Back to normal, serious frivolity this week as Backbeat features music from Wynonie Harris (and his son), Louis Prima, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Magic Sam, old-timey music from Narmour & Smith, new-timey music from Brad Strang and a lot more.

In this week’s episode, we turn our attention to a conversation that has been stirring debate across global media and academic circles alike—a recent analysis by journalist and political commentator Ali Abunimah, titled “Israel’s Catastrophic Failure.” This discussion arrives at a moment when the region is still trembling from the aftershocks of the Gaza war, and when the political landscape of the Middle East is shifting in ways that even seasoned analysts struggle to fully grasp. Abunimah’s commentary cuts through the noise with clarity and precision. In the clip we explore today, he lays out a stark assessment of how Israel’s political and military strategies have not only faltered, but unraveled in full view of the world. What was once framed as strength has revealed itself as fragility. What was once presented as control has exposed deep structural cracks. And what was once assumed to be an unshakeable regional order is now being rewritten in real time. At the heart of Abunimah’s analysis is a simple but profound question: What happens when a state built on the projection of power suddenly finds that power slipping? He examines the cascading consequences of the Gaza war—not only for Palestinians, whose suffering remains the moral center of this crisis, but also for Israel’s standing on the global stage. He traces how the war has accelerated a shift in international opinion, widened fractures within long standing alliances, and forced governments around the world to confront uncomfortable truths about their own complicity. Abunimah also highlights the geopolitical ripple effects: the recalibration of regional actors, the emergence of new diplomatic alignments, and the growing recognition that the old frameworks—political, military, and ideological—can no longer contain the realities unfolding on the ground. This moment, he argues, reveals the limits of power in the modern Middle East. Not just Israel’s power, but the power of any state that relies on force, occupation, or narrative control to maintain its position. The Gaza war has exposed the fragility of these systems, and in doing so, has opened a window into a future where the balance of influence may look very different from the past. As we listen to this clip, we invite you to sit with the questions it raises: What does failure look like when it is political, military, and moral all at once? What does it mean for a regional order when its central pillar begins to crack? And what possibilities emerge when the world can no longer ignore the consequences of policies that have gone unquestioned for decades? This episode is not just an analysis of a single moment. It is an invitation to understand the deeper forces shaping the Middle East today—forces that will define the region’s future, and the world’s, for years to come. Welcome to This Week in Palestine. Let’s begin.

Labour Unions Need More Democracy and True Internationalism to Defend Workers and Ensure Peace.

US Warships Crossing Red Lines, Putting World Peace at Risk.

International lawyer David Jacobs discusses Victoire Ingabire's struggle for democracy, as well as other subjects, including Palestine, and the re-armament of former-Axis powers such as Germany.

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Ahmed Alnaouq is a Palestinian journalist based in London, host of Palestine Deep Dive and the director and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers. He joins hosts Nora Barows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah to explain how young writers in Gaza are feeling after 2 years of ongoing genocide. The Electronic Intifada’s contributor Abubaker Abed who was evacuated earlier this year from Gaza to pursue his studies in Ireland talks about hope and a yellow rose. On the Resistance Report, Jon Elmer covers Israeli assassinations of the Palestinian resistance leadership as the resistance announces the death of Abu Obeida. And we highlight an article about how gutted buildings on the verge of collapse in Gaza City endanger those living inside and near them.

Venezuela Regime Change, Maduro Kidnapped by US, 03Jan26 Rolling News Coverage Tony Gosling Press TV - NATO attacks New Years Eve Party in Khorly, Kherson Killing 27, and Attempts To Assassinate Putin - Russia accuses UK of repeated connection to Ukraine's terror attacks - The Bristol Politics Show, presented by Tony Gosling https://www.radio4all.net/program/121530 AUDIO FILES https://www.radio4all.net/program/121530 #1 - FULL SHOW w RUSSIA TODAY COVERAGE, MICHAEL HUDSON, BRIAN BERLETIC, IMRAN KAHN, ADIL RAJA : 4hrs 20mins https://www.radio4all.net/files/tony@cultureshop.org.uk/NTBCFMPS-full-show-02Jan26.mp3 #4 - VENEZUELA COVERAGE FROM TG LIVE ON PRESS TV : 30mins https://www.radio4all.net/files/tony@cultureshop.org.uk/Venezuela%20Regime%20Change%2003Jan26%20TG%20on%20Press%20TV%20edit.mp3 #5 - Patrick Henningsen Venezuela Regime Change on RT Banned In Britain - 00:55:00  https://www.radio4all.net/files/tony@cultureshop.org.uk/Patrick%20Henningsen%20Venezuela%20Regime%20Change%20on%20RT%20Banned%20In%20Britain%2003Jan26.mp3 https://politicsthisweek.gn.apc.org/2026/01/nato-attacks-new-years-eve-party-in-khorly-kherson-killing-27-and-attempts-to-assassinate-putin-russia-accuses-uk-of-repeated-connection-to-ukraines-terror-attacks-the-bristol-politics-show-p/ https://youtu.be/9lhfXu5ZRv8

Genocide is the intent to exterminate in whole or in part a specific group of people often based on nationality, ethnicity, race or religion. For the past two years, in the Darfur region of the nation of Sudan, located in north central Africa and populated primarily by black Africans, the Sudanese government has been committing racial genocide. Reports are that as many as 400,000 black African civilians have been murdered by the Sudanese government together with Arab rebel groups in Darfur. Professor Sam Totten, a scholar in Genocide Studies at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, visited the Darfur area in the fall of 2004 and has been examining this present day massacre that most of the world has chosen to ignore. I spoke with Professor Totten from his home in Arkansas and asked him to explain the reasons behind the genocide. www.savedarfur.org Sam Totten recommends “Shake Hands With the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda,” by Romeo Dallaire. Originally Broadcast: June 7, 2005

Patricia Fraser kicks off the New Year with the emphasis on diversity. Celtic music picks up influences wherever it travels and then comes home to Celt In A Twist where we sift through it and weave it into a colourful, cohesive mix. Expanding musical horizons, join us for a taste in 2026!

This year, discover a whole world of new musical possibilities. Fresh for 2026: Dunklebunt dance mix, more Indole from Alex Cuba, Grammy-nom Justin Gray, and some Balkan bangers! What music radio sounds like.

A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. Japan, France 24, Germany, and Cuba.

Sonic Café, that’s the legendary Jeff Coffin on bari sax with Caleb Chapman’s Crescent Super Band with a tune called Tall and Lanky. So hey welcome, I don’t know where you are, but here at the Sonic Café it is Jazz Friday! I’m Scott Clark and this is episode 465. Yeah it’s been a while since we’ve done a jazz set so we’re going all out. Listen for Oliver Nelson from his LP The blues and the Abstract truth with introduction provided by Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen. We’ll also spin Zoot Sims, Liquid Soul. If you don’t have rhythm you don’t have anything. Also George Benson covering John Coltrane’s Naima. All that plus Stan Getz, Ricky Ford with Chelsea Bridge, Andy Summers with Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Michael Franks, and more. Oh and before we forget, the Sonic Café also presents a Key & Peele original. Listen for their Jazz, Scat duel. Funny stuff. So welcome to Jazz Friday, sit down and soak in the jazz and by all means bring a jazz attitude. The song is Midnight Blue, the artist Kenny Burrell, and this is Jazz Friday at the Sonic Café.

Another year, another birthday for Daffodil and time to play her favorite cheeze...please?

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