Scholars Unravel Middle East
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© Adel Aali, History Behind News Program
Description
150 scholars (and counting) distill decades of research into an hour conversation, to unravel the misperceptions that divide East and West and clarify our common misconceptions about the Middle East - from its ancient past to its present developments.
I am Adel Aali, your host. This program is a production of History Behind News podcast (now in its 4th season). Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@ScholarsUnravelMiddleEast?sub_confirmation=1
I am Adel Aali, your host. This program is a production of History Behind News podcast (now in its 4th season). Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@ScholarsUnravelMiddleEast?sub_confirmation=1
44 Episodes
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The story of the Flood told before the Bible! Gilgamesh caused an uproar in Europe.
Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh in 1872 riled up Christian Europe - embroiling Prime Minister Gladstone and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Gilgamesh, which was written in cuneiform, is an ancient story that was told and taught in Mesopotamia for 3,000 years. But it was lost to history for more than 2,000 years until 1854.
It's an ancient tale of gods and kingly adventure that weaves through topics familiar to our modern psyches and sensibilities - leadership, violence, quest for mortality, love, homosexuality, environment and religion. It's a wonder why a movie or a Netflix series hasn't been produced about Gilgamesh!
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Sophus Helle is a postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University. He is a prolific author with major works in history on subjects as diverse as Babylonian epics, climate change and medieval philosophy.
He is author of Gilgamesh, a book about an ancient Mesopotamian epic.
🚩Other episodes about anicent Middle East:
▶️Peace & diplomacy in ancient times
▶️Ancient climate change and religion
▶️No religious war in ancient Middle East
▶️How polytheism gave way to monotheism in Middle East
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Scholars Unravel Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🚩Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
How Ariel Sharon defied and deceived Israel's government to expand war in Lebanon - a former IDF Major shares his Lebanon War stories
►How did Israel get entangled in Lebanon?
►What was Israel's original plan for the 1982 Lebanon War and how did it change?
►How did Ariel Sharon trick the Israeli government into a military confrontation with the Syrians in Lebanon?
►Dr. Bregman's eyewitness account of the Lebanon War, including a dinner with Lebanon's president.
►What lessons can we glean from Lebanon's 1982 war for Israel's current military conflict there?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ahron Bregman is a senior teaching fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. Dr. Bregman served in the Israeli army for six years, and took part in the 1982 Lebanon War and reached the rank of Major. He left the IDF after the war to work at the Knesset as a parliamentary assistant.
He is the author and editor of many books. In this interview, we discuss Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories.
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Scholars Unravel Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🚩Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Image attribution:
This episode's cover art image is of Defense Minister Ariel Sharon in Lebanon during the Galilee Peace Operation. By IDF Spokesperson's Unit, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119476457.
White border added to image.
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
Israel’s “Enlightened” occupation was the brainchild of Moshe Dayan. But Likud's 'revolutionary' 1977 election victory changed that.
In this interview, we discuss the following:
►Why was Israel's 1967 victory "cursed'?
►What id Mosheh Dayan mean by an "invisibl occupation"?
►How did the Likud Party's 1977 election victory change the Occupation?
►Did Israel draw lessons from past occupations in history? Or did it start the occupation process from a blank slate?
►Why did Israel unilaterally withdraw from Gaza in 2005?
►And how did Israel handle Hamas in its process of leaving Gaza?
►What is Dr. Bregman's prescription for Israel's future relations with Palestinians?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ahron Bregman is a senior teaching fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London with research interests in The Arab Israeli Conflict, The Middle East Peace Process and Security Issues in the Middle East. Dr. Bregman served in the Israeli army for six years, and took part in the 1982 Lebanon War and reached the rank of Major. He left the IDF after the war to work at the Knesset as a parliamentary assistant.
He is the author and editor of many books. In this interview, we discuss Cursed Victory: A History of Israel and the Occupied Territories.
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Scholars Unravel Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🚩Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Are U.S. sanctions on Iran working?
