FO Podcasts

For years, Washington framed its confrontation with Venezuela as part of the war on drugs — a narrative questioned by critics who argued that narcotics enforcement masked a deeper geopolitical objective. That debate has now reached its dramatic conclusion. The Trump administration has carried out a special operation in Caracas, capturing Nicolás Maduro and his wife and flying them to the United States to face drug-related charges. Fair Observer’s Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh sat down with Benjamin Delile, Foreign Correspondent for the French Newspaper Liberation on December 15. Together, they examined Washington’s Venezuela policy through the lenses of geopolitics, military strategy and great-power competition.  Benjamin Delille explains why claims about fentanyl and drug trafficking do not align with available data, and why Venezuela’s strategic importance goes far beyond narcotics. From oil reserves and critical minerals to China’s growing influence in Latin America, the discussion reveals the deeper forces shaping US actions. They also discuss Venezuela’s political crisis, the disputed 2024 election and the rise of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado Finally, the conversation situates Venezuela within the broader Trump-era revival of the Monroe Doctrine, raising uncomfortable questions about regime change, intervention and the future of US power in the Western Hemisphere.   00:00 America’s War on Drugs 09:30 America’s Arc of Influence 13:10 Maria Corina Machado’s Popularity 21:00 Hugo Chavez & Maduro 26:20 Trump’s Maximum Pressure Campaign 33:00 Trump’s Endgame in Venezuela

Myanmar is heading into elections on December 28 while the country remains trapped in a brutal civil war. More than 6,000 people have been killed, over 3.5 million displaced, and nearly half the population pushed into poverty since the 2021 military coup. In this episode of FO Talks, Rohan Khattar Singh speaks with Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Executive Director of the South Asia Project at the Millennium Project, to unpack why Myanmar’s military junta is holding elections at its weakest moment. The discussion examines the collapse of state control, the rise of resistance forces, ethnic armed groups, and why the opposition has been entirely excluded from the vote. The conversation also explores China, India, ASEAN, regional spillover risks, illicit trade networks, and why this election is widely viewed as an attempt to manufacture legitimacy rather than restore democracy. Is this election a step toward stability or a move that deepens Myanmar’s fractures? This episode explains what is really at stake.   00:00 Myanmar’s First Election Since 2021 Coup 05:30 Myanmar’s Junta Buying Time? 09:00 Opposition Silenced in 2025 Election 13:15 What Does the Junta Want? 16:00 What Do the Ethnic Groups Want? 20:00 Is the Election Fair? 24:00 Global Silence on Myanmar 27:30 Peace in Myanmar

Why is the word class almost never spoken in American politics, despite shaping elections, identity, and power? In this episode of FO Podcasts, Fair Observer’s Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh, examines the hidden class system in the United States with former Washington Post journalist Kent Jenkins. Drawing from his journey from a blue-collar upbringing to elite Washington institutions, Jenkins explains how class operates through education, accents, culture, and unspoken social rules. The conversation explores why American politics avoids class language, how elite institutions dominate political discourse, and why working-class voters across racial lines have drifted away from the Democratic Party. The episode also unpacks Donald Trump’s appeal, elite condescension, identity politics, and the widening divide between metropolitan professionals and rural or industrial America. With comparisons to Europe and the United Kingdom, this discussion shows why class, not race alone, has become a defining fault line in US democracy. 00:00 Class in America 04:30 Atul’s Family in India 06:30 Kent’s Family in America 10:00 Class Politics in the US 15:00 What Trump Did Right 21:00 Class in Europe vs America 35:00 The Impact of Class on Community 40:00 Democrats and Zohran Mamdani 45:00 Race and Class in America 55:00 Republicans vs Democrats    

In this episode of FO° Podcasts, Fair Observer’s Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh speaks with Lauren Greenberg, Deputy General Counsel at White & Case LLP, about the transformative impact of Title IX on women’s sports in the United States. From founding Dartmouth’s first women’s softball team to filing a landmark Title IX complaint, Greenberg shares how law became her tool for creating equal opportunity. The conversation explores the evolution of women’s athletics, the life skills sports cultivate, gaps in media representation, and why true gender parity still requires cultural change. They also discuss the next frontier — pay equity, leadership roles and expanding support for underrepresented sports. A powerful discussion on rights, opportunity and the future of women in sport.

In this episode, Founder, CEO & Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh sits down with Dr. Edmund Ghareeb, renowned scholar, historian and author of Enemy of the Sun: Palestinian Poetry of Resistance. Together, they explore the remarkable story behind the book’s publication, its connection to the Palestinian struggle, and how poetry became a powerful voice of identity, resistance and survival. Ghareeb recounts how the book, Enemy of the Sun, featured works by iconic poets such as Mahmoud Darwish, Samih al-Qasim and Rashid Hussein — figures who turned Palestinian poetry into political testimony. The conversation traces the book’s unlikely publishing journey, its ties to calls for resistance like the Black Panther movement and its rediscovery decades later. The discussion delves into the intersection of politics, literature, and history, exploring how Palestinian poetry connects with broader human struggles, from apartheid and exile to freedom and dignity. This powerful conversation captures not just the Palestinian cause, but the universal resilience of those who fight to be heard.

