Middle East Focus

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

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