Dr. Alissa Walter - an associate professor of history at Seattle Pacific University - has spent over a decade working on her book Contested City, and now that it's finally out, I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss it with her. This powerful work offers a research-driven and fresh lens on Baghdad. The complexities, transformations, and the lived realities that are often overlooked in mainstream narratives.

In our conversation, we explored a wide range of topics, including:

- How urban planning and housing policies in mid-20th century Baghdad reflected and reshaped social and political life.

- The human cost and societal shifts brought on by the Iran-Iraq War and the Gulf War.

- The impact of the rationing system and petitions under Saddam Hussein’s regime, and how these mechanisms both limited and empowered Iraqi citizens.

- What daily life looked like under dictatorship and how people navigated state power.

- The roots of feminism in Iraq, and how women’s roles evolved in public and private life throughout key historical periods.

- And the importance of preserving local voices and everyday histories when telling the story of modern Iraq.