Frequent Worldly guest cohost Jen Kirby talks Turkey with NBA player and activist Enes Kanter. Kanter was born in Switzerland to Turkish parents and raised in Turkey, but his criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ongoing human rights crackdown has made Kanter persona non grata in that country. They discuss how President Joe Biden has handled Turkey so far; the troubling kidnapping of a Turkish-Kyrgyz schoolteacher, part of Erdogan’s campaign of renditions against perceived political enemies; the personal consequences of Kanter's activism; and why he’s excited to become an American citizen soon.

References:

A recap of President Erdoğan’s political purge

Enes Kanter’s op-ed in the Spectator World urged Joe Biden to get tough on Erdoğan

A brief overview of the Biden-Erdoğan meeting

Erdoğan claims the US and Turkey have opened a “new era” in relations

Kanter condemns Turkey’s kidnapping campaign in the Washington Post

Turkey kidnapped Orhan Inandi — and now Erdoğan is bragging about it

The New York Times on Erdoğan’s troubling record of kidnappings

Who is Fethullah Gülen?

And for more on Kanter, read Vox’s 2019 profile

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Jen Kirby (@j_kirby1), foreign and national security reporter, Vox

Consider contributing to Vox:

If you value Worldly’s work, please consider making a contribution to Vox:

bit.ly/givepodcasts

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Today, Explained, Vox’s daily podcast to help you understand the news, hosted by Sean Rameswaram.

About Vox:

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow us:

Vox.com

Newsletter: Vox Sentences

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices