Note: This is a visual-heavy episode. You can watch the lecture here. The Arab Spring began in December 2010 when Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi’s desperate protest against corruption sparked uprisings that swept across North Africa and the Middle East. Dr. Roy explores how these revolts evolved from Egypt’s mass protests to Syria’s devastating civi ... Show More
Feb 4
Activism in the US: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Activism has shaped the United States at every stage of its history, but not always in the ways we remember. In this lecture, Dr. Roy traces the evolution of American activism from labor movements and civil rights struggles to modern protest culture, examining how power actually ... Show More
2h 6m
Jan 14
Khalid ibn al-Walid: Profile of a Warrior
Khalid ibn al-Walid was one of the most formidable military commanders in history, operating at the precise moment when the Roman and Persian empires were exhausted, fragile, and unprepared for what came next. In this lecture, Dr. Roy Casagranda traces Khalid’s rise from opponent ... Show More
1h 14m
May 2024
Nasserism and the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
<p>Rudy, Andrew and Eric sit down to discuss Egypt from its origins as an independent polity under Mehmed Ali up to the Sadat years, with a focus on the Nasserist revolutionary period. We discuss the origins and aims of the 1952 coup and revolution, the relationship between commu ... Show More
1h 45m
Apr 2024
Rethinking Nasser: A New Look at One of the Arab World's Most Polarizing Figures — With Alex Rowell and Joshua Martin
<p>For Alex Rowell, the need to reassess the legacy of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser has only increased in the decades since the death of the hugely influential figure, and especially recently.</p>
<p>“If you just take a moment to look at the Arab Spring and the co ... Show More
36m 43s
Apr 2024
Ahmed M. Abozaid, "Undesired Revolution: The Arab Uprising in Egypt--A Three Level Analysis" (Brill, 2023)
Ahmed M. Abozaid’s Undesired Revolution: The Arab Uprising in Egypt--A Three Level Analysis (Brill, 2023) introduces new non-Western perspectives on the Arab Uprisings, decentering and decolonizing International Relations, and Middle Eastern Studies. Drawing on over ten years of ... Show More
1h 39m
Sep 2024
Thawra Epilogue: Decades of American Destruction
This episode takes us from the disastrous Oslo Accords through the 2000 Camp David Summit and the eruption of the Second Palestinian Intifada. Then the 9/11 attacks, the War on Terror, the US destruction of Iraq, the Arab Spring, the Syrian Civil War, and the rise of Islamic Stat ... Show More
2h 59m
Jun 2025
#550 | The Egyptian Revolution
In 2011, Egypt erupted in protest, toppling a 30-year regime.What began as a grassroots movement against an autocratic leader turned into a complex struggle for democracy and power.In this episode, we'll travel through the events that led from the hopeful dawn of revolution to th ... Show More
28m 1s
May 2024
Hala Auji et al., "The Arab Nahda as Popular Entertainment: Mass Culture and Modernity in the Middle East" (I. B. Tauris, 2023)
What was popular entertainment like for everyday Arab societies in Middle Eastern cities during the long nineteenth century? In what ways did café culture, theatre, illustrated periodicals, cinema, cabarets, and festivals serve as key forms of popular entertainment for Arabic-spe ... Show More
41m 24s