The East is a Podcast

William Blum was one of the most critical voices in the US media sphere. After leaving behind a lucrative career with the State Dept in 1967, he began writing about the disastrous consequences of US foreign policy.  Here is a short conversation with radio host David Swanson from a few years ago, preceded by a short intro. Blum speaks about his career, his frustrations with the corporate media, and the Obama administration.   created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist) eastisapodcast@gmail.com https://twitter.com/east_podcast

Nikkie Hessel is Associate Professor School of English, Film, Theatre and Media Studies at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Her most recent book is Romantic Literature and the Colonised World: Lessons from Indigenous Translations (Palgrave, 2018).   created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist) eastisapodcast@gmail.com https://twitter.com/east_podcast

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's reign was profoundly connected to the Western news media. The mainstream press played an active role in the ousting of his rival Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953, and spent the next two decades lavishing him with the kind of praise that only paid off toadies could provide.  But the relationship soured in the 1970s. As the pressures on his regime increased internally, Western journalists were beginning to do their jobs. Foolishly, the last monarch of Iran let his narcissism get the best of him and chose to accept interview after interview, allowing himself to be pestered with questions about torture, beatings, and the opposition to his authoritarian rule.   I've collected a bunch of interviews from mostly his later years, preceded by a brief introduction on the imperialist birthday party he threw for himself in 1971.   created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist) eastisapodcast@gmail.com https://twitter.com/east_podcast

Isa Blumi is Associate Professor in the Department of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies at Stockholm University. He holds a PhD in History and Middle Eastern/Islamic Studies from New York University and a Master of  Political Science and Historical Studies from The New School for Social Research, New York. Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)      

A interview with legendary English journalist Robert Fisk from 2015 produced by Vancouver's Redeye Collective. The talk was titled: "Goodbye, Mr Sykes! Adieu, Monsieur Picot!" How the ISIS ‘caliphate’ frightens the Middle East – and us." For more on Redeye, please consult their archive here.  Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)

This is the story of the now largely forgotten “dark night” of October 17, 1961, "the bloodiest act of state repression of street protest in Western Europe in modern history". Adapted from Sina Rahmani, "It's when there's more than one that there are problems"   For more on Yasmina Adi's film, click here ***Trigger Warning: realistic sounds of violence are included between minute 5-8.***   Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)  

While they may not be household names, Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington can justifiably count themselves among the most influential academics of the last few decades. As the Cold War was winding down, the two men helped manufacture one of the biggest intellectual frauds in recent memory: "The Clash of Civilizations."  These two men, with the help of countless media appearances and glowing write ups, peddled the dumb but marketable idea that "Christendom" and "Islam," two entirely fictional entities woven solely out of words, were on track for a final showdown.  Edward Said, who speaks here in selections from two different lectures I've edited lightly, was one of the brave few who took on this hoax and exposed it for what it was.  Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)

Sara Salem is Assistant Professor in Sociology at the London School of Economics. Sara's research interests include political sociology, postcolonial studies, Marxist theory, feminist theory, and global histories of empire and imperialism.   Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)  

Manu Samriti Chander is Associate Professor of English at Rutgers University-Newark. He holds an MFA from the University of Michigan and a PhD from Brown University. His first monograph, Brown Romantics: Poetry and Nationalism in the Global Nineteenth Century (Bucknell, 2017), examined the appropriation of British Romantic tropes by colonial poets throughout the nineteenth century.    Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)

An interview with Gayatri Spivak fom the archives of Alternative Views, the legendary public access TV show based in Austin created and hosted by Douglas Kellner and Frank Morrow. In the episode, the hosts ask Spivak about her experiences teaching in the KSA. Interview begins around 5:00.   Please send all comments and suggestions  to  eastisapodcast@gmail.com or reach us through Twitter https://twitter.com/east_podcast Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)