord channel, discounts on upcoming merch, that sort of thing. I’m also working on two separate mini-series that will be released to Patreon supporters all at once, with the public getting them once a month as of 2027.  So if this is something you can afford, please consider giving it a shot with a yearly donation. If it doesn’t work out for you after a year’s time, you can stay on the Patreon for free (just message me then) and not lose access to anything. I only ask for an initial year-long commitment, which is cheaper for you than paying monthly anyway.  Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: Registration is now open for November 2026. Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies Social Media: I'm on Bluesky and Instagram. Contact: To collaborate, reach out on [email protected] / Signal @ Ayoub.02 Credit: Elia Ayoub (host, sound editor, episode design), the rosa artist (TFTT theme design, 2026-), Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

Over the past few years, I’ve had to reckon with loss and grief that felt unresolved, and perhaps unresolvable. It’s something we’re all dealing with in different ways. When loved ones die, we know they’re dead. Everything that comes with that remains horrible, even maybe unbearable, but there is no ambiguity over the fact that a loss happened. That’s not the case with ambiguous loss, the reality that every loss does not hold the promise of anything like resolutions. Take people who were forcibly disappeared in war. Their loved ones just don’t know for sure that they’re dead. There have been cases of people thought to be disappeared actually coming back from the dead, as it were. When the Assad regime fell nearly 2 years ago, there were some Lebanese prisoners released that were ostensibly missing since the 80s. Loved ones of those disappeared just don’t know, and many end up expressing a sense of paralysis, as it time was frozen the day they disappeared, and never unfroze. Linear time stops making much sense. Has a year passed since the ‘death’? What if they’re still alive? Can one even live with that, or is one stuck. Ambiguous loss can also be more ‘mundane’, for lack of a better term. I’ve moved a lot these past few years. Ever since I left Lebanon in 2015, I’ve moved places and countries many times. Each move brings with it good and bad, and the bad can be a sense of loss that is both permanent and unsettled. In that, ambiguous loss is as universal as it gets. We just don’t usually have the terminology to understand it better. So I had Shui-yin Sharon Yam on to talk about ambiguous loss. She is Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, and a faculty affiliate of Gender and Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky. This was actually her suggestion. Yam is a returning guest of TFTT. She was on in 2022 to talk about “⁠Untellable Stories, Reproductive Justice & Complicating Acts of Advocacy⁠” and before that in 2020 to talk about “⁠Hong Kong, Disappearances and the Emotional Cost of Disinformation⁠.” Poetry: ⁠Homelands Under X-Ray⁠ Sharon's Recommendations: Past Lives (Movie) Wayward Lives by Saidiya Hartman All Fours by Miranda July Admin: I have a lot of episodes that I’m recording in the coming weeks. If you choose to support this podcast on ⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠, you’ll get early access to all of them. You’ll also get exclusive access to the video episodes, our monthly hangout as well as other perks such as the upcoming Discord channel, discounts on upcoming merch, that sort of thing. I’m also working on two separate mini-series that will be released to Patreon supporters all at once, with the public getting them once a month as of 2027.  So if this is something you can afford, please consider giving it a shot with a yearly donation. If it doesn’t work out for you after a year’s time, you can stay on the Patreon for free (just message me then) and not lose access to anything. I only ask for an initial year-long commitment, which is cheaper for you than paying monthly anyway.  Masterclass on Modern Lebanon:⁠ ⁠⁠Registration is now open⁠ for November 2026. Newsletter: Subscribe to⁠ ⁠⁠Hauntologies⁠ Social Media: I'm on⁠ ⁠⁠Bluesky⁠ and⁠ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠. Contact: To collaborate, reach out on ⁠[email protected]⁠ / Signal @ Ayoub.02 Credit: Elia Ayoub (host, sound editor, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠ (TFTT theme design, 2026-),⁠ ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

Do fascists really believe in fascism? Yes, yes they do, and we need to stop pretending otherwise to better equip ourselves against them. I had the writer Toby Buckle (Political Philosophy Podcast) on to talk about his essay “Fascists Really Believe It” for Liberal Currents.  Recorded 26 August 2026. Patreon release 27 August 2026 (+ video exclusive). I was previously on his podcast to talk about fascism and fiction.  You can support The Fire These Times on Patreon and in return get: early access to all episodes, exclusive videos, mini-series, access to our monthly hangout as well as the Discord channel, discounts on merch, personalised thank you cards, and more to come. Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: Registration is now open for November 2026. Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies Social Media: I’m on Bluesky and Instagram. Related episodes: The rise of end times fascism w/ Astra Taylor and Naomi Klein (E200) Our Mirror Worlds w/ Naomi Klein (E182) The Stories That Fascism Fears Most w/ Jessie Gender (E199) American Neocons, Christian Zionists & Israeli Fascism w/ Atalia Omer (E176) Lebanon and the Threat of Christian Fascism w/ Justin Salhani (E158) Understanding (Anti-)Fascism w/ Shane Burley (E125) Organizing Against Ice w/ Nicole Bedera, Aydin and Ed (E211) Contact: To collaborate, reach out on [email protected] / Signal @ Ayoub.02

