New Books Network
Middle Eastern Studies
Asian Review of Books September 23, 2021

Ancient Egypt and Early China

State, Society, and Culture

Anthony J Barbieri-Low

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
One would think that comparing civilizations as far removed in time and space as Ancient Egypt and Ancient China might not reveal much. Yet Professor Tony Barbieri’s Ancient Egypt and …

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Religion September 21, 2021

A Most Peculiar Book

The Inherent Strangeness of the Bible

Kristin Swenson

Hosted by Tiatemsu Longkumer
The Bible is not only a book but also a collection of books. It has many authors but also at the same time many editors. It has not only been …
Israel Studies September 20, 2021

Yiddish in Israel

A History

Rachel Rojanski

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Yiddish in Israel: A History (Indiana UP, 2020) challenges the commonly held view that Yiddish was suppressed or even banned by Israeli authorities for ideological reasons, offering instead a radical …
Van Leer Institute Series on Ideas with Renee Garfinkel September 16, 2021

The Star and the Scepter

A Diplomatic History of Israel

Emmanuel Navon

Hosted by Renee Garfinkel
The first all-encompassing book on Israel’s foreign policy and the diplomatic history of the Jewish people, The Star and the Scepter: A Diplomatic History of Israel (Jewish Publication Society, 2020) retraces …
Poetry September 13, 2021

The Things We Are Not Talking About

Shlomit Naim Naor

Hosted by Yakir Englander
Shlomit Naim Naor’s poetry is a unique voice in Israel. She is inviting the readers to delve deeper and engage in a dialogue with the Jewish religion and texts …
Asian Review of Books September 9, 2021

Alexandria

The Quest for the Lost City

Edmund Richardson

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon
The story of Alexander the Great has inspired conquerors and would-be conquerors throughout history. Alexander’s sweep through the Middle East and Central Asia left behind evidence of his mark on …
Israel Studies September 9, 2021

Leaving Zion

Jewish Emigration from Palestine and Israel after World War II

Ori Yehudai

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Ori Yehudai's erudite examination of Jewish emigration from Israel in the early years of the state presents a fascinating study of the lived experiences of Israeli refugees from Israel. This …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast August 31, 2021

Religious Entrepreneurs?

Nile Green

Hosted by Howard Burton
Religious Entrepreneurs? is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Nile Green who holds the Ibn Khaldn Endowed Chair in World History at UCLA. Nile Green is …
Israel Studies August 31, 2021

Mo(ve)ments of Resistance

Politics, Economy and Society in Israel/Palestine, 1931-2013

Lev Luis Grinberg

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Lev Luis Grinberg presents a penetrating contribution to Israeli political economic history. In Mo(ve)ments of Resistance: Politics, Economy and Society in Israel/Palestine, 1931-2013 (Academics Studies Press, 2014), Grinberg summarizes both his …
National Security August 27, 2021

Your Sons Are at Your Service

Tunisia's Missionaries of Jihad

Aaron Y. Zelin

Hosted by Beth Windisch
Tunisia became one of the largest sources of foreign fighters for the Islamic State—even though the country stands out as a democratic bright spot of the Arab uprisings and despite …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast August 27, 2021

Rabbi With A Cause

Israel and Identity

David J. Goldberg

Hosted by Howard Burton
Rabbi With A Cause: Israel and Identity is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and David J. Goldberg (1939-2019), former Senior Rabbi Emeritus of London’s Liberal Jewish …
Ideas Roadshow Podcast August 25, 2021

What is Zoroastrianism?

A Conversation with Antonio Panaino

Antonio Panaino

Hosted by Howard Burton
Howard speaks with University of Bologna Iranian specialist Antonio Panaino about Zorastrianism: What is it? How was it influenced by, and in turn influence, other religious and cultural traditions? And …
Israel Studies August 25, 2021

Israeli Theatre

Mizrahi Jews and Self-Representation

Naphtaly Shem-Tov

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
Naphtaly Shem-Tov's book Israeli Theatre: Mizrahi Jews and Self-Representation (Routledge, 2021) introduces readers to the stagecraft produced by Mizrahi (Middle Eastern Jewish) directors and artists. Describing the work of Yemenite, Iraqi …
Israel Studies August 24, 2021

Winston S. Churchill and the Shaping of the Middle East, 1919-1922

Sara Reguer

Hosted by Ari Barbalat
In what ways was the course of twentieth-century Middle Eastern history shaped by the immediate post-World War I years at the dawn of the Mandatory Period? Winston S. Churchill and …
Gender Studies August 23, 2021

Gender Politics in Turkey and Russia

From State Feminism to Authoritarian Rule

Gökten Huriye Dogangün

Hosted by Diana Dukhanova
Both Russia and Turkey were pioneering examples of feminism in the early 20th Century, when the Bolshevik and Republican states embraced an ideology of women's equality. Yet now these countries …
Islamic Studies August 20, 2021

Women as Imams

Classical Islamic Sources and Modern Debates on Leading Prayer

Simonetta Calderini

Hosted by Shehnaz Haqqani
What does Islam say about women’s leadership of prayer? What sources have Muslim scholars used historically to answer this question, and what do those sources say exactly? What are the …
Middle Eastern Studies August 19, 2021

Disturbing Spirits

Mental Illness, Trauma, and Treatment in Modern Syria and Lebanon

Beverly A. Tsacoyianis

Hosted by Isabel Machado
Disturbing Spirits: Mental Illness, Trauma, and Treatment in Modern Syria and Lebanon by Beverly A. Tsacoyianis (University of Notre Dame Press, 2021) investigates the psychological toll of conflict in the Middle …
Medicine August 16, 2021

ReOrienting Histories of Medicine

Encounters Along the Silk Roads

Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim

Hosted by Christopher Rose
There's been a lot of resurgent interest in the Silk Routes lately, particularly looking at the cultural, political, and economic connections between "East" and "West" that challenge long held narratives …
Islamic Studies August 13, 2021

Imagining Afghanistan

The History and Politics of Imperial Knowledge

Nivi Manchanda

Hosted by Kristian Petersen
Over time and across different genres, Afghanistan has been presented to the world as potential ally, dangerous enemy, gendered space, and mysterious locale. These powerful, if competing, visions seek to …
Middle Eastern Studies August 12, 2021

A Sultan in Autumn

Erdogan Faces Turkey's Uncontainable Forces

Soner Çaǧaptay

Hosted by Luke Frostick
A Sultan in Autumn: Erdogan Faces Turkey's Uncontainable Forces (I. B. Tauris, 2021) is a primer for anybody who wants to understand modern Turkish politics and its central player Recep …