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The New Humanitarian

The New Humanitarian brings you an inside look at the conflicts and natural disasters that leave millions of people in need each year, and the policies and people who respond to them. Join TNH's journalists in the aid policy hub of Geneva and in global hotspots to unpack the stories that are disrupting and shaping lives around the world.

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22 episodes
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Avg 46 min
English

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Thursday · 1 hr 23 min
Grassroots aid is here to disturb the system | Rethinking Humanitarianism
For Fanta Toure, community-led crisis response efforts like mutual aid are not an emergent movement as some in the international aid system see it, but rather a return "to the way things are supposed to be". Toure, along with Hajooj Kuka of Sudan's emergency response rooms (ERRs) and Bashair Ahmed of Shabaka, joined co-host Christina Bennett to discuss the diversity of grassroots aid efforts, and to challenge the formal humanitarian system to adopt a more humble and supportive position towards locally-led action "What the system can do is to move from leading by default to actually supporting by design," says Ahmed, who points out that diaspora remittances dwarf foreign investment and international aid combined. Kuka, meanwhile, offers a picture of a lifesaving network of volunteers who lean on flexibility, solidarity, and even joy to keep each other alive. "What the ERRs did is showing that if the system collapses, we'll be okay," says Kuka. "The system is not what's holding us together; it's our humanity." Guests Fanta Toure, CEO of Resilio Fund Hajooj Kuka, External communications officer for Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms Bashair Ahmed, Founder of Shabaka Key moments [06:35] – Inside Sudan's 800 decentralised mutual aid groups [11:45] – Diaspora remittances are bigger than foreign aid [16:57] – Community-led aid means going back to way things are supposed to be [20:25] – The 'permafrost' of the aid system [32:21] – Flexibility, joy, and dreaming: Lessons from feminist movements [45:44] – When localisation gets co‑opted [58:59] – 'Mutual aid is here to disturb the system' [01:14:50] – What if 20% of foreign aid was given directly to communities? [01:19:00] – 'Move from leading by default to supporting by design' Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. This episode was made in collaboration with Start Network as part of a series that explores what really drives change in the humanitarian system, and what it tells us about future efforts to transform the system for the better.
August 20 · 48 min
Somalia's plan to break free from aid dependence | Rethinking Humanitarianism
For Abdihakim Ainte, a senior Somali government official, the international humanitarian system's sudden contraction has been both a "cataclysmic" shock – with devastating immediate consequences – and a reckoning that could ultimately accelerate Somalia's path towards greater self-reliance. Last week's episode explored how shifting power, money, and politics in traditional donor countries is reshaping the humanitarian landscape from the top down. In this follow-up episode, Ainte shares his perspective from the point of view of a country that traditionally receives aid. Guest Abdihakim Ainte, senior adviser for food security and climate change in the office of Somalia's prime minister Key moments [05:28] – Who really controls aid in Somalia? [10:47] – How UN agencies sideline the state in crises [18:24] – "It's very grim": What happened on the ground when donors walked away? [20:28] – Plan B: Private sector, diaspora, and domestic revenues [29:45] – Aid diversion and mutual accountability [37:58] – "The aid cut could be a blessing in disguise" [45:00] – The Türkiye model of donor relations Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. This episode was made in collaboration with Start Network as part of a series that explores what really drives change in the humanitarian system, and what it tells us about future efforts to transform the system for the better.
August 13 · 49 min
Will big donors "smell the coffee" or get left behind? | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Less than a year ago, Colum Wilson left his position at the helm of the humanitarian department in one of the world's largest donor governments. After more than two decades with the UK government, Wilson concludes that "the world's become a colder and crueller place where realpolitik tends to trump humanitarianism". In this second collaborative episode between Rethinking Humanitarianism and Start Network, Wilson joins hosts Tammam Aloudat and Christina Bennett to unpack how humanitarianism is being reshaped from the top down. They discuss the rise of populism and transactional humanitarian policy, the quiet "insurgency" of local responders getting on with change outside the formal system, the potentially disruptive power of middle-tier donors, alternative financing models, and new centres of humanitarian power. Guest Colum Wilson, former Head of the Humanitarian Department for the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO); senior humanitarian policy advisor Key moments [11:35] – National interest versus humanitarianism [14:29] – "The world's become a colder and crueller place" [17:13] – An insurgency from below [20:24] – Interest in maintaining the status quo [24:24] – "The moral argument isn't cutting through" [33:36] – A battle for the heart of humanitarianism [38:44] – "If I controlled UK humanitarian policy…" Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. This episode was made in collaboration with Start Network as part of a series that explores what really drives change in the humanitarian system, and what it tells us about future efforts to transform the system for the better.
