CONFLICTED
An ex-Al Qaeda jihadi turned MI6 spy and a former monk turned filmmaker, have been embedded at the heart of conflicts in the Middle East. Together Aimen Dean and Thomas Small unpack the realities of war, fundamentalism and their global implications through first-hand experience.
Episodes
September 11, 2025 • 71 mins
On the anniversary, we go all the way back to where it all started with Conflicted, Episode One - 9/11.
Where were you on 9/11? Thomas and Aimen use this historic event as a starting point as they tease out how al-Qaeda went from being a small army of jihadists seeking a caliphate in the Middle East to main player, at the centre of the global stage.
Season 5 has ended, but if you still want to have your Conflicted fix , then y...
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September 10, 2025 • 25 mins
This week Thomas is joined by academic and RUSI fellow, Dr. Burcu Ozcelik, a leading expert on Turkish domestic and foreign policy, particularly its relations with the Kurds and the Middle East. With a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on the topic of the PKK and their path to political reconciliation, Burcu has written widely about the Kurds and their relationship with the Turkish state - you can find her work over on X @BurcuAOzcel...
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September 3, 2025 • 71 mins
Another revisited Conflicted Community episode for you this week, as we gear up for a new season of Conflicted. This time we bring you the FULL episode of Thomas' conversation with Eugene Rogan, who back in 2024 told us about his latest book, 'The Damascus Events'. Enjoy...
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The 1860 ‘Damascus Events’ saw Syrian Christians murdered by their Sunni Muslim neighbours in a brutal genocidal moment that reshaped the late Ottoman Empi...
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August 27, 2025 • 24 mins
This week on Conflicted, host Thomas Small is joined by an old friend and former housemate when they studied in Syria together, Jakub Jajcay. A man of many talents, Jakub studied Arabic with Thomas in Damascus before becoming a Slovakian army officer, while also continuing his studies about the Middle East, including working towards a PHD on Lebanese politics. When Russia invaded Ukraine, he decided to put his professional skills t...
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August 20, 2025 • 61 mins
This week, we're giving our Conflicted listeners another taste of what they get by joining the Conflicted Community, with an old episode that didn't go out on our normal feed...
As Trump, Putin and Zelenskyy seek to find a solution to war in Ukraine, we thought it would be good to throw back to our episode with British diplomat Alex Anastasiades, so you can hear some more about what it is actually like to be in the room when these...
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August 13, 2025 • 26 mins
In this week’s Conflicted Community episode we're joined by Dr. Alick Isaacs, a lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and co-founder of Siach Shalom. Siach Shalom is am initiative that brings people from all walks of Israeli and wider Middle Eastern society—religious and secular, left and right—together to foster deep listening and dialogue. This conversation explores Dr. Isaacs' personal journey, from his upbringing as a ...
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July 30, 2025 • 23 mins
The Conflicted Community is delighted to welcome back on to the show Philip Cunliffe, Associate Professor of International Relations at UCL and co-host of BungaCast! In this insightful conversation, Thomas and Philip dive into his new book, "The National Interest: Politics After Globalization."
They trace the evolution of the national interest from medieval times to today, discussing its distinction from nationalism and how it ca...
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July 23, 2025 • 76 mins
Over the past few weeks, Southern Syria has been engulfed in violence, between the Al-Sharaa regime, local Druze militias, and even Israel joining the fray. In season 5, we spoke to Nour Salam, a member of the Druze community from Suwayda, who explained the complex dynamics of the region. So this week, we're returning to that episode, to help you make sense of the events going on there today...
Nour Salam is a Druze and a human ri...
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July 16, 2025 • 24 mins
Thomas and Aimen return to tackle a barrage of listener questions in this special Q&A episode, offering unparalleled insights into the ever-shifting landscape of Middle Eastern geopolitics.
We begin with a deep dive into the recent US strikes on Iran, where Aimen details the real impact of "Bunker Buster" bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities. Did they cause the destruction that many in the US government are claiming? The pair then ...
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July 9, 2025 • 69 mins
Conflicted reaches the final episode of Season 5! We've journeyed from Africa to the historic toppling of the Assad regime in Syria, and now, to bring the season to a close, Thomas is joined once again by Aimen to reassess all the topics we’ve discussed this season.
