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Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is now Turkey’s longest-serving president. Since coming to power as Prime Minister in 2002 he has overseen a radical transformation of this pivotal country. Once a secular democracy with aspirations to join the European Union, Turkey has become a deeply nationalist, conservative country. Erdoğan has built a militaristic foreign policy abroad, intervening in regional flashpoints from Syria to Libya while dismantling democratic controls, clamping down on dissent and centralising power in the presidency at home. In September 2022, academic and writer Gönül Tol came to Intelligence Squared to shed light on how Erdoğan established an iron grip on the country, the subject of her upcoming book: Erdoğan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria. Tol is founding Director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program and is a Senior Fellow for the Frontier Europe Initiative. She's also Adjunct Professor at George Washington University. Host for this discussion is Carl Miller, Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos.
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Erdoğan’s War: The Quest for Power at Home and in Syria, with Gönül Tol

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Regularly embroiled in international conflicts – both militarily and diplomatically – and locked in a cycle of protest and heavy government crackdowns on the domestic political front, Iran has rarely been out of the international spotlight over the past decades. The protests in recent years that were initially sparked in resistance to the oppression of women formed the inspiration for writer and historian Arash Azizi's latest book, What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom. The book asks whether a cohesive movement could eventually be formed out of the many voices of dissent in the country to bring about real change. Joining Azizi to discuss it for this episode is the journalist, audio producer and book critic Mythili Rao.
This episode was recorded in early March 2024, prior to the most recent military conflict between Iran and Israel.
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Arash Azizi on Iran's Turbulent Past and its Uncertain Future

For this episode, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a deep dive into some of the universe's most perplexing scientific mysteries. His recent book, Space Oddities, draws on many findings found during his work at the University of Cambridge. Why are stars flying away from us faster than anyone can explain? What are the source of mysterious particles found to hold huge amounts of energy trapped beneath Antarctic ice? What really goes on at the CERN Large Hadron Collider? – another place where Cliff does much of his work. Joining him in conversation for this episode is Alex Wilkins, reporter for New Scientist. 
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Getting Weird with Physics, with Harry Cliff

Alexander Christie-Miller is a former Istanbul correspondent for The Times newspaper, whose writing has also appeared in outlets such as Newsweek, The Atlantic and The White Review. His recent book, To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul, combines tales drawn from centuries past and also those from the contemporary sociopolitical picture in Istanbul to weave together an expansive narrative that circles around the city like its defensive walls that have stood for a millennium. Joining him in conversation to discuss the book is Hannah Lucinda Smith, Turkey correspondent for The Times and Monocle. She's the author of books including Erdogan Rising, which follows the ascent to power of Turkey's strongman leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Istanbul: Crossroads of the World, with Alexander Christie-Miller

This is Part Two of a three-part episode. Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trust in our politics has collapsed. Could Labour leader Keir Starter remake Britain after the next election? According to political economist, writer and author, Will Hutton, and political strategist, journalist and co-host of The Rest Is Politics podcast, Alastair Campbell, a recovery is in our own hands. For this Intelligence Squared live event on how to remake Britain, Keir Starmer himself joins Hutton, Campbell and our host, Sonia Sodha, live on stage at London's Union Chapel to discuss the future of British politics and the themes of renewal found within Hutton's book, This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain, and Campbell's book, But What Can I Do? which both look to inspire a new generation of political leaders.
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Keir Starmer, Will Hutton, Alastair Campbell and Sonia Sodha on How to Remake Britain, Part Two

Britain is in big trouble. The country has dipped into recession, local councils are going bankrupt and trust in our politics has collapsed. Could Labour leader Keir Starter remake Britain after the next election? According to political economist, writer and author, Will Hutton, and political strategist, journalist and co-host of The Rest Is Politics podcast, Alastair Campbell, a recovery is in our own hands. For this Intelligence Squared live event on how to remake Britain, Keir Starmer himself joins Hutton, Campbell and our host, Sonia Sodha, live on stage at London's Union Chapel to discuss the future of British politics and the themes of renewal found within Hutton's book, This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain, and Campbell's book, But What Can I Do? which both look to inspire a new generation of political leaders.
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Erdoğan’s War: The Quest for Power at Home and in Syria, with Gönül Tol

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