►Are U.S. sanctions against Iran actually working against the United States?
►Have sanctions empowered and emboldened Iran's Revolutionary Guard… to the point that they were ready for war with the United States?
►Did sanctions help Iran's regime crush the Mahsa Amini protests?
►Are sanctions a one-way ratchet - easy to impose, hard to lift?
►Iran's economic decline - due to sanctions or mismanagement?
►If not sanctions, then what?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Vali Nasr is professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. and the co-director of the Rethinking Iran Initiative. He has advised the U.S. President, Secretary of State & senior members of Congress about foreign policy.
He is the author and co-author of many books, including the following:
The Dispensable Nation - American Foreign Policy in Retreat (which we discussed in this program), and
How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare - which we discuss in this interview.
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Scholars Unravel Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🚩Subscribe to our YouTube channel
✅Image credits:
►image titled "Iran's Ruling Class"
By Khamenei.ir, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=150245544
background trimmed
►image titled "Iran's Middle Class"
By Fars Media Corporation, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=70147469
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►What is Armenian feminism?
►Was there such a thing as Armenian feminism without Armenian nationalism?
►Why did Armenian feminism flourish in Istanbul? And why after the Armenian genocide?
►Were Armenians more educated than their Muslim counterparts?
►Was the Armenian feminist movement similar to its Western counterparts?
►Why does the denial of the Armenian genocide persist in Türkiye?
►How was the past, with all its dark chapters, empowering for Armenian feminists?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu is a professor of history at MIT and the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program there.
She has published extensively, including the following:
A Cry for Justice: Five Armenian Feminist Writers from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic, and
Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey .
🚩Dr. Sinan Ciddi:
Is Turkiye still a democracy - given its transformation from Atatürk's Secularism to Erdoğan Islamism? Click to listen.
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Fear - fabricated and real fear, nd how it caused the Armenian genocide
►Was the Armenian genocide a Holocaust?
►Why didn't the Ottomans kill all Armenians?
►What are the three ways to "eliminate" a people?
►Would the Armenian genocide have happened without WWI?
►Why does the denial of the Armenian genocide persist in Türkiye?
►What is a Greater Armenia? What is the Wilsonian Armenia?
►Is it legal in Türkiye to study the Armenian genocide?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Lerna Ekmekcioglu is a professor of history at MIT and the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Program there.
She has published extensively, including the following:
A Cry for Justice: Five Armenian Feminist Writers from the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish Republic, and
Recovering Armenia: The Limits of Belonging in Post-Genocide Turkey .
🚩Dr. Alan Mikhail:
Sultan Selim I and the transformation of the Ottomans into a global empire and the guardians of Isalm.
📽️Watch my interview with Dr. Mikhail: Part I & Part II.
🎧Listen to my interview with him: Part I & Part II.
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►What is Kurdish nationalism?
►What is Ottoman nationalism with Kuridsh colors?
►Were Kurdish people expose to European ideas of freedom, indepedence and nationalism?
►What is one major obstance to Kurdish independence?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Djene Bajalan is a professor at Missouri State University. He is a historian of the Middle East specializing in the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question.
He is the author and/or editor of the following:
The Young Kurds: The Kurdish movement before the First World War, and
Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam.
Dr. Schultz and American politics
Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam
Dr. Schultz and politics of 2024 election:
Are Young American Men Ready For Madam President?
Trump's Masculine Politics
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Who are the Kurdish people?
►Is Kurdish related to any other Middle Eastern language?
►What religions do Kurdish people practice?
►Did Kurdish people ever have their own polity?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Djene Bajalan is a professor at Missouri State University. He is a historian of the Middle East specializing in the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question.
He is the author and/or editor of the following:
The Young Kurds: The Kurdish movement before the First World War, and
Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam.
Dr. Schultz and American politics
Studies in Kurdish History: Empire, Ethnic and Islam
Dr. Schultz and politics of 2024 election:
Are Young American Men Ready For Madam President?
