Eye on Arabia

A lecture by Joseph Braude at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's monthly foreign policy salon in Manhattan, on the war of ideas in the Middle East and North Africa -- and how the United States can support Arab proponents of tolerance, civil society, and reform.

From America Abroad Media's annual gala awards at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington on October 30, 2014, Joseph Braude introduces sacred music from Judaism, Christianity, and Islam -- performed by the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated Antakya Choir from Turkey.

Joseph Braude interviews Saudi media star Turki AlDakhil about women's advancement in the Gulf.

Hundreds of foreign broadcasters crowd Arab radio waves today -- some backed by nations like the US and Russia, others by transnational movements from the Muslim Brotherhood to the Catholic Church. One network, operating on a modest budget, stands out for punching way above its weight: the Korean Broadcasting System's Arabic service. In this short documentary, Joseph Braude tells the story of the Korean network, the people who run it, and the broadcast's implications for Middle East policy, with exclusive interviews from Seoul and Washington.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI visits the White House. A BBC interview with Joseph Braude, and the story of the only Jewish broadcast on Arab airwaves.

The saga of Islamic civilization is in many ways a universal story of good versus evil, the cycle of life, and the foibles of human nature. It isn’t too big a stretch to connect that saga to some of the great stories and classic movies Americans know and love. That’s the premise of this two-episode documentary, co-produced with Public Radio International’s Afropop Worldwide. With the help of Don Vito Corleone, R2D2, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, it tells the story of two slave rebellions that transformed the history of the Middle East and North Africa and crystallized the Sunni-Shi’ite divide in Islam. Along the way, there's a soundtrack of enchanting medieval Arabic music. Co-narrating the documentary with Joseph Braude is Georges Collinet, the legendary broadcaster from Cameroon whose voice is ubiquitous on the airwaves of Africa. Enjoy!

Liberalism is growing among youth in Saudi Arabia. We interview Nasser al-Sarami, Saudi media man and co-founder of the "Saudi Liberals" online community. Then, a report on a new militant strain of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Gulf states that has been using Syrian territory to train and arm.

In the first segment of this episode, Joseph Braude reports on Yemen's looming water emergency. Then, a review of Naomi Sakr's new book, "Transformations in Egyptian Journalism."

Joseph Braude talks to Kenneth Pollack, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, about US-Iran crisis scenarios -- and tunes into actual war simulations produced by the American and Iranian armed forces.

Holocaust denial is common throughout the Arab world -- but as Joseph Braude reports, a 26-year-old Moroccan Muslim has been fighting to raise awareness of the historical facts. Along the way, he is also teaching Jews that numerous North African Muslims, notably the late Moroccan king Muhammad V, saved thousands of Jews from the Nazis.

In this short documentary, Joseph Braude recounts the history of Islamist movements, from their beginnings in the early 20th century to the present. It weaves together narration, expert voices, and rare recordings from key moments in Islamism's development. The program first aired on Public Radio International's "America Abroad."

This mini-documentary by Joseph Braude brings together music, interviews, and reporting from the streets of Casablanca to tell the story of Nas al-Ghiwan, the greatest rock band in the history of North Africa. It first appeared on the Public Radio International program America Abroad. For more information, follow @josephbraude or visit www.josephbraude.com.

Episode 1 of Joseph Braude's podcast "Eye on Arabia" is a mini-documentary on Iran's non-Persian ethnic communities, their marginalization, and their struggle against the central government in Tehran. For more information, follow @josephbraude or visit www.josephbraude.com.