Podcasts about Middle Eastern studies

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with UC Berkeley History Professor Ussama Makdisi, who was personally named and targeted by Members of Congress in the recent House of Representatives hearing ostensibly on antisemitism in higher education. Beinart and Makdisi discuss the "surreal" experience of being denounced in Congress as well as the truth and power of the widespread mobilization of people from a wide range of backgrounds, faiths, and generations calling for justice and an end to the genocide in Gaza. They also discuss the long and relatively under-researched history of interconnections among Muslims, Christians, and Jewish communities in the Middle East, the importance of reading history, and the shocking brutality of the genocide in Gaza. As they close their conversation, Makdisi asserts that the urgent and essential task is to make sense of the world in terms that "humanize rather than dehumanize, historicize rather than dehistoricize, advocate for justice and equality rather than ethno-religious supremacy of any sort."  Dr. Ussama Makdisi is Professor of History and Chancellor's Chair at the University of California Berkeley. He was previously Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University in Houston.  During AY 2019-2020, Professor Makdisi was a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the Department of History. Makdisi was awarded the Berlin Prize and spent the Spring 2018 semester as a Fellow at the American Academy of Berlin. Professor Makdisi's most recent book Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World was published in 2019 by the University of California Press. He is also the author of Faith Misplaced: the Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations, 1820-2001 (Public Affairs, 2010).  His previous books include Artillery of Heaven: American Missionaries and the Failed Conversion of the Middle East (Cornell University Press, 2008), which was the winner of the 2008 Albert Hourani Book Award from the Middle East Studies Association, the 2009 John Hope Franklin Prize of the American Studies Association, and a co-winner of the 2009 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize given by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Makdisi is also the author of The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon (University of California Press, 2000) and co-editor of Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa (Indiana University Press, 2006). He has published widely on Ottoman and Arab history as well as on U.S.-Arab relations and U.S. missionary work in the Middle East.   Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

Uzair talks to Dr. Neda Bolourchi about the recent Israel-Iran-US conflict and its key takeaways. We also talked about whether the Iranian government is secure, the chances of diplomacy working, and Iran's future role in the Middle East. Dr. Neda Bolourchi is an interdisciplinary Middle East scholar and Associate Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Rutgers-New Brunswick. Her work includes international and comparative human rights legal analysis and foreign policy studies. Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 3:00 Key takeaways 16:50 Is the Iranian regime secure? 24:45 Understand regime politics 31:05 Iran's future in the Middle East 38:15 Reading recommendations Book Recommendations: - Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security by Andrew Preston - Opera as Drama by Joseph Kerman - Boom Town: The Fantastical Saga of Oklahoma City, Its Chaotic Founding... Its Purloined Basketball Team, and the Dream of Becoming a World-class Metropolis by Sam Anderson

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Dr. Yasser Abu Jamei, psychiatrist and Director General of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), Gaza's leading mental health organization. They discuss the how GCMHP has continued to serve Gazans, train mental health providers, and offer critical services and knowledge even in these genocidal conditions. They discuss what it means to "cope" with the horrors and deprivations of genocide, as well as the hope for a ceasefire and what outsiders can do to support the survivors in Gaza.  For more on the GCMHP's work, see their website; Dr. Yasser's June 2025 article, "Living Through the Unimaginable: a Testament from Gaza;" GCMHP's report "Caring for survivors: New report reveals mental health Impact on Gaza" (August 2024); the website & resources of the Gaza Mental Health Foundation;  Yasser Abu-Jamei is a Palestinian psychiatrist who heads the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP), the leading independent Palestinian non-governmental organization providing mental health services to the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip and training for mental health professionals.   He became Director General of GCMHP in January 2014, following the death of its founder, Dr. Eyad El Sarraj. In 2012, he obtained a MSc in Clinical Neuropsychiatry (with distinction) from the University of Birmingham in the UK, Dr. Abu-Jamei is a member of the Task Force which developed the National Mental Health Strategy 2015-2019 in Palestine. He co-led the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Technical Working Group in Gaza Strip and in 2020 co-founded the Palestine Global Mental Health Network.  His interests include capacity building, neuropsychiatry, and advocacy.  In addition to his research and authorship or co-authorship of some twenty academic papers, he has been certified as a Trainer of Trainers in the field of supervision and care for caregivers by the Free University of Berlin. Dr. Abu-Jamei has received several honors, including the Best Alumnus Award from the Said Foundation (2015), the Alumnus of the Year award from the University of Birmingham (2016) and the Community Resilience Award from the Rebuilding Alliance (2021).   Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is a 2025 Fellow at FMEP and was most recently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek. She has been involved with community leadership efforts and served on many boards to build multifaceted support for Palestinian rights and a more nuanced understanding of people's lives in the Middle East region. Among them are The Gaza Mental Health Foundation, LE.O Foundation, Friends of Mada al-Carmel, Tawassul Palestinian Art and Culture Society, Friends of Sabeel North America, Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and Research and Education Collaborative with Al-Quds University.  She has also served as a Board Trustee at Aurora University. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this special episode, Robinson and Karl Zheng Wang co-host at the Yale US-China Forum. Return guests from the show include Slavoj Žižek, Richard Wolff, and Yascha Mounk. Slavoj Žižek is international director of the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities at the University of London, visiting professor at New York University, and a senior researcher at the University of Ljubljana's Department of Philosophy. Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition. Yascha Mounk is a Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University. He is also a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the host of The Good Fight podcast. Yannis Varoufakis is a Greek economist and politician, and current Secretary-General of the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025. Robin Visser is Professor in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she researches modern Chinese and Sinophone literatures, urban cultural studies, and environmental studies. Pei Wang is Professor in the Chinese History and Culture Program at the University of Hong Kong, where she specializes in comparative philosophy, psychoanalysis, and more. Daniel Mattingly is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Yale University, where he studies the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, with a focus on China.  OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:46 The Future of Europe and China00:10:40 There Is No Such Thing as Trade Wars, They Are All Class Wars00:15:50 How Wall Street's Failures Fueled the Rise of Tech00:20:02 Why Is There a New Cold War Between the US and China?00:27:18 Why the United States Is Abandoning Democracy and Why China is Yannis Varoufakis's Only Hope00:29:26 Richard Wolff to Yannis Varoufakis: Are We Heading Toward Nuclear War with China?00:35:58 How Class WARFARE Shaped the World Superpowers CLIP00:41:01 Is China Capitalism's Final Form?00:52:03 Is There Any Way that China and the United Stated Could Avert Conflict?00:59:16 Varoufakis to Wolff: Is a Tariff Hail Mary Trump's Only Remaining Option?01:03:39 Daniel Mattingly on China's Sociopolitical Organization01:08:39 How Does Xi Jinping Talk About Socialism?01:13:47 Yascha Mounk on US-China Competition01:22:36 Philosophy, Socialism, and Capitalism01:48:40 Pei Wang on the Hero and Father in US-China Competition01:54:31 Hero and Father Archetypes in PoliticsRobinson's Website: http://robinsonerhardt.comRobinson Erhardt researches symbolic logic and the foundations of mathematics at Stanford University.

Farah Mokhtareizadeh has a degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. She also has a Masters and PhD in Feminist Islamic Studies from a Catholic university in Irland. She has traveled and worked in a number of middle East countries as well as Africa. Farah Mokhtareizadeh explains the history, the current government and the culture of Iran. That history, government and culture is vastly different than the explanation given by American mainline news.

In this episode, we're diving deep into the latest breakthroughs in integrative mental health and wellness with special guest Kirkland Newman, founder of the Mind Health 360. Kirkland is an Anglo-American journalist, philanthropist, and Founder of MindHealth360, a global platform dedicated to integrative mental health and functional medicine psychiatry. 

