On Spec Podcast
A long form documentary podcast produced by independent journalists from the field, bringing stories from across the globe.
Episodes
Wrapping up Season Five
Fariba Nawa and Özge Sebzeci wrap up the season with some great news about some of the characters we met in Lethal Dissent.
Lethal Dissent: A Russian Dissident's Battle to Tell the Truth
Guest Nafisa Haji interviews Evgenia Baltatarova, a journalist and activist from Siberia, who fled Russia for Kazakhstan soon after the start of the war in Ukraine, when authorities ensnared her in a crackdown on critics of the war. Baltatarova had to move countries once again when Russia sought to have her extradited from Kazakhstan, and talks about the toll exile takes on one's life.
Lethal Dissent: How China Silences Dissent Abroad
Guest Nafisa Haji interviews Emile Dirks, Research Associate and China expert at Citizen Lab, about Beijing's tactics for silencing critics abroad, and the controversy over TikTok.
Lethal Dissent: How Saudi Arabia Got Away With Murder
Guest host Nafisa Haji interviews independent journalist and analyst Borzou Daragahi about what it was like covering the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, and what the case says about the growing problem of impunity and transnational repression.
Lethal Dissent: The Day After Never Came
Iranian protesters thought they were about to topple the regime during the Woman, Life, Freedom movement, but once again the regime crushed the demonstrations despite some wins for women. Journalist Samira Mohyeddin talks about the weaknesses and strengths of the movement and why it’s not over. She also gets personal about navigating identity and journalism.
Lethal Dissent: What is Transnational Repression?
Host Nafisa Haji speaks with Nate Schenkkan, Senior Director of Research at Freedom House, about Transnational Repression. The term is familiar in policy circles and academics but what's the meaning behind these two words? Who's accountable for protecting dissidents targeted beyond their own borders by their own countries, and how is policy shaped in a global setting when sometimes countries are b
Lethal Dissent: Behind the Scenes
Guest host Nafisa Haji interviews reporter Fariba Nawa about the adventures of reporting Lethal Dissent for two years, getting threats and the feedback the show received from listeners.
Lethal Dissent: The Note
In the final episode, Mohammad Shabani's suicide note is analyzed by a handwriting expert and Fariba Nawa gets the results. She follows the ripple effects of the new information, and Mohammad's best friend tries to make sense of what it means.
Lethal Dissent: Officials
Fariba Nawa is threatened. She steers her reporting to focus on impunity. The investigation into Iran's hunt for dissidents goes to the United Nations, inside a Turkish parliamentary hearing, and to the US State Department to find out if anyone will intervene.
Lethal Dissent: Verdict
The Sağlam family's kidnapping operation is caught in a police dragnet. The ensuing police investigation reveals an entire network of conspirators behind the Sağlams. When one conspirator is arrested and interrogated, he confesses. Fariba Nawa uses the confession to tell the story of Iran's behind-the-scenes involvement.
Lethal Dissent: Woman from the CIA
Rezaie gets into the car with the Sağlams. But he already knew he was being tricked. His suspicions had begun long before he climbed into the car, back at the kebab restaurant when the Sağlams introduced him to an American woman. Fariba Nawa tries to untangle the story of the American woman, and finds out how Rezaie foiled the kidnapping plot against him.
Lethal Dissent: Operatives
There's a convincing explanation for Mohammad Shabani's death, but the evidence is incomplete. While Fariba Nawa waits for a crucial piece of evidence to be analyzed, she tries to find out how far Iran will go to silence dissidents. A Turkish court case exposes an Iranian kidnapping ring and offers an answer. Fariba finds a source to guide her through some of the inner workings of the secr
Lethal Dissent: The Fall
In the city where the dissident Mohammad Shabani died, Fariba Nawa finds evidence that points towards his cause of death.
Lethal Dissent: Losing Touch
The death of poet Mohammad Shabani, an Iranian dissident living in Turkey, catches his friends, family, and supporters by surprise. Fariba Nawa finds one of Mohammad Shabani's confidantes and learns new details about his life in exile before he died.
Lethal Dissent: The Poet
When two close friends who work for the Iranian government follow their conscience, it puts them at odds with the regime. Now one of them is dead. To figure out what might have happened, reporter Fariba Nawa goes back to the beginning.
Lethal Dissent: Prologue
Reporter Fariba Nawa introduces her investigation into Iranian plots against exiles in Turkey. She tells the story of Iran's history of violence against its citizens at home, and how that violence has grown to cross international borders today. The fate of a dissident in France becomes a blueprint for the questions she seeks to answer.
Season Five: Lethal Dissent Teaser
On Spec Podcast, in collaboration with The World and PRX, returns for its fifth season with an 18-month long investigation that takes you inside the secret war waged on dissidents by Iran.
