COUNTERPOD

S6 E3: U.S. peace negotiations; freedom of speech; Marco Rubio; and youth radicalization.

Fri, 20 Feb 2026 15:50:21 +0000

Ian and Edmund discuss U.S. negotiations on Iran and Ukraine-Russia; the British government’s approach to freedom of speech; Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference; and youth radicalization by ISIS and other terror groups.

S6 E2: CEP initiatives on combating antisemitism; ISIS detainees in Syria; U.K. security issues; and the U.S. Board of Peace initiative.

Tue, 03 Feb 2026 12:20:33 +0000

Ian and Edmund discuss CEP’s ARCHER project and recent concert in Washington D.C. featuring music composed during the Holocaust; their concerns about the situation in Syria and ISIS detainees; U.K security issues and the Cyber Security Bill; and options for the new U.S. Board of Peace.

S6 E1: Hamas financing; West Midlands Police; Iranian street protests; and lawfare in Northern Ireland.

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 16:57:48 +0000

In the first episode of Season 6, Edmund and Ian discuss Hamas financial networks; the shocking fallout from the UK West Midlands Police ban on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans; the crackdown on the Iranian protests and proscribing the IRGC; and how legacy legislation is exposing veterans in Northern Ireland to lawfare.

S5 E7: IRA agent 'Stakeknife'; designating the Muslim Brotherhood; Maccabi Tel Aviv ban; and the Gaza peace plan.

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 09:16:18 +0000

In an end-of-year special Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown unpack four major security and extremism issues: the Operation Kenova findings on the IRA agent “Stakeknife” and what they reveal about Northern Ireland’s dirty war; the renewed U.S. effort to designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a Foreign Terrorist Organization; the fallout from the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from a UK football match and what it says about intelligence-led policing; and the latest stage of the Gaza peace plan, including who might govern Gaza and the future of Hamas.

S5 E6: UK policing; a Palestine state; Palestine Action; and Mexico's drug cartels.

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:12:50 +0000

In this episode Edmund and Ian assess new UK police advice on revealing the ethnicity of suspects to quell community tensions; the impact of calls for the recognition of a Palestinian state; Palestine Action as a terrorist organzation; and Mexican drug cartels.

S5 E5: Colombia; UK illegal immigration protests; terrorist insurgency in the Sahel; and Islamophobia.

Wed, 23 Jul 2025 19:33:48 +0000

In this episode Ian and Edmund discuss stability in Colombia; Epping illegal immigration protests and policing in the UK; trade deals and the terrorist insurgency in the Sahel; and the recent spotlight on the UK’s definition of Islamophobia.

S5 E4: 7/7 London bombing anniversary; proposals for Gaza; Palestine Action proscribed; the UN Charter at 80.

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:43:43 +0000

In this episode Edmund and Ian discuss the UK's 9/11 - the 7/7 terrorist attacks on their 20th anniversary; the current proposals for Gaza following Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Washington; the proscribing of Palestine Action as a terrorist group in the UK; and the 'lovely' UN Charter 80 years after its creation.

S5 E3: Iran-Israel-U.S.; Glastonbury; Syria; and Islamist antisemitism.

Thu, 03 Jul 2025 19:31:08 +0000

Edmund and Ian discuss Iran, Israel, the U.S. and the ’12-day war’ and ask - who’s in charge: Trump or Netanyahu? They also assess the fallout from Glastonbury; Syria and sanctions; and CEP’s report on Islamist antisemitism.

S5 E2: Ballymena unrest; Israel-Iran conflict; extremism in UK prisons; and Tunisia terror attacks anniversary.

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 20:03:48 +0000

Ian and Edmund discuss violent unrest in Ballymena, Northern Ireland; the conflict between Israel and Iran; Ian’s high-profile review of security in U.K prisons; and the tenth anniversary of the Islamic State terrorist attacks in Tunisia - ending on an optimistic note.

S5 E1: Football crowd incidents; the Houthis and Red Sea shipping; security in UK prisons; and the India-Pakistan conflict.

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 16:08:52 +0000

S5 E1 Ian and Edmund kick-off the new season with a look at incidents involving football crowds in Liverpool and Paris; the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping; Ian’s rapid review (published by the Counter Extremism Project) of prison security the growing threat from ideology; and last month’s flare-up between India and Pakistan.

S4 E6: US State Department and the Taliban; Stockholm truck attack anniversary; Iran nuclear deal; and release of 7/7 convicted terrorist.

