For episode 190 of The Fire These Times, Dr. Michael Paarlberg talks to Dana El Kurd about El Salvador’s ‘state of exception’ under Nayib Bukele, how Trump sees that as a model, the conditions of Salvadorian prisons and what happens to the Venezuelan and other refugees and migrants deported from the USA by Trump and the unaccountable state actors doing his bidding.

Paarlberg is associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and non-resident fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. He was previously on TFTT in August of 2024 (episode 164) to talk about how Bukele created a ‘Gang State’ in El Salvador. As that was before Trump’s election, it is a good primer into what is it about El Salvador today that makes it so appealing to the maga movement.

The Fire These Times is a proud member of⁠ ⁠From The Periphery (FTP) Media Collective⁠⁠. Check out other projects in our media ecosystem: From The Periphery Podcast, The Mutual Aid Podcast⁠, ⁠Politically Depressed⁠, ⁠Obscuristan⁠, and ⁠Antidote Zine⁠.

To get early access to our episodes as well as other perks (monthly hangout, movie club, exclusive content and so on) you can join our patreon at Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery

For more:

• Dana El Kurd is on Bluesky

• Michael Paarlberg is on Bluesky

• The Fire These Times is on Bluesky,⁠ IG⁠ and⁠ YouTube⁠ and has a⁠ ⁠website⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠

• From The Periphery is on⁠ ⁠Patreon⁠⁠, ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠,⁠ Instagram⁠, and has a⁠ website⁠⁠

Transcriptions: Transcriptions are done by⁠ Antidote Zine⁠ and will be published on⁠ The Fire These Times' transcript archive⁠.

Credits: Dana El Kurd (host), Elia Ayoub (producer, episode designer), ⁠⁠Rap and Revenge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Music), ⁠⁠Wenyi Geng⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (TFTT theme design), ⁠⁠Hisham Rifai⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP theme design) and ⁠⁠Molly Crabapple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (FTP team profile pics).

This is a special announcement episode broadcast on all FTP channels.

We at FTP are hosting a series of weekly film screenings and discussions on the Lebanese wars starting this Sunday April 20.

In this short episode, Elia and Ayman go through the list of films they selected, what you can expect from the screenings, and how you can participate.

To sign up and join the watch parties head over to ⁠our Patreon⁠ where you'll find ⁠this post with the invitation link⁠.

Invites are immediately available to all Patreon members. If you don't want to become a member, you can buy the link with a one-time purchase.

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All the films (except the last) are already publicly available on ⁠this playlist⁠ on our Youtube Channel.

The films we'll watch are:

⁠A Feeling Greater than Love⁠ (2017) dir. Mary Jirmanus Saba

- A feature-length documentary about the class struggle and labour movements in the lead up to the outbreak of the war in 1975.

⁠Lebanon's War⁠ - Part 3: Explosion (2001)

- A 42 minute episode of a documentary series by Al-Jazeera on the Lebanon Wars that covers in great depth the 1975 outbreak of the civil war with incredible, rare interviews.

⁠Beirut, My City⁠ (1983) dir. Jocelyne Saab

- A 38 minute film by a legendary Lebanese filmmaker filmed in Beirut amidst the Israeli siege that serves as a timeless intimate meditation on a city tortured by war and occupation.

⁠Souha, Surviving Hell⁠ (2001) dir. Randa Chahal Sabagh

- A 57 minute documentary following communist resistance fighter South Bechara as she returns to the south of Lebanon after its liberation from Israeli occupation in 2000.

⁠Last Days of the Man of Tomorrow⁠ (2017) dir. Fadz

- A short film that serves as a brilliant, illuminating, and humorous retrospective on the war by the post-war generation.

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Hope to see you at the film screenings! ⁠Here again is the link to sign up. ⁠

Elia reads and comments on his essay "⁠Restorative vs reflective nostalgia⁠" for ⁠Hauntologies.net⁠

The Hauntologies Podcast is a production of From The Periphery and part of The Fire These Times podcast.

A newsletter version exists at hauntologies.net but most recordings will be for Patreon supporters only.

To support us, please head out to Patreon.com/fromtheperiphery to subscribe.

For More:

Elia is on ⁠Bluesky⁠, ⁠Mastodon⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

From the Periphery is on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

The Fire These Times is on ⁠Bluesky⁠ and ⁠Instagram

From The Periphery is built by Elia Ayoub, Leila Al-Shami, Ayman Makarem, Dana El Kurd, Karena Avedissian, Daniel Voskoboynik, Anna M, Aydın Yıldız, Ed S, Alice Bonfatti, israa abd elfattah, with more joining soon!