January 04, 2026

Ryan Gingeras

28 minutes

Ryan Gingeras discusses with Ivan six things which should be better known.

Ryan Gingeras is a professor in the Institute of Regional and International Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School and is an expert in modern Eastern European and Middle East history. He is the author of seven books, including The Last Days of the Ottoman Empire and Sorrowful Shores: Violence, Ethnicity, and the End of the Ottoman Empire 1912–1923, which was shortlisted for numerous book prizes. He has published on a wide variety of topics related to history and politics in publications such as Foreign Affairs, New York Times, Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement and Foreign Policy . He currently lives with his wife and children in the Santa Cruz Mountains. His new book is Mafia: A Global History, which is available at https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Mafia-A-Global-History/Ryan-Gingeras/9781398531673.

Mafias should be seen as significant historical figures in the making of modern history.

Mafias are not as old as you think.

The laws that "made" mafias a global phenomenon are also not as old as you think.

Al Capone set the mold for the modern gangsters worldwide.

Coppola's The Godfather marked the critical moment in the making of modern mafias.

Mafias are more integrated into the workings of the modern world than ever before.

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