Who are the Jews from Arab countries? What were relations with Muslims like? What made Jews leave countries where they had been settled for thousands of years? And what lessons can we learn from the mass exodus of minorities from the Middle East?
This neglected piece of history, as ancient as the Bible, and as modern as today’s news, is urgently relevant tod ... Show More
Jul 15
Massoud Amin, "Both Your Houses: Iran, America, and the Wages of Unchecked Power" (Wisdom Editions, 2026)
In Both Your Houses: Iran, America, and the Wages of Unchecked Power (Wisdom Editions, 2026), Massoud Amin confronts the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States, and the civilians caught beneath it. Writing from a dual vantage as an Iranian-born American trained to see ... Show More
1h 12m
Jul 14
Thomas Smith, "The Fifth Crusade: A History of the Epic Campaign to Conquer Egypt" (Yale UP, 2026)
In 1217, the crusader states were in a highly fragile condition. The Fourth Crusade had failed, and Jerusalem had not been recovered. The crusaders now set their sights on Egypt. If the breadbasket of the Mediterranean could be conquered, long-term Christian control of the Holy L ... Show More
58m 36s
Jul 12
Sara Farhan, "Medical Education and the Making of Iraqi Doctors, 1869–1959" (Edinburgh UP, 2025)
Medical Education and the Making of Iraqi Doctors, 1869–1959 (Edinburgh University Press, 2025) by Dr. Sara Farhan offers a rigorous social and cultural history of the formation of medical professionals in modern Iraq and their role in shaping public health institutions. Tracing ... Show More
49m 47s
Nov 2024
Phillip Lieberman, "The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Near East: Tracing the Demographic Shift from East to West" (Cambridge UP, 2022)
In The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Near East: Tracing the Demographic Shift from East to West (Cambridge UP, 2022), Phillip Lieberman revisits one of the foundational narratives of medieval Jewish history--that the rise of Islam led the Jews of Babylonia, the largest Je ... Show More
1h 25m
Jun 2015
The Six Day War: A Jewish view
In June 1967, the Six Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbours led to mobs attacking Jewish property and houses in several Arab capitals, and many Jews fleeing what had been their homes for generations. In the second of two programmes about the effects of the Six Day War, W ... Show More
9m 11s
Mar 2024
From Russia to Texas: the search for a Jewish homeland
At the turn of the 20th century, millions of European Jews were seeking an escape from antisemitic persecution. While many dreamed of Palestine, a few thousand made their way, instead, to Galveston in Texas. In conversation with Rob Attar, the author Rachel Cockerell tells the st ... Show More
38m 52s
Jul 2025
Israel’s Attack on Iran: How it Impacted Palestinians
This episode uncovers a harsh and overlooked reality: Israel’s unequal protection and systemic discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, which was particularly evident during Israel and Iran’s 12-day war, provoked by an Israeli attack on Iran. For nearly two weeks, m ... Show More
24m 13s