Summer travel got in the way of recording a new episode this week so as a placeholder we are reposting one of our favorite episodes from last summer. In Episode 18 we talked with University of California Davis professor Ali Anooshahr about his books Turkestan and the Rise of Eurasian Empires: A Study of Politics and Invented Traditions; and The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam. Not only did this episode release almost exactly a year ago, but the ideas that we discuss with Ali tie in very nicely with the sorts of conversations we have been having in recent episodes.  Enjoy!