For episode 198, Elia Ayoub is joined by Venezuelan researcher – and old friend – ⁠Laura Vidal⁠ to talk about, and around, Venezuela. We got into why Venezuelans flee the Maduro regime, how Venezuela(ns) is often covered, and the broader discourse battles that may or may not include people who still think Maduro is a passionate defenders of the Palestinians (pause for laughter).

Laura was actually one of the first guests of TFTT back in the ancient year of 2020 when Elia was still learning how to use the Audacity sound editing software. 

Elia’s Links

Support: You can support my work with a one-off or monthly donation on Ko-fi.

Masterclass on Modern Lebanon: Registration is now open for May 2026.

Newsletter: Subscribe to Hauntologies

Social Media: I’m on Bluesky, Instagram and Mastodon.

Contact: To collaborate, reach out on ayoub@thefirethesetimes.com

The Fire These Times

Listen: Wherever you get your podcasts such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Audible, Pocket Casts and RSS.

Social Media: TFTT is on Bluesky and Instagram.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

Transcription: You can help ⁠Antidote Zine⁠ transcribe TFTT episodes here.

Recent Articles

• 972Mag: Is Israel trying to foment civil war in Lebanon?
• 972Mag: Israel’s renewed war on Lebanon is about more than just Hezbollah (archived)
• Good Law Project: Trump’s illegal war puts all of us at risk (archived)

Recent Interviews

• It Could Happen Here: Israel’s Attack on Lebanon
• Crimethinc: “History Is Repeating Itself”
• The Final Straw podcast: The US-Israeli War with Iran Spreads, Nuclear Weapons, Lebanon and Anti-Imperial Solidarity
• The Dugout podcast: Honoring Political Ghosts
• The Breakup Theory podcast: Episode 31 – Iran and the US-Israeli Death Drive Economy

Highlighted Hauntologies articles

• The Lie I Tell Myself When Covering Israel (April 2026)
• Israel’s Lebanese Ghosts (March 2026)
• This moment (January 2025)
• Iranian protesters don’t owe us an explanation (February 2026)
• How Hezbollah lost everything (January 2026)
• Notes on Assadism, Zionism, Fascism and Hope (August 2025)

From The Periphery

TFTT is a proud member of ⁠From The Periphery Media Collective⁠⁠, which you can support on Patreon and follow on Bluesky⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ and⁠ Instagram.

Check out other projects: Politically Depressed⁠ | Syria: The Inconvenient Revolution | From The Periphery Podcast | The Mutual Aid Podcast⁠

For more

• Laura Vidal is on ⁠Bluesky⁠

Credits

Elia Ayoub (host, producer, sound editor, episode design),⁠ ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music),⁠ ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design),⁠ ⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design) and⁠ ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics).