The Podcast
Here’s a repository with all of our episodes!
In our most recent episode, Michel Helou, Secretary General of Lebanon’s National Bloc Party, joins Anya and Ritta to discuss the future of Lebanon at a moment of profound crisis. Recorded amidst the ongoing war, the episode examines Lebanon’s deep structural challenges to unpack questions of sovereignty, Hezbollah’s disarmament, and the pressures shaping Lebanon’s foreign relations.
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Previous episodes
#6_ james barr
James Barr joins Natalia to unpack why Middle East history “matters” to western audiences, from the uses and limits of imperial archives to the afterlives of Sykes–Picot and the shifting public attitudes from Gaza to Yemen. They unpack all this and more as James teases his ambitious new book tracing the history of the region from 600 BC to today.
#5_ wendy pearlman
In this episode, we sit down with Professor Wendy Pearlman to discuss ethnography within the Syrian diaspora, the process of homemaking in exile, and what the fall of the al-Assad regime has meant for Syrians since December 2024.
#4_ ezgi başaran
In the first episode of our brand-new series on Turkish politics and political history, we are joined by Ezgi Başaran. Başaran explains what the recent imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu means for Turkey’s democratisation journey and assesses how recent developments in Turkish politics reflect the zeitgeist of our time.
#3_ kenneth roth
In this episode, Kenneth Roth reflects on three decades at Human Rights Watch, unpacks how to pressure authoritarian regimes, and discusses Sudan, Gaza, and censorship on university campuses
#2_ aboubakr jamai
Our second episode is an interview with Professor Aboubakr Jamai. We discussed the impact of Morocco's infrastructure projects, the impact of the 2011 constitution and the government's normalisation of diplomatic ties with Israel which still hold to this day.
#1_ peter beinart
In our first episode, we talked with Professor Peter Beinart about his latest book "Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza." We discussed the impossibility of liberal Zionism, its persistence in American political discourse and the role of dialogue today.
#7_ ilker aytürk
İlker Aytürk coined the term “post-Kemalism.” In the latest episode of OSP, he sits down with Eli to explain why that paradigm has run its course and what Turkey’s century-long struggle with modernity and democracy can tell us about the politics of today.
#8_ brahim el guabli
This week, Professor Brahim El Guabli joins Ismail to discuss the "Years of Lead" in Morocco and the powerful role of literature in creating “Other-Archives.” From the memoirs of political prisoners to the languages spoken by Amazigh communities, we delve into how cultural production can reclaim citizenship and demand transitional justice.