In this episode of the Z3 Podcast, host Rabbi Amitai Fraiman is joined by Rebecca Guzman and Shanie Reichman, contributing authors to the book Young Zionist Voices, for a candid conversation about how the younger generations experiences Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity. What does it take to build understanding between generations, and how can we stay in relationship even when we don't see eye to eye? Don't miss this thoughtful episode that speaks directly to the challenges and possibilities of being young, Jewish, and politically engaged today.Want to hear more from Gen Z voices like Rebecca and Shanie? Get your copy of Young Zionist Voices now at z3project.org/books.About Our GuestsRebecca Guzman is a Straus Scholar and Tablet Fellow at Stern College for Women, where she is currently studying creative writing. Her work has appeared in Jewish Journal and The Jewish Press, and she has received recognition from the National Council of Teachers of English and The New York Times. She lives in New York City.Shanie Reichman is the director of strategic initiatives and director of IPF Atid at Israel Policy Forum, based in New York City, where she works to elevate the discourse around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She serves as the founding chair for the Forum Dvorah U.S. committee, an NGO that champions women's participation in national security and foreign policy decision-making spheres in Israel. She is a Wexner Field Fellow, a Schusterman ROIer, and serves on the boards of Queens College Hillel and the Center for Ethnic, Racial and Religious Understanding. Her work has been published in the Forward, the Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Hey Alma, Jewish Unpacked, and International Policy Digest. She is a participating author in the book “Young Zionist Voices” and is pursuing her MA in Middle Eastern Studies at CUNY Graduate Center.Chapters(00:00)Introduction(04:15) Defining Zionism: Personal Perspectives(08:47) Zionism and Judaism: Intersections and Distinctions(13:50) Generational Perspectives on Zionism(22:55) The Future of Israel Education(30:35) Understanding Emotional Connections to Israel(32:51) The Complexity of Zionism and Education(35:13) Navigating Criticism and Support for Israel(37:00) The Disconnect Between Heritage and Current Events(38:31) The Reality of Israel vs. Idealism(40:52) Shared Values and Diverging Perspectives(43:21) Empathy and Understanding in the Jewish Community(45:26) Defining Boundaries in Conversations about Zionism(48:41) Strategic Engagement with Young American Jews(52:14) The Impact of Perceptions on Zionism(55:45) The Need for Open Conversations(01:00:26) Hope for the Future of Jewish Identity

In this episode, Gordon Euchler sits down with Janina Jahns, Brands & Culture Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at Diageo, to explore her dynamic journey from studying Middle Eastern Studies and dreaming of a diplomatic career to leading groundbreaking cultural partnerships at one of the world's biggest beverage companies. Janina shares behind-the-scenes stories about the fast-paced hustle of activating global brands across diverse cultures. They dive into the power of overcommunication, the importance of local insights and why building cultural relevance is a data-driven, team-powered challenge. She also opens up about her long-standing fascination with the luxury industry, her transformative experience studying luxury communication at Harvard and how breaking traditional marketing rules can create lasting impact. Janina also talks about the opportunities she sees in integrating AI into marketing, not as a threat but as a chance to unlock more space for creativity, personalization and meaningful consumer connections.Tune in for an inspiring conversation about ambition, curiosity and shaping the future of marketing across continents.

Dr Ori Goldberg is an independent analyst, who holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies with a specialisation in Iranian affairs. He is a former university professor and national security consultant. He speaks to John Maytham about why Israel’s mission into Iran a failure has been, and how U.S President Donald Trump was used to further Benjamin Netanyahu’s agenda. Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit is a podcast of the CapeTalk breakfast show. This programme is your authentic Cape Town wake-up call. Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit is informative, enlightening and accessible. The team’s ability to spot & share relevant and unusual stories make the programme inclusive and thought-provoking. Don’t miss the popular World View feature at 7:45am daily. Listen out for #LesterInYourLounge which is an outside broadcast – from the home of a listener in a different part of Cape Town - on the first Wednesday of every month. This show introduces you to interesting Capetonians as well as their favourite communities, habits, local personalities and neighbourhood news. Thank you for listening to a podcast from Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit. Listen live on Primedia+ weekdays between 06:00 and 09:00 (SA Time) to Good Morning CapeTalk with Lester Kiewit broadcast on CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3Nk For more from the show go to https://buff.ly/xGkqLbT or find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/f9Eeb7i Subscribe to the CapeTalk Daily and Weekly Newsletters https://buff.ly/sbvVZD5 Follow us on social media CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BrownTown shares space with Chicago Palestinian Film Festival Executive Director Nina Shoman-Dajani, filmmaker Justin Mashouf, & protagonist of the short film $17.74, Hamzah Furqani. The team discusses the inner-workings and impact of the longest running Palestinian film festival in the world, centering the responsibility creators and storytellers have in sharing their to amplify resistance, solidarity, and joy. Originally recorded April 26, 2025. GUESTSNina Shoman-Dajani currently serves as the Executive Director for the Chicago Palestine Film Festival. She is also a community college administrator and teaches Middle Eastern Studies at Saint Xavier University and has served as a visiting lecturer at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC). She is a contributor to the recently published book Teaching Palestine: Lessons, Stories, Voices and one of the authors of Beyond Erasure and Profiling: Cultivating Strong and Vibrant Arab American Communities in Chicagoland. Nina is a co-chair for the MENA/SWANA Caucus and the Transnational/International Committee of the National Advisory Council for the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education (NCORE), a former board member for the Arab American Studies Association and a board member for the Syrian Community Network, a refugee resettlement agency in Chicago.Justin Mashouf is an award-winning filmmaker and artist based in Los Angeles. He is the co-founder and Executive Producer of Stay Focused Pictures, a production company specializing in documentary development and production. A finalist for the Pillars Fund x Riz Ahmed inaugural Artist Fellowship, Justin's career spans over 10 countries and includes feature films, commercials, TV specials and documentaries including his CPFF-accepted short film $17.74.Hamzah Furqani is the protagonist of $17.74. Raised in Los Angeles, Hamzah is a former gang member who spent 39 years incarcerated. In 1989, while serving his sentence, he began his journey of personal transformation by converting to Islam. Later, while incarcerated and before his release, he donated a month-long paycheck to support relief efforts in Gaza. Follow the festival on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!--Mentioned Topics & More Info: Related episodes:Ep. 113 - Palestinian Liberation: Divestment, Encampments, & Institutions ft. AmoonaEp. 112 - DNC: Pt. 2 ft. Nesreen Hasan & Nadiah AlyafaiEp. 111 - Palestinian Liberation: Anti-Zionism & Jewish Solidarity ft. Rabbi Brant Rosen & Lesley WilliamsEp. 102 - Palestinian Liberation: In This Moment ft. Muhammad SankariProfessor Refaat Alareer (video, 1, 2)--CREDITS: Intro song from Leve Palestina (Hijazi Remix ) 2023 | تحيا فلسطين ; outro soundbite from Refaat Alareer. Audio engineered by Kassandra Borah.--Bourbon 'n BrownTownFacebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | PatreonSoapBox Productions and Organizing, 501(c)3Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Site | Linktree | Support