In this episode of FO° Podcast, Producer Rohan Khattar Singh speaks with Zweli Martin Dlamini, investigative journalist from Eswatini, about a shocking new policy under the Trump Administration — the deportation of third-country migrants to Eswatini, a tiny landlocked kingdom in southern Africa. The conversation uncovers the controversial “Dollars for Deportees” deal, exploring whether Eswatini’s monarchy, led by King Mswati III — is financially benefitting from US deportations. Dlamini explains how this arrangement, which sends non-Eswatini nationals to the country, has raised serious human rights and legal concerns. Why would one of Africa’s smallest nations sign such a deal? Is the US outsourcing its migrant crisis to weaker states, and at what cost? This episode investigates power, money, and exploitation behind an agreement many call modern-day dumping by the West. Join Rohan Khattar Singh and Zweli Martin Dlamini as they unpack the ethics, economics, and silence surrounding one of America’s most disturbing foreign policy moves.

In this episode of FO° Podcasts, Fair Observer’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh speaks to American voting rights attorney and Washington D.C’s Shadow Senator, Ankit Jain, on US President Donald Trump’s policy of deploying thousands of National Guard troops and federal agents in the nation’s capital. Jain and Singh discuss crime in Washington, D.C. and why it has been a top concern among D.C’s voters. Jai speaks about why Washington, D.C. should be a state and how the national capital suffers for being a federal district. Listen to the full podcast to learn more about what the Trump Administration is doing in the national capital.

In this episode of FO° Podcasts, Fair Observer’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Atul Singh speaks to foreign affairs analyst William McChesney about the Syrian refugee crisis. They talk about the fall of former Syrian leader Hafez al-Assad, his son Bashar al-Assad, and the current interim government under former Al Qaeda member Ahmed al-Sharaa. They also discuss the role of Turkey in Syria’s politics and why Ankara has backed Ahmed al-Sharaa. Singh and McChesney then dive into the sectarian violence and tensions in Syria which have forced millions to leave the country. Watch the full episode to know more.

The Iranian regime’s network of terror in the Middle East has been greatly reduced to rubble over the past year. With US President Donald Trump back in office the frenzied Ayatollah is adapting to the new reality and Tehran leaping for a nuclear bomb appears to be among the cards. In this episode we talk all that and more. Note: After this episode was recorded, Trump reinstated the Maximum Pressure campaign from his first term on the Islamic Republic. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacted by saying that talks with the United States were “not smart, wise, or honorable.”

HTS, an Islamist group with al-Qaeda roots, is now the strongest force in Syria. The fallen Assad regime, while brutal, was formally socialist and secular, allowing a degree of religious freedom. Syria is now in danger of losing this relative freedom.   Flavius Mihaies is an investigative journalist with extensive field experience in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Eastern Europe, and Africa. His journalism primarily focuses on conflict, the experiences of minorities at war, and the effects of economic sanctions. Before his journalistic career, Flavius worked with the US Congress, think tanks, international organizations, and private sector entities in development and foreign policy. HuffPost, the Atlantic Council, and Al Jazeera have featured his work. Flavius frequently travels to the Middle East, where he has firsthand experience working in a Syrian refugee camp, touring towns in the Kurdish region, and visiting local Christian communities. He has also completed a book on Syria.

Antoine van Agtmael, a sage of our times who coined the term “emerging markets” in 1981, discusses Donald Trump’s victory, its reasons, its significance and its consequences in this episode of FO° Podcasts. He says it is the end of an era, but the world is still much better off than a hundred years ago, and there is reason for hope.

The upcoming second Trump administration has ignited a debate about its economic impact, referred to as "Trumponomics." This approach diverges from traditional Republican free-trade principles while keeping elements like deregulation, lower taxes, and a strong stance on China. The effectiveness of these policies will largely depend on the administration's appointees in key departments, but Trump's unpredictable nature introduces further uncertainty. The outcome remains uncertain.

South Africa's history is a journey from colonization and racial injustice to resistance and the overthrow of apartheid. In this episode of FO° Podcasts, we peel back the many layers of the country’s past, make sense of the present and ponder the future.

Switzerland continues to navigate complex global challenges while maintaining its traditional neutrality and economic interests. The country's diplomatic efforts, economic partnerships, and strategic approach to international relations demonstrate its commitment to fostering peace, stability, and prosperity on the world stage.

The Horn of Africa is a region facing complex and interconnected challenges with potential conflict and instability. Understanding the historical context, current geopolitical landscape and the role of external powers is crucial for comprehending the dynamics of this volatile region.

Professor Haruko Satoh from the Osaka School of International Public Policy and Dr. Satu Limaye, Vice President and Research Program Director at the East-West Center in Washington, discuss the evolving role of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic partnership between four of the most important democracies in the Indo-Pacific: Japan, the US, Australia and India.

In this episode, Atul Singh chats with Nadia Oweidat, a professor at Kansas State University and an intellectual historian. Nadia discusses her book "Reform and its Perils in Contemporary Islam," which delves into the challenges of reforming Islamic thought. The conversation highlights the work of Islamic philosopher Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, exploring his contributions and the difficulties faced in modernizing Islamic perspectives.

In this episode of FO° Podcasts, host Atul welcomes back Flavius Mihaies to discuss the recent political unrest in the French overseas territory. Flavius explains that the crisis stems from the indigenous Kanak population's demands for greater autonomy and potential independence. The Kanaks, comprising 41% of the population, are concerned about proposed changes in voting laws by the French government, which they see as undermining their political power. The episode delves into New Caledonia's colonial history, its strategic importance, and the economic and healthcare benefits provided by France. Efforts at resolution and the island's divided stance on independence are also explored.