Foreign Exchanges: Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast

How to Invent a Renaissance, with Ada Palmer

Derek Davison — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 12:01:37 GMT

Hello Foreign Exchanges fans and welcome to another entry in our irregular podcast series! Today I’m very pleased to welcome to the show Dr. Ada Palmer, Associate Professor of Early Modern European History and the College at the University of Chicago. We’ll be discussing her latest book, Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age. Join us for a wide-ranging conversation on the Renaissance and some of its more interesting characters, but also about the formation of historical narrative and the challenge in overcoming it when new evidence complicates the picture, how our perceptions of time affect how understanding of history, and why people are so fascinated with the idea of a “Golden Age.” Enjoy!

Many thanks to Jake Aron of American Prestige for producing the show, and as always our music is Cambodian Odyssey by Kevin Macleod (CC by 3.0).

Please pick up Dr. Palmer’s book, available now in hardback, ebook, and audiobook forms, and check out her other work including her sci-fi and fantasy writing at her website! Also, if you haven’t checked out Foreign Exchanges please do that too:

Subscribe now

Thanks for listening!

The Wild World of Medieval Women, with Eleanor Janega

Derek Davison — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 12:03:31 GMT

Hello Foreign Exchanges fans and welcome to another entry in our very irregular podcast series! This time around I’m delighted to welcome to the show Dr. Eleanor Janega. Dr. Janega is a medieval historian, specializing in sexuality, propaganda, apocalypticism, urbanity, and empire in the late medieval and early modern periods. You may have heard her on one of her popular history podcasts, Gone Medieval and We’re Not So Different (check out their fantastic two part Ibn Battuta program) and her many guest appearances on other shows (like American Prestige, not once but twice), or read her blog, Going Medieval. She is also author of The Middle Ages: A Graphic History and the book we’re talking about in this interview, The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society. We’ll talk about women in medieval literature, whether women are actually inside-out men, and how babies are really made. And we’ll talk a lot about medieval men being weird about women. So very, very weird. We’ll also discuss how life for modern women has, and has not, changed. Enjoy!

Many thanks to Jake Aron of American Prestige for producing the show, and as always our music is Cambodian Odyssey by Kevin Macleod (CC by 3.0).

Please pick up Dr. Janega’s book, available now in hardcover and paperback as well as audiobook. And if you haven’t checked out Foreign Exchanges please do that too:

Subscribe now

Assyria and Its Empire, with Eckart Frahm

Derek Davison — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 14:18:59 GMT

Hello Foreign Exchanges listeners, and welcome back to our periodic podcast series! This time out it’s my privilege to welcome Eckart Frahm, Professor of Assyriology in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Yale University, to talk about his book, Assyria: The Rise and Fall of the World’s First Empire. We’ll talk about what Assyria was and the place it occupies in the tapestry of great Bronze and Iron Age Near Eastern states, as well as the challenges of studying Assyria and the role the empire plays in the Hebrew Scriptures. Enjoy!

Many thanks to Jake Aron of American Prestige for producing the show, and as always our music is Cambodian Odyssey by Kevin Macleod (CC by 3.0).

Please pick up Professor Frahm’s book, available now in hardcover and paperback as well as audiobook. And if you haven’t checked out Foreign Exchanges please do that too:

Subscribe now

Empires of the Steppes, with Kenneth Harl

Derek Davison — Mon, 18 Mar 2024 12:02:15 GMT

Hello Foreign Exchanges listeners, and welcome back to another episode in our irregular podcast series! I’m privileged to be joined this time out by Kenneth Harl, Professor Emeritus of History at Tulane University, to talk about his book, Empires of the Steppes: A History of the Nomadic Tribes Who Shaped Civilization. It is a sweeping study of nomads across Eurasia and throughout history (and pre-history), from the earliest evidence of the Yamnaya culture on the Pontic–Caspian steppe to the Xiongnu in China, the Huns in Europe, the Turks in Central Asia and the Middle East, and the Mongols…everywhere. We talk about Professor Harl’s career, how he approached such an expansive subject, and get into some of the book itself. Enjoy!

Many thanks to Jake Aron of American Prestige for producing the show, and as always our music is Cambodian Odyssey by Kevin Macleod (CC by 3.0).

Please pick up Professor Harl’s book, available in hardcover now or you can preorder the paperback. If you’re a fan of history courses you can also check out Professor Harl’s many great series for The Teaching Company. And if you haven’t checked out Foreign Exchanges please do that too:

Subscribe now

Thank you for reading Foreign Exchanges. This post is public so please share it.

"Unfreedom" in Early Islamic Society, with Elizabeth Urban

Derek Davison — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 12:01:44 GMT

Hello Foreign Exchanges listeners! I’m very pleased to be joined for another of our irregular podcast interviews by Elizabeth Urban, Associate Professor of History at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. She’s written a fantastic book, Conquered Populations in Early Islam: Non-Arabs, Slaves and the Sons of Slave Mothers that offers a window into the experiences of marginalized peoples during a period in which Islam and the society that formed around it were still taking shape. Elizabeth and I were grad school colleagues so it was great to reconnect with her for this interview, and I think we have a very interesting chat about a topic that deserves more attention. We talk about the challenge of early Islamic sources, the changing position of the mawali as Islamic society developed, and the utility of studying these groups within a broader category of “unfree peoples” rather than as discrete units. Enjoy!

Please pick up Elizabeth’s book, at Bookshop.org or wherever you prefer to shop. And if you haven’t checked out Foreign Exchanges please do that too!

The Mamluk Sultanate, with Carl F. Petry

Derek Davison — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 16:58:29 GMT

Hello everybody! After a very extended hiatus we’re back with a real, full blown Foreign Exchanges podcast (more on that at the end of the show)! I’m joined by Carl F. Petry, Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Middle East Studies and Professor of History Emeritus at Northwestern University and author of The Mamluk Sultanate: A History, a book that you can—nay, should—buy today. Professor Petry and I discuss who the Mamluks were, how they came to rule much of Egypt, Syria, and the Hejaz in the mid-13th century, and why it took until 2022 for the emergence of an accessible English language survey of their sultanate to emerge.

For reference, a map of the Mamluk domains during the reign of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad in the early 14th century (Ro4444 via Wikimedia Commons)

Don’t forget to pick up a copy of Professor Petry’s book, and if you’re not already subscribed to Foreign Exchanges please do:

Subscribe now

The Lebanese Civil War: Phase III (Part 1)

Derek Davison — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 02:40:53 GMT

The third phase of the Lebanese Civil War kicks off with another Israeli invasion, this time not limited to southern Lebanon. The IDF rolls all the way to Beirut and besieges the city before agreeing under international pressure to back down. Instead of destroying the PLO and putting a friendly government in power in Lebanon the Israelis have to settle …

The Lebanese Civil War: Phase II (1978-1981)

Derek Davison — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:18:29 GMT

Continuing our series, we move into the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War. The relationship between the Syrian-led Arab peacekeeping force and Bashir Gemayel’s Lebanese Front quickly breaks down, reshaping the map of the conflict. In southern Lebanon, a PLO terrorist attack draws Israel directly into the conflict for the first time in what’s known …

Wrapping Up COP26, with Michael Franczak

Derek Davison — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 19:27:00 GMT

I’m joined by historian Michael Franczak, Postdoctoral Fellow in Global Order at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perry World House, to recap the COP26 summit. Michael covered the first week of the conference for Foreign Exchanges, and if you missed his three dispatches please give them a read here, here, and here. We discuss the history of the international environmental movement and the US role in it, Mike’s own experiences in Glasgow, and his assessment of what took place after he left—including a final agreement so watered down that the summit’s own president, Alok Sharma, actually apologized for it. So I guess that means it was…really good?

Mike has a book coming out next June titled Global Inequality and American Foreign Policy in the 1970s, from Cornell University Press. It’s too soon for pre-orders but please keep an eye out for the book!

Our coverage of the summit was made possible by the support of FX subscribers. If you’ve appreciated that coverage please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Between this month’s special discount and a couple of other perks it’s never been a better time to subscribe.

The Lebanese Civil War: Phase I (1975-1977)

Derek Davison — Sun, 07 Nov 2021 01:42:38 GMT

After an admittedly lengthy delay we look at the first phase of the Lebanese Civil War. A relatively minor clash between hostile militias in Beirut overwhelms the inept Lebanese government and spirals out of control. A series of brutal atrocities ensues until the intervention of Hafez al-Assad’s Syria shakes up the conflict and brings a brief lull in th…

The Brief History of the Durrani Empire

Derek Davison — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 01:20:58 GMT

A bit later than I would have preferred here’s the conclusion to our two-part series on the origins of the Afghan state. Picking up where we left off last time, the assassination of Iranian conqueror Nader Shah, we follow one of his lieutenants, Ahmad Khan of the Pashtun Durrani confederation, through his coronation as ruler in Kandahar through his conq…

The Fall of the Safavids and the Hotak Dynasty

Derek Davison — Fri, 20 Aug 2021 21:14:35 GMT

I thought it might be appropriate to dig into a little Afghanistan history this week, specifically to counter the “graveyard of empires” canard. But what was supposed to be one episode on the Durrani Empire (the foundation of modern Afghanistan) turned, perhaps unsurprisingly, into two episodes in the middle of recording. So this week we talk about the …

The Bolsonaro Legacy Project, with Andrew Fishman

Derek Davison — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 18:05:09 GMT

This week I’m pleased to welcome back The Intercept’s Andrew Fishman for an update on Foreign Exchanges’ favorite world leader, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. We’ll talk about Bolsonaro’s cratering poll numbers, fueled by a bungling response to COVID and anger over rampant corruption.

Everything’s going great! (Brazilian government via Wikimedia Commons)

We’ll talk about Lula’s legal vindication and his reemergence as the favorite to become Brazil’s next president. We’ll talk about the alterations Bolsonaro and his oligarch buddies are attempting to make to the Brazilian electoral system and about the likelihood of a coup should, as expected, Lula win next year’s presidential election. And we’ll talk about what may be Bolsonaro’s greatest contribution to mankind, the possibly irreversible destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Possibly one of the more depressing episodes this podcast has ever produced, and that’s saying something.

Al-Mansur and the Founding of Baghdad

Derek Davison — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 19:29:34 GMT

We’re back with a subscriber-only episode in which we cover the rise of the Abbasid dynasty and the founding of its capital city, Baghdad, whose first foundations were laid on July 30, 762. I did a very short episode on Baghdad’s founding a couple of years ago (pre-Substack) but this one goes into considerably more detail.

This map, attributable to 19th …

Tigray Update, with Terje Østebø

Derek Davison — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 17:55:02 GMT

I’m very grateful that the University of Florida’s Terje Østebø was able to make his third Foreign Exchanges appearance this week to talk about the rapidly changing situation in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. When Terje and I last spoke the Ethiopian military, alongside elements of the Eritrean military and Amhara regional security forces, had driven the Tigray People’s Liberation Front out of Mekelle and seemed to be in control of most of the region. In the past couple of weeks that situation has been completely upended, with the TPLF now back in control of nearly all but the western portion of Tigray, currently held by the Amhara. Terje and I discuss the shocking speed of the TPLF’s turnaround, the dire humanitarian situation in Tigray, and the likelihood of further conflict.

Terje Østebø received his PhD in the History of Religion from Stockholm University, and is currently the chair of the Department of Religion and associate professor at the Center for African Studies and the Department of Religion, University of Florida. He is also the founding director of the UF Center for Global Islamic Studies. His research interests are Islam in contemporary Ethiopia, Islam, politics, and Islamic reformism in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, ethnicity and religion, as well as Salafism in Africa. He has lived in Ethiopia for 6 years, and has extensive field-research experience.

Terje’s major publications include “African Salafism: Religious Purity and the Politicization of Purity” in Islamic Africa, 6, 1-2, 2015; Muslim Ethiopia: The Christian Legacy, Identity Politics, and Islamic Reformism (co-edited with Patrick Desplat), (Palgrave-Macmillan 2013); Localising Salafism: Religious Change among Oromo Muslims in Bale, Ethiopia (Brill 2012); Islamism in the Horn of Africa: Assessing Ideology, Actors, and Objectives,International Law and Policy Institute (2010). His latest book, Islam, Ethnicity, and Conflict in Ethiopia: The Bale Insurgency (1963-1970), is now available for purchase.

International Justice for Thee, with Elizabeth Beavers

Derek Davison — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 16:42:21 GMT

This week I’m joined by attorney and activist Elizabeth Beavers, who has just written a piece for Fellow Travelers titled “Ilhan Omar was Right: The Ugly Reality of International ‘Justice’” that delves into the sordid relationship the United States has had with the International Criminal Court and really with the very concept of accountability for war crimes. We’ll talk about what she aptly calls “global justice apartheid,” unpack the frequently made claim that the domestic US legal system is capable of adjudicating American war crimes, and ask whether there’s any way to subject the US to to the same standards of international accountability that Washington demands of every other nation. You can find links to Elizabeth’s writing at her website and follow her on Twitter.

