The East is a Podcast

Turkey has for decades been one of the most important allies of the Western powers. The rise of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan--a charismatic nationalist and polarizing figure who survived a coup attempt in July 2016--has stirred up consternation among the establishment about his loyalty to the geopolitical status quo.   This episode revisits the Western media's love affair with a Turkish strongman who didn't offend the fickle tastes of the Anglo-American foreign policy elite. In 1958, CBS produced a made-for-TV documentary "The Incredible Turk" about Mustafa Kemal Ataturk--  narrated by none other than Walter Cronkite. I have included the entire documentary (lightly edited for time) and a short preamble from contemporary commentators who long for the return of our man in Ankara.   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)

In April 1964, Malcolm X traveled to Saudi Arabia to complete the Hajj. Upon his return, he gave a press conference and explained what lessons his experiences abroad had taught him about the problems facing African-Americans.    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)

Recorded at the University of Colorado, Boulder on October 12, 1998, Eqbal Ahmad speaks about the dangers and dishonesty of the rhetoric  of terrorism. For more on Ahmad's remarkable life: https://www.hampshire.edu/critical-social-inquiry/biography-of-eqbal-ahmad 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)

Edward Said on his close and intimate relationship with revolutionary political scientist and activist Eqbal Ahmad. 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)

Emran Feroz is an Austro-Afghan journalist and author based in Stuttgart.  He is the author "Tod per Knopfdruck" [Death at the Push of a Button] published by Westend in Oct 2017.  His work has appeared with The New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Atlantic, The Hindu, Alternet and several other media outlets. He is also a regular contributor to German-language newspapers and magazines. https://twitter.com/Emran_Feroz   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)

  Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford.      https://twitter.com/EskandarSadeghi/ 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)