Middle East Focus Podcast
1) Is the Regime Doomed? Iran on the Eve of War
Against the backdrop of one of the largest US military deployments to the Middle East since 2003, MEI Senior Fellow Alex Vatanka joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to assess the situation ...Show More
2) Bibi's Hail Mary on Iran
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs to discuss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's February 11 visit to the White House, Israel's anxieties sur...Show More
3) From the Middle East to West Asia: Redefining America's Global Strategy
MEI Senior Fellow Mohammed Soliman joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss his new book, West Asia: A New American Grand Strategy in the Middle East. The book argues that it is time ...Show More
4) America's New Defense Strategy — and What It Means for Iran
Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Military Fellow Mick Mulroy to discuss the Trump administration's new National Defense Strategy (NDS) and its implications for ...Show More
5) Ambiguous Uncertainties: Phase Two of Trump's Plan for Gaza
MEI Senior Fellow Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to discuss the latest developments in Gaza. Nearly four months after the Israeli government and Hamas agreed to...Show More
6) Bonus Episode: Can Yemen Hold Together?
This bonus episode of Middle East Focus features an excerpt from a recent MEI Virtual Briefing recorded on January 20. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by MEI Affiliate Fatima Abo A...Show More
7) Emergency Podcast: Damascus and the Syrian Kurds Come to Blows
MEI Senior Fellow Charles Lister joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the latest developments in Syria, as a tenuous cease-fire takes hold after several days of intense fighting be...Show More
8) Venezuela's Shadow Over MENA: Perceptions and Precedents
MEI Vice President for Policy Ken Pollack joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to explore what the precedent set by the Trump administration's military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolá...Show More
9) Bonus Episode: Tehran's Brewing Troubles
This bonus episode of Middle East Focus features a conversation from MEI's Virtual Briefing Series. Director of Communications Zeina Al-Shaib is joined by Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Alan Eyre and...Show More
10) What 2025 Has Wrought... and What 2026 May Bring
In the final episode of 2025, MEI Senior Fellow Paul Salem joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the major developments that shaped the Middle East over the past year and to look ah...Show More