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 07:30:28 +0000

In this season's finale, Ian and Edmund discuss why the US State Department may drop bounties on Taliban leaders; the anniversary of the Islamist terrorist truck attack in Stockholm; options for the US-Iran nuclear talks; and the release from a UK mental hospital of a convicted terrorist connected to the London 7/7 bombings.

S4 E5: Oklahoma City bombing anniversary; the murder of Ronan Kerr; antisemitism in Australia; and music and anti-extremism.

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 16:33:09 +0000

Ian and Edmund discuss the Oklahoma City bombing on its 30th anniversary; the murder of Ronan Kerr, a police officer in Omaha, Co. Tyrone; antisemitism in Australia; and the association of music and anti-extremism - but they start with flatulence laws versus gun legislation - and it isn’t even an April Fool’s.

S4 E4: Oman’s role as a mediator; ideology drives extremism; protests in Gaza; and ‘Com Networks’ in the U.K.

Thu, 27 Mar 2025 21:46:25 +0000

This week Ian and Edmund question Oman’s role as a mediator; discuss a U.K. report from the Commission for Countering Extremism; assess the protests in Gaza by citizens opposed to Hamas; and explain the National Crime Agency’s Annual Threat Assessment.

S4 E3: UK Report on October 7; Mahmoud Khalil; St Patrick’s Day boycott; U.S. strikes on Houthis.

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 20:25:37 +0000

Ian and Edmund discuss the importance of a new report on October 7 by a House of Lords group; the debate in the U.S. over Mahmoud Khalil; the boycott of St Patrick’s Day by Sinn Fein and others; and the implications of the U.S. airstrikes on the Houthis.

S4 E2: Extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah; UK’s definition of terrorism; developments Syria; and cars as a weapon of terror.

Thu, 13 Mar 2025 22:37:38 +0000

Edmund and Ian discuss Pakistan’s extradition of Mohammad Sharifullah to US on terrorism charges; the arguments for and against changing the UK’s definition of terrorism; the latest and worrying developments in Syria; and the UK’s vulnerability to vehicle-ramming as a means of terrorism.

S4 E1: UK definition of Islamophobia; terrorism in Russia; engaging Northern Irish dissident terrorists; Trump era diplomacy.

Wed, 05 Mar 2025 20:12:44 +0000

Edmund and Ian are back for a new season and to probe the UK's approach to defining Islamophobia; discuss the Russian security service shooting of an IS-inspired terrorist; explain UK and Irish government exploratory talks to engage dissident Republican terrorists; and consider diplomacy in the era of Donald Trump.

S3 E6: U.K. Home Office Counter Terror ‘sprint’ report; Donald Trump on Gaza; Eric Glass; extremism in South Africa; kicked off by an irreverent explanation of the Tush Push.

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 20:16:44 +0000

The U.K. Home Office’s leaked and much-ridiculed Counter Terror ‘sprint’ document; Donald Trump’s latest pronouncements on Gaza and the fragility of the hostage deal; why the Distinguished Conduct Medal was awarded to Eric Glass in Norther Ireland; and why former South African president Jacob Puma’s daughter was charged with inciting terrorism. And, crucially - the Super Bowl and the Tush Push.

S3 E5: The London Docklands IRA bombing anniversary; Oman terrorist attack; Mexican drug cartels; Gaza hostage swap; and the Orebro College attack in Sweden.

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:36:54 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the anniversary of the IRA’s terrorist attack in London’s Docklands in 1996. They also discuss the under-reported terrorist attack in the otherwise stable Oman; Mexican drug cartels, organized crime, and the Texas border; the latest on the Gaza hostage swap and IDF activity in the West Bank; and the latest on the Orebro College attack in Sweden.

S3 E4: Auschwitz liberation 80th anniversary and CEP's ARCHER at House 88; Axel Rudakubana; and Saudi Arabia

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 21:36:44 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the launch of CEP's major new initiative ARCHER at House 88, based at the former home of the Commandant of Auschwitz. They also discuss the jail sentence given to Axel Rudakubana in the U.K. and a changing Saudi Arabia. They end with "Never," a moving poem by Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel.

S3 E3: Hamas-Israel ceasefire; TheTimes-UANI investigation into UK charity; Al-Shabaab Nairobi terrorist attack in 2019; high security prisons airspace.

