Episode 45 – West Asia on a Powder Keg: Lessons from the Arab Spring With Professor Stephen Zunes. British podcast on civil resistance pro-democracy struggles, contemporary Middle Eastern politics, and other issues (1 hour)
Category: Podcasts
Podcast
Interview: Ukraine, Palestine, and other issues
Ukraine, Palestine, and other developments March 2025 (segment starts at 31:30) for a community radio station in northern California
Interview: Trump’s policies on Israel/Palestine and power grab
Community of Chaos, New Zealand radio, March 18, 2025
Hosted by an American expat, podcast in which Zunes discusses Trump policies ranging from Israel/Palestine to his dangerous domestic power grab
Interview: US Middle East Policy Developments
KPFA-FM News March 9, 2025: Interview on recent developments (begins 2:30-6:30)
Interview: International Effects of Trump Presidency
OAR FM Radio, Community or Chaos late Feb. 2025:
Zunes and New Zealand political science professor Robert Patman discussed the international ramifications of a Trump presidency — “a slow motion coup.”
Interview: Jimmy Carter’s Legacy with Stephen Zunes
WORT-FM January 9, 2025 (50 mins.): Stephen Zunes joins host Allen Ruff to critically assess the legacy of a former president as most media tend to overlook the low points of Carter’s time in office. Carter inherited the presidency at the height of US imperialism with limited foreign-policy experience, propping up dictatorships, including his role in East Timor, Morocco, and Turkey. Ruff and Zunes also appraise his role for nuclear non-proliferation, the Carter Doctrine, the Camp David Accords of 1978, Carter’s opposition to Palestinian statehood, and after he left office, his positive contributions to what Zunes calls a “moral foreign policy” by speaking out against human rights violations. Read Stephen Zunes’s most recent article about Carter’s relationship to Israel in the Progressive.
Lectures & 11 Interviews Nov. 2024 on Trump’s Election & the Middle East
First view Dr. Zunes’ 5-minute animated summary of his research on coup resistance; then his Lecture at the University of San Francisco on how to prepare for the aftermath of the election in the event of an attempted coup or legitimate victory by Trump.
- Lecture before the Unitarian Universalists of San Francisco on what a Trump administration would mean to the Middle East (1 hour 20 mins.)
- Al-Jazeera English: Interview on recent developments involving Israel, Lebanon, Gaza and the US (24 mins.)
- Al-Jazeera English: Shorter interview on recent dramatic developments in Syria (4 mins.)
- I’m one of three professors interviewed on AJE’s “Inside Story” about Biden’s responsibility in Harris’s defeat
- A half-hour interview for a Wisconsin radio station on Trump’s cabinet appointments and the effect a Trump regime may have on the Middle East
- A 25-minute interview with Kris Welch on KPFA-FM on the impact of the election on the Middle East (segment starts at the 32-minute mark)
- A 50-minute interview for a New Zealand radio show and podcast about the U.S. election and its broader implications
- A 45-minute interview for a San Francisco NPR affiliate on the U.S.-backed war on Gaza and the impact of the U.S. election
- I gave this brief analysis on the election and the Middle East for a San Francisco Bay area network affiliates
- Interviewed briefly on KPFA-FM’s evening news about how U.S. policy in support of Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon could be impacted by Trump’s election victory (segment begins at the 13:55 mark)
- On Pacifica Radio’s “Flashpoints” (KPFA) talking about the then-upcoming election and foreign policy
- KPFA radio news interview on Israel’s attacks on Iran, the ongoing war crimes in Gaza, and the impact on the then-upcoming US election (segment starts at the 16:15).
Radio & Podcast: 4 Interviews
- Recent developments in Gaza, the West Bank, and U.S. policy with Kris Welch on KPFA-FM and affiliated stations [9/6/24 starts at 1:06:40]
- On the Iranian missile attacks and what led up to them, for a New York community radio station [10/2/24, 15 min.]
- On Israel’s war on Lebanon for KPFA-FM evening news [9/22/24 starts at the 2:30]
- On the war on Gaza, U.S. policy, and related issues for a northern California radio station [segment starts at 26:20]
Interview: U.S. Policy and the Gaza war and its impact on American politics
Community or Chaos with Marvin Hubbard, August 25, 2024
A 50-minute interview for a New Zealand radio station.
