How did they originate? Where did they come from? What do they want? Are they really just a proxy that does whatever Iran tells them to? Or are they an organization that has their own objectives and are only allied with Iran when it also suits their own purpose?

I'm Jasmine El-Gamal, and this is the View From Here, where every week we take you behind the headlines and into the lives of the people living them.

This week, Jasmine spoke to Baraa Shiban, a Yemeni analyst who has lived with the Houthis, negotiated with them and has spent years trying to figure out exactly what makes them tick. They talked about the recent history of Yemen, how the Houthis evolved into the organization that they are right now, what they really want out of their relationships with Iran, with Hezbollah in Lebanon, how they feel about Saudi Arabia, the United States and Israel and so much more.

Now as these three parties to the conflict continue to play games of brinksmanship, the Arab Gulf States are looking increasingly vulnerable, stuck between Israel, Iran, and the US. They tried to prevent the war, and now they seem to be split between whether they should go on the offensive with Israel and the US or whether they should continue to try to convince the US President to wind it down.

This week Jasmine spoke to Mohamed Baharoon, the Director General of the Dubai Public Policy Research Center about the UAE's position, whether this war has really impacted the Gulf's ability to attract investors to be a safe place for people to live and work and visit, and what options the UAE and the Gulf have moving forward. Are they doomed to be pawns in future conflicts between Israel and Iran, or between the US and Iran? Or is there something they can do to shape the future--as peacemakers?

Episode Notes:

Dubai Public Policy Research Center: https://www.bhuth.ae/en

The UAE: Principles of the 50: https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/uae-in-the-future/the-principles-of-the-50

Fourteen days into the war, there still doesn't seem to be any kind of off ramp or any kind of vision for how this war ends. And in the meantime, more and more damage is being done to the region, not just to Iran, not just to the US and Israel those are all parties to the conflict, but also across the Gulf, across Lebanon and we can't see an end.

To unpack the rapidly unfolding events in the Middle East, Jasmine spoke to Iranian-American analyst Negar Mortazavi, a Senior Fellow at the Center for International Policy in Washington Dc and host of The Iran Podcast, and Ilan Goldenberg, Senior Vice President and Chief Policy Officer at J Street and former Middle East advisor to Vice President Kamal Harris. Ilan and Jasmine were also colleagues at the Pentagon during the Obama administration.

They discussed possible scenarios for ending the war, the lasting impact on the Gulf states, how Israel's upcoming elections could start a pathway towards de-escalation in the region, and as always, the human cost of the war and how Iranians have been impacted.

Negar's Podcast (The Iran Podcast): https://www.negarmortazavi.com/iran-podcast

Ilan's Substack: https://ilangoldenberg.substack.com/

Then, suddenly, things changed. The two leaders exchanged a phone call on January 7th and agreed to meet at the White House, despite the Trump administration having rescinded Petro's visa earlier.

In typical Trump fashion, once he met Petro in person, his tone completely changed. He said after the meeting, “He and I weren’t exactly the best of friends, but I wasn’t insulted [with Petro’s comments] because I never met him. I didn’t know him at all, and we got along very well." Trump added that the meeting had been “very productive” and “fantastic”, and that they would continue working “on other issues, including sanctions”.

Petro, for his part, praised Trump. “The truth is, I like frank gringos. People who say what they feel." He also playfully added the letter S on Trump's Make America Great Again hat, to read, "Make Americas Great Again."

To dig a litte deeper into Colombia and the history of its relationship with the US, as well as its emerging relationship with China, Jasmine sat down with Colombian analyst Luis Eduardo Gutiérrez Rojas. They talked about Colombia's painful history with the drug wars, how Colombians feel about the US and Trump, the upcoming presidential elections in May and what the future might hold for Colombians.

