Turkey Book Talk

George Junne discusses “The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Court of the Sultan" (IB Tauris), exploring the key role that eunuchs played in the Ottoman state and the broader question of slavery in the empire. Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation, small or large, via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Özge Samancı talks about her bestselling graphic memoir “Dare to Disappoint: Growing up in Turkey” (Farrar Straux Giroux). Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation, small or large, via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Ali Yaycıoğlu joins to discuss "Partners of the Empire: The Crisis of the Ottoman Order in the Age of Revolutions" (Stanford University Press), examining the extraordinary upheavals in the Ottoman Empire at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. In the conversation he talks about the long-term effects of the upheavals and what the period can tell us about contemporary Turkey’s turbulent political landscape.  Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation, small or large, via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Michael Wuthrich chats about "National Elections in Turkey: People, Politics and the Party System" (Syracuse University Press), a rich and provocative book that overhauls much conventional wisdom about Turkish politics shared by right and left. Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donationsmall or large via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan,Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Ece Temelkuran joins the pod to discuss her new book “Turkey: The Insane and the Melancholy” (Zed Books), a vivid and personal account of the current state of the country.  Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation small or large via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Bilge Yeşil speaks about her book “Media in New Turkey: The Origins of an Authoritarian Neoliberal State” (University of Illinois Press), tracing problems in the Turkish media back to the 1980s.  Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation small or large via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant, Andrew Cruickshank and Aaron Ataman.

Cem Emrence on his book “Remapping the Ottoman Middle East: Modernity, Imperial Bureaucracy and Islam” (IB Tauris). The book looks at Ottoman modernization through the 19th and early 20th centuries using an original “three-trajectory” model: The coast, the interior, and the frontier. If you like Turkey Book Talk and want to support independent podcasting, you can make a small or large monetary donation to the show via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant and Andrew Cruickshank.

Maureen Freely joins to discuss the tragic life of author Sabahattin Ali and her translation of his classic 1943 novel “Madonna in a Fur Coat,” just published in a first ever English edition by Penguin. Support the Turkey Book Talk podcast by making a donation small or large via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant and Andrew Cruickshank.

Umut Uzer of Istanbul Technical University joins to discuss his new book "An Intellectual History of Turkish Nationalism: Between Turkish Ethnicity and Islamic Identity” (Utah University Press). The book explores just how potent nationalism remains in Turkey, where for a century it has run through political traditions across the spectrum. Support the podcast by making a donation small or large via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant and Andrew Cruickshank.

Brookings Institution senior fellow Shadi Hamid joins the pod to discuss his new book 'Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World' (St Martins), which argues that current troubles in the Middle East are tied to unresolved questions of how Islam relates to the state. You can support the podcast with a per episode donation via Patreon. Many thanks to current supporters Özlem Beyarslan, Steve Bryant and Andrew Cruickshank.