{"podcast":{"title":"Middle East Focus","slug":"middle-east-focus-529488","podcast_index_feed_id":529488,"rss_url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/rss","website_url":"http://www.mei.edu","image_url":"https://static.libsyn.com/p/assets/a/4/a/8/a4a832f884ee9d9116c3140a3186d450/MEF_square-20250424-uf9f282kb1.png","author":"Middle East Institute","episode_count":100,"summary":"Weekly discussion of Middle East policy, arts, and culture, featuring experts from the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.","last_synced_at":"2026-09-18T08:19:26.403871+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488"},"episode":{"title":"The Human Cost of the Strait of Hormuz Closure","slug":"the-human-cost-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-closure","published_at":"2026-06-18T20:06:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/the-human-cost-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-closure","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488","url":"https://middleeastinst.libsyn.com/the-human-cost-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-closure","audio_url":"https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/middleeastinst/Middle_East_Focus_6.18.26_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=531685","summary":"When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March, fertilizer prices spiked within weeks, triggering a food security crisis across North Africa and the Sahel. Host Alistair Taylor is joined by MEI Senior Fellow Intissar Fakir to explore what it means for the region, unpack the link between food security and regional stability, and assess how the strait's reopening could impact those affected. Recorded on June 17, 2026. Find more information on MEI's research initiative on food security, governance and regional stability here .","meta_description":"When the Strait of Hormuz closed in March, fertilizer prices spiked within weeks, triggering a food security crisis across North Africa and the Sahel. Hos…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2025,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/middle-east-focus-529488/episodes/the-human-cost-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-closure/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/middle-east-focus-529488/the-human-cost-of-the-strait-of-hormuz-closure.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}