The East is a Podcast
A critical lens on the history of the present on West Asia and North Africa. Interviews with experts and archival mashups. Created by Sina Rahmani (twitter: @urorientalist)
A demise greatly exaggerated: The Party, South Lebanon, and FPV Drone warfare w/ Ali Jezzini
Journalist and Al Mayadeen Producer Ali Jezzinni (@Aly_jezzini) returns to the show to discuss the much hyped "defeat" of Lebanon's Party of God and how the emergence of First Person View drone warfare represents a watershed moment in the fight for liberation.
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast Youtube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Inside the Podcaster's Studio w/ Sina Rahmani
**I did a long livestream with Jay from MAKC on making media in a time of fascism and genocide. This is about 50% of the episode. You can listen to the entire episode by becoming a member of the EIAP Patreon or watch it for free on YouTube***
In this episode, East is a Podcast and Millennials Are Killing Capitalism will co-stream to discuss the world of podcasting. How we do our work, what our struggles are, what our gripes are, and perhaps, what is to be done?
Watch the livestream edition on the EIAP YouTube c...
"Creative Destruction": Missiles and drones vs the US Empire w/ Arash Joblaghi
**Note: In the first half of the episode, there is an abrupt break in the conversation where we briefly discussed this clip of Martyred IRGC General Hajizadeh. Sorry for the confusion!**
Arash Joblaghi returns to the show (after a very long hiatus!) to discuss some of the broader historical trends that the Ramadan War demonstrated about the future (and present) of military conflict.
Check out his earlier episode of the podcast, "The Meaning of Missiles"
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
Tankie Group Therapy #38: F*** it, we'll do it live!
Tankie Group Therapy is back! Sina, Jay, Lara, Adnan, Mikey, and Nora join the episode for a long debrief, and joining us for the first time is longtime friend of the show, Ali Alizadeh!
Some of the campaigns mentioned in the episode
https://chuffed.org/project/168100-mohammed-and-siblings-need-our-help
https://chuffed.org/project/174168-support-a-third-round-of-spocs-for-gaza
https://www.freefunder.com/campaign/support-yusof-azizi
Watch the livestream edition on our YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Playing the Middle Ground: Pakistan and US-Iran negotiations w/ Aman Ullah Tariq
Aman Ullah Tariq from the EON podcast returns to the show to discuss the negotiations between US and Iran in Pakistan and the latter's role in mediating all the actors in this conflict and the wider region.
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/GwYsbmOimys
Make sure to check out his earlier episode
https://youtu.be/hYC1aqErss8
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Iran vs. Epstein Empire (Day 42)
Jared Ware from Millennials are Killing Capitalism and Tankie Group Therapy alum Mikey joined me to talk about the latest developments from the war.
Watch the livestream edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
https://youtube.com/live/bReHZ4POy90
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Iran War Diary (Day 29) w/ Kumars Salehi and Navid Zarrinnal
**We managed to get Navid online for a conversation on the perception of Iranians on this war. This episode is co-published with Kumars Salehi at Delete Ur Account**
This week's episode is another collaboration with The Colony Archive and The East is a Podcast. As Roqayah continues to document the resistance to Israel's attempted ethnic cleansing of south Lebanon, Kumars and friend of the show Sina Rahmani reconnected with Navid Zarrinnal in Tehran after two weeks.
Navid updates us on the current mood in Iran as US-Israeli bombardment continues, sharing his experiences of the significance of...
"War, War until Victory!": Iran resists ZioAmerican aggression w/ Sara Larijani and Taha Zeinali
Sara Larijani is a PostDoc fellow in Political Geography at the University of Tehran. Her research is on British colonialism in Iran's oil frontiers.
Taha Zeinali (@tahazeinalih) is a doctoral researcher in development studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. His research focus is imperialist hybrid war, sanctions and sovereign development in Iran.
They are both co-founders of the Center for Resistance, Sovereignty and Development Studies at the University of Tehran.
Watch the video edition on The East Is a Podcast YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/PKc1RPqnca8
Consider supporting t...
