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Middle East Focus is a weekly podcast featuring talk and analysis on U.S. foreign policy, contemporary political and social issues in the Middle East, and the arts and culture of region. It is produced by the Middle East Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. For more information visit www.mei.edu.

Feb 6, 2025

Middle East Focus Presents: ’Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ with Brian Katulis.

A series of casual conversations with leading policy professionals on the most important happenings in the Middle East today - hosted by MEI’s Senior Fellow Brian Katulis. 

Barbara A. Leaf is a seasoned diplomat and expert on...


Jan 29, 2025

For the first time in decades, the question of how Syria will be governed is wide open. The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an armed Islamist group with former ties to al-Qaeda, has left Syria in uncharted territory. Its de facto leader, Ahmed Al Shaara, has pledged a vision of...


Dec 20, 2024

Middle East Focus Presents: ‘Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ with Brian Katulis.

A series of casual conversations with leading policy professionals on the most important happenings in the Middle East today - hosted by MEI’s Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy, Brian Katulis.

Norman T. Roule is a member of...


Dec 18, 2024

The war in Gaza continues as the Biden administration nears its end, leaving President-elect Donald Trump with a vastly different Middle East from the one he inherited in his first term. Khaled Elgindy, Director of the Palestine & Palestinian-Israeli Affairs program at MEI, is joined by Tamara Kharroub and Daniel Levy...


Dec 12, 2024

Following more than a year of turmoil and transformative changes reshaping the Middle East, the region witnessed another shock with the downfall of the Assad family’s 54-year rule over Syria last weekend. The rapid collapse was triggered by a lightning rebel offensive led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former affiliate...