Middle East 2.0 Podcast

In the summer of 2021, the Middle East Center set out to record a serious, scholarly podcast, with serious, scholarly people, talking about serious, scholarly things. But somewhere along the way, things went in a very different direction. And here we are.

We are proud (is that the right word?) to announce “Middle East 2.0” — featuring our secret weapon, “Brian the IT Guy,” broadcasting from his garage at an undisclosed location in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Join us as we attempt to pick the brains of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East, with the occasional foray into the dark recesses of live tech support and the harsh realities of chicken ownership (yes, they live in his garage).

Our first guest is Penn’s own Professor Jamal Elias, who takes us on a wide-ranging journey through Islamic iconography, visual art, trucks and motorcycles — and how he discovered a lost manuscript in the mountains of Tibet.

Episode One: Muslims, Motorcycles, and Manuscripts