As the war between Israel and Iran continues, members of the Iranian diaspora in the Bay Area are closely watching as people in Iran are being asked to evacuate amidst travel bans, fuel shortages and internet blackouts. The United States is home to the largest Iranian diaspora outside of Iran, with over fifty percent of that population living in California. We talk with Iranian community members and leaders in the Bay Area about how these latest events fit in the larger context of the nation's history, what it all means for the people in Iran, and how members of the diaspora are navigating the situation from afar. Guests: Persis Karim, poet, essayist and Director for the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, San Francisco State University Hasti Jafari, playwright, educator Nahid Siamdoust, journalist; professor of Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas Arman Mahmoudi, community organizer, BayArea4Iran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley speaks about the complexities of Arabic tracing his personal journey with the language, from early struggles with grammar to a deep appreciation for its richness. We explore the historical and pedagogical challenges of teaching Arabic, especially given its sacred status connected to the Quranic text and the socio-cultural resistance to modernizing its grammatical teaching methods. The conversation also delves into the dual nature of Arabic, the spoken and the written forms, their impact on education, everyday use, and the broader implications of Arabic as a cultural and identity-defining symbol in the Arab world.  00:00 Introduction 00:05 Professor Suleiman-Malley's Early Relationship with Arabic01:24 Challenges in Teaching Arabic Grammar05:34 Cultural and Historical Context of Arabic Pedagogy11:30 Arabic as a Symbol of Identity and Conflict15:43 The Health of the Arabic Language23:50 Decolonization and Language29:45 Reviving and Managing Languages38:26 The Role of Language in Identity39:19 Language as a Membership Card41:04 Diversity and Unity in the Arab World42:50 Cultural Arabness vs Racial Arabness45:39 Historical Perspectives on Arab Identity54:01 The Concept of Diglossia01:03:08 Challenges of Written vs Spoken Arabic01:07:11 The Future of Arabic Language and Identity01:13:30 Final Thoughts Professor Yasir Suleiman-Malley is Chair of the Panel of Judges, British-Kuwaiti Friendship Society Book Prize in Middle Eastern Studies. He serves as Trustee on the Boards of Arab-British Chamber Charitable Foundation, International Prize for Arab Fiction (in association with the Man-Booker Prize), Banipal Trust for Arab Literature and is trustee of the Gulf Research Centre-Cambridge. He is also Chair of the Advisory Board of the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World, Chair of the Centre for the Study of the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA), Board Member of the Islamic Manuscript Association, Member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Evaluation and Research in Muslim Education, Institute of Education, Member of the Advisory Board of The Doha Institute, Qatar and Member of the Advisory Board of Our Shared Future. He is a member of the editorial boards of a number of journals and book series. He is also Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, formerly Head of the Department of Middle Eastern Studies, and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Centre of Islamic Studies. Hosted by Mikey MuhannaConnect directly with Mikey Muhanna

Join Talib Man, Rana Ata & Amaar Ahmad for Monday's show from 4-6pm where we will be discussing: ‘Iran –Israel : escalation of the war' and ‘Women –abused in war' Iran – Israel: escalation of the war On 13 June, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike on Iran, citing imminent nuclear threats. Iran retaliated, but Western powers, including the US, backed Israel's right to defend itself. As more nations take sides and the conflict intensifies, how close are we to a regional war spiralling into global chaos? Women – abused in war Join us for today's show as we hear from women whose lives were forever changed by conflict and loss. This show reveals the impact of war on those who are left behind to deal with the loss of loved ones. As we also mark International Widows Day, we invite you as guests share their experiences, overcoming their fight to be seen and heard. Guests: Phyllis Bennis (Co-Director, New Internationalism Project, Institute for Policy Studies) Professor Paul Rogers (Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University and has written/edited 30 books and over 150 paper) Professor Martin Shaw (Sociologist of Global politics, War and Genocide) Professor Stephen Zunes (Professor of Politics and Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco) Christine Dziuba – trustee and Chair of the War Widows' Association of Great Britain Lina AbiRafeh – Lina is a women's rights expert, activist, and aid worker Producers : Faiza Mirza, Misbah Tariq and Sabiha Tariq

Un épisode de Tangram en direct et en public ? Quel stress ! Ça tombe bien : c'est le thème. Dans cet épisode, enregistré au Ground Control à Paris lors du festival Double•Science, on va entendre des gens qui souffrent dans leur tête, leur corps et leur travail. Mais on ira aussi voir du côté des religions asiatiques pour voir si elles n'auraient pas des solutions pour nous déstresser (et aussi pour soigner notre karma par la même occasion !)Intervenants :Arnaud Mias, professeur de sociologie à l'Université Paris Dauphine-PSL, spécialisé en sociologie du travail.Jérôme Sackur, psychologue cognitif et philosophe. Directeur par intérim du Laboratoire de sciences cognitives et psycholinguistique - LSCP (EHESS, ENS-PSL, CNRS)Anne-Michèle Chartier, médecin du travail et présidente du syndicat CFE-CGC Santé au Travail.Andrea Acri, maître de conférences en sciences religieuses à l'EPHE-PSL, projet MANTRAMS.Finnian M. Moore Gerety, Senior Research Fellow dans la Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies à l'Université d'Oxford, projet MANTRAMS.Merci à Robin Verner pour son doublage d'Andrea Acri, et à Kevin Lamothe pour son doublage de Finnian M. Moore Gerety.Lectures :Des extraits des archives d'Arnaud Mias, lues par Claire Chambon et Emilie Kang, du CNSAD - PSL.L'extrait du médecinse ressourçant grâce à un jardin zen est dire de "À l'heure de la pause", un webdocumentaire de Stéphane Le Gall-Viliker coproduit par AGAT Films & Cie et Le MondeRéalisation : Hélène BizieauMusique originale : Pierre Chaffanjon (Majora Prod)Régie : Adrien Bourguignon et à Lino PourquiéL'Université PSL est labellisée "Science avec et pour la société" par le Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation.Hébergé par Ausha. Visitez ausha.co/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Guest: Stephen Zunes is Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco where he chairs the program in Middle Eastern Studies.  He is the author of “Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism”, and the co-author of  “Western Sahara: War, Nationalism, and Conflict Irresolution.” The post The Israel-Iran Conflict and Trump's Mega-Bomb appeared first on KPFA.

Five days ago Israel launched an unprovoked military attack on Iran. While they claimed that they were acting to destroy Iran's imminent effort to develop nuclear weapons, both the US and Israel for decades have claimed that Iran was on the precipice of developing such a capability. Israel of course already has nuclear weapons. The Iranian official who was negotating over the nuclear program with the US was one of many murdered by Israel. While President Trump claims he did not give the green light to Israel's attacks, the US has been ramping up its military support for Israel as Iran has responded to the attacks, threatening the possiblity of an all out regional war. Trump has urged people to flee Tehran and has raised the possibility of assassinating Iran's leader, though he did reportedly recently veto such an effot by Israel. Professor Stephen Zunes, Director of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco, talks to Mark Dunlea of Hudson Mohawk Magazine.

Today Justin sits down with Dr. Paul H. Smith. Paul is a retired Army intelligence officer and a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University, a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the Defense Intelligence College, and a Doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. He's also the president of Remote Viewing Instructional Services Incorporated, and Vice President of the Nonprofit International Remote Viewing Association. He's here to discuss the seven years he spent in the Department of Defense's Remote Viewing Program, where he served as an operational remote viewer, theory instructor, security officer, and unit historian.Connect with Paul:rviewer.comCheck out the book, Reading the Enemy's Mind, here.https://a.co/d/3YT0zppAnd check out The Essential Guide to Remote Viewing here.https://a.co/d/3bbftW3Connect with Spycraft 101:Get Justin's latest book, Murder, Intrigue, and Conspiracy: Stories from the Cold War and Beyond, here.spycraft101.comIG: @spycraft101Shop: shop.spycraft101.comPatreon: Spycraft 101Find Justin's first book, Spyshots: Volume One, here.Check out Justin's second book, Covert Arms, here.Download the free eBook, The Clandestine Operative's Sidearm of Choice, here.Support the show