Two decades ago, a group of Indonesian agricultural workers began occupying the agribusiness plantation near their homes. In the years since, members of this remarkable movement have reclaimed collective control of their land and cultivated diverse agricultural forests on it, repairing the damage done over nearly a century of abuse. Countering Dispossession, Reclaiming Land, by my guest David E. Gilbert, is that story. It is an account of the ways these workers-turned-activists mobilized to move beyond industrial agriculture's exploitation of workers and the environment, showing how emancipatory and ecologically attuned ways of living with land are possible. At a time when capitalism has remade landscapes and reordered society, the Casiavera reclaiming movement stands as an inspiring example of what struggles for social and environmental justice can achieve.Casiavera, located in Sumatra, modern Indonesia, is an example of a land bank movement in the modern era, backed by highly organised unions in Indonesia and globally. This story takes us from Dutch colonial times to the US-backed coup that brought one of the most brutal dictatorships of the 20th century. It is also a story of pragmatism, including the casiavera movement recruiting an accomplice within the state security apparatus itself.  As I’m not very knowledgeable about this topic beyond reading David’s book, you won’t hear a lot of me in this episode, besides my reflections at the end, as I told David to take his time and explain in as much detail as possible how Casiavera became possible, and what we can all learn from that history. Mentioned: La Via Campesina Federation of Indonesian Peasant Union (Federasi Serikat Petani Indonesia) The Final Straw episode with David This episode was first released for Patreon supporters on 14 August 2026 and made public on 7 September 2026. If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on my classes and newsletter, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on ⁠the website⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag: ⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠ ​972Mag: ⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠ Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠ Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here: ⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠ ​It Could Happen Here: ⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠ ------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design), ⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design), Wenyi Geng (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic), ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and ⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.

This will come as a total surprise, but I really like James Baldwin. I know, it’s shocking. I always kept it subtle, like how I named this podcast after his book The Fire Next Time, and how I have been bringing him up every other episode for years, and how I have a shelf that is just for books by him and about him.  The reason I like James Baldwin is that I’ve found something for me in his work, something that I can not just relate to but also use to understand the wider world, including my own world. This is a curious thing in the context of Baldwin because he was, ultimately, an American writer. An African-American writer, to be exact of course, but his Americanness is something which he took to heart. Not in a weird nationalist way but rather in a sort of matter-of-factly kind of way. So how did I come to relate to him? That’s one of the questions we explored here, but to be honest it’s not even the main one. What I wanted to know, and what my guest John E. Drabinski has explored in his book So Unimaginable a Price: Baldwin and the Black Atlantic, is why did Baldwin, a man clearly concerned with the fate of the world, rarely engage with the Black Atlantic and might even be described as an ‘anti-diaspora’ thinker, at least to some extent. This is a conversation about Baldwin, yes, but ultimately it is a conversation about shifting identities and perspectives in a rapidly changing world, one which seems to be changing even faster now than it did during Baldwin’s time. John E. Drabinski is Professor in the Department of African American and Africana Studies, with a joint appointment in the Department of English. Along with Ashley Newby and Brie Gorrell, he co-hosts The Black Studies Podcast, which documents the history and future of the field of Black Studies from the perspective of students, professors, artists, and activists. He is both co-editor of Journal of French and Francophone Philosophy and co-editor of the book series Global Black Critical Thought on Cambridge University Press. Mentioned: James Baldwin Review Black Cultural Archives, Brixton Being Black and British with David Olusoga This episode was first released for Patreon supporters on 14 August 2026 and made public on 24 August 2026. ------ If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.

In which I talk about the upcoming class on modern Lebanese history and politics, the 5th and last one one this year. Dates (UK Time): November 7, 2-4 pm November 14, 4-6 pm November 21, 4-6 pm November 28, 4-6 pm Quick links: All details here: https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass/ All Patreon supporters get a discount (message me!) Email: [email protected] or Signal: Ayoub.02 (please introduce yourself) Book your spot here: https://ko-fi.com/eliaayoub

These days, the apocalypse has been on my mind a lot. Maybe that's not surprising, given the state of the world. This can easily descend into dread and hopelessness, which is something I try and avoid for my own sake. When I picked up Moon of the Crusted Snow and Moon of the Turning Leaves, written by my guest Waubgeshig Rice, in a bookshop in Ottawa, I didn't know what to expect. I've always been into 'post-apocalyptic' stories, but I soon found out that there was something different about this cast of characters: their people, the Anishinaabe, had already survived multiple apocalypses at the hands of the Canadian state. In this episode, Waubgeshig and I spoke about the Whitesky saga books, the ongoing wildfires, passing on traditions, learning Ojibwe and teaching it to his kids, Gaza, how the father-daughter relationship in the books inspired my own relationship, and so much more. Waubgeshig’s Recommendations: ​⁠Buffalo Hunter Hunter⁠ by Stephen Graham Jones  ​⁠The Sorceress of Sky Serpents⁠ by Eden Robinson​⁠County Road Six⁠ by Kevin Hardcastle------ This episode was first released ⁠on Patreon⁠ on 11 August 2026, a day after recording Video version premiering on YouTube on 17 August 2026 at 6pm UK time: https://youtu.be/37-oFTg6xBI If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.

