Nathan Brown of The George Washington University discusses his latest book (co-authored with Shimaa Hatab and Amr Adly), Lumbering State, Restless Society: Egypt in the Modern Era, with Marc Lynch on this week's podcast. The book highlights ways in which Egypt resembles other societies around the world, drawing from and contributing to broader debates in political science. (Starts at 0:41). Daniel Neep of Brandeis University speaks about his new article entitled, "‘What have the Ottomans ever done for us?’ Why history matters for politics in the Arab Middle East," published in International Affairs. (Starts at 26:24). Wolfram Lacher of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs talks about Libya's upcoming elections. (Starts at 44:28).

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.