Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Sign In Sign Up

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast features interviews and roundtables with MERIP authors and editors, and recordings from events. You can listen to all episodes here, or on your preferred podcast service.

MERIP updates

The MERIP Podcast Episode 30: Nafiseh Sharifi

Today on the MERIP Podcast we’re sharing an interview with Nafiseh Sharifi about her recent article in Middle East Report, “Soundtrack of Dissent–Protest Music in Iran.” Sharifi is an Iranian anthropologist and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of

James Ryan, Nafiseh Sharifi • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 29: 25 Years Since 9/11 And Still No Justice--Here's Why

Today on the MERIP Podcast we’re sharing a recording of a live event featuring Lisa Hajjar and John Ryan discussing their last two decades of reporting, researching and writing from Guantánamo Bay. This event, which took place in Washington, DC, at Busboys and Poets on September 13th, marked the

James Ryan, Lisa Hajjar • 1 min read

Jordan

The MERIP Podcast Episode 28: Arran Walshe

Today on the MERIP Podcast James Ryan talks with Arran Walshe, a journalist and researcher based in Amman. Walshe is the author of “Alternative Amman–Making Counterculture in the Jordanian Capital,” which appeared in our summer issue of Middle East Report, Art at Work–People, Power and Cultural Production. This

James Ryan, Arran Walshe • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 27: Susanne Dahlgren

Today’s episode of the MERIP Podcast features a conversation between MERIP executive director James Ryan and Susanne Dahlgren, a longtime MERIP contributor and analyst focused on Yemen whose recent essay, “Yemen After the Saudi-Emirati Split” appeared in our Current Analysis section on July 8, 2026. Last December, the

James Ryan, Susanne Dahlgren • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 26: The MERIP Roundtable, On the World Cup 2026

On today’s program we have another installment of our MERIP Roundtable, where MERIP’s executive director, James Ryan is joined by past and present members of our editorial committee, along with recent contributors, to discuss current events. This edition focuses on the 2026 World Cup, now in its final

James Ryan, Paul Silverstein, Sabiha Allouche, Nabil Al-Tikriti • 2 min read

MERIP updates

The MERIP Podcast Episode 25: Iran in Context Part II

Politics and Counter Politics in Contemporary Iran

James Ryan, Naghmeh Sohrabi, Mohammad Ali Kadivar, Paniz Musawi Natanzi • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 24: Iran in Context Part I

Gender and Revolution

James Ryan, Sabiha Allouche, Nazanin Shahrokni, Paola Rivetti • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 23: Ayça Alemdaroğlu

Today’s episode of the MERIP Podcast features an interview with Ayça Alemdaroğlu about her article, “The Capture of Turkey’s Universities Under the AKP,” in our Spring 2026 issue, “Campus Politics–Palestine and the New University Order.” MERIP executive director James Ryan spoke with Alemdaroğlu about the efforts of

James Ryan, Ayça Alemdaroğlu • 1 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 22: Aslı Bâli and Darryl Li

Today's episode of the MERIP Podcast features an interview with two contributors to the spring issue of Middle East Report, “Campus Politics—Palestine and the New University Order.” Since the beginning of world-wide campus protests in the wake of October 7, 2023, there has been a tremendous

James Ryan, Aslı Bâli, Darryl Li • 2 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 21: Susann Kassem, Lara Deeb and Habib Battah

Today on the podcast three MERIP contributors discuss Lebanon’s tenuous, one-sided ceasefire with Israel. Even as officials in the Lebanese government have entered into negotiations with Israel, an unprecedented diplomatic move with questionable legal status under Lebanese law, Israel has violated the ceasefire numerous times and has continued

James Ryan, Lara Deeb, Susann Kassem, Habib Battah • 2 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 20: The MERIP Roundtable, On the Iran War Part III

Today’s episode is the third installment of our MERIP Roundtable discussing the war on Iran, instigated by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, and its regional reverberations. This episode focuses on Israel’s expanded war on Lebanon. Following the assassination of Ali Khamanei, supreme leader of

James Ryan, Rima Majed, Ali Musleh • 2 min read

The MERIP Podcast

The MERIP Podcast Episode 19: The MERIP Roundtable, On the Iran War Part II

On today’s episode of the MERIP Roundtable our discussion focused on people’s experiences of the war on Iran and throughout the region two and a half weeks in. Much of the discussion of this war in the western media has centered on the strategic calculus of the United

James Ryan, Naghmeh Sohrabi, Toby Jones, Kaveh Ehsani • 2 min read