Episode notes:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/03/colombian-president-and-trump-put-aside-insults-for-amicable-white-house-meeting

Mira was also the first, and only, Palestinian Israeli to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest back in 2009, despite facing significant pressure from both Israelis and Palestinians to withdraw, for different reasons. Jasmine asked Mira whether she would make the same decision today, and what has changed between now and then.

At a time when people are becoming ever more polarized, Jasmine and Mira discuss whether people with dual identities can serve as a bridge to foster more understanding--not necessarily agreement--between different sides.

Jasmine and Negah delve into what the current protests mean and how they differ from past movements. Negah highlights the diverse patchwork of religions and ethnicities that make up Iranian society, and what Iran's history can tell us about what might come next, including whether the Islamic Republic can survive in the long term.

The former colleagues, who worked together during the Obama administration, examine US policy in the Middle East and what lessons Trump should be learning from the Arab Spring.

Finally, Negah shares what advice she would be giving the President right now if she were still in government.

Episode Notes:

With thousands dead, the Iranian regime may survive these protests--but not in its current form, by Sanam Vakil

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/13/thousands-dead-iranian-protests-regime-saddam-hussein-iraq

🎙️ The View from Venezuela:

Venezuelan analyst and journalist César Báez describes how ordinary Venezuelans are experiencing this moment of upheaval, including the astonishing pivot of Venezuela’s leadership to acting president Delcy Rodríguez amid local disputes over her legitimacy. Báez traces the rise and evolution of Chavismo, the strains of everyday life under Maduro, and what a leadership vacuum could mean for Venezuelan society.

🌎 Regional and international implications:

Former Latin America advisor to President Obama, Ricardo Zuniga, offers a deep, critical perspective on U.S. policy, situating the January 3rd operation within the context of U.S.–Latin America relations. He assesses how recent U.S. actions reflect a departure from long-standing diplomatic norms, and what these choices portend for hemispheric stability and U.S. foreign relations.

Episode Notes:

Venezuela's Acting Dictator is Delcy Rodriguez, a Maduro Regime Ally with a History of Human Rights Violations, by César Báez: https://reason.com/2026/01/06/who-is-delcy-rodriguez-venezuelas-acting-dictator/

This is What Venezuelans Really Want, by Colette Cabriles: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/04/opinion/venezuela-maduro-trump-people.html

On November 26, a 29-year old Afghan man, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, shot two National Guardsmen in Washington, DC, 20 year old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom and 24 year old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolf. Sarah died of her injuries.

The Trump administration is using this tragic incident to crack down on immigration, and have mentioned the Afghan community specifically.

But there is more to the picture. Rahmanullah had reportedly suffered from severe mental health challenges, and tried to reach out for help from the CIA, who he had worked with in Afghanistan, before coming to the US in 2021 as part of an effort initiated by the Biden administration to help our wartime allies. He was granted asylum this year under the Trump administration.

To understand the full picture behind this story, I spoke to Shawn Van Diver, a Navy veteran and the founder of Afghan Evac, an organization which helps our Afghan allies secure a new life in the United States with their families.

Episode Notes:

Afghan Evac: https://afghanevac.org/

Afghan Evac on Substack: https://afghanevac.substack.com/

In doing so, Asad helped change the course of New York history. We spoke about his journey, as well as his work helping to get Zohran Mamdani elected as the first Muslim mayor of New York, and what the future holds for our beloved city.

This week, the view is from New York.

Episode notes:

Asad's tour company, New York Narratives: http://newyorknarratives.com/

I was a Muslim teen under NYPD surveillance: https://www.aclu.org/news/national-security/i-was-muslim-teen-under-nypd-surveillance-now-i-have

Bloomberg's NYPD spied on me for being Muslim: https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/02/20/bloombergs-nypd-spied-me-being-muslim-he-has-never-apologized/

The man behind the radical walking tours of New York City: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/asad-dandia-radical-walking-tours-new-york-city/

Wael walks us through the trends he’s seeing within the community, how attitudes are shifting and what issues are driving people to the polls. We also talked about Emgage’s experiences engaging with the Biden administration and the Trump and Harris campaigns last year, and about anti Muslim hate and whether it is being normalized. I also asked Wael about allyship across communities: what we can all do as people who care about human rights, equality, and international law to affect a political system that seems to work for the privileged few.