rWotD Episode 2962: Saba Mahmood Welcome to Random Wiki of the Day, your journey through Wikipedia's vast and varied content, one random article at a time.The random article for Friday, 13 June 2025, is Saba Mahmood.Saba Mahmood (1961–2018) was professor of anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, she was also affiliated with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Institute for South Asia Studies, and the Program in Critical Theory. Her scholarly work straddled debates in anthropology and political theory, with a focus on Muslim majority societies of West Asia (including the Middle East) and South Asia. Mahmood made major theoretical contributions to rethinking the relationship between ethics and politics, religion and secularism, freedom and submission, and reason and embodiment. Influenced by the work of Talal Asad, she wrote on issues of gender, religious politics, secularism, and Muslim and non-Muslim relations in the Middle East.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:21 UTC on Friday, 13 June 2025.For the full current version of the article, see Saba Mahmood on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm neural Matthew.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Korea's brief but significant period as an empire as it moved from the 500-year-old dynastic Joseon monarchy towards modernity. It was in October 1897 that King Gojong declared himself Emperor, seizing his chance when the once-dominant China lost to Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War. The king wanted to have the same status as the neighbouring Russian, Chinese and Japanese Emperors, to shore up a bid for Korean independence and sovereignty when the world's major powers either wanted to open Korea up to trade or to colonise it. The Korean Empire lasted only thirteen years, yet it was a time of great transformation for this state and the whole region with lasting consequences in the next century…With Nuri Kim Associate Professor in Korean Studies at the faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Wolfson CollegeHolly Stephens Lecturer in Japanese and Korean Studies at the University of EdinburghAnd Derek Kramer Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of SheffieldProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:Isabella Bird Bishop, Korea and her Neighbors: A Narrative of Travel, With an Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and Present Position of the Country (first published 1898; Forgotten Books, 2019)Vipan Chandra, Imperialism, Resistance and Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Korea: Enlightenment and the Independence Club (University of California, Institute of East Asian Studies, 1988)Peter Duus, The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1859-1910 (University of California Press, 1995)Carter J. Eckert, Offspring of Empire: The Koch'ang Kims and the Colonial Origins of Korean Capitalism, 1876–1910 (University of Washington Press, 1991)George L. Kallander, Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea (University of Hawaii Press, 2013)Kim Dong-no, John B. Duncan and Kim Do-hyung (eds.), Reform and Modernity in the Taehan Empire (Jimoondang, 2006)Kirk W. Larsen, Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: Qing Imperialism and Chosŏn Korea, 1850-1910 (Harvard University Asia Center, 2008)Yumi Moon, Populist Collaborators: The Ilchinhoe and the Japanese Colonization of Korea, 1896-1910 (Cornell University Press, 2013)Sung-Deuk Oak, The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1876-1915 (Baylor University Press, 2013)Eugene T. Park, A Family of No Prominence: The Descendants of Pak Tŏkhwa and the Birth of Modern Korea (Stanford University Press, 2020)Michael E. Robinson, Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey: A Short History (University of Hawaii Press, 2007)Andre Schmid, Korea Between Empires, 1895-1919 (Columbia University Press, 2002)Vladimir Tikhonov, Social Darwinism and Nationalism in Korea: The Beginnings, 1880s-1910s (Brill, 2010)In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Korea's brief but significant period as an empire as it moved from the 500-year-old dynastic Joseon monarchy towards modernity. It was in October 1897 that King Gojong declared himself Emperor, seizing his chance when the once-dominant China lost to Japan in the First Sino-Japanese War. The king wanted to have the same status as the neighbouring Russian, Chinese and Japanese Emperors, to shore up a bid for Korean independence and sovereignty when the world's major powers either wanted to open Korea up to trade or to colonise it. The Korean Empire lasted only thirteen years, yet it was a time of great transformation for this state and the whole region with lasting consequences in the next century…With Nuri Kim Associate Professor in Korean Studies at the faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Wolfson CollegeHolly Stephens Lecturer in Japanese and Korean Studies at the University of EdinburghAnd Derek Kramer Lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of SheffieldProducer: Simon TillotsonReading list:Isabella Bird Bishop, Korea and her Neighbors: A Narrative of Travel, With an Account of the Recent Vicissitudes and Present Position of the Country (first published 1898; Forgotten Books, 2019)Vipan Chandra, Imperialism, Resistance and Reform in Late Nineteenth-Century Korea: Enlightenment and the Independence Club (University of California, Institute of East Asian Studies, 1988)Peter Duus, The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1859-1910 (University of California Press, 1995)Carter J. Eckert, Offspring of Empire: The Koch'ang Kims and the Colonial Origins of Korean Capitalism, 1876–1910 (University of Washington Press, 1991)George L. Kallander, Salvation through Dissent: Tonghak Heterodoxy and Early Modern Korea (University of Hawaii Press, 2013)Kim Dong-no, John B. Duncan and Kim Do-hyung (eds.), Reform and Modernity in the Taehan Empire (Jimoondang, 2006)Kirk W. Larsen, Tradition, Treaties, and Trade: Qing Imperialism and Chosŏn Korea, 1850-1910 (Harvard University Asia Center, 2008)Yumi Moon, Populist Collaborators: The Ilchinhoe and the Japanese Colonization of Korea, 1896-1910 (Cornell University Press, 2013)Sung-Deuk Oak, The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1876-1915 (Baylor University Press, 2013)Eugene T. Park, A Family of No Prominence: The Descendants of Pak Tŏkhwa and the Birth of Modern Korea (Stanford University Press, 2020)Michael E. Robinson, Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey: A Short History (University of Hawaii Press, 2007)Andre Schmid, Korea Between Empires, 1895-1919 (Columbia University Press, 2002)Vladimir Tikhonov, Social Darwinism and Nationalism in Korea: The Beginnings, 1880s-1910s (Brill, 2010)In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

Dr Amit Levy, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Haifa's Department of Israel Studies, discusses his book, A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel.

On this edition of Parallax Views, legal scholar and Boston University Law professor Jonathan Feingold joins us to discuss a growing crisis in higher education: the escalating assault on academic freedom. At the center of this episode is the recent dismissal of Dr. Cemal Kafadar and Dr. Rosie Bsheer—faculty leaders of Harvard's Center for Middle Eastern Studies—following politically charged accusations related to programming on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Feingold, a member of Concerned Jewish Faculty & Staff-Boston Area, breaks down why these dismissals are not just isolated incidents but part of a broader pattern of repression targeting scholars and students advocating for Palestinian human rights. We dig into the weaponization of antisemitism discourse, the chilling effect on scholarship, and how elite institutions like Harvard are capitulating to pressure from right-wing forces and donor lobbies—including those aligned with Trump's authoritarian cultural agenda. This story isn't just about Israel-Palestine. Even for those uninterested in debates over Israel-Palestine, the implications of this case are far-reaching. It raises urgent questions about academic freedom, free speech, and free inquiry in American universities. What happens when controversial topics become grounds for dismissal? How do elite institutions navigate the tension between political pressure and intellectual autonomy? And what does this say about the health of democratic discourse in higher education? This episode is not just about one controversy at Harvard—it's about the future of the university itself.

"A New Orient" explores the history of Zionist and Israeli Oriental Studies, focusing on the transfer of knowledge about Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East from German universities to Mandatory Palestine. This migration involved scholars who arrived either as Zionists or refugees from Nazi Germany, joining the Hebrew University. The book traces how the field shifted from a textual-philological approach in Germany to a direct, often tense, encounter with the region's realities, shaped by the growing Jewish-Arab conflict. Drawing on archival sources in multiple languages, it highlights the Orientalists' roles beyond academia, including efforts at Jewish-Arab dialogue and cooperation with diplomatic and security bodies. This study sheds light on the entanglement of scientific research with political, social, and cultural dynamics in 20th-century Palestine and Israel, offering fresh insights into the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the impact of academic knowledge on its development.