Interview: Israel/Palestine civilian deaths, US Policy & ICJ finds West Bank occupation illegal
KPFA Pacifica Network July 19,2024 Recent developments in Israel/Palestine, including mounting civilian casualties, U.S. policy and the International Court of Justice decision finding the Israeli occupation of the West Bank illegal (25 mins. starting at 1:05:00)
Interviews: Middle East,
KPFA Oct. 2023-July 2024
Twelve more interviews on KPFA Evening News aired Sundays on KPFA-FM and Pacifica Radio Network affiliated stations October 7, 2023 through July 2024
- October 8, 2023: The horror of the crimes, why it happened, and the U.S. response (begins just after the four-minute mark)
- Mid-October: The United States has long been an international outlier in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. responsibility in the failure of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (begins at 12:30)
- January, following the fatal attack on U.S. forces in Jordan: Problems with the ongoing presence of U.S. forces in the Middle East (begins just after the three-minute mark)
- January, following the initial Houthi attacks on the Red Sea and the U.S. bombing of Yemen: The rise of the Houthis, why they are attacking international shipping, and problems with the U.S. military response (starts a little before 14:00)
- February: The resulting humanitarian disaster from an Israeli invasion of Rafah and U.S. acquiescence (begins a little after the four-minute mark)
- March: The reasons for Biden’s strong support for Israel’s war on Gaza despite widespread domestic and international opposition (begins at the 3:30 mark)
- Also March: Moral and legal implications of U.S.-backed Israeli forces attacking civilian-populated areas (starts a little after the 7:30 mark)
- April, following the conflict between Israel and Iran: Analysis, with a special focus on U.S. policy (starts a little after the four-minute mark)
- May: Rhetoric versus the reality in Biden’s policy regarding U.S. arms transfers to Israel and its political impact, as well as his supposed support for Palestinian statehood (begins a little after the nine-minute mark)
- Late May: Double-standards by the U.S. government on recognizing Israeli and Palestinian statehood and question the Biden administration’s support for a two-state solution (starts at the six-minute mark)
- June: How Biden’s support for Israel’s war on Gaza was alienating Democratic voters and threatening his re-election, as well as how the slogan “river to the sea” has been deliberately misinterpreted to discredit pro-Palestinian activists (starts at the seven-minute mark)
- Mid-July: In anticipation of the International Court of Justice ruling on the Israeli occupation as well as related issues regarding U.S. hostility towards the World Court and international law (Five mins. begins at the 13:45 mark)
Interview: French Military Incursion in Mali (audio)
The Scott Horton Show January 18, 2013
Zunes discusses the French military incursion in Mali; the hostage disaster in Algeria; the cascading failure of interventions from Libya to Mali and Algeria; why the US favors the tyrannical government in Morocco instead of the pro-democracy protestors; and how a heavy-handed foreign policy bolsters the most radical opposition groups…
Interview: The Threat of Western Military Intervention in Mali (audio)
The Scott Horton Show January 11, 2013
In part 1, Zune discusses the threat of Western military intervention in Mali; the next generation of Islamic extremists motivated by Saudi-funded madrassas and the U.S. occupation of Iraq; and the non-governmental militias fighting for the spoils in Libya.
Behind the Headlines: the CIA and Post 9/11 National Security with NY Times Reporter Eric Schmitt (audio)
NPR/The Commonwealth Club November 19, 2012; Podcast & MP3
Stephen Zunes moderates this lively exchange with Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times senior writer Eric Schmitt on military, terrorism and national security challenges in the post-9/11 world.
Syrian Conflict Turns Into Full Blown Civil War (audio)
Uprising Radio October 29, 2012: Government forces in Syria today launched their heaviest air strikes yet during the 19 month long conflict… A tenuous ceasefire Eid was violated from the very first day… At least 30,000 people have been killed in the on-going conflict that has been now officially described as a “full-blown civil war.” A seriously fractured opposition is seen as one major stumbling block in efforts to efficiently counter the Syrian regime of Bashar Al Assad.