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The Threat Podcast

The Threat Podcast

Jay Solomon and Hagar Chemali 8 Episodes Aug 7, 2026

The Threat podcast analyzes and discusses the most pressing, yet not always so visible, threats to global security and the movements and ideologies that fuel extremism and terrorism. It takes listeners to the frontlines of these battles, both at home and abroad, and features conversations with key players in law enforcement, intelligence, diplomacy, and academia who are working to counter these threats.

Episodes

The Fatwa That Never Ended: The Rushdie Affair and the Conspiracy Behind the Attack
The Fatwa That Never Ended: The Rushdie Affair and the Conspiracy Behind the Attack Aug 7, 2026 2373 In July, a New York jury convicted 28-year-old Hadi Matar of terrorism for the 2022 stabbing of novelist Salman Rushdie at a literary festival — an attack prosecutors tied to material support for Hezbollah. The verdict got remarkably little coverage, yet it marks the latest chapter in a saga that began in 1989, when Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie's death over The Satani
The Millionaire Marxist: Inside the Fergie Chambers Case
The Millionaire Marxist: Inside the Fergie Chambers Case Jul 23, 2026 2658 On July 10th, Spanish police arrested Fergie Chambers — heir to the Cox Enterprises empire, self-proclaimed Marxist-Leninist, and one of the most prolific funders of radical causes worldwide — while he vacationed with his family in Ibiza. The US wants him extradited. His wife says he's been charged with funding the Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, which she denies. And the global left has
Al-Qaeda's Comeback: How a Terror State Is Rising in West Africa
Al-Qaeda's Comeback: How a Terror State Is Rising in West Africa Jul 17, 2026 3390 Most people think Al-Qaeda died with the 9/11 era. It didn't — it's arriving exactly where it always intended to go. In Mali, an Al-Qaeda affiliate known as JNIM has encircled the capital, choked off its fuel supply, and now controls roughly half the country using drones, Starlink terminals, and $50 million ransom payouts. It's on the verge of becoming the first Al-Qaeda affiliate t
The Enemy Within: How Extremists Go From Hashtags to Terrorism
The Enemy Within: How Extremists Go From Hashtags to Terrorism Jul 11, 2026 2306 An upstate New York mother of two is arrested for allegedly raising $30,000 for Palestinian Islamic Jihad. American activists travel to Tehran and chant "death to America" on Iranian state TV. A pop-up extremist group called Dample appears online almost overnight — and just as quickly goes dark. How does radicalization move so fast, and who's pulling the strings from abroad?Jay Solo
Flipping the Script on Hezbollah: Inside the Lebanon-Israel Peace Breakthrough
Flipping the Script on Hezbollah: Inside the Lebanon-Israel Peace Breakthrough Jul 6, 2026 2209 A trilateral framework agreement signed by the US, Lebanon, and Israel has done something that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago — and it's put Hezbollah on its back foot. For decades, the group justified its weapons as the only way to push Israel out of Lebanon. This deal flips that logic entirely: it's Hezbollah's disarmament that will restore Lebanese sovereignty and end th
When Technology Becomes the Target: The Rise of Anti-Tech Extremism
When Technology Becomes the Target: The Rise of Anti-Tech Extremism Jun 26, 2026 2824 A man throws a Molotov cocktail at the home of OpenAI's CEO. Gunshots are fired at a lawmaker's house over a data center. Extremist groups with names like the Volcano Group are forming across Europe and Latin America — all united by one thing: opposition to AI and technology.Jay Solomon and Hagar Chemali sit down with Dr. Mauro Lubrano, lecturer at the University of Bath and author of St
Beijing’s Long Reach: How China Exports Repression Beyond Its Borders
Beijing’s Long Reach: How China Exports Repression Beyond Its Borders Jun 10, 2026 2990 How far is the Chinese Communist Party willing to go to silence critics overseas? In this episode of The Threat Podcast, Jay Solomon and Hagar Chemali speak with pro-democracy activist and Hong Kong Democracy Council Board Chair Anna Kwok about Beijing’s growing campaign of transnational repression. From secret police stations and surveillance networks to intimidation, bounties, and political infl
Cuba on the Brink? Inside Trump’s Pressure Campaign Against the Castro Regime
Cuba on the Brink? Inside Trump’s Pressure Campaign Against the Castro Regime May 29, 2026 2927 As tensions between Washington and Havana escalate, The Threat Podcast examines whether the Cuban regime is facing its most dangerous moment in decades.Hosts Jay Solomon and Hagar Chemali sit down with investigative journalist and ADN Cuba founder Gelet Martinez Fragela to unpack the Trump administration’s growing pressure campaign against the Castro government — including new sanctions, espionage
Inside the Mind of a Lone Wolf Assassin
Inside the Mind of a Lone Wolf Assassin May 22, 2026 2574 On April 26th, 31-year-old software engineer Cole Tomas Allen allegedly attempted to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. Despite having no known history of violence and recently being named “Teacher of the Year” by his tutoring program, Allen reportedly charged toward Secret Service agents armed with multiple weapons before being stopped.In thi
A “Pop Up” Terrorism Network Has Ensnarled Europe
A “Pop Up” Terrorism Network Has Ensnarled Europe May 7, 2026 2321 Since the U.S. war on Iran broke out in late February, a rash of terrorist attacks have struck Europe and primarily targeted Jewish communities. Western intelligence agencies believe Iran is likely behind these operations. But London-based counter-terrorism expert, Roger Macmillan, tells The Threat that this network is nearly impossible to track. It’s recruitment and propagandizing takes place thr
Inside Hezbollah: A Voice They Tried to Silence
Inside Hezbollah: A Voice They Tried to Silence Apr 29, 2026 2733 In this episode, we discuss with expert and journalist Hanin Ghaddar the threats posed by Hezbollah - a terrorist group, Iranian proxy, and organized crime syndicate based in Lebanon.Hanin Ghaddar is the Friedmann Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Her work primarily addresses Shia politics throughout the Levant . and she works closely on Hezbollah. She is the author o
I Built the IRGC: Inside Iran’s ‘Monster’ Machine
I Built the IRGC: Inside Iran’s ‘Monster’ Machine Apr 24, 2026 2809 This week on The Threat, Jay and Hagar sit down with Mohsen Sazegara, an Iranian dissident who, in his earlier life, helped create Iran’s most lethal military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a top aid to the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Sazegara described to us how the IRGC grew into a multi-headed “monster”; how Tehran oversees its terror cells in the

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