#history
Podcasts
Competing Internationalisms: Samuel Hirst on Soviet-Turkish Interwar Relations, Statist Internationalism and Rejecting the Liberal Order
In this episode of the Review of Democracy podcast, Alexandra Medzibrodszky interviews Samuel Hirst on his new book, Against the Liberal Order, the Soviet Union, Turkey and Statist Internationalism from 1919 to 1939. The book examines the collaboration between early Republican Turkey and the Soviet Union during the interwar period, exploring the diplomatic, economic, cultural and international dimensions of their relationship.
31.10.2024
Book Reviews
To Do Art, Politics, Critique, and Theory at the Same Time
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Viet Thanh Nguyen – author of the new book A Man of Two Faces. A Memoir, A History, A Memorial – reflects on the ambiguities and contradictions of growing up Vietnamese-American in the aftermath of what is called the Vietnam War in the US; explains what motivated him to seek a new balance between remembering and forgetting in his new book; shares his ethical considerations regarding the revelation of secrets; shows why self-representation is not enough; and discusses how his dialectic Marxism wavers between Groucho and Karl.
25.01.2024
Podcasts
Novelists Should Write for the Public Sphere — In Conversation with Bécquer Seguin
In a conversation with Kasia Krzyżanowska, Bécquer Seguin discusses his book “The Op-Ed Novel. A Literary History of Post-Franco Spain” (Harvard University Press, 2023). He elaborates on the concept of the op-ed novel, explains the idea of literary populism, advocates for the engagement of novelists in the public debates of historical and national meaning, and discusses some most noteworthy examples of Spanish op-ed novelists.
16.01.2024
Podcasts
An Intimate Portrait of Eastern Europe – Jacob Mikanowski Discusses Abandoned Shrines, Ramshackle Utopias, and Much More
In this conversation with RevDem editor Ferenc Laczó, Jacob Mikanowski – author of Goodbye, Eastern Europe: An Intimate History of a Divided Land – discusses his major inspirations as a writer and how his travels have shaped his perspective; explicates his specific approach to the history of Eastern Europe and what he views as the distinguishing features of this diverse region; and reflects on whether Eastern Europe might still be a place where nonconformists and their heterodox ideas can flourish.
12.01.2024
Book Reviews
Five Ideas Books in 2023 (Plus Another Five) – by Ferenc Laczó
Ideas editors and podcasters have been invited to a continuous feast in 2023: the year has offered an unusual number of original publications of the highest caliber. Natasha Wheatley’s The Life and Death of States: Central Europe and the Transformation of Modern Sovereignty, the Vienna-based discussion of which we were proud to co-organize; Sam Moyn’s Liberalism Against Itself. Cold War Intellectuals and the Making of Our Times that substantially critiques the dominant form Western liberalism has taken; Danielle Allen’s exciting proposal of a power-sharing liberalism; George Steinmetz’s major monograph on the colonial origins of modern social thought in France; or Adam Shatz’s collection of essays on the radical imagination have all been evident highlights. Here comes an all too selective list of five recommendations from RevDem Ideas of books that deserve to be more widely read and discussed. Darrin M. McMahon’s new book offers a wide-ranging and beautifully crafted intellectual [...]
21.12.2023
