Zaid al-Ali of Princeton University talks about his latest book, Arab Constitutionalism: The Coming Revolution, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. He deconstructs the popular demands that were made in 2011 and translates them into a series of specific actions that would have led to freer societies and a better functioning state. (Starts at 0:43). Marsin Alshamary of the Brookings Institution speaks about her new article entitled, "Religious Peacebuilding in Iraq: Prospects and Challenges from the Hawza," published in the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. (Starts at 30:11). James Shires, of Leiden University, talks about his work on digital authoritarianism. (Starts at 42:43).

Music for this season's podcast was created by Bashir Saade (playing Ney) and Farah Kaddour (on Buzuq). You can find more of Bashir's work on his YouTube Channel.