Ajam Media Collective Podcast

In this episode, Rustin is joined by Dr. Neda Maghbouleh and Dr. Narges Bajoghli to interview Dr. Amy Malek, Assistant Professor of International Studies at the College of Charleston about her latest article, [“Paradoxes of Dual Nationality: Geopolitical Constraints on Multiple Citizenship in the Iranian Diaspora.”](http://muse.jhu.edu/article/745776) Dr. Malek invites listeners to consider how, d...

In this episode Lindsey interviews Ameem Lutfi, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. The legacy of the Baloch in Indian Ocean historiography has been confined to their role as soldiers or “mercenaries” of various rulers. Dr. Lutfi’s work is interested in interrogating what it meant for the Baloch to conquer on behalf of rulers without e...

In this episode, Rustin and Ali interview Alireza Doostdar, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies and the Anthropology of Religion at the University of Chicago. He is the author of [The Iranian Metaphysicals: Explorations in Science, Islam, and the Uncanny](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691163772/the-iranian-metaphysicals), published by Princeton University Press in 2018. Dr. Do...

In this episode, Rustin interviews Golbarg Rekabtalaei, an Assistant Professor of History at Seton Hall University. She is the author of [Iranian Cosmopolitanism: A Cinematic History](https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/iranian-cosmopolitanism/729C8936B157EC6DA38BE4), published by Cambridge University Press in 2019. Dr. Rekabtalaei traces how the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrou...

In this episode, Teren Sevea, an Assistant Professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, interviews Suvir Kaul, the A. M. Rosenthal Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kaul is the the author of the book: [Of Gardens and Graves: Essays on Kashmir](https://www.english.upenn.edu/publications/2015/suvir-kaul/gardens-and-graves), published by Duke Universit...

*The Indian Ocean series explores topics related to the Islamo-Arabic and Persianate world from the perspective of the Indian Ocean littoral and the people who traversed its waters. These conversations aim to rethink narratives of history and culture, which have been traditionally boxed in by land-based territorial demarcations and regional studies frameworks. This series invites listeners to imag...

In this episode, Rustin speaks with Lindsey Stephenson, who is currently conducting postgraduate research at Princeton University, and the new host of Ajam's Indian Ocean podcast series. The Indian Ocean series explores topics related to the Islamo-Arabic and Persianate world from the perspective of the Indian Ocean littoral and the people who traversed its waters. These conversations aim to rethi...

In this episode, Rustin speaks with Mohammed Rustom, Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. He is the author of The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra (State University of New York Press, 2012). Dr. Rustom sheds light on the figure of Iblis (or Satan) in the writings of 'Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani, the 12th century Sufi mystic and jurist. While many believ...

In this episode, Rustin speaks with Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Lecturer in Comparative Political Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of [Revolution and its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran (Cambridge University Press, 2019).](https://www.cambridge.org/ge/academic/subjects/history/middle-east-history/revolution-and-its-discontents-political-thought-and-re...

In this episode, Rustin speaks with Leyli Gafarova, an independent filmmaker and the co-creator of Salaam Cinema, a community-driven independent cinema space showcasing non-commercial, locally-made, and historical films in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital. Named after Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s [1995 movie of the same name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hello_Cinema) , Baku’s Salaam Cinema is a venue for the p...

Central Asianists rejoice! In this episode, Rustin speaks with Scott Levi, Professor and Chair of History at Ohio State University. He is the author of [The Rise and Fall of Khoqand, 1709-1876: Central Asia in the Global Age (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017)](https://www.upress.pitt.edu/books/9780822965060/) Dr. Levi gives an overview of the history of the Khoqand Khanate, a dynastic polity c...

Happy Nowruz/Nawriz/Navruz/Novruz/Newroz everyone! Nowruz is an ancient festival marking the arrival of Spring, celebrated across the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus, South Asia, and the Balkans. Dating back at least 3,000 years, Nowruz is a celebration of rebirth and renewal, of the end of winter and the flowering of the Earth that warm weather brings. In the Iranian calendar, this Nowruz...

In this episode, Rustin speaks with Lior Sternfeld, Professor of History and Jewish Studies at Penn State University. Dr. Sternfeld is another alumnus from the Emerging Scholarship podcast, when he joined us for a conversation about [Polish Jewish Refugees in Iran during World War II](https://ajammc.com/2015/01/22/lior-sternfeld-polish-refugees-iran/). His new book is called [Between Iran and Zion...

In this episode, Kamyar and Rustin reunite in New York to speak with Nahid Siamdoust, Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer and the Ehsan Yarshater Fellow at Yale University. She is the author of [Soundtrack of the Revolution: the Politics of Music in Iran (Stanford University Press, 2017) ](https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=24949) Nahid gives an overview of the role of music in Iran’s social and...

In this episode, Rustin is joined by Manijeh Nasrabadi, Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Barnard College. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Neither Washington, Nor Tehran: Iranian Internationalism in the United States (Duke University Press, 2020). Manijeh speaks about her research on the Iranian Students Association, which was founded in 1952 by the Iranian Embassy a...

In this episode, Rustin is joined by Neda Maghbouleh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Toronto. She is the author of [The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race (Stanford University Press, 2017).](https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=24756) Neda is a long-time friend of Ajam and an early guest of the first iteration of the Ajam podcast back in 2014...

In this episode, Rustin is joined by Neda Maghbouleh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Toronto. She is the author of [The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race (Stanford University Press, 2017).](https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=24756) Neda is a long-time friend of Ajam and an early guest of the first iteration of the Ajam podcast back in 2014...

In this episode, Rustin is joined by Kevan Harris, Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of[ A Social Revolution: Politics and the Welfare State in Iran (University of California Press, 2017)](https://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520280823). Kevan challenges commonly-held notions about the ideological rigidity of the Islamic Republic o...

In this episode, we discuss urban development in post-Soviet Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Rustin is joined by Elena Darjania, a Tbilisi-based architect and urban planner, and Otar Nemsadze, an architect and organizer of the first [Tbilisi Architecture Biennale ](biennial.ge/). The conversation covers the transformation of the Georgian capital during the 19th and 20th centuries-- from a medieva...

While Kamyar is traveling for work, Rustin is joined by guest co-host Yan Matusevich in Tbilisi, Georgia. Yan is a Vienna-based researcher and journalist focusing on issues of migration in the post-Soviet space. He is also the host of the [ZamZaman](https://cba.fro.at/series/zamzaman) podcast, which showcases music from Eastern Europe and Eurasia at large. Yan and Rustin talk to Mariana Irby, a Ph...

In this episode, Kamyar and Rustin talk to Stefan Williamson Fa, co-founder of [Mountains of Tongues](https://www.facebook.com/mountainsoftongues/), a project documenting and promoting musical dialects in the South Caucasus. Mountains of Tongues showcases traditions that defy normal categorizations of "national" or "folk" music through the use of non-conventional instruments, multiple languages, a...

In this episode, Kamyar and Rustin parse out the different narratives circulating around the September 22 terrorist attack in Ahvaz/Ahwaz. They discuss Narges Bajoghli's recent article in Foreign Policy, ["Did a Terrorist Attack Just Save the Iranian Regime?"](http://https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/26/did-a-terrorist-attack-just-save-the-iranian-regime/). Dr Bajoghli is a friend of Ajam, and has...

Thanks to our amazing supporters of our recent crowdfund, Ajam will now be producing and releasing podcasts. We expect a wide variety of formats, but we wanted to use our first episode as a chance to update our listeners and introduce our new series. Remember to visit us at ajammc.com to learn more or contact us! Check out the article from Nir Shafir that we discussed: https://aeon.co/essays/why-f...