Please stick around until the end for an important programming announcement.

Fellow Travelers and Killer Robots, with Kelsey Atherton and Andrew Leber

Derek Davison — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 17:28:05 GMT

This week I’m joined by Andrew Leber from Harvard's Department of Government and defense technology journalist Kelsey Atherton to talk about a new briefing book produced by their excellent Fellow Travelers Blog. The book compiles several policy briefs commissioned by FTB over the past several months and is intended to provide some substance for progressive members of Congress looking to steer US foreign policy in a more progressive direction. Toward that end, they’ve started a GoFundMe to support publication and distribution costs, and if you’re able to help out in that regard please do so.

Because I can’t have Kelsey on without talking at least a little bit about drones, we spend a few minutes toward the end of our discussion on recent and somewhat sketchy reports of autonomous drones targeting fighters in Libya and the still nascent movement to craft some international rules of the road about the use of weapons platforms that don’t necessarily require human intervention. We’ll also discuss the proliferation of relatively inexpensive mid-level drones (or in Kelsey’s words “the Honda Civic of drones”) and what it suggests about the future of warfare.

You can find Andrew and Kelsey on Twitter, and I highly recommend checking out Kelsey’s own Substack, Wars of Future Past.

Decision 1400, Part II: the Unvotening, with Séamus Malekafzali and Sina Toossi

Derek Davison — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 16:00:17 GMT

What happens when an Islamic Republic decides that the “Republic” part maybe isn’t such a big deal? Journalist and returning guest Séamus Malekafzali and Sina Toossi, senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), join the program to discuss this Friday’s Iranian presidential election. We’ll talk about the field, such as it is, and how it came to be the way it is, and we’ll get into presumptive winner Ebrahim Raisi’s past and his potential future. Additionally we’ll discuss what Raisi’s (likely) presidency could mean for future US-Iranian relations.

Raisi (center) bringing his campaign to Tehran’s stock market (Mardetanha via Wikimedia Commons)

You can find Sina on Twitter and at NIAC, where his Iran Unfiltered series is a great look into a media environment to which us Westerners don’t have many points of access. Séamus is also on Twitter and his Substack newsletter is definitely worth a look if you’re interested in Iran.

Yemen and Its Neighbors, with Annelle Sheline

Derek Davison — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 17:46:56 GMT

This week I’m very pleased to welcome back Annelle Sheline, research fellow at the Quincy Institute and scholar of the Arab world. She’s written a new piece for Foreign Policy titled “Washington Has Yemen Policy Backwards,” in which she discusses the need for a new framework for peace talks that recognizes the reality of the Houthi victory. We’ll talk about the flaws in the old framework, based on UN Security Council Resolution 2216, and what she makes of the Biden administration’s handling of the Yemen war thus far. We’ll also get into some regional issues, in particular efforts by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to carve off chunks of Yemen for their own aims and the recent economic turmoil in Oman.

Annelle is a Research Fellow in the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute and an expert on religious and political authority in the Middle East and North Africa. She was previously the Zwan Postdoctoral Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and has worked as a journalist in Egypt and Yemen. In addition to academic writing, she was written for The Washington Post, The Nation, Foreign Policy, Politico, The National Interest, and The Globe Post, and her analysis has been published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Arab Gulf States Institute of Washington, Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, and the Baker Institute.

News from the Sahel, with Alex Thurston

Derek Davison — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 18:11:05 GMT

Returning champion and Foreign Exchanges contributor Alex Thurston is here to discuss the apparent, though not yet totally confirmed, death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and what it means for Nigeria. We’ll discuss Shekau’s role in Boko Haram’s rise and development, his notorious reputation, and what his (probable) death means for the rivalry between his branch of Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, which very publicly split with Shekau in 2016. We’ll also spend some time talking about the overall deterioration in Nigeria’s internal security as well as the recent “coup-within-a-coup” in Mali and what that may portend for the future of civilian governance in Bamako.

For those who aren’t familiar, Alex is assistant professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati whose writing has appeared in numerous places, including here at Foreign Exchanges. His most recent piece looked at the implications of Shekau’s apparent death over at Lawfare. He is the author of three books: Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement, Salafism in Nigeria: Islam, Preaching, and Politics, and most recently Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel. You can also find him on Twitter.