The POMEPS Conversations video series has always been one of my favorite POMEPS activities. We launched the series in September 2012 with a long conversation with Columbia University’s Timothy Mitchell about his then new book, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil.
By the third episode, a conversation with Gregory Gause, we had settled into a distinctive format. In each episode, I would talk with a visiting scholar for no more than 15 minutes about anything from a new book, recent research, issues in the headlines, or their career. We recorded 48 episodes in all, ending in May 2015 with a conversation with Temple University’s Sarah Bush about her book Taming Democracy Assistance. This fall we stopped recording conversations because of my research sabbatical.
I am therefore delighted to announce the return of the POMEPS Conversation series as an audio podcast. I will continue to talk with a wide range of political scientists about their research and about current events. I will also talk with the occasional non-political scientist when it seems appropriate. The audio format gives us more flexibility in recording the conversations, especially as POMEPS ventures outside of GW, and will spare viewers my radio-friendly visage. We hope to post a new conversation each week, so be sure to stay tuned for more podcasts.
The first episode in the new POMEPS Conversations series features a familiar voice: my George Washington University colleague Nathan Brown. Currently the director of GW’s Institute for Middle East Studies, Brown recently concluded a term as the president of the Middle East Studies Association. He is also a member of the POMEPS Advisory Board and my colleague at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Middle East Program. Brown has been an exceptionally prolific and thoughtful analyst of Egypt and the Arab world and his newest book is When Victory is Not an Option: Islamist Movements in Arab Politics (Cornell University Press). He contributes frequently to the Monkey Cage, including most recently “Why Egypt’s new Parliament will be born broken” (October 13, 2015) and “Who is running the Egyptian state?” (July 31, 2015).
Listen to my conversation with Nathan Brown about Egyptian politics today— you can stream below or download here.
— Marc Lynch