A little over a year from the start of the new government in Syria, violence returned to Aleppo.

In January, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the forces of the interim Syrian government clashed in the Aleppo areas of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah.

The SDF came off worse and were forced to retreat back to the northeast; and such was the scale of the defeat, they were forced into signing a deal that will see the SDF integrated into the Syrian army.

For almost a year, the SDF has been resisting such a deal.

This week, we look at the fighting in Aleppo, the deal that has been signed, and why, the status of the SDF and Syria's Kurds, and what these event mean for the Syria that President al-Sharaa is building.

We're joined by Dr. Rahaf Aldoughli (@r_aldoughli), senior editor at Cogent Social Sciences and fellow at the Arab Reform Initiative (@ArabReform_ARI), and also, Joseph Daher (@JosephDaher19), a Syrian academic and specialist on the political economy of the Middle East.

This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge (@hugogoodridge).

Theme music by Omar al-Fil with additional music from Audio Network.

To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TNAPodcasts or email podcast@newarab.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2025 was coming to a close, the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen decided they had one last roll of the dice to make.

At the start of December, the STC launched a military operation to seize the eastern governorates of Yemen. They quickly swept across the region, with arms supplied by the UAE.

It was a great success, until the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia, fought back.

This week on The New Arab Voice podcast, we look at the STC's offensive in the east of Yemen, the fight back by the Yemeni government, and the impact that these operations have had on the balance of power in Yemen.

On this episode, we're joined by Yasmeen al-Eryani, the Executive Director for Knowledge Production at the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies (@SanaaCenter), and Baraa Shiban (@BShtwtr), researcher and political analyst on Yemen and the Gulf, and an Associate Fellow with the Royal United Services Institute in London (@RUSI_org). Also, Mohamed al-Sahimi. Head of the STC UK office.

This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge (@hugogoodridge).

Theme music by Omar al-Fil with additional music from Audio Network.

To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TNAPodcasts or email podcast@newarab.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The year is drawing to a close, which means its time for The New Arab Voice's annual review of year.

To guide us through the tangled mess of the past 12 months, we're joined by The New Arab's Managing Editor Karim Traboulsi (@Kareemios), and journalist Oliver Mizzi (@OllyMizzi99).

In this episode, we look back on the 12 days of war that shook Iran and Israel, the continued efforts of President Erdogan to hold on to power, the state building project of the new Sharaa government in Damascus, the brutal war in Sudan, and the stuttering ceasefire efforts in Gaza.

We also look ahead to what 2026 might bring, and what us at The New Arab will be keeping an eye on.

This podcast is written and produced by Hugo Goodridge (@hugogoodridge).

Theme music by Omar al-Fil with additional music from Audio Network.

To get in touch with the producers, follow then tweet us at @TNAPodcasts or email podcast@newarab.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.