Category: Podcast

Jihadology Podcast: IS and Attacks in the West with Thomas Hegghammer

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

Thomas Hegghammer talks to Aaron about his new paper, “Assessing the Islamic State’s Commitment to Attacking the West,” in Perspectives on Terrorism, co-authored with Petter Nesser. This episode also features our #SocialMedia segment, covering posts from August 3rd to August 9th.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected], or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download this episode (37MB mp3).

Jihadology Podcast: 'Boko Haram' Transitions to The Islamic State in West Africa with Jacob Zenn

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

In this episode Aaron talks to Jacob Zenn about the group commonly referred to as Boko Haram. They covered a variety of topics including:

  • Background on Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya
  • Misuse of the term Boko Haram to describe what is now called Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya, but previously was Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da’wah wa-l-Jihad
  • Process that led Jama’at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da’wah wa-l-Jihad to pledge bay’a to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and become Wilayat Gharb Ifriyya of The Islamic State?
  • Current status of Wilayat Gharb Ifriqiyya in Nigeria over the past few months
  • Key questions and observations Jacob is currently looking at to see how situation might develop in the future

This episode also features a discussion of primary source material released between July 18th to August 1st, and a #SocialMedia segment covering posts from July 28th to August 3rd.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected], or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download mp3 (38MB)

Emergency Pod: The Death of Mullah Omar and Its Implications with J.M. Berger

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

In this emergency podcast Aaron talks to J.M. Berger about the confirmed death of Mullah Omar. They covered a variety of topics related to his death and what it could mean for the broader Islamic State – Al Qaeda war. We also have a new #SocialMedia segment, covering postings from July 22-28.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected], or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download this episode (14.1MB mp3)

Jihadology Podcast: The Emergence of the Islamic State in AfPak with Don Rassler (Part 2)

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

This episode features part 2 of Aaron’s conversation with Don Rassler. If you haven’t heard part 1 you can find it here. This two part series is based on Don’s article, “Situating the Emergence of the Islamic State of Khorasan,” in the CTC Sentinel. This episode covers a variety of topics related to the Islamic State in the AfPak region, including:

  • Important events since Don’s article came out in March
  • The relevance of the Afghan Taliban to younger generations
  • How the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan plays into this situation
  • Al Qaeda’s relevance to, and role in, the region
  • How the presence of the Islamic State could affect the Afghan peace process

This episode also features our #SocialMedia segment, covering postings from July 11th to July 22nd.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected] or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download this episode (35MB mp3)

Jihadology Podcast: The Emergence of the Islamic State in AfPak with Don Rassler (Part 1)

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

This episode features part one of an interview with Don Rassler based on his article “Situating the Emergence of the Islamic State of Khorasan,” for the CTC Sentinel. This part of the conversation covers the development of the Islamic State’s presence in the AfPak region, as well as relevant groups and individuals in the region.
This episode also covers jihadi primary source material released from June 25th-July 17th.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected] or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Download this episode (25MB mp3)

Jihadology Podcast: The Western Women of ISIS with Erin Saltman

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

This episode of the Jihadology Podcast features an interview with Erin Saltman on the report she co-authored with Melanie Smith, “‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’: Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon” (PDF). The conversation covered a variety of topics related to female participation in jihadism including:

  • The history of female participation in jihadism
  • Why the situation in Syria/Iraq is unique
  • The biggest misconceptions of female emigrants
  • The push and pull factors leading women to join up
  • The different backgrounds of these women
  • What they are doing inside Islamic State territory once they arrive

After that is our #SocialMedia segment, covering jihadi social media posts from June 30-July 10.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected], or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with our RSS feed.

Click here for the mp3 version.

Jihadology Podcast: Jihadi Ideology/History with Nelly Lahoud

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

This episode features a discussion of jihadi primary sources from June, an interview with Nelly Lahoud, and a new segment: #SocialMedia.
This episode covers jihadi primary source releases related to:

  • Anti-Islamic State messages
  • IS state-building efforts
  • Caliphate declaration anniversary
  • Death of Abu Basir Nasir al-Wuhayshi
  • Spy games update

Nelly Lahoud is an Associate Professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and Senior Associate at the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point. She spoke to Aaron about a variety of topics related to jihadi ideology including:

  • The connection between the the anti-Crusader leader and military commander Nur al-Din al-Zinki and Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi
  • A five-year retrospective on her book The Jihadis’ Path to Self-Destruction
  • Nelly’s forthcoming research on the original leader of The Islamic State from 2006-2010, Abu ‘Umar al-Baghdadi

Segment start times: primary sources (2:10), the interview with Nelly (24:40), and #socialmedia (57:10).
Links:

The show is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected] or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with the RSS feed.

Click here for the mp3 version.

Jihadology Podcast: Syria Status Update with Charles Lister

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

Charles Lister comes on the show to discuss a wide range of topics related to the current situation in Syria:

  • The background and evolution of Jaysh al-Fatah
  • What Jaysh al-Fatah has meant to rebel and Jabhat al-Nusra victories in Syria
  • The recent formation of a Jaysh al-Fatah branch in the south and what the southern front in the war currently looks like
  • How the regime, Iran, and Hizballah have reacted to the changing military dynamics on the ground
  • The recent fighting between the Kurds and the Islamic State in northern al-Raqqah governorate

Links:

The show is produced by Karl Morand. If you have any feedback you can email [email protected] or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod
You can subscribe to the show in iTunes or with the show’s RSS feed.

Download this Episode (46.5 mb mp3)

Emergency Pod: Caucusus Jihadis in Disarray with Joanna Paraszczuk

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

Welcome to an emergency Jihadology Podcast about the fluid situation amongst Caucasus jihadis in Syria and back at home.
On this episode Aaron interviewed Joanna Paraszczuk, a journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s ‘Under the Black Flag’ blog. They discussed the recent controversies within Jaysh al-Muhajirun wal-Ansar and the Arab coup against the Chechen leaders, the state of the insurgency in the Caucasus, and how The Islamic State hopes to take advantage of the disarray in the ranks of the Caucasus Emirate.
Links:

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email [email protected] or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod. If you enjoy the show, please rate it in iTunes and tell your friends!

Direct mp3 download (25 MB mp3)
Subscribe to the show in iTunes

Jihadology Podcast Ep 1 w/ Jessica Lewis McFate

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

Welcome to the first episode of the Jihadolgy podcast!
The first part of this episode covers primary sources released between May 10th – June 1st:

  • Pledges of baya to the Islamic State (ISIS)
  • Anti-IS messages from al-Qaeda
  • Jihadis vs. Hamas in Gaza
  • Spy games

The second part of the show features an interview with Jessica Lewis McFate, the research director at the Institute for the Study of War, on the strategy of IS in Iraq and Syria and what that means for the security situation locally, regionally, and geopolitically.
Links:

Have feedback? Email [email protected]

Click here to save the episode.