On this episode, rural sociologist Dr. Irna Hofman explores how Tajikistan's cotton fields illuminate shifting power dynamics in Central Asia, historically and in the present. She discusses how the Soviet Union once showcased cotton production to visiting delegations—particularly from Muslim-majority countries—as evidence of its development model. Now, as global powers, including Russia, China, and the EU, vie for influence in the region, cotton has again become a strategic commodity—used to forge political ties, secure resources, and drive infrastructure projects. Hofman highlights local communities' active role in shaping these developments, emphasizing that rural landscapes are not simply backdrops for a “New Great Game,” but sites where broader geopolitical forces and grassroots agency intersect. Through her long-term fieldwork, she illustrates how Tajik farmers navigate and negotiate these overlapping external interests, and in doing so, reframe Central Asia's future amidst geopolitical tensions. Dr. Hofman specializes in agrarian and social change in Central Asia, where she has worked since 2012. She completed post-doctoral research at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as part of an ERC-funded project "China, law and development." In 2019, she obtained her Ph.D. from Leiden University in the Netherlands with a dissertation focused on the political economy of agrarian transformation in Tajikistan: "Cotton, control, and continuity in disguise: The political economy of agrarian transformation in lowland Tajikistan." Her research interests span political economy, political ecology, and political sociology. In recent years, she has focused on rural labour, gender, and commodity politics. Dr. Hofman is completing a monograph based on her dissertation and post-doctoral research projects. Her research agenda for the coming years centers on the rural everyday of geopolitics, focusing on China's growing assertiveness in the global agrifood regime, shifting geographies of production, and rural labour. Dr Irna Hofman | School of Geography and the Environment | University of Oxford @irnahofman Resources: Hofman, I. (2024) Seeds of empire or seeds of friendship? The politics of the diffusion of Chinese crop seeds in Tajikistan. Journal of Agrarian Change, 24(2): e12581. Hofman, I. (2022) Tajikistan. The people's map of global China Hofman, I. (2021) Migration, crop diversification, and adverse incorporation: Understanding the repertoire of contention in rural Tajikistan. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 42(4): 499-518. Hofman, I. (2021). Chinese cotton diplomacy in Tajikistan: greasing the ties by reviving the cotton economy. Research Brief. Hofman, I. (2018). Politics or profits along the “Silk Road”: What drives Chinese farms in Tajikistan and helps them thrive? In The Geoeconomics and Geopolitics of Chinese Development and Investment in Asia, pp. 183-208. Routledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

On this episode, rural sociologist Dr. Irna Hofman explores how Tajikistan's cotton fields illuminate shifting power dynamics in Central Asia, historically and in the present. She discusses how the Soviet Union once showcased cotton production to visiting delegations—particularly from Muslim-majority countries—as evidence of its development model. Now, as global powers, including Russia, China, and the EU, vie for influence in the region, cotton has again become a strategic commodity—used to forge political ties, secure resources, and drive infrastructure projects. Hofman highlights local communities' active role in shaping these developments, emphasizing that rural landscapes are not simply backdrops for a “New Great Game,” but sites where broader geopolitical forces and grassroots agency intersect. Through her long-term fieldwork, she illustrates how Tajik farmers navigate and negotiate these overlapping external interests, and in doing so, reframe Central Asia's future amidst geopolitical tensions. Dr. Hofman specializes in agrarian and social change in Central Asia, where she has worked since 2012. She completed post-doctoral research at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as part of an ERC-funded project "China, law and development." In 2019, she obtained her Ph.D. from Leiden University in the Netherlands with a dissertation focused on the political economy of agrarian transformation in Tajikistan: "Cotton, control, and continuity in disguise: The political economy of agrarian transformation in lowland Tajikistan." Her research interests span political economy, political ecology, and political sociology. In recent years, she has focused on rural labour, gender, and commodity politics. Dr. Hofman is completing a monograph based on her dissertation and post-doctoral research projects. Her research agenda for the coming years centers on the rural everyday of geopolitics, focusing on China's growing assertiveness in the global agrifood regime, shifting geographies of production, and rural labour. Dr Irna Hofman | School of Geography and the Environment | University of Oxford @irnahofman Resources: Hofman, I. (2024) Seeds of empire or seeds of friendship? The politics of the diffusion of Chinese crop seeds in Tajikistan. Journal of Agrarian Change, 24(2): e12581. Hofman, I. (2022) Tajikistan. The people's map of global China Hofman, I. (2021) Migration, crop diversification, and adverse incorporation: Understanding the repertoire of contention in rural Tajikistan. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 42(4): 499-518. Hofman, I. (2021). Chinese cotton diplomacy in Tajikistan: greasing the ties by reviving the cotton economy. Research Brief. Hofman, I. (2018). Politics or profits along the “Silk Road”: What drives Chinese farms in Tajikistan and helps them thrive? In The Geoeconomics and Geopolitics of Chinese Development and Investment in Asia, pp. 183-208. Routledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

On this episode, rural sociologist Dr. Irna Hofman explores how Tajikistan's cotton fields illuminate shifting power dynamics in Central Asia, historically and in the present. She discusses how the Soviet Union once showcased cotton production to visiting delegations—particularly from Muslim-majority countries—as evidence of its development model. Now, as global powers, including Russia, China, and the EU, vie for influence in the region, cotton has again become a strategic commodity—used to forge political ties, secure resources, and drive infrastructure projects. Hofman highlights local communities' active role in shaping these developments, emphasizing that rural landscapes are not simply backdrops for a “New Great Game,” but sites where broader geopolitical forces and grassroots agency intersect. Through her long-term fieldwork, she illustrates how Tajik farmers navigate and negotiate these overlapping external interests, and in doing so, reframe Central Asia's future amidst geopolitical tensions. Dr. Hofman specializes in agrarian and social change in Central Asia, where she has worked since 2012. She completed post-doctoral research at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as part of an ERC-funded project "China, law and development." In 2019, she obtained her Ph.D. from Leiden University in the Netherlands with a dissertation focused on the political economy of agrarian transformation in Tajikistan: "Cotton, control, and continuity in disguise: The political economy of agrarian transformation in lowland Tajikistan." Her research interests span political economy, political ecology, and political sociology. In recent years, she has focused on rural labour, gender, and commodity politics. Dr. Hofman is completing a monograph based on her dissertation and post-doctoral research projects. Her research agenda for the coming years centers on the rural everyday of geopolitics, focusing on China's growing assertiveness in the global agrifood regime, shifting geographies of production, and rural labour. Dr Irna Hofman | School of Geography and the Environment | University of Oxford @irnahofman Resources: Hofman, I. (2024) Seeds of empire or seeds of friendship? The politics of the diffusion of Chinese crop seeds in Tajikistan. Journal of Agrarian Change, 24(2): e12581. Hofman, I. (2022) Tajikistan. The people's map of global China Hofman, I. (2021) Migration, crop diversification, and adverse incorporation: Understanding the repertoire of contention in rural Tajikistan. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 42(4): 499-518. Hofman, I. (2021). Chinese cotton diplomacy in Tajikistan: greasing the ties by reviving the cotton economy. Research Brief. Hofman, I. (2018). Politics or profits along the “Silk Road”: What drives Chinese farms in Tajikistan and helps them thrive? In The Geoeconomics and Geopolitics of Chinese Development and Investment in Asia, pp. 183-208. Routledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/central-asian-studies

On this episode, rural sociologist Dr. Irna Hofman explores how Tajikistan's cotton fields illuminate shifting power dynamics in Central Asia, historically and in the present. She discusses how the Soviet Union once showcased cotton production to visiting delegations—particularly from Muslim-majority countries—as evidence of its development model. Now, as global powers, including Russia, China, and the EU, vie for influence in the region, cotton has again become a strategic commodity—used to forge political ties, secure resources, and drive infrastructure projects. Hofman highlights local communities' active role in shaping these developments, emphasizing that rural landscapes are not simply backdrops for a “New Great Game,” but sites where broader geopolitical forces and grassroots agency intersect. Through her long-term fieldwork, she illustrates how Tajik farmers navigate and negotiate these overlapping external interests, and in doing so, reframe Central Asia's future amidst geopolitical tensions. Dr. Hofman specializes in agrarian and social change in Central Asia, where she has worked since 2012. She completed post-doctoral research at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as part of an ERC-funded project "China, law and development." In 2019, she obtained her Ph.D. from Leiden University in the Netherlands with a dissertation focused on the political economy of agrarian transformation in Tajikistan: "Cotton, control, and continuity in disguise: The political economy of agrarian transformation in lowland Tajikistan." Her research interests span political economy, political ecology, and political sociology. In recent years, she has focused on rural labour, gender, and commodity politics. Dr. Hofman is completing a monograph based on her dissertation and post-doctoral research projects. Her research agenda for the coming years centers on the rural everyday of geopolitics, focusing on China's growing assertiveness in the global agrifood regime, shifting geographies of production, and rural labour. Dr Irna Hofman | School of Geography and the Environment | University of Oxford @irnahofman Resources: Hofman, I. (2024) Seeds of empire or seeds of friendship? The politics of the diffusion of Chinese crop seeds in Tajikistan. Journal of Agrarian Change, 24(2): e12581. Hofman, I. (2022) Tajikistan. The people's map of global China Hofman, I. (2021) Migration, crop diversification, and adverse incorporation: Understanding the repertoire of contention in rural Tajikistan. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 42(4): 499-518. Hofman, I. (2021). Chinese cotton diplomacy in Tajikistan: greasing the ties by reviving the cotton economy. Research Brief. Hofman, I. (2018). Politics or profits along the “Silk Road”: What drives Chinese farms in Tajikistan and helps them thrive? In The Geoeconomics and Geopolitics of Chinese Development and Investment in Asia, pp. 183-208. Routledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

