Counter/Argument: A Middle East Podcast is produced by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University. Through conversations with scholars and practitioners encompassing a variety of disciplines and perspectives, each episode will debunk key misconceptions about the contemporary Middle East. Counter/Argument is committed to a balanced and dispassionate approach to the region and to making scholarship more widely accessible.
The Crown Center would like to thank Daniel Neep, Maya Walborsky, and Vikas Bhalla for their help in developing this podcast.
Editorial team: Naghmeh Sohrabi, Karen Spira, Ramyar D. Rossoukh
Producer: Karen Spira
Audio engineer: Levon Henry
Podcast art: Chae Lee
Theme music: "Sleeky" by ComaStudio, Pixabay
Follow the Crown Center on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube!
https://www.brandeis.edu/crown
https://www.instagram.com/crowncentermiddleeast
https://twitter.com/CrownCenterMES
https://www.facebook.com/CrownCenterforMiddleEastStudies
https://www.linkedin.com/company/26545448
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC25hQ8yRiRifSb8d_YHCo-Q
The opinions and findings expressed in this podcast belong to the speakers exclusively and do not reflect those of the Crown Center or Brandeis University....
Jillian Schwedler: 0:00
I started working on Jordan because I was interested in Islamic political parties, or Islamic groups forming political parties and running for elections for the first time, and this was in the early nineties. There were only a handful of scholars that really studied it closely. People made fun of it as the Hashemite Kingdom of Boredom, and nothing ever happened there, and it just wasn't the case.
Naghmeh Sohrabi: 0:21
This podcast is about the M word. No, not the Middle East, though it certainly is about that important region also, but misconceptions. In today's information landscape, figuring out what is going on in the Middle East in a balanced and dispassionate way has become more and more difficult. Counter/Argument, a new podcast produced by the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University, will debunk key misconceptions about the contemporary Middle East by talking to scholars and practitioners from a wide range of perspectives. Counter/Argument will inform you.
Golnar Nikpour: 0:59
A large number of detainees in Iran, and one of the reasons our numbers are imperfect is we also don't have a totally clear understanding virtually in any prison system how many detainees simply haven't met bail, and so they're simply awaiting trial. So there are numbers of people who are even on sometimes very low bail amounts, you know, is that a political prisoner? Somebody who is simply too poor to pay bail.
Naghmeh Sohrabi: 1:23
Counter/Argument will surprise you.
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi: 1:26
And so one thing that surprises me constantly is how versatile and how creative women artists are from the region. Whereas male artists, most of them did paint, some print, and sculpture. Women went into using henna. Women went into using sand. Women started working on burlap. Women started doing tapestry. Women started doing glassworks. Women started doing ceramic. They were literally cooking the artworks.
Naghmeh Sohrabi: 1:56
And Counter/Argument will give you new perspectives on some of the most crucial issues of our times.
Ekin Kurtic: 2:02
Claims of being the single and the most important environmentalist in the country has been the claim of Erdogan's regime since its early days, actually, since early 2000s. President Erdogan, in many public events and declarations, have presented himself and his government as an environmentalist government.
Naghmeh Sohrabi: 2:24
Don't miss our first episode with Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah, on art, activism, and how women have linked these two in the Middle East. Look for this episode of Counter/Argument on Tuesday, February 7th, on Spotify, Apple, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.