Child sex trafficking is not just another societal problem waiting for legislative tinkering or bureaucratic reform. It is a moral outrage—a fundamental rupture in the ethical fabric of our world. The measure of our humanity will be taken not by how we treat the powerful, the wealthy, or the competent, but by how fiercely we protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Today’s podcast guest is Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Previously, he worked as senior Gulf analyst at the Gulf Center for Strategic Studies and as codirector of the Kuwait Program on Development, Governance and Globalization in the Gulf States at the London School of Economics.
In this episode, we discuss the still-ongoing war on Iran, the impact the war has had on the Gulf States, Trump’s ability or failure to negotiate an end to the conflict, and whether or not we may see further escalation of the conflict.
Listen now; link in bio.
In my latest podcast episode, I speak with Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets and Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public and International Affairs, about the impacts on women that this current Taliban regime has had in Afghanistan. Listen to this and more in my latest episode; link in bio.
Today’s podcast guest is Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, Founding Director of the Center for Governance and Markets and a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public and International Affairs. She is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Distinguished Fellow of Peace and International Cooperation at the Institute for Humane Studies.
In this episode, we discuss the situation in Afghanistan under the Taliban, particularly the difference between the Taliban 1.0 that ruled in the 1990s prior to the US invasion, and the current Taliban 2.0, the Taliban’s relations with Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, women’s rights in Afghanistan currently, and the prospective for insurgency against the Taliban.
Listen now; link in bio.
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the Taliban is once again ruling Afghanistan—this time armed with billions of dollars’ worth of American-funded military equipment. CBS News reports that Taliban fighters patrol Kabul in U.S.-supplied armored vehicles, wearing American tactical gear and carrying American weapons. Pentagon figures indicate that roughly $7 billion in military equipment fell into Taliban hands after Afghan forces collapsed in 2021. The consequences go far beyond a failed withdrawal. The Taliban has built an increasingly repressive state while stripping Afghan women and girls of fundamental freedoms, including access to education and employment. This outcome demands accountability and serious reflection. After two decades of war and enormous human sacrifice, Afghans—especially women and girls—have been left under an authoritarian regime equipped with weapons originally intended to help protect them.
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Amnesty International’s investigation into US-Israeli strikes on densely populated neighborhoods in Tehran raises deeply troubling questions about the protection of civilians. The organization documented strikes in Niloufar, Resalat, and Javadieh that killed at least 41 civilians and caused extensive damage to homes and businesses. The use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas deserves unequivocal condemnation. Amnesty warns that the attacks may have been indiscriminate and could amount to war crimes, calling for independent and impartial investigations. International humanitarian law applies to every party to a conflict—without exception. The United States, Israel, and Iran must protect civilians and be held accountable for unlawful attacks. Civilian lives cannot be treated as acceptable collateral damage. Accountability must apply equally, regardless of who carries out the attack.
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Serbia’s decision to honor convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić with the “highest military and state honors” is deeply disturbing and deserves unequivocal condemnation. Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, including responsibility for the Srebrenica genocide, where thousands of Bosniak men and boys were systematically executed. These are established judicial findings, not political interpretations. Glorifying those responsible for such atrocities dishonors the victims, deepens the suffering of survivors, and fuels dangerous genocide denial across the Western Balkans. Serbia’s leaders must confront the historical record rather than rewrite it. The European Union and international community must make clear that genocide denial and the glorification of convicted war criminals have consequences. Genuine reconciliation is impossible without truth, accountability, and respect for victims.
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Hungary has extended its “state of crisis caused by mass migration” until December 31, continuing an emergency regime in place for a decade. The measures allow authorities to summarily remove asylum seekers and migrants across the border without an individual procedure—practices that violate EU and human rights law. This continued erosion of asylum protections deserves strong condemnation. Protecting national borders does not require abandoning fundamental rights or denying people the opportunity to seek protection. Hungary should end the emergency regime, guarantee meaningful access to asylum, and comply with European and international law. The European Union must insist that fundamental rights are not negotiable. Migration policy cannot be built on indefinite emergency powers and the denial of due process.
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