On this episode, rural sociologist Dr. Irna Hofman explores how Tajikistan's cotton fields illuminate shifting power dynamics in Central Asia, historically and in the present. She discusses how the Soviet Union once showcased cotton production to visiting delegations—particularly from Muslim-majority countries—as evidence of its development model. Now, as global powers, including Russia, China, and the EU, vie for influence in the region, cotton has again become a strategic commodity—used to forge political ties, secure resources, and drive infrastructure projects. Hofman highlights local communities' active role in shaping these developments, emphasizing that rural landscapes are not simply backdrops for a “New Great Game,” but sites where broader geopolitical forces and grassroots agency intersect. Through her long-term fieldwork, she illustrates how Tajik farmers navigate and negotiate these overlapping external interests, and in doing so, reframe Central Asia's future amidst geopolitical tensions. Dr. Hofman specializes in agrarian and social change in Central Asia, where she has worked since 2012. She completed post-doctoral research at Oxford's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies as part of an ERC-funded project "China, law and development." In 2019, she obtained her Ph.D. from Leiden University in the Netherlands with a dissertation focused on the political economy of agrarian transformation in Tajikistan: "Cotton, control, and continuity in disguise: The political economy of agrarian transformation in lowland Tajikistan." Her research interests span political economy, political ecology, and political sociology. In recent years, she has focused on rural labour, gender, and commodity politics. Dr. Hofman is completing a monograph based on her dissertation and post-doctoral research projects. Her research agenda for the coming years centers on the rural everyday of geopolitics, focusing on China's growing assertiveness in the global agrifood regime, shifting geographies of production, and rural labour. Dr Irna Hofman | School of Geography and the Environment | University of Oxford @irnahofman Resources: Hofman, I. (2024) Seeds of empire or seeds of friendship? The politics of the diffusion of Chinese crop seeds in Tajikistan. Journal of Agrarian Change, 24(2): e12581. Hofman, I. (2022) Tajikistan. The people's map of global China Hofman, I. (2021) Migration, crop diversification, and adverse incorporation: Understanding the repertoire of contention in rural Tajikistan. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, 42(4): 499-518. Hofman, I. (2021). Chinese cotton diplomacy in Tajikistan: greasing the ties by reviving the cotton economy. Research Brief. Hofman, I. (2018). Politics or profits along the “Silk Road”: What drives Chinese farms in Tajikistan and helps them thrive? In The Geoeconomics and Geopolitics of Chinese Development and Investment in Asia, pp. 183-208. Routledge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

As President Donald Trump embarks on a second term, U.S. policy toward Iran stands at a crossroads. The Islamic Republic appears weaker and more isolated than ever, with its proxies severely damaged and domestic unrest threatening the regime’s stability. Yet, Tehran remains dangerously close to acquiring a nuclear weapon and has deepened its ties with Russia and China. Should Trump revive the “maximum pressure” strategy, pursue a more comprehensive nuclear agreement, or back an Israeli strike to prevent Iran from going nuclear? This webinar will explore the strategic choices ahead and their implications for the future of U.S. policy in the Middle East.Featuring: Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign RelationsBrian Katulis, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Middle East InstituteModerator: Prof. Jamil Jaffer, Founder & Director, National Security Institute; Assistant Professor of Law & Director, National Security Law & Policy Program at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

A New Orient: From German Scholarship to Middle Eastern Studies in Israel (Brandeis UP, 2024) explores the fascinating history of Zionist and Israeli "Oriental Studies" (mizrahanut), particularly the study of Islam, Arabic, and the Middle East, as a field deeply rooted in the academic traditions of early 20th-century German universities. Drawing on rich archival documentation in German, Arabic, English, and Hebrew, it traces the migration of Orientalist knowledge from Germany to Mandatory Palestine. The book examines how research – and researchers – were transformed as their encounter with the Orient shifted from a textual-philological exercise to a direct, physical engagement, marked by contradictions and tensions against the backdrop of the intensifying Jewish-Arab conflict. Among its key themes, the book reveals how prominent Orientalist scholars extended their work beyond study rooms and libraries, engaging in efforts to foster Jewish-Arab understanding or collaborating with diplomatic and security institutions. By shedding new light on the development of academic research in Mandatory Palestine and the early years of Israel, the book offers a compelling case study of the intricate relationship between "pure" scholarship and the political, social, and cultural challenges of the time. It also provides a fresh perspective on the roots of the Jewish-Arab conflict and the influential role of knowledge in shaping it. Amit Levy is a Spinoza postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Israel Studies, School of Regional and Historical Studies, University of Haifa. His research focuses on the history of knowledge and migration and their impact on cross-cultural encounters. He earned his PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2021, and has held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oxford, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Open University of Israel. His book A New Orient received the Jordan Schnitzer First Book Publication Award, administered by the Association for Jewish Studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies

Part two of Bob's conversation with Fadi Kafeety, executive director of the Jerusalem Fund, about the long history of the region as well as current problems, and went into detail on the resistance of Palestine, the scope of Israel's genocide, Israel's setbacks, and what we might see going forward. bio//Fadi Kafeety (@fkafeety1948) is the Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund and its educational program, the Palestine Center. He is a Palestinian scholar completing his PhD in Modern Arab History at the University of Houston. Fadi earned his MA in Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and his BA in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University. ----------------------------------------------Outro- "Green and Red Blues" by MoodyLinks//+ To find out more about and donate to the Jerusalem Fund, see (https://bit.ly/4hPsqIk), (https://bit.ly/4hW4lQl), and (https://bit.ly/3CJvJlA).Follow Green and Red// +G&R Linktree: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast⁠⁠⁠ +Our rad website: ⁠⁠⁠https://greenandredpodcast.org/⁠⁠⁠ + Join our Discord community (https://discord.gg/vgKnY3sd)+Follow us on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/podcastgreenred.bsky.social)Support the Green and Red Podcast// +Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast +Or make a one time donation here: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/DonateGandR⁠⁠⁠ Our Networks// +We're part of the Labor Podcast Network: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.laborradionetwork.org/⁠⁠ +We're part of the Anti-Capitalist Podcast Network: linktr.ee/anticapitalistpodcastnetwork +Listen to us on WAMF (90.3 FM) in New Orleans (https://wamf.org/) This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). Edited by Isaac.

