In this episode I sit down with Dr Peter Henne, an expert on Middle East politics and international religious politics.

We dismantle one of the biggest clichés in global politics: the idea of a single, unified "Muslim world".

Using network analysis and historical cases, Peter reveals deep fragmentation among Muslim-majority states and shows exactly when leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United States, Russia and elsewhere reach for religious language to gain leverage, and when that strategy backfires

We also talk about the human cost: how repressing religion fuels migration, how diaspora Muslims live with politicised identities, and why Western policy and media keep misreading faith in international affairs.

Designer, educator, and researcher Annelys de Vet shares her experience working in Palestine and reflects on how design can be used as a tool for solidarity. She shares how working closely with local communities shaped her understanding of resistance, authorship, and the power of visual storytelling in occupied spaces.

For more on Annelys work:https://disarmingdesign.com

https://www.subjectiveeditions.org/

https://www.bureaudevet.be/about

Listen to this podcast on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/hEcTgRAbKKU?si=uFdE8ad-v7Vw3Riq

What’s it really like doing research in the UK as an international postdoc?

In this episode, Dr Eleni Domzaridou shares the truth about life after a PhD. We discuss funding stress, competition, resilience, and the quiet struggles no one talks about.