As Iran claims to fight for Palestinian sovereignty, it’s hunting down its own citizens who dare to advocate for freedom and human rights back home. Iran claims the dissidents are threats to its national securit
Collaboration / Mohammad, undocumented in Amsterdam (with The Europeans)
The Europeans podcast brings you a look at life as an undocumented migrant in Amsterdam. Co-produced by Katz Laslo and Mohammad Bah, the story is also narrated by Mohammad, who is originally from Guinea, about his life as an undocumented migrant in Amsterdam. It’s tender, heart-warming, surprising, and just an all round great listen.
Keeping the Colorado Q&A
Host Nadene Ghouri talks with Alisa Reznick about her latest episode for On Spec. For "Keeping the Colorado," Reznick traveled on the Colorado River in the southwestern US, and talked to people living in the area about what the river's drying up means for them.
Keeping the Colorado
The Colorado River runs through seven US states and crosses into Mexico, helping sustain 40 million people living along it’s banks and far beyond. It’s been dammed 15 times, part of an effort to capture its waters for the people living along its banks. But the Colorado is drying up, and communities along the river will soon face cuts in their allotted shares, part of a complex treaty between Mexic
Meeting My Surrogate
Guest Host Nadene Ghouri takes us with her as she visits the Ukrainian woman who was the surrogate mother for her child. Nadene explains what the experience has taught her about the bond between mother and child, and what it means for women to control their own bodies.
A Nation’s Two Sides Q&A
Host Nadene Ghouri talks with Oscar Durand, the producer of On Spec's latest episode, "A Nation’s Two Sides." Durand talks about what it was like growing up in Peru, and the kind of class divisions highlighted in the episode, which was reported by Finnish journalist Kukka Maria Ahokas.
A Nation’s Two Sides
Peru has long struggled with political, cultural, racial, and economic divides, a source of tension that propelled the leftist former schoolteacher Pedro Castillo to the Presidency last year. In the city of Lima, the complex social jigsaw puzzle manifests itself physically: the “Wall of Shame” is three meters high and ten kilometeres long, separating the affluent in La Molina from others in neighb
When a Frozen Conflict Wakes Up Q&A
Host Nadene Ghouri talks with French-Armenian journalist Astrig Agopian, about her recent reporting for On Spec's episode "When a Frozen Conflict Wakes Up." The episode brought listeners to the Armenia-Azerbaijan frontier, and introduces us to people dealing with a decades-old conflict that turned into another real war in 2020.
Tribe and Prejudice Q&A
Host Nadene Ghouri talks with Angel Bwalya Kasabo and Lewis Yuyi about On Spec's latest episode, which introduces us to families in Zambia trying to move past the stereotypes surrounding their tribal identities in the country.
Tribe and Prejudice
Tribal identities continue to play a role in social and political rifts in many parts of the world, even erupting into outright conflict. In the southern African nation of Zambia, a younger generation now attempts to bridge the gap between different tribes. But long-held stereotypes make it difficult for Zambians to discard their tribal identity entirely. Zambian jour
When a Frozen Conflict Wakes Up
For several decades now, the region of Nagorno-Karabakh has been a source of tension between Armenia and Azerbaijan, occasionally resulting in a real war, like in 2020. But along the shores of lake Joghaz, there are villagers old enough to recall what it was like to live together when both countries were Soviet republics. Today the border is sealed, but villagers can sometimes still hear conversat
Spy on the Mediterranean Q&A
Host Nadene Ghouri and journalist Bartholomäus von Laffert talk about On Spec's latest episode, which tells the story of how activists working to save the lives of migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean have found themselves facing criminal charges for their work.
Spy on the Mediterranean
Europe is prosecuting human rights activists that help save lives in the Mediterranean Sea, where thousands of migrants and refugees have drowned as they attempt to evade some of the world’s most powerful naval forces and reach European shores in search of a better life. The charges, allegations of human trafficking that could land activists in prison for decades, have been helped along by a spy,
Surrogacy, War, and Survival in Ukraine
Guest Host Nadene Ghouri tells the story of how her search for a surrogate mother for her child brought her to Ukraine, and how she found herself repaying the ultimate kindness by helping one woman flee the war there.
Crossing borders, both real and Imagined
In Season Four, we bring you stories from six countries. Next, we take a personal look at the Ukraine refugee crisis.
