CONFLICTED

As the Middle East wakes up to an unnerving new normal following the signing of the M.O.U., Aimen and Thomas turn their attention to something truly cutting edge: the AI Arms Race that is rapidly transforming the Gulf into the front lines of a truly global U.S.-China confrontation.

Aimen and Thomas discuss:

Iran’s drone attacks on Gulf data centres.

AI in missile defence and military targeting.

The physical infrastructure behind cloud computing.

Cheap Gulf energy and rapid data-centre construction.

The UAE–Saudi competition for AI leadership.

Sheikh Tahnoon, G42 and MGX.

Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN strategy.

The US–China global AI rivalry.

Israel’s cybersecurity and military-AI role.

Whether AI-generated art can be genuinely creative.

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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In this Conflicted Conversation, Yeganeh Torbati, the Iran correspondent for the New York Times, discusses her excellent new book Stolen Revolution: Betrayal and Hope in Modern Iran.

Yeganeh explains how:

The 1979 revolution promised justice but created clerical authoritarianism.

Islamic law was subordinated to preservation of the supreme leader.

Institutions created to help the poor became engines of economic corruption.

The IRGC became a military-economic oligarchy.

Khatami-era reformism failed by refusing to challenge the constitutional source of authoritarian power.

Ahmadinejad promised to overthrow corrupt elites but merely installed new ones.

Rouhani promised economic normalization but enabled even greater corruption.

The destruction of all sources of organized opposition left protesters exposed to overwhelming violence.

Foreign powers encouraged expectations they did not possess the strategy or commitment to fulfil.

Iranian society continues to resist socially and culturally, making the future unstable rather than settled.

Find Yeganeh on X: https://x.com/yjtorbati

And on Instagram: ⁠www.instagram.com/yjtorbatireports

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
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In this Conflicted Conversation, George Osborn draws on his excellent new book Power Play: Video Games, Politics and the Battle for Global Influence to reveal the hidden political power of video games.

Once dismissed as a niche hobby, gaming has become one of the largest social environments ever created: a vast digital third space where billions of people form identities, build communities, and increasingly encounter politics — often aligned with authoritarian agendas.

George explains:

The history of video games: from arcades to global digital networks

How gaming helped drive the modern technology revolution

Why video games became the ‘third spaces’ of the internet age

Steam, online gaming, and the rise of digital communities

How China controls and regulates gaming culture

Saudi Arabia's investment strategy in gaming and esports

Russia, information warfare, and influence operations in gaming

Gamergate and the politicisation of gaming communities

Steve Bannon, online culture, and the rise of populist politics

Join the Conflicted Community here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find George on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/georgeosborn.bsky.social

And on Instagram: www.instagram.com/george_e_osborn

And his Newsletter: www.videogamesindustrymemo.com

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the wake of the recently published Memorandum of Understanding between the White House and the Iranian regime, Aimen and Thomas explore what the MoU means and reflect on everything they got wrong about the Iran War.

They discuss:

How the MoU is a strategic lifeline for the Islamic Republic

How it legitimises Iran’s proxy network, from Hezbollah to the Houthis

How billions in frozen Iranian funds have already been released through Qatar — with American approval

How the proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran has corruption written all over it

How it enshrines the principle that Iran can charge for access to the Strait of Hormuz

Whether Netanyahu lured Trump into a war he did not fully understand

The collapse of the Abraham Accords' vision for a new Middle East

If Conflicted itself has misread Trump, populism, and the future of American power

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Elizabeth Tsurkov returns for another Conflicted Conversation. This time, the conversation turns to Israel after October 7th. Elizabeth traces her own political journey from the Israeli right to a hard-won humanism, then explains how Israel’s old security doctrine collapsed — and why the new one may lead not to safety, but to permanent war.

Elizabeth and Thomas discuss:

Israel’s security doctrine after 7 October

Israel’s shift from deterrence to pre-emption

Why deterrence without a political endgame failed

Gaza, Hamas and the limits of military victory

Hezbollah, Lebanon and Israel’s buffer-zone strategy

Israel’s new "buffer zone" security perimeter

Iran’s missile threat and Israel’s war with Tehran

The Abraham Accords, IMEC and bypassing Palestine

Why real Israeli fears may be producing the wrong answers

Join the Conflicted Community here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://conflicted.supportingcast.fm/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Elizabeth's personal website: ⁠https://elizabeth-tsurkov.net/en/⁠

Find Elizabeth on X: ⁠https://x.com/LizHurra⁠

Find Elizabeth on LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-tsurkov-79491b15/⁠

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Conflicted is a Message Heard production.

Executive Producers: Jake Warren & Max Warren.

Produced and edited by Thomas Small.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices