Over 4000 free audio and video lectures, seminars and teaching resources from Oxford University.
Skip to Content Skip to Navigation

Middle East Centre Booktalk

Welcome to Middle East Centre Booktalk – the Oxford podcast on new books about the Middle East. These are some of the books written by members of our community, or the books our community are talking about. Tune in to follow author interviews and book chat. Every episode features a different, recently published book and is hosted by a different Oxford academic.

# Episode Title Description People Date
28 Writing Middle Eastern Lives: Biography in Modern Arab History Sonja Mejcher-Atassi, author of ‘An Impossible Friendship’, Marilyn Booth, author of ‘The Career and Communities of Zaynab Fawwaz’, and Peter Hill, author of ‘Prophet of Reason’, discuss the writing of biography in modern Middle Eastern history. Sonja Mejcher-Atassi, Marilyn Booth, Peter Hill, Eugene Rogan 29 Nov 2024
27 The Abraham Accords: The Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization In this talk, Dr Elham Fakhro, a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School, launches her new book ‘The Abraham Accords: The Gulf States, Israel, and the Limits of Normalization’ Elham Fakhro, Pascal Menoret 29 Nov 2024
26 God’s Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani In this talk, Iraqi political analyst, Sajad Jiyad, discusses his new book ‘God’s Man in Iraq: The Life and Leadership of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’. Sajad Jiyad, Raihan Ismail 29 Nov 2024
25 Tahrir, Gaza, and beyond: revolution, liberation, and praxis Researcher and writer, Rusha Latif, gives a talk based on her new book ‘Tahrir’s Youth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution’ Rusha Latif, Walter Armbrust 31 Oct 2024
24 The challenges of writing Middle East history after 7 October: from Gaza to the climate crisis Dr Ibrahim Al-Marashi reflects on the process of researching and writing the latest edition of his book, ‘A Concise History of the Middle East’. Ibrahim al-Marashi, Eugene Rogan 25 Oct 2024
23 Creative Commons The New Spirit of Islamism: Interactions between the AKP, Ennahda and the Muslim Brotherhood Journalist and scholar, Dr Ezgi Başaran, presents her book which traces the links between the AKP, Tunisia’s Ennahda, and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood after the Arab Spring. Ezgi Başaran, Michael Willis 22 Oct 2024
22 Creative Commons The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa Professor Malika Zeghal (Harvard University) presents her new book 'The Making of the Modern Muslim State: Islam and Governance in the Middle East and North Africa', an innovative analysis that traces the continuity of the state’s custodianship of Islam. Malika Zeghal 30 Jul 2024
21 The Loneliest Revolution: A Memoir of Solidarity and Struggle in Iran Ali Mirsepassi in conversation with Stephanie Cronin about his new book Ali Mirsepassi, Stephanie Cronin 06 Jun 2024
20 The Damascus Events Book Launch, Oxford Book Launch for "The Damascus Events: the 1860 Massacre and the Destruction of the Old Ottoman World" By Eugene Rogan, Published in hardback by Allen Lane, 2 May 2024. Eugene Rogan 17 May 2024
19 Creative Commons The United Nations and the Question of Palestine Professor Ardi Imseis new book explores the UN’s management of the longest-running problem on its agenda, critically assessing tensions between the Organisation’s position and international law. Ardi Imseis, Eugene Rogan 07 May 2024
18 Book Launch - Russia and the GCC 'The Case of Tatarstan's Paradiplomacy' Dr. Diana Galeeva introduces her book which examines the relations between the Gulf States and Russia from the Soviet era to the present day. Diana Galeeva, Roy Allison, Eugene Rogan 07 Sep 2023
17 Creative Commons Israel's Covert Diplomacy in the Middle East This lecture explores Israel’s secret relations with its neighbors during the years 1948-2022. Elie Podeh, Eugene Rogan 03 Aug 2023
16 Creative Commons Book Launch: Locked Out of Development: Insiders and Outsiders in Arab Capitalism Dr Hertog presents the key arguments of his new short monograph “Locked Out of Development: Insiders and Outsiders in Arab Capitalism” published by Cambridge University Press. Steffen Hertog, Neil Ketchley 23 Mar 2023
15 Creative Commons Algeria: Politics and Society from the Dark Decade to the Hirak Dr Michael Willis' new book offers an explanation of this unexpected development known as the Hirak Movement, examining the political and social changes that have occurred in Algeria since the ‘dark decade’ of the 1990s Michael Willis, Eugene Rogan 10 Feb 2023
