Podcast
The Cosmopolitan
Hosted by The Syllabus / Listen Notes · EN
A curated playlist of the best new podcasts on international affairs. Powered by The Syllabus. (To see the articles, books, reports and videos that are also part of the Cosmopolitan, check out our site: the-syllabus.com)
23episodes
Episodes
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E255 - The History of Iran’s Nuclear Program w/ Sina Azodi
6d ago01:00:53Tap to summarizePodcast: American Prestige (LS 58 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: E255 - The History of Iran’s Nuclear Program w/ Sina AzodiPub date: 2026-07-01Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationSubscribe now for an ad-free experience. Sina Azodi, assistant professor of Middle East politics and director of the Middle East Studies program at George Washington University, returns to the show to talk about Iran’s nuclear program. The group discusses the Shah’s nuclear agenda, Atoms for Peace, Iran’s signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, how the Iran-Iraq War influenced Iran’s nuclear policy, missed opportunities for diplomacy after 9/11, Trump’s withdrawal from the JCPOA and why Biden didn’t revive the deal, and the recent war with Iran. Grab a copy of Sina’s book Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question. And contribute to GiveDirectly's campaign to help survivors of the earthquake in Venezuela. Note: In lieu of a news episode this week, we will be posting an interview about the holiday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Alex Boodrookas, "Comrades Estranged: Labor and Citizenship in the Twentieth-Century Persian Gulf" (Stanford UP, 2026)
2w ago00:53:45Tap to summarizePodcast: New Books in Political Science (LS 41 · TOP 1.5% what is this?)Episode: Alex Boodrookas, "Comrades Estranged: Labor and Citizenship in the Twentieth-Century Persian Gulf" (Stanford UP, 2026)Pub date: 2026-06-20Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationIn 1975, Kuwaiti workers orchestrated arguably the most powerful citizen-led movement for noncitizen rights in the history of the Persian Gulf. Their efforts built on decades of wide-ranging struggle over the meanings and outlines of citizenship. During the twentieth century, anticolonial nationalists, pro-democracy reformers, feminists, and labor organizers joined forces to fight for a more equitable citizenship regime. In so doing, they won a remarkable series of victories: political independence, constitutional rights, and oil nationalization, reshaping not just Kuwait, but the global petroleum order. Comrades Estranged reframes the history of labor activism, citizenship, and decolonization in Persian Gulf by centering the history of social movements—especially organized labor. In Comrades Estranged: Labor and Citizenship in the Twentieth-Century Persian Gulf (Stanford University Press, 2026), Alex Boodrookas traces how workers and their allies shaped the world-historic transformations witnessed across the region: the consolidation of British sovereignty, formation of autocratic states, inrush of hydrocarbon wealth, onset of decolonization, and rise of both mass migration and mass politics. But unions failed to incorporate noncitizens into their movement, and as Boodrookas argues, this fatally undermined the movements' strength. The contradictions of nationalist and internationalist visions proved insurmountable. Comrades Estranged thus sheds light on both the power, and the limits, of citizenship and the nation-state as the framework for political action. Dr. Alex Boodrookas is Assistant Professor of History at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Ahmed AlMaazmi is Assistant Professor of History at the United Arab Emirates University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-scienceThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New Books Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Interregnum - Peace in the Gulf?
2w ago00:44:42Tap to summarizePodcast: Politics Theory Other (LS 53 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: Interregnum - Peace in the Gulf?Pub date: 2026-06-16Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationOn the peace deal between Iran and the United States, which is expected to see the strait of Hormuz opened in exchange for a lifting of the US naval blockade of Iran. We talked about how seriously to take the deal (given how vague it is and how much has been put off to future talks). We also talked about the historic significance of Iran linking the peace deal to a cessation of Israeli violence in Lebanon. And finally we discussed where the conflict leaves the broader region and what the consequences of the war will be for nuclear proliferation.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Politics Theory Other, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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The ecological continuation of empire in the Arab world
2w ago01:32:06Tap to summarizePodcast: Latest 300 | LSE Public lectures and events | VideoEpisode: The ecological continuation of empire in the Arab worldPub date: 2026-06-11Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationThis lecture by Marwa Daoudy, held in honour of the renowned scholar Fred Halliday, will explore the entanglement of colonialism, capitalism, and environmental exploitation that has shaped the modern global order in ways that continue to structure global inequality.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from LSE Film and Audio Team, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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How International Institutions and Structures Failed Palestine
4w ago00:49:55Tap to summarizePodcast: Beyond the Ballot BoxEpisode: How International Institutions and Structures Failed PalestinePub date: 2026-06-04Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationSaul Takahashi is a Japanese human rights lawyer and academic known for his work on Palestine, international human rights law, and Islamophobia research. He served as Deputy Head of Office of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine from March 2009 to May 2014. He’s currently a Non-resident Fellow at the Hashim Sani Centre for Palestine Studies, University Malaya. In this episode, we speak to Saul about his personal journey, what he learned about the limits of the United Nations while working there, what he witnessed while living and working in Palestine, post-war Japan and more. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BFM Media, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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New Thinking: Chinese Firms in Africa w/ Elisa Gambino
4w ago00:38:52Tap to summarizePodcast: SPERI Presents...Episode: New Thinking: Chinese Firms in Africa w/ Elisa GambinoPub date: 2026-05-29Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationHow are Chinese firms' activities in Africa shaped by local social, cultural and political processes? In what sense is this embeddedness flexible and how does this affect firms' internationalisation? What is specific and generalisable about Chinese firms? How are geographies of trade and production shifting towards South-South engagement?Dr Elisa Gambino is Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at the Global Development Institute of the University of Manchester, UK and Adjunct Researcher at the Centre for Asian Studies of the University of Ghana. She joins Josh White to discuss her article 'Flexible embeddedness: how Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa' (2026), published in Review of International Political Economy and co-authored with Costanza Franceschini. They unpack the concept of flexible embeddedness through the lens of Chinese lead firms' internationalisation in Kenya and Ghana and the varied, dynamic and contested nature of South-South engagement.'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us.The series is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino. Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from SPERI, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Mengqi Wang, "Anxious Homes: Inflexible Demand and China's Housing Market" (Cornell UP, 2026)
Jun 1401:04:47Tap to summarizePodcast: New Books in Chinese Studies (LS 29 · TOP 10% what is this?)Episode: Mengqi Wang, "Anxious Homes: Inflexible Demand and China's Housing Market" (Cornell UP, 2026)Pub date: 2026-05-19Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationAnxious Homes: Inflexible Demand and China's Housing Market (Cornell UP, 2026) is a study of the power that shapes the forms of the homes Chinese citizens strive for and the possible paths they may take to realize their home ownership dreams. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Mengqi Wang discusses how the Chinese real estate industry functions in the everyday, welding aspirational middle-class families, especially migrant families, to the property-owning class and the urban growth machine. Urban housing was a socialist benefit in China until the market reforms and privatization in the 1990s. Today, most Chinese citizens consider homeownership a necessity rather than an economic privilege. Wang analyzes the making of homeownership ideologies through "inflexible demand" (gangxu)—a concept that real estate brokers, developers, homebuyers, and the government in China use to craft homeownership as indispensable for fulfilling dreams of urban citizenship. The ethnography shows that gangxu helps to articulate diverse attempts to accumulate value through housing at China's urbanizing city periphery, while giving shape to a housing-based, postsocialist right to the city. Anxious Homes argues that homeownership does not necessarily engender independence but suggests further inclusion of citizens within the dominant regime of accumulation. Mengqi Wang is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Duke Kunshan University. Her research interests include economic anthropology, urban anthropology, political economy, gender studies, and science and technology studies. Yadong Li is an anthropologist-in-training. He is a PhD candidate of Socio-cultural Anthropology at Tulane University. More details about his scholarship and research interests can be found here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studiesThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from New Books Network, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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How The British Made The Far Right Acceptable / Daniel Trilling
Jun 701:20:54Tap to summarizePodcast: This Is Hell! (LS 57 · TOP 0.5% what is this?)Episode: How The British Made The Far Right Acceptable / Daniel TrillingPub date: 2026-05-12Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationJournalist and author Daniel Trilling returns to This Is Hell! to talk about his new book “If We Tolerate This: How the British establishment made the far right respectable”, published by Pan Macmillan. This is Daniel’s fourth appearance on the show. Daniel was shortlisted for the 2022 and 2023 Orwell Prizes, for his writing focused on homelessness, human rights and politics. His work has also been shortlisted for the Political Book Awards and the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing. Daniel is also an associate lecturer in journalism at London College of Communication, where he helps with the Refugee Journalism Project, a training and mentoring scheme for exiled media workers in the UK, which you can learn more about at refugeejournalismproject.org. Link to purchase Daniel Trilling's new book https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/daniel-trilling/if-we-tolerate-this/9781037411571 We will have new installments of Rotten History and Hangover Cure. We will also be sharing your answers to this week's Question from Hell! from Patreon. Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thisishellThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from This Is Hell!, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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Weekend Listen: Writer Amitav Ghosh on Why India Has Lost Its Way
Jun 700:33:36Tap to summarizePodcast: Big Take Asia (LS 34 · TOP 5% what is this?)Episode: Weekend Listen: Writer Amitav Ghosh on Why India Has Lost Its WayPub date: 2026-05-03Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationFor more than 30 years, the Indian-born writer Amitav Ghosh has built a global following with novels that draw on deep historical research. But his latest offering, Ghost-Eye, is more esoteric. The plot moves back and forth between India and the US, using past lives to explore the ties between the personal and the political. The plot centers on a psychiatrist treating a 3-year-old who shocks her family by insisting she remembers a past life in a fishing community. In this conversation with Mishal Husain, Ghosh explains why he’s finding it harder to write nowadays, how the memories of his childhood came flooding back during the Covid pandemic, why he sees capitalism as an obstacle to protecting the environment and thinks India has lost its way diplomatically. Read this interview with Mishal’s notes on Bloomberg Weekend: www.bloomberg.com/latest/weekend-interviewWe have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Bloomberg, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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EP. 872: TUPAC: FORGED IN REVOLUTIONARY FIRE ft. HAMZA SHEHRYAR
May 901:53:08Tap to summarizePodcast: THIS IS REVOLUTION ＞podcast (LS 47 · TOP 1% what is this?)Episode: EP. 872: TUPAC: FORGED IN REVOLUTIONARY FIRE ft. HAMZA SHEHRYARPub date: 2026-04-29Get Podcast Transcript →powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarizationRead Hamza's article in Jacobin here: https://jacobin.com/.../tupac-biography-black-panthers.../ Since his death in 1996, Tupac Shakur has existed less as a person than a symbol, flattened by myth, commodified by nostalgia, and recycled endlessly by an industry that thrives on decontextualized images of rebellion. A corrective is long overdue. Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop READ THE WEEKLY TIR NEWSLETTER HERE: https://www.patreon.com/collection/1853497 Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined, BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH! Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents? Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!) THANKS Y'ALL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/ Twitter: @TIRShowOakland Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland Substack: https://jmylesoftir.substack.com/.../the-money-will-roll... Read Jason Myles in Current Affairs Magazine here: https://www.currentaffairs.org/.../donald-trump-is-a-pro... Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/ Read Jason in Black Agenda Report: https://www.blackagendareport.com/rainbow-and-machineThe podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from bitterlake, which is the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Listen Notes, Inc.
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