Turbulence

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss Jair Bolsonaro’s failed attempt to escape from house arrest, former Obama speechwriter Sarah Hurwitz’s sensational book tour, and the Trump-Mamdani White House summit.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get regular bonus episodes, which will usually be news roundups (but may also include bonus interviews). Paid subscribers will also have access to monthly livestreams, book giveaways, and Q&A. Most importantly, our paid subscribers help us keep this project going.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit turbulencepod.substack.comWe discuss the McDonald’s Summit, the Donroe Doctrine, Mohammad bin Salman at the White House, and the United Nations Security Council formally endorsing Trump’s Gaza plan. We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get regular bonus episodes, which will usually be news roundups (but may also include bonus interviews). Paid subscribers will also have access to monthly livestreams, book giveaways, and Q&A. Most importantly, our paid subscribers help us keep this project going.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman

Our friend Hassan joins us to discuss the devastating civil war in Sudan, the geopolitical strategy of the United Arab Emirates, and US counter-rationality as a hegemon in decline. Check out Hassan's 2022 piece on the Sudanese revolution, Where is Sudan? Refracting the Globe Through Bilad al-Dahab.If you are able, please consider donating to one of the following fundraisers to support relief efforts in Sudan:https://www.gofundme.com/f/fight-hunger-in-sudan-the-khartoum-kitchen-appealhttps://sudanfunds.com/https://www.sudansolidarity.com/We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get regular bonus episodes, which will usually be news roundups (but may also include bonus interviews). Paid subscribers will also have access to monthly livestreams, book giveaways, and Q&A. Most importantly, our paid subscribers help us keep this project going.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek VenkatramanMix: Jasper Saba This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

We discuss Kazakhstan joining the Abraham Accords, the absurd failure of Saudi Arabia’s Neom, Jolani’s White House visit, and offer a critical assessment of the Mamdani mayoral victory on our first news roundup bonus episode. This is a teaser for our news roundup bonus episode. Subscribe here for access to the full version. We're committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get regular bonus episodes, which will usually be news roundups (but may also include bonus interviews). Paid subscribers will also have access to monthly livestreams, book giveaways, and Q&A. Most importantly, our paid subscribers help us keep this project going.Follow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

Orisanmi Burton joins us to discuss the legacy of Assata Shakur, the prison as a form of warfare, and transnational solidarity between Black and Palestinian revolutionary struggles. Texts discussed: Assata is Welcome Here, Tip of the Spear, and Fugitive Solidarities. Please consider donating to the commissary of Tarek Bazrouk and this fundraiser for Jakhi McCray, two political prisoners mentioned in this episode. Orisanmi Burton researches and writes about the collision between Black radical politics and state repression. He is the author of Tip of the Spear: Black Radicalism, Prison Repression, and the Long Attica Revolt (UC Press 2023).Clips at 22:30 and 1:13:21 found in the documentary ATTICA (1974). We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get regular bonus episodes, which will usually be news roundups (but may also include bonus interviews). Paid subscribers will also have access to monthly livestreams, book giveaways, and Q&A. Most importantly, our paid subscribers help us keep this project going.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek VenkatramanMix: Jasper Saba This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

Alexander Aviña joins us to discuss Israel’s Cold War involvement in Latin America, the invention of “narcoterrorism,” and the potential for solidarity between the pro-Palestine and anti-ICE movements. Check out Aviña’s work with the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective. Alexander Aviña is an Associate Professor of History at Arizona State University. He is a historian of modern Mexico and Latin America currently writing a book on the intersection between political radicalism, state terrorism and drug wars in Cold War Mexico. He is the author of Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside (Oxford U Press, 2014). Twitter/X: @Alexander_AvinaWebsite: alexanderavina.comWe’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get an early release of our intro episode, access to a launch day live stream on 10/28 with special guests, and more bonus content to come.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek VenkatramanMix: Jasper Saba This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

Laleh Khalili joins us to discuss Ansarallah’s naval blockade in support of Palestine, the politics and history of the commodities trade in the Arabian Peninsula, and "counter-logistical" strategies of resistance. Check out Khalili’s new book Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy and her previous book Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula, both of which featured heavily in our discussion. Also mentioned: The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders who Barter the Earth’s Resources. Laleh Khalili is a professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author or editor of seven books, including Heroes and Martyrs of Palestine: The Politics of National Commemoration (Cambridge 2007), Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula (Verso 2020), and Extractive Capitalism: How Commodities and Cronyism Drive the Global Economy (Profile Books 2025). Twitter/X: @LalehKhaliliWe’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get an early release of our intro episode, access to a launch day live stream on 10/28 with special guests, and more bonus content to come.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_podTheme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek Venkatraman This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

Audio: George Habash speaks on U.S. role in Palestine and Lebanon, January 1979.Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)Art: Vivek VenkatramanThe American Century is ending. So far, the world order emerging in its wake has been defined by geopolitical chaos and rolling, interconnected crises—in a word: Turbulence. Whether these crises ultimately produce a new superpower, a new multipolar world, or simply more and more chaos remains open to the forces of historical contingency.This podcast is our attempt to make sense of a world in flux. What is going on? What fresh hells await us? And what the f**k, if anything, can we do about it? These are the questions we seek to answer. In the long tail of the so-called Global War on Terror—and particularly in the post October 7 world—much of these questions will lead us to the Middle East. But we’ll be going elsewhere in the periphery, and will certainly be coming back home to the core.The situation is bad, and is sure to get worse. But if there is a way out, we’ll be trying to find it. We hope you’ll join us.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get an early release of our intro episode, access to a launch day live stream on 10/28 with special guests, and more bonus content to come.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe

Audio: George Habash speaks on U.S. role in Palestine and Lebanon, January 1979.Theme: Eye for an Eye, Haram (2017)The American Century is ending. So far, the world order emerging in its wake has been defined by geopolitical chaos and rolling, interconnected crises—in a word: Turbulence. Whether these crises ultimately produce a new superpower, a new multipolar world, or simply more and more chaos remains open to the forces of historical contingency.This podcast is our attempt to make sense of a world in flux. What is going on? What fresh hells await us? And what the f**k, if anything, can we do about it? These are the questions we seek to answer. In the long tail of the so-called Global War on Terror—and particularly in the post October 7 world—much of these questions will lead us to the Middle East. But we’ll be going elsewhere in the periphery, and will certainly be coming back home to the core.The situation is bad, and is sure to get worse. But if there is a way out, we’ll be trying to find it. We hope you’ll join us.We’re committed to independence and will never run ads or have institutional affiliations. That means we’re entirely listener funded.For $5, paid subscribers will get an early release of our intro episode, access to a launch day live stream on 10/28 with special guests, and more bonus content to come.Subscribe today at turbulencepod.substack.comFollow along on Twitter/X and Instagram @turbulence_pod This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit turbulencepod.substack.com/subscribe