Joseph Braude‘s new English-language podcast, Eye on Arabia, presents a weekly roundup of news, commentary, and mini-documentaries on Arab affairs. To subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, click here.
In addition to Eye on Arabia, Joseph Braude has also co-produced the following Public Radio International radio documentaries for Afropop Worldwide and America Abroad Radio:
“A Tale of Two Rebellions: How Africans Helped Shape the Future of Islam.” This unusual tour of Islamic history combines North African music, interviews with historians, and punchy narration with movie references from Star Wars to The Godfather to The Wizard of Oz — to highlight the relationship between a distant time and place and the world and culture we live in now. Featuring interviews with Columbia University historian Richard Bulliet and comparative mythologist Joseph Campbell. Episode 1: “The Zanj Rebellion.” Episode 2: “The Fatimid Revolution.”
“Islam and Music: From Prohibition to the Science of Ecstasy.” The complex relationship between Islam and music spans centuries, diverse intellectual streams, and an array of instrumental and vocal traditions. In this documentary, Joseph Braude mixes a journey across the Middle East and North Africa with clips from mesmerizing performances and interviews with mosque preachers and leading scholars of Islamic history and philosophy.
“Iran and the Bomb.” For an episode of America Abroad radio, Joseph Braude narrates the history of U.S. policy toward the Iranian nuclear program, featuring interviews with three former senior White House officials: Nicholas Burns, Dennis Ross, and Juan Zarate. For a complete transcript, click here.
“The Rolling Stones of Morocco.” Nas al-Ghiwan is often described as one of the most influential bands of the last 40 years in Morocco. With help from Brown University’s Elias Muhanna, Joseph Braude explores the band’s cultural and political significance among Moroccans of all ages. Listen to the audio piece here. Listen to the entire one-hour America Abroad documentary “Youth in the Arab World: After the Revolution” here. Read the transcript here.
“Water Crisis in Yemen.” Perhaps the most dire water crisis in the Arab world is in the Republic of Yemen, one of the poorest nations in the region. Joseph Braude talks with the country’s former minister of water and the environment, and traces the breadth of the problem and a few potential solutions.
Podcasts and other audio work by Joseph Braude are introduced as they are released, at this link. For more information about the speeches and lectures which often inform the audio content, click here.