As the world begins to emerge from its COVID-19 lockdowns, the Middle East is once again in the grip of mass protests against inequality and government incompetence. In countries like Tunisia, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria, these movements had begun long before the pandemic saw them grind to a halt, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the public’s grievances. During Tom’s conversation with Dr William Lawrence, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute and former United States diplomat in Tunisia, he asked Dr Lawrence how we should expect to see protest movements across the Middle East progress as they experience somewhat of a second wind.