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with Professors Maha Nasser and Karam Dana. Dr. Nasser is the author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World; Professor Dana's new book is entitled To Stand with Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States. Together, these two studies offer a fascinating account of the historical and present-day formation of transnational Palestinian identities and the way that these complex histories inform today's struggles for Palestinian liberation and rights by both Palestinians and non-Palestinians. They talk about the importance of language, the arts, and especially poetry, as well as contemporary cultural forms. They take on the violence of settler colonialism, neoliberalism, and capitalism and the importance of finding paths of solidarity while never losing sight of what is distinct about Palestine and Palestinians.Dr Karam Dana is a Palestinian American Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Washington Bothell. He is the Alyson McGregor Distinguished Professor of Excellence and Transformative Research and the founding director of the American Muslim Research Institute. His research examines the evolution of transnational political identities and their impact on civic engagement and political participation, with a focus on Palestinians and American Muslims. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr Dana explores the intersections of religion, identity, and politics, addressing persistent theoretical and policy issues affecting marginalized communities. His work is centered on understanding how ethno-political, socio-cultural, and religious identities are formed, evolve, and adapt under shifting socio-economic and political conditions. He recently published book is titled To Stand With Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States, which examines the evolution of discourse on Palestine and Israel in the United States in recent years. Dr Dana is the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington and the 2023 Distinguished Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activities Award. In 2024, the Arab American Community of the Pacific Northwest presented him with the Leadership and Outstanding Service Award.Dr. Maha Nassar is an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, where she specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of Palestine and the 20th-century Arab world. Her award-winning book, Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World (Stanford University Press, 2017), examines how Palestinian intellectuals inside the Green Line connected to global decolonization movements through literary and journalistic writings. Her scholarly articles have appeared in the Journal of Palestine Studies,Arab Studies Journal, and elsewhere. A 2018 Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project, Dr. Nassar's analysis pieces have appeared widely, including in The Washington Post,The Conversation, +972 Magazine.As a 2022 non-resident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, she joined FMEP in developing public programming for their Occupied Thoughts podcast. Dr. Nassar's current book project examines the global history of Palestine's people.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

Today on Speaking Out of Place I am delighted to have Professors Maha Nasser and Karam Dana in conversation.  Dr. Nasser is author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World; Professor Dana's new book is entitled, To Stand with Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States. Together, these two studies offer a fascinating account of the historical and present-day formation of transnational Palestinian identities, and the way that these complex histories inform today's struggles for Palestinian liberation and rights, by both Palestinians and non-Palestinians. We talk about the importance of language, the arts, and especially poetry, as well as contemporary cultural forms. We take on the violence of settler colonialism, neoliberalism, and capitalism, and the importance of finding paths of solidarity while never losing sight of what is distinct about Palestine and Palestinians.Dr Karam Dana is a Palestinian American Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Washington Bothell. He is the Alyson McGregor Distinguished Professor of Excellence and Transformative Research and the founding director of the American Muslim Research Institute. His research examines the evolution of transnational political identities and their impact on civic engagement and political participation, with a focus on Palestinians and American Muslims. As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr Dana explores the intersections of religion, identity, and politics, addressing persistent theoretical and policy issues affecting marginalized communities. His work is centered on understanding how ethno-political, socio-cultural, and religious identities are formed, evolve, and adapt under shifting socio-economic and political conditions. He recently published book is titled To Stand With Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States, which examines the evolution of discourse on Palestine and Israel in the United States in recent years. Dr Dana is the recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Washington and the 2023 Distinguished Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activities Award. In 2024, the Arab American Community of the Pacific Northwest presented him with the Leadership and Outstanding Service Award.Dr. Maha Nassar is an associate professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, where she specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of Palestine and the 20th-century Arab world. Her award-winning book, Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World (Stanford University Press, 2017), examines how Palestinian intellectuals inside the Green Line connected to global decolonization movements through literary and journalistic writings. Her scholarly articles have appeared in the Journal of Palestine Studies, Arab Studies Journal, and elsewhere. A 2018 Public Voices Fellow with the OpEd Project, Dr. Nassar's analysis pieces have appeared widely, including in The Washington Post, The Conversation, +972 Magazine. As a 2022 non-resident fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, she joined FMEP in developing public programming for their Occupied Thoughts podcast. Dr. Nassar's current book project examines the global history of Palestine's people.  

Fadi Kafeety of the Jerusalem Fund had a long conversation with Bob about the current crisis in the Middle East. There's been a ceasefire in Gaza, but the genocide hasn't stopped, and Israel is continuing to intervene in other Middle East states like Lebanon, Syria, and Iran.They had a great conversation, speaking about the long history of the region as well as current problems, and went into detail on the resistance of Palestine, the scope of Israel's genocide, Israel's setbacks, and what we might see going forward. bio//Fadi Kafeety (@fkafeety1948) is the Executive Director of The Jerusalem Fund and its educational program, the Palestine Center. He is a Palestinian scholar completing his PhD in Modern Arab History at the University of Houston. Fadi earned his MA in Middle Eastern Studies at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY), and his BA in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at New York University. ----------------------------------------------Outro- "Green and Red Blues" by MoodyLinks//+ To find out more about and donate to the Jerusalem Fund, see (https://bit.ly/4hPsqIk), (https://bit.ly/4hW4lQl), and (https://bit.ly/3CJvJlA).Follow Green and Red// +G&R Linktree: ⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/greenandredpodcast⁠⁠⁠ +Our rad website: ⁠⁠⁠https://greenandredpodcast.org/⁠⁠⁠ + Join our Discord community (https://discord.gg/vgKnY3sd)+Follow us on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/podcastgreenred.bsky.social)Support the Green and Red Podcast// +Become a Patron at https://www.patreon.com/greenredpodcast +Or make a one time donation here: ⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/DonateGandR⁠⁠⁠ Our Networks// +We're part of the Labor Podcast Network: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.laborradionetwork.org/⁠⁠ +We're part of the Anti-Capitalist Podcast Network: linktr.ee/anticapitalistpodcastnetwork +Listen to us on WAMF (90.3 FM) in New Orleans (https://wamf.org/) This is a Green and Red Podcast (@PodcastGreenRed) production. Produced by Bob (@bobbuzzanco) and Scott (@sparki1969). Edited by Scott.

Leslie Short interviews Clara Hess, owner of Clara Hess Consulting, ​a​bout employee retention. Cost, morale, and culture all ​co​ntribute ​t​o why employees leave.Clara is an independent consultant specializing in change management, organizational development, and strategic planning and implementation.  With over 15 years of experience in nonprofit and local government leadership, she helps organizations address immediate challenges while building long-term capacity.   She holds a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from North Carolina State University and Psychology and Middle Eastern Studies bachelor's degrees from The University of Georgia.  Clara is certified in human centered design and facilitation by the LUMA Institute. 

Dive into the unpredictable journey of career ambitions and personal growth with Cyle Ginsberg - an exceptional student who understands that college isn't just about academics, but also about discovering who you truly are. We'll also talk about how the journey through college is just as important as the destination, and about all the relationships you'll build along the way.   Featured Majors: International Studies, Economics, Philosophy, Law, Arabic, and Middle Eastern Studies

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Hilary Rantisi, one of FMEP's 2025 non-resident Fellows. They discuss Hilary's work as a longtime educator seeking to teach the critique of power, her childhood and many years living in the West Bank, and how she understands the dynamics of the current moment in the context of Palestinian history and identity, highlighting the Palestinian values of sumud - steadfastness - and return. Hilary also discusses the challenges of false accusations of antisemitism undermining the telling of Palestinian lived experience, such as by the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which weaponizes accusations of antisemitism to quash critique of Israel and advocacy for Palestinian rights. Resources discussed in this podcast:  FMEP resources on the IHRA definition of antisemitism: Challenging the IHRA Definition of Antisemitism – Expert Views & Resources: https://lawfare.fmep.org/resources/challenging-the-ihra-definition-of-antisemitism/ Lawfare/IHRA - Targeting Academia: https://lawfare.fmep.org/resources/lawfare-ihra-targeting-academia/ The IHRA Definition & the Fight Against Antisemitism: A Webinar/Podcast Series: https://fmep.org/resource/the-ihra-definition-the-fight-against-antisemitism-a-webinar-series/ Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is currently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master's degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek. She has been involved with community leadership efforts and served on many boards to build multifaceted support for Palestinian rights and a more nuanced understanding of people's lives in the Middle East region, including the Gaza Mental Health Foundation, LE.O Foundation, Friends of Mada al-Carmel, Tawassul Palestinian Art and Culture Society, Friends of Sabeel North America, Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University and Research and Education Collaborative with Al-Quds University. Sarah Anne Minkin, PhD, is FMEP's Director of Programs & Partnerships. She is an expert on the intersection between Israeli civil society and Palestinian civil rights and human rights advocacy as well as the ways that Jewish Americans approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She leads FMEP's programming, works to deepen FMEP's relationships with existing and potential grantees, and builds relationships with new partners in the philanthropic community. A graduate of Yale University, Sarah Anne earned her doctorate at the University of California-Berkeley and is an affiliated faculty member at UC-Berkeley's Center for Right-Wing Studies. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