In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Aimen and Thomas discuss the state of Syria following 14 years of civil war, exploring the new complexities for Al-Sharaa...
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July 3, 2025 • 38 mins
On a regular Thursday in July 2005, the peaceful morning air was shattered as four bombs ripped through the underground in central London. 52 people were killed, over 700 others were injured. London had never seen bombings of this magnitude before, never with this coordination.
In the first episode of this special series of Conflicted, we hear from survivors, emergency workers and a former Al Qaeda spy as we recount the heart-poun...
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July 2, 2025 • 7 mins
On July 7th 2005, four bombs ripped through the maze of train tunnels underneath central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700 others.
20 years on, this event marks the start of two decades where terrorism, and the perceived threat of it, would change the way in which the UK thinks about its own security, societal integration, and the way in which it conducts itself around the globe.
Hosted by Thomas Small, co-host of t...
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June 25, 2025 • 76 mins
Our penultimate episode of season 5 is here, continuing our journey across Syria to bring you the voices of the revolution and civil war, from all perspectives.
In the series so far, we’ve given you the perspectives of a Kurd from Aleppo and Afrin, we’ve parachuted you into the siege of Southern Damascus, we’ve shown you what life was like in Raqqa under ISIS - and now, we bring you another fascinating view of the civil war - tha...
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June 18, 2025 • 81 mins
After our emergency episode on Monday about the extraordinary events currently taking place in Iran and Israel, we don't want to leave Conflicted listeners without their Thomas and Aimen fix on a Wednesday, so this week we're bringing you an old episode of Conflicted from Season 3, which explains how the modern state of Iran came into being - the Iranian Revolution of 1979... Find the episode description is below:
It's the Iranian...
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June 16, 2025 • 65 mins
Thomas and Aimen are back together again with an emergency episode to discuss the extraordinary events that took place over the weekend: Israel’s massive wave of attacks throughout Iran - and Iran's subsequent response.
Aimen is back with us to detail the implications of the military action, explaining from his sources on the inside just how strategic Israel were in their plans for degrading Iran’s nuclear capabilities and killing...
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June 11, 2025 • 25 mins
Another old friend is back on the show, to give our Dearest listeners an update on the ever evolving situation in Syria - so welcome back the gallic tones of France 24 journalist and fellow of the Soufan Centre, Wassim Nassr!
In this conversation, Thomas Small and Wasim discuss the current state of Syria, focusing on the recent lifting of sanctions by Trump, the implications for President Ahmad Al-Shara's government, and the histo...
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June 4, 2025 • 84 mins
Conflicted returns with another episode in our series on the Syrian Civil War, welcoming a new guest onto the show to tell us about her experiences of living life under ISIS in the city of Raqqa – Rania Ali.
Rania tells us about her experiences growing up in Raqqa, and the city's rich history - a place of conflict throughout the centuries. As the Arab Spring protests began, Rania became involved, and she details the secretive natu...
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May 28, 2025 • 24 mins
An old friend returns to the Conflicted Community for a chat about his home country of Yemen. Yes, you guessed it, it’s the irrepressible Baraa Shiban…
Thomas and Baraa once again discuss the complex and evolving situation in Yemen, focusing on the impact of U.S. administrations, the role of the Houthis, and the broader regional dynamics in the Middle East. The impact of the new Trump administration has entirely changed the situat...
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May 21, 2025 • 24 mins
In this episode for our Conflicted Community, we continue our survey of the Israel-Palestine question with another interview, as Thomas Small engages with Rob Geist-Pinfold, a lecturer in defense studies and international security.
This week we focus particularly on the Israeli settler movement. The conversation delves into the historical roots of the settler movement, its evolution from a secular to a religiously motivated initia...
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May 14, 2025 • 23 mins
Giri Rajendran is back for round 2 for the Conflicted Community, continuing our conversation about Donald Trump and his so-called ‘grand strategy’.
This second part of our conversation delves into the decline of U.S. global power and the historical context of rising powers, particularly in relation to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. In this conversation, Thomas and Giri delve into the complexities of the Ukraine conflict, the im...
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