The Newsagents, Will Qatar regret hosting the World Cup? "Qatar has gone from being a quietly successful, enormously rich, largely anonymous speck on the world map to being a pariah of the Middle East.

"It had hoped hosting the World Cup would bring fame ...

This was an excellent episode:

That's tonight's listening sorted... @EmpirePodUK has become essential listening @tweeter_anita @DalrympleWill ...

Arab News, Saudi Arabia’s 1st international audio content conference underway "(Mohammed) Islam pointed out that 200,000 of the 4 million podcasts had only managed a maximum six episodes because their creators had either not been consistent or failed to introduce new material."

If you have any interest in state actors and hacking, this one is for you:

This live episode of #LazarusHeist discusses aspects of series one.

There are are important insights into state ...

"Professor Leila Ahmed's book, Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate (1992) was published in a time in which there was little scholarship on the history of women in Islam. Over the years, it became a classic and was re-published in 2021 with a new foreword by Professor Kecia Ali, who has used it in her own scholarship ...

New and noted. I haven't listened to this yet (will do later today!)

"In this episode of Pretty Good Podcast, Imam Ardhianto, lecturer and chair of the University of Indonesia’s Media, Culture, and Research Center for Anthropological Studies, discusses the transformation of religious social media movements in Indonesia and how they shaped ...

I enjoyed the first episode of the "Empire" podcast from William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. The link is for Spotify, but it's available elsewhere too. This is an underrepresented subject (as discussed in the podcast), so anything that contributes to widening the discourse has to be welcomed. The fact it is done in a lively entertaining ("edu-taining"?) ...

This is an excellent podcast series from 'Story of our Times'. It provides a level of depth about Cantlie as an individual, and how he dealt with the challenges facing him. The podcast does not pull any punches. There is plenty of detail about the Islamic State and its treatment of captives. The podcast is presented by Manveen Rana and Anthony Loyd.

Ikran Dahir, Buzzfeed, A Muslim Podcast Became A Weekly Comfort For Women Around The World, 10 June 2022 "Podcasts voiced by Muslim women have often stayed in niche communities, but ...

John Sweeney, Taking on Putin, 'Let's not Count the Dead'

John Sweeney's podcast includes discussion on Chechnya. "This episode he visits towns near Kyiv that were occupied by Russia, and records evidence of war crimes. But over 20 years ago, John ...

An effective podcast on Bellingcat: "With potential war crimes in Ukraine unfolding over social media, internet whizzes around the world are using Bellingcat's open source toolkit to find, fact-check, and expose them in real time." It features Elliot Higgins, creative director and founder, Bellingcat, and Silke Muelherr, deputy CEO, Alfred ...

One Decision, Blood & Oil, "Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Justin Scheck, co-author of a book on the Saudi crown prince: Blood & Oil: Mohammed bin Salman’s Ruthless Quest for Global Power, joins former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove, and guest host Laura ...

Arab News, UK Muslim podcast to shine light on ‘unspoken’ mental health issues "The podcast, entitled the “Unspoken Truths about Mental Health,” will feature a range of guests, including people who have experienced mental health issues, as well as emotional support volunteers, imams, ...

Serial Productions/New York Times, The Trojan Horse Affair

I've become slightly obsessed with this eight-episode New York Times' Serial podcast, which is very revealing in its attitudes towards education and Islam in contemporary urban Britain. I've now heard ...

Mark Williams Thomas & Nazir Afzal, Fear or Favour, 8, Technology, Crime and Policing

Here's an interesting podcast on technology and crime, which is relevant to some areas of my research. I've put the Spotify link in here, but it is available on ...

BBC, The Coming Storm "QAnon and the plot to break reality. Reporter and presenter Gabriel Gatehouse takes a journey into the dark undergrowth of modern America." Important in charting the development of online activism, from message boards and chatrooms, through to 4chan, 8chan ...

Another episode from Spyscape's True Spies series which caught my attention: "It's 2011, and the hunt for Osama Bin Laden is intensifying. Shawnee Delaney, a case officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency, is determined to be the one to bring him in. But her source on the ground - an Islamic scholar with ties to Al Qaeda - proves to be a difficult ...

BBC Radio 4, Citizen of Nowhere Daliso Chaponda discusses Black History with Nabil Abdulrashid

Arab News, Canadian subject of NYT ‘Caliphate’ podcast admits fabricating story

"Shehroze Chaudhry, 26, who called himself Abu Huzayfah, spread false tales of his escapades on social media in 2016, including that he had been an executioner for Daesh."

As we approach the twentieth year since 9-11, there is inevitably substantial coverage on this. I'll be posting some elements that have caught my attention, linked specifically to the themes of this blog and my associated research. Coverage on the internet and 9-11 features in my book 'Islam in the Digital Age' (2003). I've dropped some trailers ...

Here's an interesting podcast about David Kelly and the 'WMD' Dossier, from the 'British Scandal' series. While familiar with some of the details of this case, the final episode with journalist Steve Richards is particularly informative. It's available across platforms.

I can also recommend other titles in this series, especially on the phone ...

Podcast:

I've already recommended this podcast. This latest episode (Episode 3, Part 1) maintains the series' high standards.

In other news, this was really interesting on

BBC World Service's Heart & Soul: The Druze

"Tamara Rasamny meets young Druze men and women to what pressures young people in the community face, and how they reconcile loyalty to their faith and their country." I don't recall ...

Podcast - Mosul and the Islamic State - Opportunities Lost (Part 1: Democracy)

Another mention for this series, this time with the two-part episode on the complexities of jihadi campaigns in Mosul. Recommended. Available on multiple platforms: I have ...

The Economist: The Intelligence, “We see this wave of digital censorship sweeping through Asia” — Indonesia joins a worrying trend

"AS GOVERNMENTS ACROSS South-East Asia crimp online ...

BBC World Service, The Lazarus Heist, Korean Roulette

Follow the trail from the Bangladesh bank heist ...

Here's my tweet about a podcast featuring Mubin Shaikh. It's a fascinating case. The podcast is well put together too. The series is worth checking out. My link below goes to Spotify, but it's available elsewhere too:

Just came across the 'True Spies' podcast featuring @MrMubinShaikh ...

American Scandal, Encore: Iran Contra, Episode 6

This is the final episode of an American Scandal programme (presenter Lindsay A. Graham) on the Iran Contra controversy, which has been quite interesting (as a non-specialist listener). This conclusion ...

For your listening pleasure:

BBC Radio 4, The Digital Human: Troll

The Digital Human: Troll explores the term in its different dimensions and its changes over time. Very topical! Relevant for those interested in forms of online 'beliefs' too.

BBC, I Dressed Ziggy Stardust

"Across the generations, they were inspired by the skinny South Londoner, who challenged gender barriers and who played with alien identity and other-worldliness. Beneath the make up and exotic costumes, he was also the intelligent, politely spoken suburban ...

Daily Beast, NYT Returns Peabody Award for ‘Caliphate’ Podcast After Admitting Reporting Was Crap

"The New York Times announced late Friday that it was returning a Peabody Award it won in 2018 ...