Fortress Europe is a House of Cards
The French town of Calais is at the heart of a massive security infrastructure program meant to keep refugees and migrants from crossing the English Channel into the United Kingdom. Over the past 20 years, French and British authorities have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on walls, fences, cameras, more police, and security agents to keep people away from the shores. In order to do so, priva
Pandemic Treatments that Paralyze
In Africa, herbal treatments are used to heal viruses in the absence of modern medicine, but disinformation about these treatments and how they can cure COVID-19 is having a deadly impact. Government officials and local healers out to make money sell these treatments with fake news. Congolese journalist Patrice Chitera, who has used these treatments for his ailments i
The Death of Hong Kong
Hong Kong protesters were on the streets for more than a year to fight for their freedom of expression after China announced laws to further curb their rights in 2019. Police violently attacked protestors, threw opposition politicians in jail and the country has been polarized as disinformation spreads. Journalist Lisa Jane Harding, based in Hong Kong for 19 years, reports through the eyes of a po
Combating Climate Change
Some of the world’s most active climate deniers reside in the United States. Arkansas suffers from flooding and is one of the conservative red states where many farmers, who have the most to benefit from green policies, are actually voting against their best interests because of disinformation. Arkansas native and journalist Alice Driver introduces an organic farmer, who’s a climate activist, to a
Collaboration / Objectivity in the Times of Fake News (with Suno India)
Suno India speaks with journalists Prachi Pinglay and Kunal Shankar, who produced On Spec's Season 3, Episode 4 - Love in Times of Hate. They discuss what the impact of fake news has been on India, and what it was like reporting and putting together the episode for On Spec.
Love in Times of Hate
The Modi government has an agenda to make India a Hindu nation, and they have tapped into old prejudices and disinformation to brainwash influential and ordinary people into hating minorities, particularly Muslims. Indian journalist Prachi Pinglay Plumber is a Hindu married to a Muslim, and she touches on her own experience of interfaith marriage, as she tells the tale of India’s demise from a sec
Breaking Up a Family
Since the elections in Brazil that brought Jair Bolsonaro to power, Brazilian journalists Giovana Fleck and Carol Grune have been hearing politicians insult women, threaten them with rape, and try to take away their rights as women. For Carol, the polarized politics of Brazil led to a breakup with her father. Giovana helps Carol tell her story as the father and daught
Russia’s Rainbow Divide
Putin’s Russia is a homophobic country. The state media spouts anti-gay rhetoric and creates fake news, Parliament passes laws that curtail LGBTQ activism, and hate crimes are on the rise. But in bigger cities, there are also thriving gay scenes, and a new generation of Russian activists is seeking to change public opinion. British journalist Theo Merz, who’s gay, takes us to Moscow where he lives
The Last Bus to Europe
Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, but they are facing a brutal backlash from Turkish society. In February 2020, during the onset of the pandemic, the Turkish government misinformed refugees that they could leave Turkey and enter Greece. Turkish photojournalist Özge Sebzeci boarded a bus from Istanbul to Greece filled with migrants headed to Europe, and she tells the story o
Season Three: Disinformation Teaser
Get ready for Season Three: Disinformation! On Spec takes a deep dive into the global abyss of fake news, bringing you the story of how the scourge of disinformation is effecting ordinary people in seven different countries.
Collaboration / Inside Iran's Holiest Shrine
Scott Gurian, an American journalist and the voice behind Far From Home podcast, transports us to Mashad, Iran, inside a pilgrimage site where he and his fellow travelers find themselves grappling with cultural and religious differences. Then Scott tells On Spec his reflections about the trip, and how he managed to avoid Iran’s government minders to record his story.
OnSpec/08 - My Phoenix
Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., an example of urbanization shaped by generations of immigrants. An Arizona native, journalist Alisa Reznick gives a tour of the old and new Greater Phoenix through the eyes of her extended family, who came three generations ago from Mexico, and new migrants struggling to get asylum.
Collaboration / Foreign Correspondence
In this collaboration with Foreign Correspondence podcast, On Spec host Fariba Nawa gives a raw, intimate interview to Jake Spring about her two-decade career, family, and the struggles of straddling two cultures as a journalist. You can listen to all episodes of the podcast Foreign Correspondence, where you will hear deep dive interviews with a diverse grou
OnSpec/Pandemic • Through Children’s Eyes
What has quarantine been like for children during the pandemic? Are they finding their creative little selves and building stronger family ties? Or turning into online zombies and losing their social skills? Or are they becoming child laborers to help their families survive? It depends on the kids and the country. On Spec host Fariba Nawa takes you inside her home in Turkey with her daughters, and
Collaboration / Feminism in the Age of COVID-19 (with Continuum Collective)
In this collaboration with the Continuum Collective, we are exploring the rise in gender-based violence during the pandemic and what can be done about it. On Spec's host Fariba Nawa joins Jillian Foster, the host of the Continuum Collective's Radicals & Revolutionaries Lab podcast, and Teri Yuan, the host of the Engendered podcast.
OnSpec/Pandemic • Surviving as a Woman
With families in lockdown, and social services unavailable, experts say domestic violence is increasing, and being ignored during the coronavirus outbreak. Menel Raach talks to a woman in Iraq who is trying to find a safe place to live amid the lockdowns there, and to lawyers and experts about what is being called a "shadow pandemic" of domestic violence.
