Conflicted

An award winning podcast that combines first-hand experience with expert analysis, Conflicted breaks down the complexities of history, religion and politics of the Middle East and puts them in a global context. I produced series 3, in which hosts Islamic scholar Thomas Small and ex-jihadi turned spy Aimen Dean, turn inwards on the region to re-examine the power struggle in the Middle East. Borrowing Samuel Huntington’s idea of The Clash of Civilizations, the hosts begin their investigation into the conflict with the Cold War and then work all the way back to the Bronze Age to answer two main questions: Is the real reason for instability and bloodshed in the region a clash of civilizations? And what ideas are silenced in the mainstream interpretation of the conflict’s origins?