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Iyad El-Baghdadi and Ahmed Gatnash study global authoritarianism, with a focus on the MENA region, and dive deep into universal strategies and tactics of authoritarians, as well as the best ways to resist.Support us on Patreon:www.patreon.com/kawaakibi
Based on 5 episodes we listened to · September 2026
It makes authoritarian power legible by pairing regional political analysis with close attention to how resistance works on the ground.
Arab Tyrant Manual Podcast follows authoritarian power from institutions down to the choices people make under pressure. Ahmed Ghatnash and Iyad al-Baghdadi work mainly through conversation, bringing activists, writers, researchers and journalists into discussions that connect…
A watched ballot, a family split by protest: you meet politics at its most personal.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A close look at Lebanon's uprising, where protest, fear, media pressure, and future plans all collide.
This episode follows Lebanon's uprising from the streets outward, tracing day 16 of a movement that has spread across towns, villages, and cities, brought down the government, and moved beyond anti-corruption demands toward a deeper challenge to the political class that has held…
A reflective conversation about the Arab Spring, memory, trauma, and the search for healthier public expression.
This conversation from the fringe of the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2018 brings together seven voices from the Arab region and moves through identity, exile, activism, trauma, healing, and the question of whether the Arab Spring failed.
A careful look at what nonviolence can do, and where it still falls short.
This episode treats nonviolence as a political tool, not just a moral position, and that gives the discussion real weight. Ahmed Ghatnash and Iyad al-Baghdadi keep it grounded in practice: what nonviolent resistance can achieve, where it stalls, and how Gene Sharp's work helps…
A grounded look at Iranian dissent, exile, and state repression.
Arab Tyrant Manual frames Iran as more than a passing news story, tracing the country through revolutionary history, repression, exile, protest, and the state response to dissent.
Sam Harris interviews scientists and journalists on AI risk, religion, and US politics.
WSJ reporters unpack the Epstein files, surrogacy industry abuses, and true-crime court battles.
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway argue through tech, media, and Trump-era politics twice weekly.
Dan Carlin's solo essays connecting executive power, historical collapse, and American democracy.
Sharp political debate with policy detail and real disagreement.
Demetri Kofinas interviews specialists on geopolitics, energy markets, AI, and finance at length.
Ahmed Ghatnash and Iyad al-Baghdadi examine how Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine pushed Saudi Arabia and the UAE toward a more transactional relationship with the United States.
Ahmed Ghatnash speaks with Lebanese writer and researcher Joey Ayyub and Beirut-based journalist Timur Azhari about recent events in Lebanon.
Seven Arab voices come together on the fringe of the Oslo Freedom Forum for a wide-ranging conversation about the Arab Spring and what followed.
Ahmed Ghatnash and Iyad al-Baghdadi sit down with Jamila Raqib to talk about the power of non-violence.
This conversation maps the Iranian revolution from the start.