* Protests in Washington D.C., and Nationwide Pledge Resistance to Trump's Authoritarian Agenda Speeches and Interviews from the Washington D.C. People's March, Jan. 18, 2025 Producer: Scott Harris * Youth Climate Group Protests Nomination of Fracking CEO to be Trump's Energy Secretary Alejandro Sobrera Barboza, an activist with the Sunrise Movement and US Rep Delia Ramirez of IL. Producer: Melinda Tuhus * The Israel-Hamas Gaza Ceasefire Takes Hold But Fails to Address Future of Palestinians in Crisis Jennifer Loewenstein, fmr Ass Dir of Middle Eastern Studies & senior lecturer Univ Wisconsin-Madison Producer: Scott Harris

Note: we recorded this before the appalling AHA leadership veto on Jan. 17 of the democratic vote of its membership to condemn Israeli scholasticide The brothers welcome Professor Sherene Seikaly, historian at University of California at Santa Barbara and editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies and Anthony Alessandrini, Professor of English at Kingsborough Community College and of Middle Eastern Studies at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, to discuss the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Modern Language Association (MLA) engagement with the question of Palestine. We discuss the historic vote by the AHA membership on January 5, 2025 to condemn Israel's scholasticide in Gaza despite the deeply anti-Palestinian stance of the leadership of the AHA. We discuss how this leadership mobilized fear, "anticipatory obedience" to avoid taking an ethical position against the obliteration of every Palestinian university in Gaza, despite explicitly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. We also discuss how the MLA leadership has systematically undermined discussions and resolutions about Palestinian liberation. They also discussed how ethical scholars have confronted the extraordinary silence and complicity of the two major scholarly associations about the Gaza genocide. Watch the episode on our YouTube channel Date of recording: January 13, 2025. Follow us on our socials: X: @MakdisiStreet YouTube: @MakdisiStreet Insta: @Makdisist TikTok: @Makdisistreet Music by Hadiiiiii *Sign up at Patreon.com/MakdisiStreet to access all the bonus content, including a live conversation with Samir Makdisi*  

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Indigenous knowledge of local ecosystems often challenges settler-colonial cosmologies that naturalize resource extraction and the relocation of nomadic, hunting, foraging, or fishing peoples. Questioning Borders: Ecoliteratures of China and Taiwan (Columbia UP, 2023) explores recent ecoliterature by Han and non-Han Indigenous writers of China and Taiwan, analyzing relations among humans, animals, ecosystems, and the cosmos in search of alternative possibilities for creativity and consciousness. Informed by extensive field research, Robin Visser compares literary works by Bai, Bunun, Kazakh, Mongol, Tao, Tibetan, Uyghur, Wa, Yi, and Han Chinese writers set in Xinjiang, Tibet, Inner Mongolia, Southwest China, and Taiwan, sites of extensive development, migration, and climate change impacts. Visser contrasts the dominant Han Chinese cosmology of center and periphery that informs what she calls “Beijing Westerns” with Indigenous and hybridized ways of relating to the world that challenge borders, binaries, and hierarchies. By centering Indigenous cosmologies, this book aims to decolonize approaches to ecocriticism, comparative literature, and Chinese and Sinophone studies as well as to inspire new modes of sustainable flourishing in the Anthropocene. Robin Visser is professor and associate chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China (2010). Li-Ping Chen is a teaching fellow in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California. Her research interests include literary translingualism, diaspora, and nativism in Sinophone, inter-Asian, and transpacific contexts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

In this episode on Speaking Out of Place podcast Professor David Palumbo-Liu talks with Huda Fakhreddine and Anthony Alessandrini about the unique manners in which literature can disclose the human significance of the historical and ongoing genocide in Palestine. Such revelation has to fight at least two things—the sheer brutality and inhumanity of this violence, and the active silencing of Palestinian voices by institutions that, ironically, profess to champion the humanities. Here, once again, we find a pernicious instantiation of the Palestine Exception. Despite these efforts to censor and silence, Huda and Tony delve deeply into the power of Palestinian poetry through translations and readings of some of the most remarkable literature in the world.Anthony Alessandrini teaches English at Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn and Middle Eastern Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is also a member of the Committee on Globalization and Social Change. He is the author of Decolonize Multiculturalism and of Frantz Fanon and the Future of Cultural Politics; the editor of Frantz Fanon: Critical Perspectives; and the co-editor of “Resistance Everywhere”: The Gezi Protests and Dissident Visions of Turkey. He has also published a poetry chapbook, Children Imitating Cormorants. He is a Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, is on the Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association, is on the faculty of the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research, is a co-convener of the International Solidarity Action Research Network, serves as chair of his union's Academic Freedom Committee, and is a proud member of CUNY Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine. Huda J. Fakhreddine is a writer, translator, and Associate Professor of Arabic Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Metapoesis in the Arabic Tradition (Brill, 2015) and The Arabic Prose Poem: Poetic Theory and Practice (Edinburgh University Press, 2021), as well as the co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Poetry (Routledge, 2023). Her creative writings include a work of creative nonfiction, Zaman Ṣaghīr Taḥt Shams Thāniya (A Brief Time Under a Different Sun), published by Dar al-Nahda, Beirut, in 2019, and a forthcoming collection Wa Min Thammata al-‘Ālam… (And Then, the World…), to be published by Manshurat Marfa', Beirut, in 2025. She serves as co-editor of Middle Eastern Literatures and as an editor for the Library of Arabic Literature.www.palumbo-liu.comhttps://speakingoutofplace.comBluesky @palumboliu.bsky.socialInstagram @speaking_out_of_place

Dr Stephen Zunes Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Offers Window Into Corruption Underlying U.S. Foreign Policy3 days agoDr. Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he served as founding director of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Recognized as one the country's leading scholars of U.S. Middle East policy and of strategic nonviolent action, Professor Zunes has served as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun until June 2024. Dr. Zunes served May-June as 2024 Torgny Segerstedt Visiting Research Professor at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Denmark Vesey's failed revolt in 1822 could have been the largest insurrection of enslaved people against their enslavers in United States history. Not only was Vesey's plan large in scale, but Charleston officials arrested well over one hundred rumored participants. Jeremy Schipper, a Professor in the departments for the Study or Religion and Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto and the author of Denmark Vesey's Bible: The Thwarted Revolt that Put Scripture and Slavery on Trial, joins us to investigate Vesey's planned rebellion and the different ways Vesey used the Bible and biblical texts to justify his revolt and the violence it would have wrought. Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/399 Sponsor Links Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Colonial Williamsburg Email Lists Complementary Episodes Episode 052: Early United States-Haitian Diplomacy Episode 124: Making the Haitian Revolution in Early America Episode 133: Nat Turner's Rebellion Episode 165: The Age of Revolutions Episode 190: Origins of the American Middle Class Episode 226: Making the State of South Carolina Episode 384: Making Maine: A Journey to Statehood Episode 390: Objects of Revolution Listen! Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Amazon Music Ben Franklin's World iOS App Ben Franklin's World Android App Helpful Links Join the Ben Franklin's World Facebook Group Ben Franklin's World Twitter: @BFWorldPodcast Ben Franklin's World Facebook Page Sign-up for the Franklin Gazette Newsletter