Danny and Derek welcome Gönül Tol, founding director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program and author of Erdoğan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria to discuss Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They touch on his origins with AKP in the early aughts, his interactions with the military, his relationship with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, Erdoğan’s foreign policy, the effect of the Arab Spring on his tenure, how he’s approached “the Kurdish issue”, and more.

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Danny and Derek welcome back James Lin, assistant professor of international studies at the University of Washington, to conclude their discussion of the history of Taiwan. They pick up in the 1970s with Chiang Kai-shek’s death, democratization, the Tangwai movement, Lee Teng-hui, the Taiwan-PRC relationship in the aughts, Taiwan’s tech sector, and more…

Danny has been upgraded with new gum implants, enabling him to better yammer on about God knows what while Derek actually educates us on what’s happening. This week: Round 1 of Turkey’s presidential election (0:48), a ceasefire for Gaza (5:21), Imran Khan released on bail in Pakistan (6:40), the Thai general election (9:21), a Sudan update (13:40), deforestation is down in Brazil (16:16), Guillermo Lasso dissolves the national assembly in Ecuador (17:58), Ukraine sees the Black Sea deal renewed, Chinese and African peace initiatives, and a new F-16 push (20:04), and a New Cold War update featuring Biden cancelling trips to Papua New Guinea and Australia (30:09), the Compact of Free Association agreements with Palau and Micronesia (32:29), and the US selling weapons to autocracies (34:20).

Recorded Thursday, May 18, 2023

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Danny and Derek welcome Milo Edwards, Phoebe Roy, and Patrick Wyman, recovering classicists and hosts of Rome, the podcast about HBO’s series Rome. They talk about the development of the show in the early era of prestige TV, the portrayal of the city itself, Vorenus and Pullo, the imaginary of the average Roman, Atia and depictions of Roman femininity, and more.

Also be sure to check out Milo and Phoebe’s Seinfeld podcast Masters of our Domain, Phoebe’s internet culture and history podcast Ten Thousand Posts, and her Substack.

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Happy Mother’s Day! Danny and Derek welcome Eleanor Janega, co-host of the We’re Not So Different podcast and author of The Once and Future Sex: Going Medieval on Women's Roles in Society, to discuss one of the great mothers of history: The Virgin Mary. They discuss what actually makes Mary the ultimate medieval mother (despite being from ancient times)…

Derek welcomes back another AP Champion, Djene Bajalan, associate professor of history at Missouri State University, to discuss tomorrow’s presidential election in Turkey. They discuss Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a “free and fair” election, the political fallout of the 2023 earthquake, how Erdoğan’s strengthening of the presidency plays into things, the stakes for Syrian refugees, and more.

Recorded Friday, May 12, 2023

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Danny welcomes back AP All-Star (and investigative reporter for The Intercept) Ken Klippenstein for another special episode. The first part concerns his article detailing the government’s creation of a disinformation office, the Foreign Malign Influence Center, and its considerable reach. The second part addresses Ken’s recent highlighting of the role o…

It’s Danny’s Goose to Derek’s Maverick (sorry Danny)…time for the News Roundup. This week: Syria’s invited back to the Arab League (0:45), fighting in Gaza (5:20), a Sudan update (11:10), a Ukraine update (14:34), the Chilean constitutional assembly election (20:41), and Imran Khan arrested in Pakistan (24:58).

Updates since recording:

* In Israel/Palestine, there has been one reported Israeli death due to Gaza rocket fire.

* In Sudan, both sides of the conflict have agreed to protect civilians, but have not agreed to a ceasefire.

Recorded Thrusday, May 11, 2023

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Danny and Derek welcome to the program Ashoka Mody, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in International Economic Policy at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, to discuss what he sees as democratic and economic breakdowns in India rooted in its post-independence period. They discuss the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, people left behind by post-independence industrialization, parallels with postwar Japan, American investment in the subcontinent, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, the rise of modern Hindu nationalism, and more.

Check out Dr. Mody’s book India Is Broken: A People Betrayed, Independence to Today. Also check out his recent op-eds in Business Standard and Project Syndicate.

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Danny and Derek welcome back James Lin, assistant professor of international studies at the University of Washington, to continue the discussion of the history of Taiwan. They pick up at the end of WWII and the Second Sino-Japanese War, assessing the effect of the war on Taiwan, the February 28th incident of 1947, the implementation of martial law, the …