Conversations with journalists, academics and writers on Turkey and its region. New episode every two weeks.
Episodes
Tuesday Oct 02, 2018
Tuesday Oct 02, 2018
Sinan Yıldırmaz of Istanbul University on "Politics and the Peasantry in Post-War Turkey" (IB Tauris), examining the transition to a multi-party system after the Second World War and the importance of urban migration in shaping politics up to today.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Sep 18, 2018
Tuesday Sep 18, 2018
Nazlı Alimen on her book "Faith and Fashion in Turkey: Consumption, Politics and Islamic Identity" (IB Tauris).
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Tuesday Sep 04, 2018
Ahmet Erdi Öztürk of Strasbourg University on the past, present and future of the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet). Öztürk is author of the paper “Turkey’s Diyanet under AKP rule: From protector to imposer of state ideology?” and co-author of “The Diyanet as a Turkish foreign policy tool.”
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Aug 21, 2018
Tuesday Aug 21, 2018
Halil Karaveli on “Why Turkey is Authoritarian: From Atatürk to Erdoğan” (Pluto Press). Against the idea that the secularism-Islam divide is the fundamental driver of Turkey’s modern history, Karaveli argues that protecting dominant class interests lies behind authoritarianism in its civilian and military guises.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
Tuesday Aug 07, 2018
Dimitar Bechev of the Atlantic Council on the past and present of Turkey-Russia relations, which he describes as "rich in history, ambivalent and rich in nuance, blending fierce competition with cooperation."
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Jul 24, 2018
Tuesday Jul 24, 2018
Amy Spangler on the life and work of Sevgi Soysal, whose classic 1973 novel "Noontime in Yenişehir" she translated into English. She also discusses co-founding the literary agency AnatoliaLit and her work on "Seher," a collection of stories penned in jail by former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Jul 10, 2018
Tuesday Jul 10, 2018
Michael Provence of UC San Diego on "The Last Ottoman Generation and the Making of the Modern Middle East" (Cambridge University Press). The book examines both continuities and ruptures in the years during and after the First World War, when the fall of the Ottoman Empire led to seismic shocks across the Middle East.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Jun 26, 2018
Tuesday Jun 26, 2018
Jonathan Varjabedian on “My Dear Son Garabed: Kojaian Family Letters from Efkere/Kayseri to America (1912-1919)” (Histor Press), a remarkable collection of letters sent from the Anatolian village of Efkere between 1912 and 1919. They were sent to Garabed Kojaian and his father Harutian, among the many Ottoman Armenians migrating to America in the early 20th century.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Jun 12, 2018
Tuesday Jun 12, 2018
Cengiz Erişen of Istanbul's Yeditepe University on "Political Behavior and the Emotional Citizen: Participation and Reaction in Turkey" (Palgrave Macmillan), focusing on the months between the June 2015 and November 2015 elections as well as the current campaign for the snap presidential and parliamentary elections.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday May 29, 2018
Tuesday May 29, 2018
Erin Banco on "Pipe Dreams: The Plundering of Iraq's Oil Wealth" (Columbia Global Reports), uncovering squalid deals, unscrupulous foreign oil companies, and rampant corruption in the Kurdistan Regional Government since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It also touches on Turkey's role in fostering Erbil's independence from Baghdad through oil deals.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday May 15, 2018
Tuesday May 15, 2018
John McManus, fellow at the British Institute at Ankara, on "Welcome to Hell? In Search of the Real Turkish Football" (W&N), a colourful exploration of what the beautiful game can tell us about a football-mad society and Turkey’s modern history.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday May 01, 2018
Tuesday May 01, 2018
Volkan Yılmaz, assistant professor of social policy at Istanbul’s Boğaziçi University, on “The Politics of Healthcare Reform in Turkey” (Palgrave Macmillan).
The book examines reforms in the country’s healthcare system under the AKP since 2003: What changed? What improved? What got worse? Who gained? Who lost?
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive, and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Apr 17, 2018
Tuesday Apr 17, 2018
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, journalist and fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, on the ECFR's recent report: "The Discreet Charm of Hypocrisy: An EU-Turkey Power Audit."
Based on interviews with top officials on all sides, the report examines bitter relations between Brussels and Ankara. It recommends finding a new model beyond the hypocritical and stalled accession process.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Apr 03, 2018
Tuesday Apr 03, 2018
Diana Darke on “The Merchant of Syria: A History of Survival” (Hurst). The book traces the life of Abu Chaker, a textile merchant from Homs who lived from 1921 to 2013, in parallel with the story of the modern history of Syria - examining the social, cultural and political context that shaped him. It also touches on the emergence of the ongoing war, which Darke herself witnessed as she was living in a historical courtyard house in Damascus’ old town until a few years ago.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Mar 20, 2018
Tuesday Mar 20, 2018
Max Hoffman of the Center for American Progress on the major recent study “Is Turkey Experiencing a New Nationalism?” based on focus groups and polling with the Metropoll research company.
The report finds that Turkey remains a deeply nationalist, conservative country, where the national mood is prickly, defensive and conspiratorial. But it also contains some perhaps surprising details about attitudes to President Erdoğan, levels of religiosity in young people, and the political opinions of Turkish women.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Mar 06, 2018
Tuesday Mar 06, 2018
Ceren Baysan of UC Berkeley on her paper "Can More Information Lead to More Voter Polarization? Experimental Evidence from Turkey." The study was based on voter surveys in the months before the April 2017 referendum on granting President Erdoğan more powers and also measured Turkish parties' own polling operations.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Feb 20, 2018
Tuesday Feb 20, 2018
Mehmet Kentel on the life and work of Yusuf Franko, an obscure Ottoman bureaucrat who lived a remarkable double life as a caricaturist depicting Istanbul's cosmopolitan late 19th century high society. Kentel is a PhD Candidate in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Washington, and was adviser to the exhibition “The Characters of Yusuf Franko: An Ottoman Bureaucrat’s Caricatures” at the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast, getting full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview upon publication, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Tuesday Feb 06, 2018
Tuesday Feb 06, 2018
Karabekir Akkoyunlu, research associate at the University of Graz, on "Exit from Democracy: Illiberal Governance in Turkey and Beyond" (Routledge), a collection of 10 essays he co-edited with Professor Kerem Öktem.
Become a Turkey Book Talk member to help develop the podcast and get full transcripts (in English and Turkish) of every interview when it is published, transcripts of the entire Turkey Book Talk archive (in English), and access to an exclusive 30% discount on over 200 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris.
Friday Jan 19, 2018
Friday Jan 19, 2018
Professor Edhem Eldem on "A Transnational History of the Attempt on Abdülhamid II" (Palgrave Macmillan), co-edited with Houssine Alloul and Henk de Smaele. The book explores a deadly assassination attempt targeting the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul in 1905, and appears at a time when Abdülhamid II is the subject of a growing popular obsession among religious conservatives in Turkey.
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Friday Jan 05, 2018
Friday Jan 05, 2018
Arbil-based journalist Cathy Otten discusses "With Ash on their Faces: Yezidi Women and the Islamic State" (OR Books), a deeply reported account of the suffering of the Yezidi religious minority over the border in Iraq.
Support Turkey Book Talk by making a donation via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Celia Jocelyn Kerslake, Michelle Zimmer, Jan-Markus Vömel, Steve Bryant, Aaron Ataman, Max Hoffman, Andrew MacDowall, Paul Levin, Ayla Jean Yackley and Tan Tunalı.