Radio War Nerd EP #645 — A Brief History of Yemen, "Houthis" and Saudi Conflicts, feat. Shireen al-Adeimi + Aamer. Also: John Reports on the Kiwi Marathon (Patreon)

Guest: Dr. Shireen al-AdeimiRecorded: October 22, 2026

We talk to Dr. Shireen al-Adeimi about the past 200 years of Yemen struggles with imperialism and politics, from the British-Ottoman invasions in the 1800s, to the wars in the 1960s against the British and the North Yemen monarchy, through the era of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen which Shireen was born into, the formation of Ansarallah ("The Houthis"), and up to the US-backed Gulf wars of the 21st-century. Mark is joined by friend-of-the-show Aamer for our talk with Shireen. Afterwards, John checks in to talk about the 70km marathon around the North Island's crater lake, Maori, library manners & more...

First - Shireen joins Mark and Aamer to discuss Yemen history up to the present.At 2:11:00 - Music interlude by Brendon Anderegg. Check out music from his group Mountains hereAt 2:12:56 - John on the 70k marathon, Maori-British land wars, sepsis and more...

Follow Shireen on Twitter. Read her articles in In These Times, Responsible Statecraft & elsewhere.

*Shireen's pet sparrow, Pip

Total time: 2:32:15Direct link to this episode's mp3 here

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John's new essay collection, To The Crows, is available to subscribers. You can also order a hard copy on Amazon - read it, know it, review it!

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Sound production by Telescope Audio