Juan Cole is a professor of modern Middle Eastern history at the University of Michigan and a blogger at Informed Content. He is the author of The New Arabs: How the Millenial Generation is Changing the Middle East, Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East, Sacred Spaces and Holy Wars and Engaging the Muslim World.
Juan Cole on KCRW
More from KCRW
Confused on Prop 34? It’s about the politics of rent control
Election 2024Prop 34 – sponsored by the California Apartment Association – looks like health care reform, but it’s crafted to stop one nonprofit from spending on politics.
Criminal justice reform hits a backlash this election season
Election 2024Four years after protesters called to defund the police, voters worried about crime are poised to toss out a reformer D.A. and pass a tough-on-crime bill.
Will Trump or Harris win undecided voters?
Election 2024The final campaign days are here. How are early voters affecting candidate strategies? Plus, the panel discusses how abortion rights may change the Nevada battleground.
Will a Viet American Democrat unseat GOP in Little Saigon?
Race & EthnicityLittle Saigon’s Vietnamese community has long leaned Republican. Now local Democrat Derek Tran is trying to peel away votes in an OC swing district.
Another sales tax for homeless services: LA voters to decide
Election 2024Measure A – on LA County ballots this November – asks voters whether or not to approve a sales tax hike to fund homeless services and affordable housing.
These 10 companies run our ‘democracy’
Business & EconomyAmidst the hype, excitement and nervousness of the election, the bigger picture of what the United States is and how it operates often gets lost on people.
LA’s 14th District race could reshape City Hall
Election 2024City Councilman Kevin De Leon is running for reelection against tenant rights attorney Ysabel Jurado. The outcome could determine whether City Hall leans more progressive.
Have hurricanes gotten swept up in the culture wars?
PoliticsThe recent hurricanes unleashed a storm of conspiracies. Could Omaha voters decide the nation’s fate? Plus, an indie newsletter saved a politically divided marriage.
New AI laws, San Francisco politics, ‘Entitlement’ novel
InternationalThe U.S. says Israel was behind this week’s remote detonations of Hezbollah’s communication devices. How was the operation pulled off?