Episode notes:

Emgage USA: https://emgageusa.org/

What Zohran Mamdani's Victory Tells Us About America, Wael Al Zayat https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/zohran-mamdani-victory-america

Muslim Americans Share Political Attitudes With Both THe Democrat And Republican Parties: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/21/muslim-americans-share-political-attitudes-with-both-the-democratic-and-republican-parties/

Sudan has been in the headlines recently after the city of el-Fasher was captured by the RSF, the Rapid Support Forces, one of two parties, the other being the Sudanese Armed Forces, to a conflict that has ravaged the country in unimaginable ways.

More than 150,000 people have died in the conflict across the country, and about 12 million have fled their homes in what the United Nations has called the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

But this didnt happen overnight. For many months, everyone from Sudanese activists and journalists to the UN has been warning of the exact scenario we see unfolding today.

So what happened? Why were all these warnings ignored? And what were some of the historic and structural factors in Suday that led to this moment?

I spoke to Kholood Khair, a Sudanese political analyst and the founding director of Confluence Advisory, a "think-and-do" tank based in Khartoum, to unpack the issues for us and tell us what both policymakers and ordinary people can do to help.

This week, the view is from Sudan.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Episode Notes:

Articles by Kholood:

The World Once Tried to Stop a Genocide in Sudan. Now It Looks Away: https://time.com/7017127/sudan-darfur-crisis/

Sudan's Dangerous Descent Into Warlordism: https://time.com/6342732/sudan-burhan-hemedti-descent-warlordism/

Local Aid Groups Are Keeping Sudan Alive: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2024-12/local-aid-groups-are-keeping-sudan-alive

Article by Ahmed Gouja:

An Atrocity Foretold: How the RSF Seige of Al Fasher Turned Into Genocidal Slaughter: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/analysis/2025/10/30/atrocity-foretold-how-rsf-siege-el-fasher-turned-genocidal-slaughter

How You Can Help:

Mutual Aid Sudan: https://www.mutualaidsudan.org/

Sudan Solidarity Collective: https://www.sudansolidarity.com/

Sudanese-American Physicians Association (SAPA): https://sapa-usa.org/

Jasmine highlights the need for a people-centered approach to national security and domestic and foreign policy. She invites audience feedback and encourages listeners to engage with the podcast as it moves into its second season.

This week, the view is from Jasmine.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

To unpack this unprecedented event, Jasmine sat down with Nawaf Al-Thani, a retired general from the Qatari Armed Forces and former defense attaché at the Qatari Embassy in Washington, DC. They discussed how the attack resonated in Qatar, what it signals for Doha’s role as a mediator, and what broader implications it holds for U.S. policy and regional security moving forward.

This week, the view is from Doha.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

This week, the view is from Washington DC.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Etan is a writer for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, where he has written extensively about the Netanyahu government's policies and Iddo is an activist against the occupation, apartheid and the genocide in Gaza.

She asked them about their decision and how it’s impacted their lives, what their Israeli identity means to them, and what kind of conversations are happening inside Israel right now about the country’s future. She also asked them what messages they had for both Israeli and American/Western policymakers who have so far supported the Netanyahu government almost unconditionally.

This week, the view is from Israel.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Three and a half years on from Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, and more than ten years on from annexing Crimea, Jasmine sat down with Russian analyst and the head of the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Alexander (Sasha) Gabuev, to understand the man behind the villainous character in the headlines.

Sasha and Jasmine spoke about the events that have shaped Putin's world view, the EU and US strategies to end the war, what the viable options are for a peaceful resolution, what China's role is in all of this. Just as importantly, Sasha explained how the war has impacted Russia domestically, including the human cost of the war, for the foreseeable future.

