Asian Review of Books

Asian Review of Books

episodes

Interviews with authors of books reviewed in the Asian Review of Books.

Avner Greif et al., "Two Paths to Prosperity: Culture and Institutions in Europe and China, 1000–2000" (Princeton UP, 2025)

April 2, 2026

Two Paths to Prosperity

Avner Greif, Joel Mokyr, and Guido Tabellini
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

It’s one of the biggest questions in economic history: How did a richer, more advanced China fall behind Europe? Why was Europe the home of the Indust…

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, "The Battle of Manila: Poisoned Victory in the Pacific War" (Oxford UP, 2025)

March 26, 2026

The Battle of Manila

Nicholas Evan Sarantakes
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

On Feb. 6, 1945, just three days after the U.S. army started to fight the Japanese in the city of Manila, General Douglas MacArthur declared that “Man…

Mahesh Rao, "Half Light" (Penguin Random House India, 2025)

March 19, 2026

Half Light

Mahesh Rao
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

On Sep. 6, 2018, India’s Supreme Court ruled that Section 377, a law that criminalized consensual homosexual activity, was unconstitutional, reversing…

Olivier Hein, "Borneo: The History of an Enigma" (Hurst, 2026)

March 12, 2026

Borneo

Olivier Hein
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Borneo—split between two countries, home to some of the world’s oldest rainforests and a vast array of animal and plant life—is back in the news. The …

Rian Thum, "Islamic China: An Asian History" (Harvard UP, 2025)

March 5, 2026

Islamic China

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Can someone be Chinese and Muslim? For some academics, this has been a surprisingly fraught question, with some asserting that Chinese Muslims are not…

Warwick Ball, "Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan: From the Earliest Times to the Mongol Conquest" (Reaktion, 2025)

February 26, 2026

Ancient Civilizations of Afghanistan

Warwick Ball
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Today, Afghanistan–if it ever reaches global headlines–is portrayed as an unstable land, known more for the wars great powers fight (and often lose) o…

Joanna Lillis, "Silk Mirage: Through the Looking Glass in Uzbekistan" (Bloomsbury, 2025)

February 19, 2026

Silk Mirage

Joanna Lillis
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In September 2016, Islam Karimov–the first president of a post-Soviet Uzbekistan–died, at age 78. His death ended an oppressive dictatorship that had …

Yi-Ling Liu, "The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet" (Knopf, 2026)

February 12, 2026

The Wall Dancers

Yi-Ling Liu
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Not too long ago, in the 2000s and 2010s, many felt that the internet–even one behind the Great Firewall–would bring about a more open China. As Presi…

Eric Chopra, "Ghosted" (Speaking Tiger, 2026)

February 5, 2026

Ghosted

Eric Chopra
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Delhi is haunted—by its ghosts, its ruins, and its unending capacity for rebirth. In the shadow of medieval mosques and Mughal tombs, the past refuses…

Yossef Rapoport, "Becoming Arab: The Formation of Arab Identity in the Medieval Middle East" (Princeton UP, 2025)

January 29, 2026

Becoming Arab

Yossef Rapoport
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Today, much of the Middle East is “Arab”—an identity that now extends across North Africa and up through the Near East to Syria. Yet how did this regi…

Namit Arora and Romila Thapar, "Speaking of History: Conversations about India’s Past and Present" (India Allen Lane, 2025)

January 22, 2026

Speaking of History

Romila Thapar and Namit Arora
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

What does it mean to be a historian? How do you try to explain the past when sources are lacking? And how do we talk about history when it’s so politi…

Imran Mulla, "The Indian Caliphate, Exiled Ottomans and the Billionaire Prince" (Hurst, 2025)

January 15, 2026

The Indian Caliphate

Imran Mulla
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 1924, the Republic of Turkey voted to abolish the Ottoman caliphate, ending a 400-year-long claim by the Ottomans that they were the leaders of the…

Sean Mathews, "The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East" (Hurst, 2025)

January 8, 2026

The New Byzantines

Sean Mathews
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Where does Greece belong? Many look at the ancient Greek ruins of Athens, and see the cradle of Western civilization. But much of Greece’s history act…

Kerry Brown, "The Great Reversal: Britain, China and the 400-Year Contest for Power" (Yale UP, 2024)

January 1, 2026

The Great Reversal

Kerry Brown
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I tried to send several letters to her Chinese counterpart, the Wan Li Emperor. The letters tried to ask the…

Suraj Milind Yengde, "Caste: A Global Story" (Hurst, 2025)

December 25, 2025

Caste

Suraj Milind Yengde
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Caste has been a huge topic of conversation in modern India. Yet debates and activism around caste discrimination have spread beyond South Asia. Caste…

Joseph Torigian, "The Party’s Interests Come First: The Life of Xi Zhongxun, Father of Xi Jinping" (Stanford UP, 2025)

December 18, 2025

The Party’s Interests Come First

Joseph Torigian
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Xi Zhongxun’s career spanned the entirety of China’s modern history. Born just two years after the 1911revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty, Xi …

Andrew Bernstein, "Fuji: A Mountain In The Making" (Princeton UP, 2025)

December 11, 2025

Fuji

Andrew Bernstein
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The Great Wave is perhaps the most famous piece of Japanese artwork: a roaring blue wave and three boats on the ocean. And far in the background is Mt…

Steve Tibble, "Assassins and Templars: A Battle in Myth and Blood" (Yale UP, 2025)

December 4, 2025

Assassins and Templars

Steve Tibble
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

The Assassins and the Templars. Two groups that are now part of popular legend–and not just because of Assassin’s Creed, the massive video game franch…

Fahad Ahmad Bishara, "Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History" (U California Press, 2025)

November 27, 2025

Monsoon Voyagers

Fahad Ahmad Bishara
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 1924, the Al-A‘waj, also known as the Crooked, set sail from Kuwait on a trading journey around the Persian Gulf, through the Strait of Hormuz, to …

Ludovic Orlando, "Horses: A 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World" (Princeton UP, 2025)

November 20, 2025

Horses

Ludovic Orlando
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 2016, Ludovic Orlando, a genetics researcher, embarked on the Pegasus Project, an ambitious endeavor to use genetics to discover the origin of the …