Elia Ayoub is joined by Ayman Makarem (Politically Depressed) to talk about the Ceuta ‘incident’ which left at least 70 people dead, the political discourse in Europe, the Moroccan monarchy’s cynicism, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and the danger that is Fortress Europe – including for Europeans. Links: ​Hauntologies: On Ceuta​Harsha Walia’s commentary​Border Violence Monitoring Network If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.

For episode 219, I talk to Chanda Prescod-Weinstein about her latest book "The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry and the Cosmic Dream Boogie." Science is political. Reality is queer af. Also: race, imperialism, Star Trek (of course), Supergirl and post/colonialism. If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.

For episode 218 of The Fire These Times, I talk to Luka Dowell (Solarpunk Now!), Ariel Kroon (Solarpunk Presents) and Andre (HydroponicTrash) about our changing relationships to Solarpunk given everything that's been going on in the world since the last time we all sat together (in 2023). ⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Elia's recent pieces ​ShadoMag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Belfast pogrom was predictable⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​972Mag:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Report from Belfast. Day 1.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Media Context for the Belfast Pogrom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠​It Could Happen Here:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lebanon's Agreement with Israel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care. Previous TFTT episodes on Solarpunk: ​Solarpunk and Storytelling the Present and Future w/ Phoebe Wagner​Climate Narratives that Go Beyond the Apocalypse w/ Alyssa Hull​The Political Economy of Solarpunk w/ Andrew Dana Hudson​In Search of Afro-Solarpunk w/ Rob Cameron ​Hauntings, Futurisms and the Present Movement w/ Luka Dowell aka Solarpunk Now!​Solarpunk and Post-Capitalist Desires w/ HydroponicTrash

For episode 217, I talk about Israel bombing my hometown of Ain Saadeh yesterday, and why it worries me more than anything they've done so far. If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ My recent pieces ​972Mag:⁠⁠ ⁠Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon is about more than just Hezbollah⁠⁠⁠​Crimethinc:⁠⁠ ⁠“History Is Repeating Itself”⁠⁠⁠​Good Law Project:⁠⁠ ⁠Trump’s illegal war puts all of us at risk⁠⁠⁠Also, for Hauntologies ​⁠⁠Israel's Lebanese Ghosts⁠⁠​⁠⁠Iranian protesters don't owe us an explanation⁠⁠⁠​⁠⁠How Hezbollah Lost Everything⁠⁠⁠Recent Podcast interviews ​It Could Happen Here: ⁠Israel's Attack on Lebanon⁠​The Final Straw:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠The US-Israeli War with Iran Spreads, Nuclear Weapons, Lebanon and Anti-Imperial Solidarity⁠⁠⁠⁠​The Dugout:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Honoring Political Ghosts⁠⁠⁠⁠​The Breakup Theory:⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Episode 31 – Iran and the US-Israeli Death Drive Economy Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠⁠ ⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design),⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics) and ⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions).

For episode 216, I am joined by Lebanese writer and translator Lina Mounzer as well as Lebanese journalist Justin Salhani to talk about the ongoing consequences of Israel's war on Lebanon. This is an intra-Lebanese conversation that is meant to give you an idea of the sort of discussions happening in Lebanon while contextualising as much as we could so that you come out of it better informed as well Episode links: ​The Markaz Review https://themarkaz.org ​Salhani's Al Jazeera profile https://www.aljazeera.com/author/justin_salhani_150211052541586 ​Israel’s Digital Occupation (Salhani, The Dial) https://www.thedial.world/articles/news/israel-drone-warfare-lebanon​Death and Destruction from the Sky (Mounzer, Equator) https://www.equator.org/articles/death-and-destruction-from-the-sky-iii ​We live in a Time of Monsters (Mounzer, The Markaz) https://themarkaz.org/we-live-in-a-time-of-monsters/ ​ If you’d like to support The Fire These Times, the best way to do it is through⁠ ⁠⁠Patreon.com/thefirethesetimes⁠. In return, you’ll get early access to everything I record, exclusive videos, the mini-series all at once, access to the monthly hangout, discounts on ⁠my classes⁠ and ⁠newsletter⁠, the class recordings (all of them), an invitation to join the Discord chat, merch, personalised thank you cards, and more stuff to come. Registrations for the November class (online) on modern Lebanese history and politics are now open: ⁠https://thefirethesetimes.com/lebanonclass ⁠ ------ Social Media: Elia (⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠), TFTT (⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠,⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) For feedback, requests etc: ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Everything else is archived on⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠. ------ Credits Elia Ayoub (host, producer, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠the rosa artist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (my profile pic),⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), and⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Antidote Zine⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Transcriptions) As always, thank you for listening and take care.