Middle Eastern Studies

Middle Eastern Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of the Middle East about their new books.

Robin Whelan, "Serving the Christian State in Late Antiquity" (Cambridge UP, 2026)

August 24, 2026

Serving the Christian State in Late Antiquity

Robin Whelan
Hosted by Michael Motia

How did the state become Christian in late antiquity? Many scholars have traced the Christianization of the Roman world in the centuries following the…

Emily Sibley, "The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture" (Cornell UP, 2026)

August 20, 2026

The Poetics of Incivility

Emily Sibley
Hosted by Tugrul Mende

The Poetics of Incivility: Satire and Subversion in Modern Arab Culture (Cornell UP, 2026) explores impolite modes of expression—satire, crude humor, …

Karène Sanchez Summerer and Sary Zananiri eds., "Palestine in Transition: Frank Scholten's Visual Archive of the British Mandate Period" (CEU Press, 2026)

August 17, 2026

Palestine in Transition

Karène Sanchez Summerer and Sary Zananiri eds.
Hosted by CEU Press

In this episode, host Andrea Talabér (CEU Press) talks with Karène Sanchez Summerer and Sary Zananiri, the editors of Palestine in Transition: Frank…

Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen, "Tel Rehov: A Bronze and Iron Age City in the Beth-Shean Valle" (The Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University, 2020)

August 17, 2026

Tel Rehov

Amihai Mazar and Nava Panitz-Cohen

This interview with Professor Amihai Mazar was conducted by Željko Stanojević for the New Books Network. The conversation focuses on Tel Reḥov: A Bron…

Zvi Yehuda and Marian Scheuer Sofaer, "The Expulsion of Jews from Iraq, 20th Century: The Agonies of Redemption" (Brill, 2024)

August 15, 2026

The Expulsion of Jews from Iraq, 20th Century

Zvi Yehuda and Marian Scheuer Sofaer
Hosted by Drora Arussy

In this episode we spoke with Marian Scheuer Sofaer, Esquire, and Dr. Einav Yehuda-Shnaidman about The Expulsion of Jews from Iraq, 20th Century: The …

Hossam el-Hamalawy, "Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic" (Verso Books, 2026)

August 14, 2026

Counterrevolution in Egypt

Hossam el-Hamalawy
Hosted by Alec Fiorini

Counterrevolution in Egypt: Sisi's New Republic (Verso Books, 2026) is a rare and comprehensive examination of the structures, hierarchies, and method…

Younus Y. Mirza, "The Islamic Mary: Maryam Through the Centuries" (Fortress Press, 2025)

August 12, 2026

The Islamic Mary

Younus Y. Mirza

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has been historically revered throughout the Islamic tradition. This began already in the Qur'an, where she is called by th…

Daniel Majchrowicz, "A Journey to Mecca and London: The Travels of an Indian Muslim Woman, 1909–1910" (Indiana UP, 2025)

August 10, 2026

A Journey to Mecca and London

Daniel Majchrowicz
Hosted by Nicole Correri

Descended from Mughal nobility, Akhtar al-Nisa Begum Nawab Sarbuland Jung grew up in Hyderabad in southern India, where she lived a quiet, private, an…

Gianluca Fantoni, "Soldiers, Angels, and Avengers: A History of the Jewish Brigade" (McGill-Queen's UP, 2026)

August 7, 2026

Soldiers, Angels, and Avengers

Gianluca Fantoni
Hosted by Roberto Mazza

Soldiers, Angels, and Avengers: A History of the Jewish Brigade (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2026) tells the compelling story of the Jewish Briga…

Muslims and the Minority Question across the Indian Ocean: A Conversation With Roy Bar Sadeh

August 5, 2026

Muslims and the Minority Question across the Indian Ocean

Roy Bar Sadeh
Hosted by Ahmed Almaazmi

In this conversation, we are entering an Indian Ocean world connected by steamships, telegraphs, pilgrimage routes, and print. From Bombay and the Gul…

Paulina Banas, "Visualizing Egypt: European Travel, Book Publishing, and the Commercialization of the Middle East in the Nineteenth Century" (American University in Cairo Press, 2025)

August 2, 2026

Visualizing Egypt

Paulina Banas
Hosted by Saman Nasser

Following Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1798 campaign in Egypt, new possibilities of travel and improvements in printing technology saw an emergence of publish…

Murat C. Yildiz, "The Ottoman World of Sports: Refashioning Bodies, Men, and Communities in Late Imperial Istanbul" (U Texas Press, 2026)

July 31, 2026

The Ottoman World of Sports

Murat C. Yildiz
Hosted by Reuben Silverman

The history of sports in Turkey is deeply contested. Over the decades, journalists, pundits, non-professional historians, sports scholars, and everyda…

Mikhail Pelevin, "Love, Honour and God: Pashto Writings of Early Modern Times" (Brill, 2025)

July 31, 2026

Love, Honour and God

Mikhail Pelevin
Hosted by Qaseem Ahmadzai

In this episode of New Books Network, I speak with Mikhail Pelevin about his book Love, Honour and God: Pashto Writings of Early Modern Times (Iran an…

Lisa Blaydes and Samuel Helfont eds., "Ba‘thist Iraq Through Archives: Reflections, Explorations, and Opportunities" (Stanford UP, 2026)

July 29, 2026

Ba‘thist Iraq Through Archives

Lisa Blaydes and Samuel Helfont
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The opening of Iraq's Ba'th Party archives revolutionized the study of Iraqi politics and history, offering scholars unprecedented access to the i…

Samantha Iyer, "Agrarian Superpower: Food, Development, and the Global Ascendancy of the United States" (Columbia UP, 2026)

July 25, 2026

Agrarian Superpower

Samantha Iyer
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

The United States’ superpower status is often associated with its industrial, financial, and military might. Yet its global power after the Second Wor…

Eamonn Gearon, "The Arab Bureau: The Story of Britain's Most Ingenious Intelligence Unit" (Hurst, 2026)

July 23, 2026

The Arab Bureau

Eamonn Gearon
Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

Many of us have watched the classic 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia, the somewhat fictionalized work based on the life of T. E. Lawrence during the Arab…

Martin Shaw, "The New Age of Genocide: Intellectual and Political Challenges After Gaza" (Agenda Publishing, 2025)

July 22, 2026

The New Age of Genocide

Martin Shaw
Hosted by Kelly McFall

The Israeli destruction of Gaza has returned the idea of genocide to the centre of world politics, with sharp conflicts between protesters and lawyers…

Suzy Hansen, "From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan" (FSG, 2026)

July 21, 2026

From Life Itself

Suzy Hansen
Hosted by Reuben Silverman

From Suzy Hansen, whose previous book, Notes on a Foreign Country, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Ne…

Elad Lapidot, "State of Others: Levinas and Decolonial Israel" (Indiana UP, 2025)

July 21, 2026

State of Others

Elad Lapidot
Hosted by Amir Engel

Elad Lapidot is Professor of Jewish Thought at the University of Lille, France. His work is guided by questions concerning the relation between knowl…

Massoud Amin, "Both Your Houses: Iran, America, and the Wages of Unchecked Power" (Wisdom Editions, 2026)

July 15, 2026

Both Your Houses

Massoud Amin
Hosted by Alfred Marcus

In Both Your Houses: Iran, America, and the Wages of Unchecked Power (Wisdom Editions, 2026), Massoud Amin confronts the war between Iran, Israel, and…