Trump's Masculine Politics
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Ancient theology vs. mythology
►How drunken gods created incapicitated people
►Humans were created to toil for gods
►Polytheism set the stage for monotheism
►Unlike monotheism, polytheism was tolerant
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen
Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, and
Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Before Monotheism, what were the big religions of the ancient Middle East?
►What are the 4 constitutive elements of religion?
►In polytheism, there is no individual choice or belief. Regardless, polytheism is tolerant.
►Does the term 'religion' make sense in the context of Ancient Middle East?
►Does the term God make sense in the context of Ancient Middle East?
►Monotheism is very much tide to the rise of empires - particularly the first major empire: the Persians!
►How did polytheism die out? What happened to all the gods?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Beate Pongratz-Leisten is a professor of Ancient Near Eastern Studies at the Institute For the Study of the Ancient World at New York University - NYU.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Why do Jordanians protest about water?
►Does Jordan coordinate its budget with the U.S.?
►How do protests in Jordan compare to other countries, such as protests in Iran or the U.S.?
►Why does the government of Jordan promote images of stability and instability?
►Why are cartoonists getting arrests in Jordan for alleged terrorism?
►Is Jordan essentially a U.S. protectorate?
►Is Jordan forever on the brink of a revolution?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen
Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, and
Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Were the Hashemite royal family foreigners in Jordan?
►Did Jordan’s Hashemites belong to a larger, transnational royal family?
►How does the Hashemite royal family’s history impact Jordan’s national identity and nation-building efforts now?
►Why Jordanian protesters and cartoonists poke fun of King Abdullah II’s Arabic
►How were tribal protests in Jordan during Ottoman and British rules different than now?
►If Jordan is not a democractic country, then how are protests routine in Jordan?
►Do Jordanians experience politics in streets as opposed to in parliament and during elections?
►Dose criticizing the King of Jordan cross a red line?
►What does it mean that Jordan's protesting places are disappearing?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Jillian Schwedler is a professor of political science at the City University of New York’s Hunter College and the Graduate Center, and also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Crown Center at Brandeis University.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
Faith in Moderation: Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen
Understanding the Contemporary Middle East, and
Protesting Jordan: Geographies of Power and Dissent.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Iranian women before the 1979 Revolution: rights in marriage, education and the right to vote
►Iran's society of two cultures before the Revolution
►The Shah's White Revolution and clergy's protest
►How everyone is having sex in contemporary Iran.
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Janet Afary is a professor of Religious Studies in UC Santa Barbara. She is the Mellichamp Chair of Religion and Modernity and the Director of the Iranian Studies Initiative.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911, Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy, and the Origins of Feminism,
Sexual Politics in Modern Iran, and
Iranian Romance in the Digital Age: From Arranged Marriage to White Marriage (Sex, Family and Culture in the Middle East).
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►pre-Islam hijab was a status symbol
►Islam adopted the norms of the civilized world - including the hijab
►Reza Shah of Iran forceably unveiled women
►Khomeini was against women's right to vote, until he realized their voice may help his revolution.
►Iranian love poetry was homoerotic, not heterosexual love.
►Iranian love poetry was homoerotic, not heterosexual love.
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Janet Afary is a professor of Religious Studies in UC Santa Barbara. She is the Mellichamp Chair of Religion and Modernity and the Director of the Iranian Studies Initiative.
She is the author of many books, including the following:
The Iranian Constitutional Revolution, 1906-1911, Grassroots Democracy, Social Democracy, and the Origins of Feminism,
Sexual Politics in Modern Iran, and
Iranian Romance in the Digital Age: From Arranged Marriage to White Marriage (Sex, Family and Culture in the Middle East).
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Did Christians see Europe differently than Muslims?
►Were Middle East Jews and Christians pro-"West" and Middle East Muslims anti-"West"?
►Are Muslims more tolerant of other religions than Jews and Christians are?
