Middle East Focus

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Weekly discussion of Middle East policy, arts, and culture, featuring experts from the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C.

Recent Episodes
  • What Is Israel's Path Forward on Gaza?
    Jun 5, 2025 – 33:37
  • Syria Looks to a Future Unburdened from US Sanctions
    May 29, 2025 – 46:52
  • AI, Tech, and the Future of US-Gulf Relations
    May 22, 2025 – 38:42
  • US-Houthi Ceasefire Deal & the Future of Red Sea Security
    May 15, 2025 – 24:14
  • Trump’s Gulf Visit: Strategic Stakes and Symbolic Optics
    May 8, 2025 – 34:03
  • Turkey at a Crossroads: Protests, Crackdowns, and the Future of Democracy
    May 1, 2025 – 34:48
  • US-Iran Nuclear Talks: A Fragile Opening for Diplomacy
    Apr 24, 2025 – 35:21
  • Toni Verstandig on What We’ve Learned—and Forgotten—About Peace
    Apr 22, 2025 – 53:15
  • Two Years of War in Sudan and the Elusive Path to Peace
    Apr 17, 2025 – 40:53
  • Netanyahu and Israel at War
    Apr 10, 2025 – 45:03
  • Frank Lowenstein | Ep. 10
    Apr 8, 2025 – 51:33
  • Diplomacy, Technology, and Innovation: Amb. Stuart Jones on the Evolution of US-Middle East Relations
    Apr 3, 2025 – 32:52
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 7: The Protests and Political Crisis Shaping Turkey's Democratic Future
    Apr 1, 2025 – 56:45
  • Dan Shapiro | ‘Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ ep. 9
    Mar 24, 2025 – 01:13:15
  • Ibrahim Dalalsha and Shira Efron| 'Taking the Edge Off the Middle East' Ep. 8
    Mar 4, 2025 – 01:15:26
  • NYT bestselling author Kwame Alexander on the intersection of art and social change
    Feb 13, 2025 – 20:32
  • Barbara A. Leaf | 'Taking the Edge Off the Middle East' Ep. 7
    Feb 6, 2025 – 43:15
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 6: Shariah, Democracy, and the Future of Governance in Syria
    Jan 29, 2025 – 55:01
  • Norman T. Roule | 'Taking the Edge Off the Middle East' Ep. 6
    Dec 20, 2024 – 46:16
  • Trump, Gaza, and the Future of US Policy in the Middle East
    Dec 18, 2024 – 51:48
  • End of an era: The fall of the Assad regime
    Dec 12, 2024 – 31:24
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 5: Impact of Donald Trump’s Election on American Democracy and the World with Ruth Ben-Ghiat and Larry Diamond
    Dec 5, 2024 – 48:54
  • How might US-Israeli relations evolve under the Trump administration?
    Nov 21, 2024 – 33:14
  • 1,000 Days of Russia's Full-Scale War Against Ukraine
    Nov 14, 2024 – 46:27
  • Steven A. Cook | ’Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ Ep. 5
    Nov 13, 2024 – 43:29
  • Danielle Pletka | ‘Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ Ep. 4
    Oct 30, 2024 – 37:48
  • The Axis of Resistance Pt. 2: Iran
    Oct 24, 2024 – 25:21
  • The Axis of Resistance Pt. 1: the Proxies
    Oct 22, 2024 – 37:44
  • Hezbollah, Israel, and the Lebanese Armed Forces
    Oct 10, 2024 – 45:09
  • Yemen's Civil War: Ten Years Later
    Oct 3, 2024 – 40:29
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 4: China's Growing Presence in the Middle East with Dr. F. Gregory Gause and Dr. Jon Alterman
    Sep 26, 2024 – 42:32
  • ISIS and the detainee dilemma
    Sep 12, 2024 – 27:44
  • ISIS’s enduring threat in Syria and Iraq
    Aug 21, 2024 – 28:02
  • Israeli Strikes and the Risk of Regional Escalation
    Jul 31, 2024 – 29:16
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 3: Economic Conditions and Support for Democracy with Daron Acemoglu and Tamara Cofman Wittes
    Jul 11, 2024 – 01:02:17
  • On the Eve of the Washington Summit: Shoring up NATO’s Vulnerable Flanks
    Jul 3, 2024 – 36:13
  • Iran's snap presidential elections
    Jun 24, 2024 – 33:27
  • Migration in North Africa: EU Engagement & Policies
    Jun 13, 2024 – 21:33
  • American Diplomacy Toward Lebanon with Amb. David Hale
    May 30, 2024 – 43:17
  • Deterrence Reasserted? Debating Iran's Missile Capabilities and Willingness to Use Force
    May 22, 2024 – 44:29
  • Sudan's civil war and its regional impact
    May 10, 2024 – 43:19
  • Rethinking Democracy Ep. 2: What is the Rule of Law? With Thomas Carothers and Vali Nasr
    Apr 30, 2024 – 48:17
  • Opposition Upset Victory in Turkey's Local Elections
    Apr 4, 2024 – 45:20
  • Rethinking Democracy, Ep. 1: Why Does Democracy Flourish? With Francis Fukuyama and Paul Salem
    Mar 26, 2024 – 52:13
  • The Evolving Conflict Between Hezbollah and Israel
    Mar 11, 2024 – 47:44
  • Interview with Rashid Al Khalifa - Bahraini artist, collector and founder of RAK Art Foundation
    Mar 6, 2024 – 37:32
  • What’s next for Pakistan after election shock?
    Feb 21, 2024 – 36:29
  • Iran’s 1979 revolution and its resonance today
    Feb 13, 2024 – 35:30
  • Spotlight on US Syria policy
    Feb 4, 2024 – 29:36
  • The Gaza War's Regional Reverberations
    Jan 29, 2024 – 34:36
Recent Reviews
  • {amir59}
    Some excellent, some disappointing...
    This podcast has some very insightful and informative episodes. However, there are way too many episodes that have nothing to do with the Middle East. A recent episode on Democracy and the US elections was highly unbalanced. While I didn't disagree with some of the dangers highlighted by the interviewees, there was no alternative view. Guests' assertions were treated as facts.
  • Jstar333333
    Israel/UAE/Bahrain
    It’s interesting that, as so-called experts, I guess they’ve never looked at a map of the Middle East, because they don’t seem to think these three countries exist! Which 3 countries? The Peace and Normalization treaties between Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. You could even link these deals to Iranian colonization of Arab lands and Iranian proxy wars
  • Balakay84
    Great Expertise
    Always have great scholars on from the US and the region; particularly adept at covering current conflicts in MENA
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