Politically Depressed

About Politically Depressed

A podcast about being depressed during times of political, economic, and ecological collapse. Hosted by Ayman Makarem, this blog-style weekly podcast explores politics as lived-experience and asks the question: Can we ever stop being depressed if the world remains as horrible as it is? Cover Photo by the incredibly talented Hisham Rifai. To support this podcast, become a member of our Patreon: patreon.com/fromtheperiphery One time donations at: buymeacoffee.com/poldep

Publisher

Ayman Makarem

Category

society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

29 Dec 2023

Latest episode

2 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

80 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   2 Feb 2026

   Northern Syria - Where Are We Going? S3 E2

   In this episode Ayman is joined by with Dara Eilo. Dara is an Assyrian activist and human rights advocate who has been involved in organizing activities in Syria and Lebanon for the past decade and a half. Our conversation focused on the events that have taken place in Northern Syria since Jan 13, specifically the fighting between STG (that is, the new Syrian government) and the Kurdish-led SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces). What began as military operations to capture all the Aleppo, of which some neighbourhoods were held by the SDF, ended up being a wide-ranging conflict that saw the central government control large areas like Deir Azzor and Raqqa. Meanwhile the territory controlled by the SDF shrank significantly. At the time of recording, fighting was still ongoing and there was a very real fear amongst Kurdish communities of a war of extermination, as they described it an existential war. This episode was recorded on January 24, and that’s important to note because things have already changed since. After the recording, we learned that a ceasefire was announced by the Syrian government. Then 6 days later, on January 30, a comprehensive agreement was signed between the transitional-government and the SDF, which includes a ceasefire, gradual integration of SDF battalions in the Syrian Army and civic integration into regional municipalities. The conversation your about to listen to, like most of the interviews do I on this podcast, is not one that focuses on geo-politics, large narratives, or predictive analysis about whats going to happen next. Instead, as though sitting in a cafe in Beirut, its two people who are deeply connected to the current moment, seeing whats happening on the ground but also the discourse online, and connecting with their shared grief, frustrations, and thoughts. Of course it goes without saying that we stand in solidarity with the Kurdish people, and with all people who are struggling under systems of oppression and domination. Links: Dara's Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dara.foielle/) Assyrian Movement for Collective Liberation (https://www.instagram.com/amcl_global/) Become a member of the FTP Patreon today: https://www.patreon.com/c/fromtheperiphery

2. 

   14 Jan 2026

   Palestine and Queer Arab Liberation /w Tareq Baconi

   Today’s episode, the first for 2026, is a very very special one. I sit and talk with the Palestinian writer Tarek Baconi, who recently released a book entitled Fire In Every Direction. The book is a memoir that tracks Baconi’s upbringing as a queer Palestinian in Amman, Jordan, as well as the personal process of his political awakening. I can’t recommend this book enough, its so powerful, and at least for me, incredibly relatable. The conversation we hold jumps right into it. We talk about our shared experiences growing up queer in different Arab capitals and decades, him in Amman in the 90s, me in Beirut in the 2000s. We talk about Queer Arab identity, about the scholarship that exists on the subject, and the movements on the ground. Ultimately, our conversation is grounded in a mutual understanding that queer liberation is inextricably tied to our collective liberation in the global south, here specifically, in the levant or bilad al sham. You don’t have to have read the book in order to follow this conversation, but I do recommend getting hold of a copy if you’re able to. Here is a link for where you can buy a copy. (https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Fire-in-Every-Direction/Tareq-Baconi/9781668068564) Also if you appreciate this conversation, I’ll also provide a link below for the group I am a part of in Lebanon, Queer Mutual Aid Lebanon (https://www.patreon.com/qmalebanon). For a number of reasons, we are running dangerously low on funds, and so are holding a sustained fundraiser to get more people to join our Patreon. More description of the work we do is in the About section of the Patreon.

3. 

   20 Sept 2025

   Getting People to Care About Sudan - S2E19

   In this episode of the Politically Depressed Podcast, I’m joined by a returning guest Sara al-Hassan. Sara is a Sudanese commentator and activist who has worked tirelessly to spread knowledge and awareness about the war in Sudan and before that the revolution and beyond. Like all the interviews I do for this podcast, this is an intimate conversation that centers Sara as a person first and foremost. We do of course talk about the war in Sudan, the developments over the last few months, and the discourses around it. But importantly we also talk about how messed up everything is, draw comparisons between Sudan, Lebanon, and Palestine, and really explore the question: how do we get people to care? How to keep people engaged? -- -- -- Follow Sara on Insta: https://www.instagram.com/bsonblast/ Twitter: https://x.com/BSonblast Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bsonblast.bsky.socialTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bsonblast-- -- -- Follow me onInsta: https://www.instagram.com/politically_depressed/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/aymanmak.bsky.social-- -- -- Become a member of the Patreon today: https://www.patreon.com/c/fromtheperiphery-- -- --#sudan #war #revolution #activism #empathy #politics #history #africa #middleeast

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.6 / 5

19 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

119 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 69 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

85

Social presence

94

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact Politically Depressed

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.