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August 6 · 1 hr 8 min
Error and trial: What really makes the humanitarian system change? | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Humanitarianism evolves, whether the system is ready or not. This six-episode series explores how. Ben Ramalingam has spent 20 years thinking and writing about the complexity of the humanitarian system and what makes it shift. His conclusion? It changes the wrong way around. "We've tended to evolve not through trial and error, but through error and trial. So we respond to what goes wrong, we absorb the shock through processes which are often very painful, and then we return to something that's not too far removed from what we had before." In this first collaborative episode between Rethinking Humanitarianism and Start Network, hosts Tammam Aloudat and Christina Bennett set the stage for a series that explores how the humanitarian system can change for the better as it faces a crisis of legitimacy and funding. Guests Ben Ramalingam, author of Aid on the Edge of Chaos Nadine Saba, president of the Akkar Network for Development Key moments 07:11 – "Error and trial" and doing the right thing too late 11:18 – Was the Grand Bargain ever really "grand"? 21:13 – Reforming policies vs changing mindsets 23:30 – Cash as a disruptive force 36:06 – How systemic change actually happens (in three steps) 43:23 – "People don't care about our jargon" 50:18 – Fear, funding, and the myth of neutrality 53:13 – If the system is so misaligned, why keep it? 59:31 – Tammam and Christina discuss why this podcast collaboration came to be Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. This episode was made in collaboration with Start Network as part of a series that explores what really drives change in the humanitarian system, and what it tells us about future efforts to transform the system for the better.
July 7 · 1 hr 19 min
Lessons on media ethics from the Middle East | Decolonise How?
What are we getting right, what are we getting wrong, and how could we do better? A recent live webinar hosted by Patrick Gathara, with historian Assal Rad and media critic Sana Saeed, digs into the framing of the genocide and wars in the Middle East with the goal of drawing lessons that could be applicable to a wide range of crises. Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
June 23 · 39 min
How to change reporting | Decolonise How?
We've diagnosed the problem. What comes next? On the podcast: what it takes to change how crises are spoken about in newsrooms and aid organisations. Researcher Jess Crombie and journalist Chika Oduah encourage "uncomfortable conversations" to confront colonial legacies. "Really, what we're talking about is about acknowledging power and making efforts to undermine existing power structures," Crombie says. Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
June 19 · 1 hr 5 min
Event | Who owns the narrative?
Across newsrooms, stages, screens, and funding tables, there's a growing movement to reshape how migration and displacement are understood. So what does it look like when the people at the heart of these crises tell their own stories, and could it influence the systems that shape their lives? The New Humanitarian hosted a night of film and conversation with journalists, artists, and cultural funders to explore these very questions. This event was moderated by Eric Reidy, Migration and Special Coverage Editor at The New Humanitarian, and featured: Bridgit Antoinette Evans | Artist, culture change strategist, and CEO of the Pop Culture Collaborative Arian Moayed | Actor, writer, director, and co-Founder of Waterwell Mazin Sidahmed | Co-Founder and Executive Director, Documented Annie Slemrod | Journalist, storyteller, and Middle East Editor at The New Humanitarian _____ This event was presented in partnership with the New York Office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.
June 9 · 44 min
Crisis comms: donations vs. dignity | Decolonise How?
NGO ads don't have to be a balance between dignity and donations. A look at the ethics and power dynamics of crisis communications, and how humanitarian agencies can do better for the communities they serve, with Levis Nderitu, a Kenyan DEI specialist, and Marie-Rose Romain Murphy, a Haitian-American community development expert. "At the core of your communication should be people, should be dignity, should be: how would I want to be portrayed myself?" Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
June 4 · 1 hr 40 min
Event | Humanitarianism in the West Bank
Humanitarianism in the West Bank: Structures, Power, and the Limits of Aid ___ What does it mean to "do no harm" in a context where aid can both alleviate suffering and entrench the very systems that produce it? In this critical conversation on the state of humanitarianism in the West Bank today, we examine what it means for humanitarian actors to operate within a broader landscape of occupation, violence, and structural injustice. This event was moderated by Layth Hanbali, Researcher at Institute for Palestine Studies and PhD candidate, who was joined by: Tammam Aloudat | CEO, The New Humanitarian Matiangai Sirleaf | Nathan Patz Professor of Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Bushra Khalidi | Global Humanitarian Policy Lead, Oxfam Lubnah Shomali | Palestinian human rights defender and activist, BADIL ____ Want to find out about future live events?? Subscribe to our newsletter at www.thenewhumanitarian.org/subscribe This event was convened by The New Humanitarian in collaboration with BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, The Third World Approaches to International Law Review, Birzeit University Muwatin Institute for Democracy and Human Rights and Birzeit University Ibrahim Abu-Lughod Institute of International Studies.
May 26 · 38 min
Decolonising the newsroom | Decolonise How?
The first African to lead the BBC's African service, Joseph Warungu, and The New Humanitarian's Head of Editorial, Andrew Gully, have over half a century's worth of experience working in and leading newsrooms. Why do both use the word "battle" to describe their efforts to produce decolonised journalism with local perspectives? Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
May 21 · 48 min
Diaspora aid: the lifeline we don't talk about enough | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Every year, people in the diaspora send hundreds of billions of dollars home. It is one of the single most important streams of assistance, far outweighing all official foreign aid. So why does it get less attention when it outpaces aid flows? And can it – or should it – better complement international humanitarian response? Host Tammam Aloudat discusses the wide-reaching role of diaspora aid in Gaza, South Sudan, and beyond, its strengths and potential in crisis response, and its limitations. Guests: Hala Sabbah, co-founder of The Sameer Project Daniel Mayang Mayen, researcher at the Sudd Institute Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.