Iran Vs. The Declining Kayfabe Empire featuring Sina Rahmani & Kumars Salehi
**I did an episode with comrads Jay from MAKC and Kumars from Delete Ur Account last week and forgot to post it! The episode explores the concept "kayfabe" in governing American cultural and political life**
In this episode Sina Rahmani from The East is a Podcast & Kumars Salehi from Delete Your Account will join us to talk about the wrestling term "kayfabe" which is about maintaining the illusions that staged storylines and pre-determined matches are authentic, and that wrestlers are actually the characters they portray. We'll talk about this idea in relation to how the US Empire...
The Ramadan War: Iran strikes back w/ Helyeh Doutaghi
Friend of the show Bikrum Gill is joined by Helyeh Doutaghi to discuss the resistance of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the US-Zionist war of aggression. The discussion focuses on the strategic objectives pursued by Iran in its resistance, and what the larger stakes are for the region and the world-system as a whole. It considers how Iran's resistance represents a historic advance for forces of anti-imperialism. Finally, the episode explores the basis of the specific social, historical, and theological bases of Iranian sovereignty.
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel<...
Operation Epstein Fury vs. Iran - Day 5 with Adnan Husain, Lara Sheehi, & Sina Rahmani
***I recorded an episode with some friends earlier this week but forgot to upload it until today! Apologies for the lateness**
As the imperialist war rages on a group of us will gather to talks through the developments of the last few days to analyze and discuss.
Adnan Husain from the Adnan Husain Show: / @adnanhusainshow
Lara Sheehi from Psychic Militancy: / @psychicmilitancy
Sina Rahmani from East is a Podcast: / @theeastisapodcast
Watch the livestream edition on MAKC YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZh7WXn9ovY
Iran and Resistance to US Imperialism - Out of Left Field Episode #5 w/ Sina Rahmani
***I did an episode with the lovely folks at Out of Left Field from the End of Sport podcast. Nathan is one of my older friends and comrades, and their show has been going strong for several years
In this emergency episode of the End of Sport's Out of Left Field, Nathan, Derek, and Priyansh talk to The East is a Podcast's Sina Rahmani about the current situation in Iran, exploring the historical context, the role of imperialism, and the resilience of the Iranian state against foreign interference. We discuss the implications of the ongoing conflict across...
Tankie Group Therapy #37: Tie me to another missle!
***Help support Mohammed and his siblings. They are having a difficult time with their living expences and donations have completely dropped off***
Tankie Group Therapy is back! Lara, Jay, Mikey, Adnan, Nora and Sina got together to discuss the ZioAmerican imperialist aggression on the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Note: This episode was recorded a few hours before the announcement of the martyrdom of Imam Ali Khamenei
Watch the livestream edition on the East is a Podcast YouTube edition
https://youtube.com/live/wKEJ2N2hGA0
Consider supporting the show
www...
Hasbara at home: A deep dive into Zionist Hebrew media w/ Dror Dayan
**Note: This episode contains a lot of discussion of screenshares. Unfortunately, we didn't do the best job describing every graph for audio listeners, so watch the video edition if you are interested in seeing the graphs cited and the slides prepared by the guest.***
Filmmaker Dror Dayan returns to the show to provide us with an overview of the Zionist media machine in Occupied Palestine.
You can follow him on Twitter
https://x.com/DrorDayan
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
https://youtu.be/5fkp6...
The prehistory of Al Aqsa Flood w/ Mujamma Haraket (pt.1)
***This conversation with Mujamma stretched slightly over two hours and covered a lot of terrain. Part 2 is now available to patrons, as will the video edition of the entire episode. If a few of you sign up for the Patreon, I will unlock it in a couple of weeks on the free feed.***
The first half of a two-part episode with academic and translator Mujamma Haraket about the historical trajectory of actors, social forces, and ideologies that propelled the Islamic Resistance Movement in Palestine (HAMAS) from its early history to today.
Support Mujamma's fantastic work o...
Who Paid the Pipers of Western Marxism?