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 18:44:31 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss what the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deals means for peace and reconstruction, the hostages and the ‘metrics’ of prisoner-hostage exchange. They also look at the investigation by The Times and United Against Nuclear Iran into a UK charity and Iranian regime-backed extremism, the anniversary of the Al-Shabaab terrorist attack in a shopping complex in Nairobi, Kenya and how criminal gangs and airspace over high security prisons in the UK - and how two of these topics align with Ian and Edmund’s ‘two cheeks of the same arse’ theory.

S3 E2: UK grooming gangs; Charlie Hebdo; “low trust” societies; and fact checking on Meta.

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 13:52:43 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the grooming gangs scandal in the U.K and Elon Musk and Tommy Robinson; the ongoing fallout of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attacks 10 years on; how “low trust” societies can foster violent extremism; and the troubling lack of fact and truth on social media platforms.

S3 E1: New Orleans terror attack; the Republic of Ireland and Israel; Donald Trump and counter terrorism; and tips for 2025.

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 20:39:38 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine the significance of the terror attack on New Orleans; the fractured relationship between the Republic of Ireland and Israel and closure of Israel’s embassy in Dublin; and the opportunities and risks for counter terror measures under Donald Trump. Ian and Edmund also give their take on the big, upcoming issues in 2025 - and be prepared to be surprised.

S2 E6: The Berlin Christmas market attack in 2016; UK Met Police in PKK counter terror arrests; South Korea, and state sponsor of terrorism, North Korea; and reasons to be optimistic this Christmas.

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 14:55:15 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown examine the significance of the attacks on the Berlin Christmas market in 2016; the Met Police’s counter terror operation in London against the PKK and its terror plots against the Turkish community; developments in South Korea - and North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism; and five reasons to be optimistic this Christmas about violent extremism!

S2 E5: The Mumbai massacre in 2008; UK security policy; Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire; and AI and extremism.

Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:35:34 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown assess the 2008 Mumbai massacre - India’s 9/11 - and a turning point in its approach to national security; the UK’s approach to national security in light of comments by Sir Richard Dearlove, a former head of MI6; the prospects for the newly announced Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire; and the growing challenges of AI and extremism.

S2 E4: Terrorism and tourism; state-sponsored terrorism; and trust in government and policing.

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 14:19:17 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown reflect on the impact of terrorism on tourism, including in Egypt; state-sponsored terrorism, including by Russia; and the UK Southport murders and the harm to government and police reputations. And their thoughts on other podcasts including Gary Lineker's.

S2 E3: Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe; Qatar as a mediator; Jews in Amsterdam; Trump appointments.

Wed, 13 Nov 2024 17:54:02 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the Iranian regime’s use of kidnapping and imprisonment; Qatar’s suspended role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas; violence towards Jews in Amsterdam; and Donald Trump’s Cabinet and other appointments.

S2 E2: Bataclan massacre; UNWRA; Iranian regime brutality; and President Trump returns.

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 15:19:19 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the anniversary of the Bataclan massacre in France; Israel declaring UNWRA persona non grata; the Iranian regime’s brutal repression of its own people; and what the return of President Trump means for violent extremism.

S2 E1: Sir David Amess MP and the Tree of Life synagogue attack; and Hollywood and terrorism.

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:33:15 +0000

Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown discuss the anniversaries of the murder of British MP Sir David Amess by an Islamist extremist, and the attack, by a white supremacist, on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. They also offer their take on Hollywood's treatment of terrorism and extremism.

S1 E4: Forgiving IRA terrorists; insurgency in the Sahel; October 7 anniversary; and Neo-Nazis.

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 15:18:04 +0000

In the fourth episode Ian and Edmund offer insights into counter extremism prevention in their own inimitable style. Presented by Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown from the Counter Extremism Project. Contact: media@counterextremism.com

S1 E3: Terrorist disruptions to normal life; hostage-taking; and peace negotiations.

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 09:05:10 +0000

In the third episode Ian and Edmund continue to provide their insights into counter extremism prevention in their own inimitable style. Presented by Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown from the Counter Extremism Project.

S1 E2: Definition of extremism; diverting humanitarian aid; and Israel-Lebanon.

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 07:00:00 +0000

In the second episode Ian and Edmund continue their trip around counter extremism prevention in their own inimitable style. Presented by Ian Acheson and Edmund Fitton-Brown from the Counter Extremism Project.

S1 E1: 9/11, Hezbollah, and the role satire

Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:50:06 +0000

Ian and Edmund reflect on the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, the attacks on Hezbollah's capabilities inside Lebanon, and touch on the role of satire in counter extremism.