In this episode, Rustin is joined by Neda Maghbouleh, Assistant Professor of Sociology at University of Toronto. She is the author of [The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian Americans and the Everyday Politics of Race (Stanford University Press, 2017).](https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=24756) Neda is a long-time friend of Ajam and an early guest of the first iteration of the Ajam podcast back in 2014. Since our first conversation, she has published her book, which explores the history of ethnic and racial classification in the United States and how Iranians and other Middle Eastern Americans have moved across the color line from "white" to "brown." After discussing the major themes and reception of her book, Dr. Maghbouleh talks about her latest project focusing on the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Canada since 2015. The five-year study follows newcomer mothers and their teenage children as they adjust to their new environment and deal with a wide variety of stressors Rustin closes out the episode with "Chiftetelli," a 1949 Armenian song by the Nore Ike Orchestra. ...
In this episode, we discuss urban development in post-Soviet Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Rustin is joined by Elena Darjania, a Tbilisi-based architect and urban planner, and Otar Nemsadze, an architect and organizer of the first [Tbilisi Architecture Biennale ](biennial.ge/). The conversation covers the transformation of the Georgian capital during the 19th and 20th centuries-- from a medieval walled city, to a Tsarist administrative center, a Soviet capital, and finally a post-soviet city undergoing privatization and attempting to attract foreign investment. The guests address problems and issues facing urbanists and activists, such as traffic congestion, deregulation in the construction and real estate industry, as well as inadequate services and infrastructure for residents. Additionally, Otar and Elena talk about the major theme of Tbilisi Architecture Biennale-- "informality," or the process in which inhabitants make alterations and adjustments to the built environment to address their changing needs. Rustin closes out the episode with [Lili Gegelia's "Gazafxulis Bralia"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaW_ZhUBUuM) ...
In this episode, Rustin is joined by Dr. Neda Maghbouleh and Dr. Amy Malek to interview Dr. Narges Bajoghli, Assistant Professor of Middle East Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, about her new book, [“Iran Re-Framed: Anxieties of Power in the Islamic Republic.”](http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=29666) Dr. Bajoghli talks about how she came to spend ten years in the field as an anthropologist studying members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Ansar Hezbollah, and Basij paramilitary organizations. Through a study of their media production, she explores how these men developed strategies to reach the youth, how they understood their own life trajectories, and tellingly, their deep anxieties about the future and their place in it. She also explains how she takes a “3D look at power in Iran” and its relation to the ethics of fieldwork, particularly among subjects that one disagrees with. This book offers a multilayered story about what it means to be pro-regime inside the Islamic Republic of Iran, challenging what we think we know about those who continue to support its revolution. ...