**Producer's note: The folks at Popular Front asked me to moderate this discusssion of Gabriel Rockhill's latest book on the history of the Frankfurt School. Make sure to check out Popular Front!**
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We're thrilled to host author and philosopher Gabriel Rockhill on his book tour in Toronto. One of the key intellectuals of our movement today, his latest work explores ideas that are essential to understanding the challenges and necessities in building a socialist movement—especially for those of us living in the West.
Starting with a talk from the auth...
"We are simply people who love life": Voices from the Gaza holocaust
**Note: As I explain in the introduction to this video, this is a very special episode that consists of two halves featuring three Palestinians in Gaza sharing their stories. It has become more than evident that our racist ruling class and their media warriors are simply refusing to allow anything that humanizes Palestinians in the slightest into the mainstream. It falls to us to help break the narrative blockade on Palestinians and their liberation struggle. I hope to do more of this content in the future, so if you know people in Gaza who want to make their own...
"They won't leave us alone": Organized chaos and hybrid war in Iran w/ Navid Zarrinnal
***Note: Navid's internet has been very unreliable for weeks now, so when I managed to get hold of him with a stable VPN, we decided to hurriedly record. In haste, both of us managed to mangle our respective recordings. I have been forced to resort to--please forgive me, cruel podcast gods---AI audio enhancer tools to see if it could be improved, which it mostly did but there are some funny spots on my side.***
Navid Zarrinal, host of the Colony Archive, and one of the oldest friends of The East is a Podcast, described what he witnessed...
Tankie Group Therapy #36: Empire of Lulz
Tankie Group Therapy is back after a long, long hiatus! Lara Sheehi from Psychic Militancy hosts this special, extra-super-duper-sized edition featuring all your TGT faves: Justin Podur, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Alex Avina, Joe Emersberger, Sina Rahmani, Arama Rata, Jared Ware, Adnan Husain, Asa Winstanley, and more!
Watch the livestream edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Michael Parenti: "US interventionism, the 3rd world, and the USSR" (1986)
***RIP Michael Parenti***
Michael Parenti speaks at the University of Colorado, Boulder: "US interventionism, the 3rd world, and the USSR" April 15, 1986
Source
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP8CzlFhc14
Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive for more great archival mixes
Join us for a live edition of Tankie Group Therapy Sunday @ 3:30
https://www.youtube.com/live/rX2hbS3eKqg
"Listen to the Iranians": Sina Rahmani (The East is a Podcast)
**Note: When stuff in Iran goes down, my natural inclination is to avoid doing content and stay above the fray, at least until the media hysteria dies down. Not the best way to run a media project, I know, but I just have a hard time with all the breathless coverage--BREAKING!!!--and don't really want to feed it. Even then, I am still Iranian, and if people ask me to record during these times, my cultural programming compels me to accept the invitation.
This episode of Peacemongers with Mehmet and Erik was recorded as I was travelling for...
Sina Rahmani: "This is hybrid warfare" (The Freedom Side, Jan 15th)
I have been on the road and unable to do a proper episode on what's happening on Iran, so I decided to post this quick spot I did with The Freedom Side from BT News. You can watch the full episode on their YouTube channel
If you can't wait until I am able to record a full episode on Iran (I will try to do one tomorrow night or Saturday morning), my comrade Nick and I recently did an episode of our paywalled show, Pod Kapital, and we discussed a little bit about what has been happening b...
Psychic Militancy - Ghassan Abu Sittah: Clinic as site of resistance
***I have been working with Lara Sheehi on her new show. Make sure you subscribe to her video and audio feeds to listen to the rest of this episode****
Ghassan Abu Sittah: Clinic as site of resistance
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah to discuss the centrality of the clinic in the genocidal violence perpetrated by the Zionist settler state in Gaza, his concept of the biosphere of genocide, and importantly, the site of the clinic as central to resistance, refusal, and liberation. Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah is a Br...
AISC #8: The Bolivarian and Iranian Revolutions vs. US Imperialism w/ Carlos Ron and Mohammad Marandi
[NOTE: This is the first portion of the latest episode of The Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective podcast. Lots of great content has already been released on both audio and video feeds and more to come, so please make sure you subscribe to both!]
