Turkey Book Talk

Şeyda Çetin and Ebru Esra Satıcı discuss the Meşher gallery's exhibition on Ukrainian painter Alexis Gritchenko's Istanbul years from 1919 to 1921. Gritchenko produced over 600 works in the occupied city, to which thousands of White Russians fled after the First World War and the Russian Revolution.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Ayfer Karakaya-Stump, associate professor of history at The College of William and Mary, on “The Kizilbash Alevis in Ottoman Anatolia: Sufism, Politics and Community” (Edinburgh University Press). The book traces the origins of today's Alevis as a unified religious group back to the 15^th and 16^th centuries.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Ryan Gingeras on “Eternal Dawn: Turkey in the Age of Atatürk” (Oxford University Press) on the late Ottoman and early republican period, examining the paradoxes behind the rise and consecration of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk from the First World War, through the Turkish war of independence, and to his death in 1938.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Omar Kadkoy, policy analyst at the TEPAV think tank, on the over 3.5 million Syrian migrants and refugees in Turkey, the Ankara-EU migrant deal, shifting public opinion, and the legal future of Syrians in the country.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Onur İşçi on “Turkey and the Soviet Union during World War II” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book counter-intuitively argues that the breakdown in Turkey-Soviet relations in the Second World War and at the start of the Cold War was an anomaly in a 20th century in which Turkey and Russia in fact cooperated widely.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Ayşe Zarakol on “After Defeat: How the East Learned to Live with the West” (Cambridge University Press). The book examines how a sense of “stigma” has dogged the way modern Turkey engages with the Western-led international order, as well as comparable cases of Japan and Russia.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Erkan Saka on “Social Media and Politics in Turkey: A Journey Through Citizen Journalism, Political Trolling and Fake News” (Lexington). The book looks at the transformation of social media use in Turkey over the years, as well as the government crackdown on social media platforms and users.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Ayhan Kaya of Istanbul Bilgi University on “Turkish Origin Migrants and Their Descendants” (Palgrave Macmillan). The book examines migration from Turkey to Europe since the 1960s, arguing that home and host countries have increasingly defined migrants within rigid, religiously-defined boundaries, with ambivalent results.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, a 35% discount on over 100 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Mike Giglio, staff writer at The Atlantic, on "Shatter the Nations: ISIS and the War for the Caliphate" (Public Affairs). The book describes Giglio's years reporting on the rise and fall of ISIS from Turkey, Syria and Iraq, including time embedded on the front line with Iraqi special forces and the Syrian Kurdish YPG.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Bilge Yabancı on her paper “Work for the Nation, Obey the State, Praise the Ummah: Turkey’s Government-oriented Youth Organizations in Cultivating a New Nation”. The paper explores the relationship between the ruling AKP and youth groups that share its goal of shepherding Turkey down a religious, nationalist, conservative course.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Caner Yelbaşı on “The Circassians in Turkey: War, Violence and Nationalism from the Ottomans to Atatürk” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). The book describes the course of Circassians in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey after they were driven from their north Caucasus homeland by the Russian Empire in the 19th century.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Jonathan Rugman, foreign correspondent at Channel 4 News, on “The Killing in the Consulate: Investigating the Life and Death of Jamal Khashoggi” (Simon & Schuster). The book examines the gruesome killing of Saudi journalist Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul Consulate, as well as Khashoggi's complex professional and personal life.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Zeynep Şentek on the environment, public health and politics in Dilovası, a heavily polluted industrial district near Istanbul. Şentek is among the reporters of a recent Black Sea.EU article on a "public health disaster zone" where dangerous chemicals are belched into the air, cancer rates are reportedly above average, and locals suffer from severe respiratory conditions.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Soner Çağaptay of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy on how Turkey's military incursion into northeast Syria fits into President Erdoğan's broader policies in the Middle East. Çağaptay is author most recently of “Erdogan's Empire: Turkey and the Politics of the Middle East” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). 

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history books published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Holly Shissler, associate professor of Ottoman and Modern Turkish History at the University of Chicago, on the life and work of Ahmet Mithat Efendi (1844-1912). The publisher of major newspaper Tercuman-i Hakikat, Ahmet Mithat also wrote many fictional works including Felatun Bey and Rakim Efendi, which appeared in English in 2016.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Deniz Çifçi on “The Kurds and the Politics of Turkey: Agency, Territory and Religion” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury). Based on extensive on-the-ground research, the book describes the diversity of interest and opinion among Kurds in Turkey. While the Kurds are often seen as a homogeneous group with unified demands, Çifçi paints a more nuanced picture.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Nur Deriş on the life of Sabiha Sertel (1895-1968). Deriş is co-editor of “The Struggle for Modern Turkey: Justice, Activism and a Revolutionary Female Journalist” (IB Tauris/Bloomsbury), the first appearance in English of Sertel's autobiography. The book is a fascinating window into an era covering the war of independence and the single-party period until 1950.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Emre Erşen, associate professor of international relations at Marmara University and co-editor of “Turkey's Pivot to Eurasia: Geopolitics and Foreign Policy in a Changing World Order” (Routledge), discusses the past, present and future of Ankara's relations with Russia and China.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Hannah Lucinda Smith on her new book “Erdoğan Rising: The Battle for the Soul of Turkey” (William Collins). Smith has been Turkey correspondent for The Times of London since 2013 and her book is a part-biography of President Erdoğan, part-journalistic account of contemporary Turkish history.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.

Mehmet Fatih Uslu of Istanbul Şehir University on the pleasures and challenges of translating from Armenian into Turkish. Uslu has translated a number of significant texts, including by the great early 20th century Istanbul Armenian feminist Zabel Yesayan and the 19th century playwright Hagop Baronyan.

Become a Turkey Book Talk member to support the podcast and get English and Turkish transcripts of every interview, transcripts of the archive, access to a 35% discount on over 400 Turkey/Ottoman history titles published by IB Tauris, and an archive of over 200 reviews covering Turkish and international fiction, history, journalism and politics.