Hi folks,
As promised, here’s the first episode of our podcast.
I’ve teamed up with Nicholas Danforth, a dear friend of this Substack and the author of The Remarking of Republican Turkey: Memory and Modernity Since the Fall of the Ottoman Empire.
People sometimes ask me what book they can read if they’re new to Turkish politics. Most of the time I’ll cite this one. Nick goes through how Turkish political movements see history have bent history in different ways, and what that tells you about where they want to go. (I get into the same territory in my book, looking at more contemporary figures.)
A note on the production value of the podcast: Nick is a veteran podcaster, so his silky smooth voice is just a pleasure to listen to. I’m different. Every time I’m supposed to speak in public I get flashbacks to the terror of Republic Day poetry recitals as a child. So do cut me some slack, especially in these first few episodes. I promise that it’ll get easier to listen to.
On platforms: I’m not sure if this will show up on all the podcast platforms right away, but I’ll make sure that it will in time. You can always listen through the Substack app on your phone or simply any browser.
On the subject of discussion: We talked about the U.S. presidential elections in recent memory and how various political groups in Turkey see them. We specifically talk about how Islamists in Turkey used to favor the liberal side of the spectrum, but shifted rightwards, especially in the late Obama years.
We hope you enjoy it, and please let us know what you think!
— Selim
How Turkey's ruling elite thinks of U.S. elections