Hosted by AISC co-founder Nina Farnia, this episode features two distinguished guests and friends of AISC, Venezuela's former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Ron and University of Tehran professor Mohammad Marandi. We initially filmed a 2025 anti-imperialist roundup on December 30, 2025, but just a few days later the US invaded Venezuela and abducted President Nicolas Maduro and F...
Global Dumpster Fire: 2025 in Review w/ Max Ajl
Producer's note: Apologies for the long absence from the show. As I explain in the first few minutes of this episode, I have been busy launching some new shows in addition to this special episode, currently only available on the YouTube channel. More great content for the main feed and bonus feed coming soon!
Max Ajl returns to the show to reflect on some of the wider historical contexts that laid the groundwork for the calamity that was 2025.
This was recorded 2 days before the flagrant kidnapping of President Nicolas Maduro
Watch the video edi...
Struggle Session 6 Live w/Nerdeen Kiswani, Sina Rahmani, Henry Hakamaki & Mehmet Ali Arslan
The Struggle Session is back for November on Sunday Nov 23rd at 3pmET! This monthly livestream panel program is not convening to make you feel better--the unvarnished analysis and fierce self-criticism may make you feel a bit worse! But, it will inform and, hopefully, spur you to taking action. As Marx said, the point isn't just to understand the world but to change it. This is an activist panel for a much needed Struggle Session: Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of Within our Lifetime; Sina Rahmani, host of East is a Podcast and impressario/producer of the online tankie left; Henry...
Schrödinger's vassal: Pakistan's contradictory stance w/ Aman Ullah Tariq
Aman Ullah Tariq is a Pakistani analyst and is one of the hosts of EON.
Check out his episode of The Colony Archive
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Pod Kapital #7 : Labour has no value
***This is a preview of the latest episode of Pod Kapital, the new podcast series co-hosted by me and my comrade Nick Estes exploring Marx's Capital. The episodes are paywalled but we livestreaming our recordings, so subscribe to The East is a Podcast YouTube channel and watch us live for free!***
Nick and Sina return for another episode of Pod Kapital. Today we discuss parts 4+5, chapters 14-21.
Subscribe to Nick's Substack to watch the video edition or watch the livestream.
Office Hours 13-Sudan: Resistance, Compradors, an Existential Fight for Liberation w/Hamza Al-Muqawi
In this edition of Office Hours, Friday Nov. 7 at a special time, 6pm ET, Adnan hosts Hamza Al-Muqawi a Sudanese writer and activist to talk about Sudan's history as a crucial and continuing front in the struggle against colonialism, imperialism, and capitalist exploitation of Eastern Africa and West Asia. We will learn about Sudan's strategic place on the Red Sea and the geopolitical factors fueling imperial and subimperial designs and interventions as well as the resistance and struggle for liberation by Sudan's people facing terror, deliberate starvation and genocide. Hamza's analysis will help illuminate a central battleground in resisting...
No god but God: 20 years later w/ Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan is a religious scholar and bestselling author, including his biography of Jesus of Nazareth, Zealot (2013) and his history of Islam, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (2005).
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Introducing the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective Podcast
NOTE: I have been helping the great people over at the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective launch their new show. Lots of great content has already been released on both audio and video feeds and more to come, so please make sure you subscribe to both!
Imperialism's Political, Economic, and Military Machinations
On this episode of the AISC podcast, members Bikrum Gill and Navid Farnia address the US's ongoing military buildup in the Caribbean and the energy conflict between the US and China. They also provide more analysis of the Gaza "ceasefire" and comment on the flareup be...
[Unlocked] Pod Kapital #5: Cooperation makes it happen
**Note: Nick and I have been doing a new show behind our respective paywalls, Pod Kapital, going through the new translation of Marx's Capital published by Princeton University Press. We had originally envisioned it as short-run series but after the tremendous response we have received from listeners, we have decided to make the show permanent. At this point, most of the episodes are locked but we will be figuring out ways to make future episodes accessible to non-Patrons in one way or another.**
In this episode, we discuss Marx's chapter on cooperation. We also change the structure...