►How did Arab Christians fare under Muslim governments?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ian Coller is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine - UCI.
His research interests include modern France, French Revolution & Empire, Modern Europe (c.1700-1900), and Muslim Mediterranean.
Dr. Coller's books and other publications include:
Muslims and Citizens: Islam, Politics, and the French Revolution,
Arab France: Islam and the Making of Modern Europe, 1798-1831,
“Rousseau’s Turban: Entangled Encounters of Europe and Islam in the Age of Enlightenment ”,
“The Revolutionary Mediterranean”,
“Egypt in the French Revolution”, and
“Empires from the Viewpoint of the Colonised”.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►When did the "West" begin to perceive the Middle East as a troubled region?
►Have Sunni and Shi'a Muslims always been at war? How about Jews and Muslims?
►Why did France invade Egypt? Hint: it was not entirely about geopolitics.
►Have Europeans fought more wars than Middle Easterners?
►Can you think of any wars in the Middle East that match the scale of WWI or WWII?
►Was the de-Christianization of France somehow rooted in Islam?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Ian Coller is a professor of history at the University of California, Irvine - UCI.
His research interests include modern France, French Revolution & Empire, Modern Europe (c.1700-1900), and Muslim Mediterranean.
Dr. Coller's books and other publications include:
Muslims and Citizens: Islam, Politics, and the French Revolution,
Arab France: Islam and the Making of Modern Europe, 1798-1831,
“Rousseau’s Turban: Entangled Encounters of Europe and Islam in the Age of Enlightenment ”,
“The Revolutionary Mediterranean”,
“Egypt in the French Revolution”, and
“Empires from the Viewpoint of the Colonised”.
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Do Arab Americans have powerful political lobbies? If not, why not?
►Can Arab American impact the outcome of the 2024 election?
►Are Arab Americans united about the ongoing conflict in Palestine?
►Are Arab Americans loyal to America?
►What is the population of Arab Americans?
►Was assimilating into America's culture particularly difficult for Arab Americans?
►Did American politicians categorize Arab Americans as inferior to White Americans?
►Was Arab immigration to the U.S. restricted by a quota system?
►Did Arabs immigrate to the U.S. in waves or trickle in over decades?
►Why are so many grocery stores owned by Arab Americans?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Hani Bawardi is a professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
His research and teaching areas include Middle East Studies, Arab American Studies, Arab American Identity, Arab Americans since 1890, Michigan History, as well as immigrants and immigration. He is the author of The Making of Arab Americans: From Syrian Nationalism to U.S. Citizenship, a book that we discuss in this two-part episode.
🚩History of the People of Palestine:
Listen to Dr. Maha Nassar, a professor of Middle East History and Islamic Studies at the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies of the University of Arizona, unravel fascinating history of Palestinians.
🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-S1E15
🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-S1E16
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►When did Arabs begin to immigrate to America?
►Were early Arab immigrants to America from wealthy families? Did they come here for economic, political or religious reasons?
►Did Arab immigrants to America have anything in common? Do they have anything in common now?
►Did Western politicians and historian believe Arab Americans have anything in common?
►When did Arab Americans begin to form political organizations to represent them in America?
►Were these early Arab political organizations to affect change back home in the Middle East, or to affect change here in America?
►Why did Arab Americans form secret societies here in America?
🚩About my guest:
Dr. Hani Bawardi is a professor of history at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
His research and teaching areas include Middle East Studies, Arab American Studies, Arab American Identity, Arab Americans since 1890, Michigan History, as well as immigrants and immigration. He is the author of The Making of Arab Americans: From Syrian Nationalism to U.S. Citizenship, a book that we discuss in this two-part episode.
🚩History of the People of Palestine:
Listen to Dr. Maha Nassar, a professor of Middle East History and Islamic Studies at the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies of the University of Arizona, unravel fascinating history of Palestinians.
🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-S1E15
🎧 https://bit.ly/UME-S1E16
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►How could this possibly happen - Crusaders attacking a major Christian city?
►Why did Crusaders detour to Constantinople?
►Why did the Pope excommunicate the Cruaders?
►Was Constantinople the only Christian city sacked by Crusaders?
►What happened after the sack of Constantinople?
►What were European memories and later perceptions of this terrible event?
►Was there shame among Europeans?
►How was the sack of Constantinople justified in later decades and centuries?
►Why haven't Greeks forgotten and forgiven the sack of Constantinople?
►What did the Greeks tell the Pope about the Fourth Crusade when he visited Greece?
🚩About my guest:
My guest for this episode is Dr. Thomas Madden of Saint Louis University. He is a professor of Medieval History, the Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Director of the Crusades Studies Forum and the former Chair of the Department of History.
His primary academic research interest is the history and culture of the Mediterranean world, and the bulk of his scholarly publications have focused on the crusading movement, the interaction between the cultures of Latin Christendom, the Byzantine Empire, and the Muslim Middle East.
He has authored many books, including the following we discuss in this two-part episode:
The Concise History of the Crusades, and
The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople
🚩"Why Did Europe Conquer the World":
Listen to Dr. Philip T. Hoffman, a professor of Business Economics at Caltech, as he explains in this two-part episode the history of how the Middle East fell behind Europe:
https://bit.ly/UME-S1E1
https://bit.ly/UME-S1E2
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, Unravelling the Middle East
Host, History Behind News Podcast
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
►Were the Crusades the Christian equivalent of Islamic jihad?
►Could the Crusades be explained as the battle of civilizations?
►What motivated Europeans to make the journey to the Middle East for war?
►Who were the Europeans that joined the Crusades? Were they rich? Poor? Middle class?
►What is the relationship between the medieval Crusades and the problems of the modern Middle East?
►Did Middle Easterners benefit from the Crusades – from contact with the Europeans?
►What did Middle Easterners think of the Crusades as they were happening?
►How did the First Crusade succeed?
►How was the geopolitical state of the Middle East when Europeans arrived in the First Crusade?
🚩About my guest:
My guest for this episode is Dr. Thomas Madden of Saint Louis University. He is a professor of Medieval History, the Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, the Director of the Crusades Studies Forum and the former Chair of the Department of History.
His primary academic research interest is the history and culture of the Mediterranean world, and the bulk of his scholarly publications have focused on the crusading movement, the interaction between the cultures of Latin Christendom, the Byzantine Empire, and the Muslim Middle East.
He has authored many books, including the following we discuss in this two-part episode:
The Concise History of the Crusades, and
The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople
🚩"Why Did Europe Conquer the World":
Listen to Dr. Philip T. Hoffman, a professor of Business Economics at Caltech, as he explains in this two-part episode the history of how the Middle East fell behind Europe:
https://bit.ly/UME-S1E1
https://bit.ly/UME-S1E2
📽️Subscribe to our YouTube channel
🖱️Support Our Program:
We appreciate your financial support of our program, for any amount you like. And thank you.
Adel Aali
Host, History Behind News
🎶Music attributions:
1. Opening and closing music of the program:
Santur: Peyman Heydarian playing on the Santur some Iranian music. Recorded with a Sony PCM-D50 at the School of Oriental and African Studies of London on April 7th 2011.
Music available on at https://freesound.org/people/xserra/sounds/125654/
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0 DEED)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
This music has been cut in shorter pieces and its volume has been adjusted in different portions of our program.
2. Background music to guest introduction:
The Desert | The Grand Score
https://www.free-stock-music.com/alexander-nakarada-the-desert.html
The Desert | The Grand Score by Alexander Nakarada (CreatorChords) | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons / Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
3. Background music to promoting History Behind News episodes:
The Success by Keys of Moon | https://soundcloud.com/keysofmoon. Music
promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
The volume and lengths of this piece have been modified.
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