The podcast Caliphate from Rukmini Callimachi and The New York Times gives a riveting view of ISIS from the perspective of members, as well as exploring the rise, fall, and structure of the terror organization. Rukmini and her partner Andy Mills interview former ISIS fighters, prisoners, and citizens of the areas occupied by their military rule.
The podcast does a decent job interviewing people of different backgrounds and attempts to avoid the “single story” and played out stereotypical view of the middle east. It does fall short however in some areas, like when sounds of gunfire and explosions are heard with yells of “Allahu Akbar” used to immerse the listener. While this is a reality of how ISIS fights, this felt overly dramatized and used to play into the othering and single-story narrative that occurs in media regarding Islam and terror. This gives the listener some distance and removes them from seeing the true reality of the politics in the area, which I think takes away from the overall goal of the podcast of humanizing the victims and members.
One thing the podcast does well is showing the view locals have on the US military, both the good and bad. It breaks down the narrative that the US are the saviors by interviewing the locals and getting perspective on the ways the US has actually complicated the situation. This brings about conversations about whether it is necessary or even acceptable for the US government to be involved, and whether or not the time spent in the region has been effective or successful.
There has been recent controversy surrounding the podcast as credibility questions have arose around one of the main interviewees. He is being charged under terrorism hoax laws in Canada about making up his role in the organization and fabricating his tales of killings and violence he committed and witnessed. This brings about criticisms surrounding journalistic integrity and the intentions of the podcast. It brings up discussion about whether the podcast was trying to bring a voice to the people in the region, or if this was simply another dramatized and exaggerated piece of media. While the authors give people in the region the chance to talk, the podcast is compiled and created by the authors from portions of these interviews, and it makes a critical listener wonder how “raw” and first hand it actually is after being processed into the podcast. This is similar to Spivak’s idea about the subaltern. Overall, this podcast is worth the listen if listened to critically and supplemented with other media.
Callimachi, Rukmini. “Caliphate (Published 2018)”. Nytimes.com, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/podcasts/caliphate-isis-rukmini-callimachi.html.