The Imperial '80s: 'Evil Dead 2' ft. Sina Rahmani
The next installment of the Imperial '80s series is sure to be one for the ages. Evil Dead 2. Bruce Campbell. Chainsaw arm. Sawed off Shotgun. Necronomicon. Sina Rahmani from the East is a Podcast. What more could you want?
We can't talk about this film without discussing settler colonialism, zionism, & orientalism (and therefore imperialism)!
As always to support our show, please become an Imperial 80s patron, where you get first access to bonus episodes and support both Mtume and J's work on this series. We do hope to have the time to record a...
There's a Ceasefire in Gaza. What Happens Next?
Millennials Are Killing Capitalism and the East is a Podcast will reflect upon the events of the week and talk about all of the unknowns. There is a ceasefire again, but will it hold? If we know that "Israel" violates every ceasefire, and every agreement, what form will their violation take this time? We will throughout this live-stream ask folks to support some families in Gaza who still are living in a state of tremendous devastation.
Support Doaa Osama and her family in Gaza
https://chuffed.org/project/149565-support-doaa-osama-and-her-family-in-gaza
Help Ahmed and his family...
Break the Siege of Complicity! Sameer Project Fundraiser
A collaborative livestream discussion meant to support and fundraise for the Sameer Project, a Palestinian led mutual aid organization operating within Gaza, and especially its Mass Displacement Response Campaign for emergency relief.
Streaming on multiple channels, the discussion is also sponsored by Jay of Millennials are Killing Capitalism and we will be joined by Sina of East is a Podcast, Benji and Sacha of Resistance is Fertile, Lara Sheehi, Jared of iMWiL!, Renee of Saturdays w/Renee on BLM, and Nick of The Red Nation Podcast.
Watch the video edition on The East is a P...
Airing More Grievances | An East is a Podcast & MAKC Fundraiser for Lifeline4Gaza
***Note: Jay and I did another fundraiser episode. This time, we used the website Lifeline4Gaza to help lift up some slow-moving campaigns. During the episode, I linked to two other campaigns whose organizers I know and who need your help: consider donating to Ahmed or Mahmoud***
As promised we are back to air more grievances! This week Sina and Jared are combining forces once again! Nora Barrows-Friedman from Electronic Intifada, and our frequent guest and comrade Alexander Aviña will be joining us, and some other special guests will join us as well!
...
Pod Kapital #1: Seeing the Monster
Note: Nick Estes and I have launched a new project called Pod Kapital in which we will be reading canonical Marxist texts for weekly episodes on his Substack. I will be posting the audio editions for all my patrons but if you want to watch the video edition, you will have to sign up behind his paywall! I encourage you to do so anyway for the great content he is posting !
The Red-Brown alliance is finally happening! The American Indian-Iranian alliance, that is. Host of the East Is a Podcast, Sina Rahmani, joins the Red Scare Podcast...
The Airing of Grievances with Sina Rahmani & Friends
UPDATE
***Yesterday, Jay from MAKC hosted a livestream for me, Adnan Husain, and Nick Estes partly as a mini-fundraiser for my friend Mohammed in Gaza. The response has been amazing. As I mention in the episode, donations started pouring in from listeners/ viewers. Someone even donated $500!. It was really moving for me--I even shed a tear on the livestream!
Thank you to all who donated. Mohammed was elated to see some money come in, as he has been trying to arrange for transport south for him and his siblings. For a few weeks, donations had drie...
Tell me what anti-imperialism looks like w/ Max Ajl
EIAP shadow commander in charge of finding guests Max Ajl returns to the show after a long hiatus to discuss what lessons can be drawn from the 12-day war between Iran and ZioAmerikkan Empire.
Check out his piece, "Peoples and Regimes: Anti-Imperialism and the Islamic Republic of Iran"
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
Tankie Group Therapy #35 : Tie me to a missile!
Tankie Group Therapy is back! This time with an actual licensed therapist! Sina hosts alongside Adnan from @adnanhusainshow , Jay from @MAKCapitalism , and Lara Sheehi!
Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel
Consider supporting the show
www.patreon.com/east_podcast
