Something Different: My Favorite MENA Podcasts!
Including mine, but also others that are not mine.
Beirut 1982
Even though I’ve been doing the Middle East Political Science podcast for more than a decade, I was never much of a podcast listener. That’s changed this year as I’ve been regularly driving back and forth to Ohio, and also had a lot of long flights to and from Europe and the Middle East. Today, as something a bit different, I wanted to share some of my favorite podcasts about MENA related issues, including some well-established ones and also some pretty new ones by friends or colleagues which look promising.
First up, I have to of course start with my own podcast, the Middle East Political Science Podcast, now in it’s thirteenth season. We’ve changed the format around each season. In recent years, we’ve usually combined a half hour book segment with another half hour divided among authors of new journal articles or scholars with expertise on important current events. Occasionally, we’ve dedicated entire episodes to current events, as with this amazing 2021 episode on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis in East Jerusalem featuring short conversations with sixteen different scholars. This season, we have been featuring hour long conversations with scholars about their broad body of work, as well as the regular book conversations.
This week’s episode features an hour long conversation with the brilliant Sarah Parkinson. Parkinson has been on the podcast several times, including last year’s conversation about her outstanding book Beyond the Lines: Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon. This week, in the first segment we talk about her scorching recent Foreign Affairs article “The Ghosts of Lebanon” which draws on her research on the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon to offer cautionary lessons for Israel’s 2023 war on Gaza. In the second segment, we then turn to several of her recent scholarly publications: first, “It’s Just How Things Are Done”: Social Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Humanitarian Aid,” co-authored with Valerie de Koeijer and Sophia Scott and published in International Studies Quarterly; and second, Unreported Realities: The Political Economy of Media-Sourced Data, in the American Political Science Review. Listen here:
Now for some of my favorite non-me podcasts!
Empire. Anita Arland and William Dalrymple’s Empire is hands down my favorite single podcast. The first season focused on Britain in India, the primary academic expertise for both of the hosts, was a revelation, a masterpiece of storytelling deeply informed by scholarly depth and rigor and brought alive by the good humor and palpable chemistry of the co-hosts. As the podcast moved into other historical empires - I’m currently midway through the Ottoman Empire - it increasingly brought in guests who had published books or other scholarship on those topics. Don’t spoil the later seasons for me - I’m looking forward to their segments on Russia, slavery, and (currently) Persia/Iran.
Order from Ashes. Produced by my friends at Century International, Order from Ashes features some of the smartest, sharpest progressive commentary on the Middle East and US foreign policy. For a good taste, check out the most recent episode on Gaza and the Middle East, featuring Aron Lund, Sam Heller, Michael Wahid Hanna, and Thanassis Cambanis.
Internet of Humans. This fascinating podcast co-hosted by Konstantinos Komaitis and my old friend Jillian York explores issues related to the governance and politics of the internet. Check out the most recent episode with Mona Shtaya of Digital Actions on social media content moderation around the Gaza war.
SEPAD Pod. My co-author and friend Simon Mabon hosts this wonderful academic podcast which explores a broad range of issues and themes related to the study of the Middle East and of social theory more broadly. The range of guests and themes reflects’s Mabon’s own eclectic intellectual interests; you won’t find better intellectual dialogues about current trends in scholarship. Check out the most recent episode, a conversation with Andrea Teti about the political and discursive tends shaping the production of knowledge about the Middle East.
The Ottoman History Podcast. This long-running show should be familiar to most people who work on the Middle East, and it’s still running strong. It features conversations with authors of recent books and other thematic issues, ranging broadly across disciplines and historical eras. Check out the most recent episode, featuring Jessica Marglin’s new book Nationality on Trial in the 19th Century Mediterranean, and also this topical one with Rashid Khalidi about The One Hundred Year War on Palestine.
Status. The Arab Studies Institute/Jadaliyya produces a range of podcasts covering both academic issues and current events. It is currently featuring a series of episodes on “The War on Palestine” - listen to the most recent episode here. But I also really like the longer topical episodes, such as this great conversation with Sinan Antoon and Omar Sirri about the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.
Ufahamu Africa. It might not be “the Middle East”, but as you all know I don’t really believe in such categories. This outstanding program hosted by my friend Kim Yi Dionne and Rachel Riedl is one of the pioneers of academic podcasts, featuring a wide range of voices from Africa and about African politics and society. Check out the most recent episode, a conversation with the wonderful Nisrin Elamin about the ongoing war and crisis in Sudan.
China-MENA. My friend Jonathan Fulton hosts this really interesting program focusing on the role of China in the Middle East. The tight focus allows him to dig deep, and his network of contacts from both Asia and the region really enrich our understanding of these emergent international relationships. Check out this recent episode evaluating ten years of the Belt and Road Initiative in MENA.
Makdisi Street. This brand new podcast features three brilliant siblings: Ussama, Makdisi, Karim Makdisi and Saree Makdisi. I’m not sure what the overall thematic content will ultimately become, but the conversations so far are really interesting and the hosts are all accomplished and brilliant scholars. Listen to the most recent episode on Gaza here.
Turkey Book Talk. I’ve only recently discovered this one, hosted by William Armstrong, but it sure sounds like my kind of thing: conversations with authors of recent academic books and topical themes, this time about Turkey. Listen to the most recent episode, a conversation with Sinem Adar on Turkey and the Gaza war.
Babel. A policy-oriented podcast hosted by the brilliant and quietly funny Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He brings in great guests, including many who might not fit the conventional definition of academics but have a lot to say to them, and runs a fantastic conversation. Check out one of his recent episodes, with Palestinian analyst Khalil Sayegh.
I’m sure I’m missing a lot of great programs - please share your favorites if they fit this general profile. Happy listening!