This week we turn to the Persian Gulf and talk oil. We take Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates up to 1979, looking at their independence and how they became the oil states. We also look at the Global financial crisis of the 1970s, Saudi Arabia and the rise of Qaddafi.

This week we follow the narrative of Iraq through the 1963 revolutions, the regime of Arif, and the Baathist Revolution of 1968. We then take a look at the rise of Saddam Hussein to become president of Iraq in 1979.

The podcast is back! This week we continue to tell the story of Iraq following the July Revolution of 1958. We look at the initial conflict, Qasim's Premiership, and the February 1963 Revolution.

This week, for the first time since episode 9, we return to Iraq. We follow the turbulent period after 1939 which Nuri al-Said dominated until the Iraqi Revolution of 1958.

This week we take Turkey through the rise of collapse of the Democratic Party, as the economy turns sour and chaos envelops the country.The army is left to hold everything together.

This week we return to Turkey. We tell the story of Ismet Inonu and his rise to power along with Ataturk, before seeing what happened after Ataturk's death. We cover the creation of the Democratic Party in 1946 and the important election of 1950.

This week we end the story of Nasser. We cover the last decade of his life, looking at the Yemeni Civil War, the Six-Day War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the creation of the PLO.

This week we go from 1956 to 1961 in Egypt and Syria to talk about their political union and the formation of the Baath Party.

This week we continue telling the story of Egypt, covering 1956 and the Suez Crisis. Then we also double back yet again to bring ourselves up to speed on events in Jordan and Syria.

This week we explore the effect the creation of Israel had on Egypt. Things begin to go down the toilet until a coup by Nasser and the Free Officers. We also talk about the Third World and Soviet relations with the Middle East.