From Hungary to Brazil, to Italy, the UK and US a special style of nationalist politics seems to be taking over. But is the current wave of national-populism new, or rooted in older historic trends? Can its supporters be de-demonized, humanized or at the very least understood?

Co-authors Roger Eatwell and Matthew Goodwin analyze the causes of the trend in their book National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy.

This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Neil McGregor, the former director of the British Museum, analyzes the enduring validity of museums in the age of technological upheavals and fake news.

He recently visited Israel to deliver the inaugural lecture of the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute's Tom de Swaan Series on the Role of Ideas and the Responsibility of Intellectuals in Contemporary Society.

This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Transparency International is among the most prominent global organizations fighting corruption through exposure, documentation and measurement.

Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of the organization, discusses the challenges, pitfalls and goals of their work, while Alona Vinograd of the Israel Democracy Institute brings the question of corruption home to Israel against the backdrop of a heated political stage.

This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Shibley Telhami is the master of survey research in the Middle East. His book The World Through Arab Eyes walks through the complexities of characterizing the Arab world through survey data.

His research tracks and explains changes over time on the most sensitive public issues, from the Arab Spring, America, Israel, al Jazeera, and democracy.

This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Dr. Yonatan Mendel, the director of the Center for Jewish-Arab relations at the Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem, is author of the recently published "The Creation of Israeli Arabic: Security and Politics in Arabic Studies in Israel." 

Dr. Mendel explains to host Gilad Halpern why generations of Israeli high school students who specialized in Arabic are unable to string a sentence together.

Song: Guy Mazig - Levad Bamidbar

This episode originally aired 9-10-15.

Dr Gilad Malach, head of the ultra-Orthodox research program at the Israel Democracy Institute, discusses the findings of the 2018 statistical report on the ultra-Orthodox society in Israel, which he directed.

This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Dr Hagai Boas, head of the Science, Technology and Civilization Program at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, discusses his co-edited volume Bioethics and Biopolitics in Israel: Socio-Legal, Political and Empirical Analysis.

This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Israeli film scholar Dan Chyutin observes that Israeli film once reflected secular Israeli society, and religion appeared mainly as stage dressing. But in recent decades, a steady stream of films have put religion, especially ultra-orthodox Judaism, in the foreground.

Is this a mirror of Israeli society? Or just an excuse to discuss our favorite films?

This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Israel's 2018 Democracy Index, an annual survey of the health of Israeli democracy, shows off the deepest contradictions in Israeli life.

Tamar Hermann of the Israeli Democracy Institute explains why half the country thinks democracy is endangered but half do not, why the left-right divide is now seen as the most threatening division in Israeli society, but the number of Israeli Jews who think things are going well has been rising for over a decade.

This episode of the Tel Aviv Review was brought to you by the Israel Democracy Institute, an independent center of research and action dedicated to strengthening the foundations of Israeli democracy.

Derek Penslar, Professor of Jewish History at Harvard University, discusses his forthcoming book, Theodor Herzl: The Charismatic Leader, an addition to more than 200 biographies of the founder of Zionism. Sometimes, there's a very fine line between an eccentric and a visionary.

This season of the Tel Aviv Review is made possible by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute, which promotes humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in the social discourse in Israel.

Tel Aviv Review is also supported by the Public Discourse Grant from the Israel Institute, which is dedicated to strengthening the field of Israel Studies in order to promote knowledge and enhance understanding of modern Israel.