14 Creative Commons Book Launch: Pacted Democracy in the Middle East: Tunisia and Egypt in Comparative Perspective A new theoretical framework for how democracy can emerge in the Middle East and wider Muslim world, where political conflicts over religion often predominate. Hicham Alaoui, Michael Willis 23 Dec 2022
13 Creative Commons Inside Qatar: Hidden Stories from One of the Richest Nations on Earth A talk based on John McManus’s book, Inside Qatar: hidden stories from one of the richest nations on earth. John McManus, Eugene Rogan 06 Dec 2022
12 Creative Commons In the Shade of the Sunna: Salafi Piety in the 20th-Century Middle East Aaron Rock-Singer presents their latest book "In the Shade of the Sunna: Salafi Piety in the 20th-Century Middle East". Aaron Rock-Singer, Usaama al-Azami 06 Dec 2022
11 Creative Commons All Necessary Measures? The United Nations and International Intervention in Libya Ian Martin presents his latest book on Libya: All Necessary Measures? The United Nations and International Intervention in Libya. Ian Martin 29 Nov 2022
10 Creative Commons The Making of the Modern Middle East A vivid and authoritative account of the making of the modern Middle East, from the BBC’s long-serving correspondent in the region. Jeremy Bowen, Eugene Rogan 23 Nov 2022
9 Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema Join us for Booktalk Episode 9, Professor Deborah Starr (Cornell University) in conversation about her new book, Togo Mizrahi and the Making of Egyptian Cinema, published by California Press. Deborah Starr, Walter Armbrust 21 Oct 2021
8 Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Masculinity, and Uneasy Politics Join us for Booktalk Episode 8, Dr Carl Rommel (University of Helsinki) in conversation about his new book Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, Masculinity, and Uneasy Politics, published by University of Texas Press in July 2021. Carl Rommel, Walter Armbrust 29 Sep 2021
7 Making Film in Egypt Join us as we listen to Dr Chihab El Khachab (King’s College, Cambridge) in conversation about his new book – Making Film in Egypt: How Labor, Technology, and Mediation Shape the Industry. Published by American University in Cairo Press. Chihab El Khachab 18 May 2021
6 Booktalk episode 6: Rivals in the Gulf: Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Abdullah Bin Bayyah, and the Qatar-UAE Contest Over the Arab Spring and the Gulf Crisis For our sixth episode of MEC Booktalk, guest author David Warren (Washington University in St Louis) discusses his recent book, Rivals in the Gulf, published by Routledge in January 2021. David Warren, Usaama al-Azami 12 Apr 2021
5 A Revolution in Rhyme: Poetic Co-option under the Islamic Republic Guest author Dr Fatemeh Shams (Assistant Professor of Modern Persian Literature, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania) talks with Booktalk host Dr Zuzanna Olszewska (University of Oxford). Fatemeh Shams, Zuzanna Olszewska 04 Mar 2021
4 The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought Join us for the fourth MEC Booktalk episode where Dr Usaama al-Azami talks with guest author Andrew March about his new book, The Caliphate of Man: The Invention of Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought, published by Harvard University Press, 2021 Usaama al-Azami, Andrew March 16 Feb 2021
3 Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition Join us for the third MEC Booktalk episode where Dr Usaama al-Azami talks with guest author Ahmed El Shamsy about his new book, Rediscovering the Islamic Classics: How Editors and Print Culture Transformed an Intellectual Tradition. Ahmed El Shamsy, Usaama al-Azami 07 Feb 2021
2 The Idols of ISIS: From Assyria to the Internet Episode 2, with Dr Faisal Devji, (St Antony’s College, Oxford), talks with Joshua Craze (University of Chicago) and writer Aaron Tugendhaft about Aaron's new book The Idols of ISIS: From Assyria to the Internet, University of Chicago Press 2020. Faisal Devji, Joshua Craze, Aaron Tugendhaft 18 Jan 2021
1 Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads First episode of Booktalk, where host Professor Eugene Rogan (St Antony's College, Oxford) talks with David Rundell on his book Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads, Bloomsbury Publication (2020. Eugene Rogan, David Rundell 18 Jan 2021