May 12 · 39 min
Who gets to tell the story? | Decolonise How?
Does it really matter whether a journalist is a local or a foreigner? The distinction between "local" or "international" journalists raises questions about trust, credibility, and control in global news. In this episode of Decolonise How? Patrick Gathara sits down with The New Humanitarian's Ali Latifi and Ahmer Khan to discuss power dynamics in crisis reporting, and why it matters. Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
May 7 · 28 min
What it means for humanitarians to be political | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Saving lives is a choice, and that makes it hard for humanitarianism to be completely apolitical despite long-running debates about neutrality and impartiality. But what does being political look like? On this episode: Flotillas and White Helmets, the difference between speaking out as individual humanitarian actors or as a unified collective, moving beyond simply being in "solidarity with communities", and finding a diversity of voices to build a future version of humanitarianism. Guests: Shatha Elnakib, faculty and deputy director of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University, and lead author of The Lancet's article, The humanitarian system: politics can not be avoided. Jonathan Whittall, executive director and founder of the KEYS Initiative Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.
April 28 · 37 min
Ethical principles vs institutional realities | Decolonise How?
In the latest Decolonise How? podcast, we ask whether ethical journalism is possible when individual ideals collide with institutional realities. "In school, we are taught: Don't be too close to the story, because then how do you maintain objectivity?" says Kenyan journalist Njoki Chege. "But on the ground, things are very different." Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
April 16 · 22 min
Surviving war while delivering aid | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Like many local aid workers living through war, Hind Obeid is surviving a crisis while responding to it. Obeid works for an NGO that supports refugees in Lebanon, but since 2024 Israeli attacks have forced her to fulfill her obligations while experiencing multiple displacements, the fear of airstrikes, and the constant sound of drones. Obeid, who wrote about her experiences for The New Humanitarian, joins the podcast to reflect on the mental anguish of delivering aid under Israeli bombardment, how the humanitarian system can better support local staff, and why showing up in a crisis feels like resistance. Guest: Hind Obeid, safeguarding officer and PSEAH focal point at Basmeh & Zeitooneh Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.
April 14 · 39 min
Should there be foreign correspondents? | Decolonise How?
In this episode of Decolonise How?, host Patrick Gathara sits down with journalist Jane Ferguson to debate what role foreign correspondents should have in telling stories from crises, and why she now describes herself as a "recovering war reporter". "I had grown up with this sense of what a foreign correspondent was… but what I learned early on was that my impression was very self-absorbed," Ferguson says. Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
April 2 · 45 min
An exit talk with UNRWA's Philippe Lazzarini | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Philippe Lazzarini has ended his term as head of UNRWA, the UN agency that provides essential services to Palestinians. In an exit interview, Lazzarini describes "the most brutal experience" of his career, his anger when atrocities are met with silence, and the "slippery slope" waiting for humanitarians in Gaza. Guest: Philippe Lazzarini, departing commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism.
March 31 · 36 min
What is humanitarian journalism? | Decolonise How?
There's more than one way to cover crises, says Professor Martin Scott. In the second episode of Decolonise How?, host Patrick Gathara sits down with Scott, who studies media and global development, to discuss the ethics, practice, and impact of media coverage of crises. Scott popularised the term "humanitarian journalism". He explains what makes it different from mainstream journalism, and why the labels matter. Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
March 17 · 40 min
Who owns the story? | Decolonise How?
"The first place that people are dehumanised is in stories." - Sophie Otiende The way we tell stories about humanitarian crises can distort the realities of the people living through them. From news coverage and research to aid donation appeals, there is a tendency to simplify, decontextualise, and even dehumanise – to portray locals as suffering and helpless, and the outsiders riding to their rescue as heroic and selfless. In Decolonise How? host Patrick Gathara brings together journalists, humanitarians, researchers, and affected communities, to understand why this happens, and how to change it. For his first podcast, Gathara is joined by Kenyan teacher, activist and advocate for survivors of human trafficking, Sophie Otiende, and Kelsie Kilawna Marchand, a Syilx journalist from Canada. They discuss community, consent, what to do differently – and just what is a "coyote" move? Decolonise How? is a new podcast by The New Humanitarian that examines the stories we tell about humanitarian crises.
March 12 · 29 min
Tragedy? When humanitarian language becomes oppressive | Rethinking Humanitarianism
Is it problematic to call human suffering a "tragedy"? Even well-intentioned humanitarian language can harm, says Heidi Mogstad, senior researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway. She argues that the language humanitarians use can perpetuate systems of violence that cause crises. In this episode, Mogstad gives examples of counter-productive language, and discusses ways to improve. Guests: Heidi Mogstad, senior researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway. Got a question or feedback? Email podcast@thenewhumanitarian.org or post on social media using the hashtag #RethinkingHumanitarianism. Show Notes: Oppressive Language and Humanitarian Complicity: Reflections on Gaza and European Border Violence

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