OnSpec/Pandemic • Rediscovering Our Kitchens
You probably know someone who has discovered their inner chef in the last few months. In New York, photographer Jackson Krule discovered he was a baker. Unable to go out and photograph the Orthodox Jewish community he has been documenting, he started baking challah bread at home and posting photos online. Now it's turned into a business that delivers all over the country. A
OnSpec/Pandemic • Mental Health and the Pandemic
How is being on lock down effecting our mental health, and how are mental health professionals trying to continue to provide help when they cannot meet someone in person? On Spec intern and journalist Kasper Dilmaghani talks to therapists and one woman who opens up about her depression. Here is the story on how the pandemic is effecting our mental health, from Tunisia, Mexico, Poland, Hong K
OnSpec/Pandemic • Prisons and the Pandemic
What if you don't have control over your own self-isolation? More than two million people are in prisons in the US, which has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Oscar Durand speaks with Efrén Paredes, Jr about the prison where he is incarcerated serving a life sentence for a robbery and murder committed when was 15 years old. He maintains his innocence. In 2012, the US
OnSpec/Pandemic • Alone but not Lonely
Whether you live across the street, or across the Atlantic, for many of us social distancing now means you cannot meet in person. Your family, your friends, that person you wanted to date...everything is on hold. But across the world we are finding new ways of bridging the distances. Margaux Benn and Menel Raach bring you stories from Canada, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Tunisia, on how we are
OnSpec/Pandemic • Face to Face with the Virus
What's it like to have COVID19 in Turkey? Hilaneh Mahmoudi, a freelance photographer in Istanbul, spent weeks trying to not catch it, but one day the tell tale symptoms began. This is her audio diary, told to host Fariba Nawa, of what it's like to have the virus, and the struggle to keep those living with you safe from it as well. See the accompanying photographs here.
On Spec/Pandemic - Faith and the Pandemic
You might think you're further away from the world, but in many ways the pandemic is bringing us together.
We begin with the religious, those who turn to faith and collective prayer in times of hardship. But they are not supposed to gather anymore in mosques, churches or synagogues. The entire concept of communal support in faith has been upended. Many groups are still resisting and continue to g
OnSpec/07 - Treasure Hunters
Journalist Margaux Benn ventures to the remote province of Nimroz, Afghanistan and follows the tracks of ancient artefacts, from the desert straddling Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, to a shop in the capital Kabul. Some could be antiquities ending up on a shelf among fakes, then illegally taken to Dubai and sold at a high price.
OnSpec/06 - Rupi’s Journey
Oscar Durand brings you the story of a Bolivian street musician in Istanbul, who like the rest of us, wonders where the years have gone and what he will do with his life. Oscar, a Peruvian and former engineer, found a common bond with Rupi on speaking Spanish and the meaning of life. (Rupi's name has been changed per his request.)
OnSpec/05 - The ISIS Conundrum
As the world grapples with how to serve justice to thousands of foreign ISIS affiliates captured in Syria and Iraq, Australian journalist Tessa Fox travels to northeast Syria to meet the Australians accused of being affiliated with the group.
OnSpec/04 - The Badlands - Pakistan's Tribal Areas
Umar Farooq reports on how Pakistan’s tribal areas, once proud of their fierce independence, are ready to join Pakistan proper, and how youth there worked to end a century-old collective punishment law. Locals where caught between US drones, the Taliban, and the Pakistani military. This is the untold story of the war on terror, and what reforms in the tribal areas mean for peace in Afg
OnSpec/03 - Truffle Terror: The Iraqis Risking Their Lives in Pursuit of a Desert Delicacy
Pesha Magid travels to Anbar to bring you the story of how, and why, locals are risking kidnapping by ISIS to hunt for desert truffles. A rare but beloved delicacy in Iraq, this was the best year for them since the 1990s. The biggest of the truffles grow far out in the remotest regions of Anbar province — where at least a thousand ISIS fighters are suspected to be hiding. With al
OnSpec/02 - Salty Showers, Arab Spring Flowers
As protesters once again take to the streets of Baghdad, we take a step back to examine whether climate change has a hand in the political crisis in Iraq. Shawn Carrié brings you a story through the eyes of activists that grounds the climate crisis — by transporting you to Iraq, where a water shortage led to massive protests in a country still reeling from war — and those protests brought do
OnSpec/01 - Journalism on Trial
What's behind the crackdown on journalism in Turkey, and how are local journalists continuing to report? Özge Sebzeci, a Turkish photojournalist, takes us inside Turkey in an era when the country leads the world in jailing journalists.
OnSpec/00 - Launch
Meet the On Spec team, the philosophy behind our project, and what to look forward to in Season Zero.
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