The Creeping Coup

By Rund Abdelfatah,

Ramtin Arablouei, Julie Caine, Casey Miner, Sarah Wyman, Nic Neves, Rachel Horowitz, Kiana Paclibon, Cristina Kim, Lawrence Wu, Devin Katayama, Anya Steinberg, Linah Mohammad, Yin Cai

Published July 18, 2024 at 9:02 AM EDT

Sudan has been at the center of a deadly and brutal war for over a year. It's the site of the world's largest hunger crisis, and the world's largest displacement crisis.

On the surface, it's a story about two warring generals vying for power – the latest in a long cycle of power struggles that have plagued Sudan for decades. But it's also a story about the U.S. war on terror, Russia's war in Ukraine, and China's global rise.

Today on the show, we turn back the clock more than a century to untangle the complex web that put Sudan on the path to war.

Guests:

Kholood Khair, Sudanese Political Analyst and Founding Director of Confluence Advisory, a "think-and-do" tank formerly based in Khartoum

Christopher Tounsel, Historian of modern Sudan and Associate Professor at the University of Washington

Ibrahim Elbadawi, Managing Director of the Economic Research Forum based in Cairo

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Rund Abdelfatah

Rund Abdelfatah is the co-host and producer of Throughline, a podcast that explores the history of current events. In that role, she's responsible for all aspects of the podcast's production, including development of episode concepts, interviewing guests, and sound design.

See stories by Rund Abdelfatah

Ramtin Arablouei

Ramtin Arablouei is co-host and co-producer of NPR's podcast Throughline, a show that explores history through creative, immersive storytelling designed to reintroduce history to new audiences.

See stories by Ramtin Arablouei

Julie Caine

Julie Caine is senior editor for NPR's Throughline. An award-winning editor, reporter and audio producer, Caine's heart is in her ears. She led podcasting and on-demand audio at KQED in San Francisco, overseeing strategy, new show development and a vibrant podcast portfolio, including The Bay, Truth Be Told and Rightnowish. She helped found Jetty Studios, an international podcast unit for the Al Jazeera Media Network, where she launched Closer Than They Appear and Game of Our Lives, and developed The Take. She's a founding producer and editor on The Stoop and The Specialist podcasts, and was managing producer for Crosscurrents at KALW Public Radio, a springboard for shows like 99% Invisible, Snap Judgment, The Intersection, and Kamau Right Now. She believes deeply in Grace Paley's maxim that you must be a story listener to be a storyteller.

Casey Miner

Casey Miner is an award-winning narrative audio editor, producer and writer who's worked with NPR, Wondery, Reveal, The Stoop, Slate, Pop-Up Magazine and Mother Jones, among many others. Projects she's worked on have been recognized by the Peabody Awards, the Emmy Awards, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Society of Professional Journalists. She created and hosted The Specialist, a podcast about work we don't think about and the people who do it, and is a co-founder of the Editors Collective, a group of narrative audio editors working to diversify the field and build networks and career paths for new editors. [Copyright 2024 NPR]

Sarah Wyman

Nic Neves

Nic M. Neves (he/him) is a production assistant with NPRs Enterprise Storytelling Unit. He's in all odd ends of production, from tracking down the perfect voice actor to composing just the right song for a moment in a story. Neves is an alum of the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art & Design. Before that, he studied science, psychology and music at Brandeis University. When he's not crafting an audio story, he's either making music and coffee in his dark cave of an apartment or haunting his local jazz club in Brooklyn, NY.

Rachel Horowitz

Kiana Paclibon

Cristina Kim

Cristina Kim is a reporter/producer for Throughline.

Lawrence Wu

Devin Katayama

Devin Katayama is a Senior Producer for NPR's Throughline podcast. He was formerly Editor of Talent and Development for KQED, where he created equitable opportunities for interns and newsroom staff. Prior to that, he hosted The Bay and American Suburb podcasts. While an education reporter with WFPL, Katayama won WBUR's 2014 Daniel Schorr award and a regional RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award for his documentary "At Risk." Katayama has also received numerous local awards from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. He earned his master's in journalism from Columbia College Chicago, and a bachelor's in English creative writing from CUNY Hunter College. Katayama is based in Vallejo, California – the 707.

Anya Steinberg

Linah Mohammad

Prior to joining NPR in 2022, Mohammad was a producer on The Washington Post's daily flagship podcast Post Reports, where her work was recognized by multiple awards. She was honored with a Peabody award for her work on an episode on the life of George Floyd.

Yin Cai