Converging Dialogues

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with H.W. Brands about the life of George Washington. They discuss Washington as an enigma, his social and political statue, his upbringing and temperament, and his relationship with his wife and his relationship with slavery. They also talk about Washington as a general, as president, and the legacy of Washington.
H. W. Brands holds the Jack S. Blanton Sr. Chair in History at the University of Texas at Austin. He has written more than a dozen biographies and histories, including The General vs. the President, a New York Times bestseller. Two of his biographies, The First American and Traitor to His Class, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. He is the author of the latest book, American Patriarch: The life of George Washington.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer about belonging among various ethnic and religious groups in the early and middle Ottoman period. They discuss the landscape of religious and sectarian divides in the early Ottoman Empire, Turkic origins of the Safavids and Sufis, the Qizilbash, and various sociocultural variables. They talk about immigration between the Safavids and the Ottomans, the Safavid’s turn from Sufi to Shia, Qizilbash documents and Ottoman surveillance, remnants today, and many more topics.
Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer is Assistant Professor of History and Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies & Steering Committee Chair of the Ottoman Studies Initiative (OTS-NYU) at New York University. She has her PhD from The Ohio State University. She specializes in Middle Eastern history, with a focus on early modern Ottoman and Safavid Empires. She is the author of the book, Boundaries of Belonging: Sectarianism and Statecraft in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Roderick Beaton about the history of Europe. They discuss how Europe is defined, origins of Europe from ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, Turkey, European history as Christian history, Europe during WWI and WWII, the European Union, and the future of Europe.
Roderick Beaton is a professor emeritus at King’s College London. He has written several books on Greek and European history, including The Greeks and Greece: Biography of a Modern Nation, which was shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize. He is the four-time winner of the prestigious Runciman Award, and in 2024 was knighted by King Charles III “for services to History.” He is the author of the latest book, Europe: A New History.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Andrew Knoll about the four billion years of life on earth. They discuss geobiology, carbon and the carbon cycle, nitrogen and phosphorus, sulfur, and metals in the human body. They also talk about plate tectonics, habitability, minerals, climate change, life on other planets, and the future of life on earth.
Andrew Knoll is the Fisher Research Professor of Natural History and Earth and Planetary Sciences, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is the recipient of the International Prize for Biology and the Crafoord Prize in Geosciences and member of the National Academy of Sciences. His books include A Brief History of Earth: Four Billion Years in Eight Chapters and Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth, and the most recent, Earth and Life: A four billion year conversation.


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In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with David Stuart about the ancient Maya. They provide an overview of the Maya, Mayan language, beginnings of the Mayan civilization, Mayan creation myth, early collapse of the ancient Maya, dynasties in the classic Mayan period, Teotihuacán, the four heavens, Spanish conquest, and many more topics.
David Stuart is the David and Linda Schele Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing and director of the Mesoamerica Center at the University of Texas at Austin. His books include Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya, The Order of Days: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Maya, Spearthrower Owl: A Teotihuacan Ruler in Maya History, and the most recent, The Four Heavens: A New History of the Ancient Maya. He is the youngest person ever to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.


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