How the New Middle East Was Made

Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore joins Bari Weiss to discuss his new book, The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. In a wide-ranging live conversation, he argues that we live in an era of 'counterhistory' where inconvenient facts are discarded, and that historians must stand firm against ideological orthodoxies. The discussion touches on the internal conflicts within Islam, the perennial debate over Western intervention versus local agency in the region's troubles, and the strategic realignment that has brought the Gulf states closer to Israel while Iran aligns with China and Russia. Montefiore promises that his book is as lively as it is serious, filled with startling anecdotes that reveal the human side of power.