You can find Sasha's recent articles here:

Foreign Affairs: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/authors/alexander-gabuev

Financial Times: https://www.ft.com/stream/32a18ccd-4ac3-4c89-93eb-068c8630d99a

This week, the view is from Russia.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Together with Jasmine, they unpack how a famine - so preventable and so widely predicted - was allowed to unfold in Gaza, the first famine ever declared in the Middle East by the UN-backed IPC.

Alex draws on more than two decades of work in conflict zones, from Afghanistan to Sudan, to explain what makes Gaza’s crisis unique: its speed, its deliberate nature, and the silence of policymakers who looked the other way. They discuss the failures of international response, the misuse of food as a weapon of war, and the urgent need for accountability and action.

This week, the view is from inside the US Government.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Correction: Ron Dermer is the Minister of Strategic Affairs, not the Interior Minister as descibed in the episode.

Resources:

1-The IPC issues its first report on Gaza, warning of potential famine in December 2023: https://www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ipcinfo/docs/IPC_Famine_Review_Report_Gaza.pdf

2-Alex's resignation letter to the head of USAID, Samantha Power, and interview on Democracy Now: https://www.democracynow.org/2024/5/31/alex_smith_usaid_resignation_gaza_war

3-The Gaza Pier Project: https://www.reuters.com/world/how-bidens-gaza-pier-project-unraveled-2024-07-25/

4-Doctors Without Borders statement on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF): https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gaza-humanitarian-foundation-aid-distribution-system-must-be-dismantled

5-Letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israeli Defence Minister Yaov Gallant on aid to Gaza: https://en.majalla.com/node/322651/documents-memoirs/full-text-us-letter-israel-let-aid-gaza-or-face-consequences

Shukria Barakzai is an Afghan journalist, former diplomat/politician and feminist. She joined Jasmine in London to talk about life before and after the Taliban and why she will never stop speaking up for women’s rights - no matter the personal cost.

This week, the view is from Afghanistan.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

But he's more than that. He's an author and editor on a mission to push back against the dehumanization of Palestinians in the Western media and by Western governments. He's here to remind us that Palestinians are not just numbers but a people who have suffered under the brutality of Israeli occupation for decades, and whose lives have been controlled, shaped, and cut short by that occupation well before the October 7th attacks on Israel.

He talks to Jasmine about pain, grief, resilience and what he hopes to see for Palestine in the future.

This week, the view is from Gaza.

Purchase Ahmed's book We are Not Numbers here: https://wearenotnumbers.org/buy-our-book/

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

And what do Israel and the US have to do with all of this?

Jasmine El-Gamal sits down with Orwa Ajjoub for part 2 of their conversation, where they discuss the ever growing challenges facing Syrians since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024 and the beginning of Ahmed Al-Sharaa's presidency, and what the international community should be doing to support Syrians.

This week, the view is from Syria - Part Two.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

In the first of a two-part series, Jasmine explores the fall of the Assad regime and the end of a repressive dynasty that ruled Syria with an iron fist for more than five decades.

She is joined by Syrian academic Orwa Ajjoub to unpack this extraordinary political shift, the role of history and trauma, and why understanding the broader context is essential to making sense of what’s happening in Syria today.

This week, the view is from Syria - Part One.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

In the first episode of The View From Here, Jasmine El-Gamal sits down with Morgan McMonagle - an Irish trauma surgeon who joins humanitarian missions at hospitals in some of the most dangerous places in the world.

This week, the view is from Gaza.

We want to hear from you! Email us on jasmine@viewfromherepod.com

The View from Here aims to showcase a wide range of views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of the podcast or its host.

Each Tuesday on The View From Here, Jasmine connects the dots between global headlines and the human stories behind them.

The View from Here is foreign policy, reimagined: from the people it affects to those who shape it.

Get in touch with us with your thoughts and questions! You email us at jasmine@viewfromherepod.com