USCIRF Spotlight Podcast

Recent Episodes

Blasphemy and FoRB in Nigeria: A Conversation with Mubarak Bala

Posted August 18, 2025 • 00:30:58

The Nigerian federal government enforces blasphemy laws that include a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment for acts “persons consider as a...

The Status and Significance of CPC, SWL, and EPC Designations: A Conversation with Former USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck

Posted July 31, 2025 • 00:28:33

One of the most important elements of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 is the requirement for the U.S. Secretary of State to designate...

The Extensive Reach of Chinese Transnational Repression

Posted July 14, 2025 • 00:14:35

China has been described as the “most prolific,” “sophisticated, far-reaching, and comprehensive” perpetrator of transnational repression in...

The Abuse of Extremism Laws in Central Asia

Posted May 30, 2025 • 00:30:38

The governments of Central Asia—that is Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—influenced by decades of Soviet rule, maintain...

Religious Freedom as Syria Transitions After Assad

Posted May 23, 2025 • 00:27:11

At the end of 2024, over thirteen years since the onset of Syria’s protracted civil war, the country’s political landscape dramatically shifted...