PUBLICATIONS & PRINT MEDIA INTERVIEWS
You may have already noticed that I’ve divided up my publications into Academic and Commentary (I’ve separated public appearances in a similar manner, with Media Appearances & Public Events listed under Commentary, and Invited Lectures - academic lectures - accessible in the Academic Work section of the website). The logic driving this division is similar to the reason Academic Resources and general Resources aren’t folded into the same section - namely, I recognize that not everyone who follows my work is equally interested in the same material, and admittedly, I’m an insomniac workaholic with a lot of interests, so it can get pretty convoluted and messy if I don’t watch myself.
But that’s not the only reason.
Although I’ve long been advised by various mentors throughout my career that I should “brand” myself as a public intellectual, to be honest: that phrase makes me physically ill. To me, there’s no escaping the inherently elitist (and grossly self-important) nature of labeling oneself an “intellectual” in the first place, and secondly, I can’t help but view the idea as an extension of everything that’s wrong with the field of higher education today.
As anyone who interviews me (as well as every former student) will tell you, I don’t even like the term “Doctor.” Sure, I worked hard for my Ph.D., but that honorific is simply too loaded with connotations of status and pretension that I’d rather avoid it altogether. I think we often forget how intimidating titles like “Dr.” can be, not only to undergraduate students, but to the general public as well. And nothing — nothing — is as much of an impediment to learning as the fear of looking stupid in front of someone you (wrongly) assume is smarter than you. As I always tell my students, “the only thing I have on you is experience and time - not intellect.” I firmly believe that’s true for most of us, whether we’re willing to admit it or not.
So to return to the question of why I’ve chosen to divide publications into two sections, I have to own up to one of the most obnoxious aspects of academic writing: generally speaking, academic publications are full of jargon, seem to perpetually “try too hard” to impress, and use a register of rhetoric that a general audience is rarely equipped to fully grasp (again, not because of inherent capabilities, but simply because graduate school trains us to write almost as if we’re learning another language). And, I confess: it’s much easier to publish academic work, because excellent writing is clear writing, which means: edit, edit, edit - a sad indictment of academia, given its ostensible objective is to share knowledge.
I could not be more passionate about education, and I couldn't care less about gatekeeping access to knowledge production from those who haven’t had the opportunity to pursue a college degree, or the luxury of studying what truly interests. My commitment to providing high quality education for anyone who wants to learn, and at no cost, is what originally drove me to join Twitter — and I want to build on that platform here. Anyone who has a desire to learn deserves the opportunity to do so, and if that’s a commitment one takes seriously, then keeping the wisest possible audience in mind is critical.
With that rant finally over (for now), I can step aside and let you get back to what you came here for - the content. As bad as I am about forgetting to keep track of media appearances and public events in general, I discovered in the process of putting together this page that… surprise, surprise - I’m approximately 85% worse when it comes to written commentary and print media interviews (aside: unfortunately, some of the outlets I once wrote for have now closed. I’ve located PDF versions of some, but not nearly all, of this work. However, I will keep trying to hunt down the rest - at some point, anyway). It’s much easier to keep track of academic work, given the ridiculously slow rate of publication - as well as the fact that none of the work you’ll find here (policy pieces, commentary, media interviews, analysis, etc.) will help an applicant out on the academic job market (similarly, none of this work would count for tenure, were I currently employed at a university). But that doesn’t mean these publications don’t matter - in fact, I’d argue that in many ways, they matter much more: this work isn’t for the lucky few in the ivory tower. It’s for all of us.
I hope you enjoy.
But that’s not the only reason.
Although I’ve long been advised by various mentors throughout my career that I should “brand” myself as a public intellectual, to be honest: that phrase makes me physically ill. To me, there’s no escaping the inherently elitist (and grossly self-important) nature of labeling oneself an “intellectual” in the first place, and secondly, I can’t help but view the idea as an extension of everything that’s wrong with the field of higher education today.
As anyone who interviews me (as well as every former student) will tell you, I don’t even like the term “Doctor.” Sure, I worked hard for my Ph.D., but that honorific is simply too loaded with connotations of status and pretension that I’d rather avoid it altogether. I think we often forget how intimidating titles like “Dr.” can be, not only to undergraduate students, but to the general public as well. And nothing — nothing — is as much of an impediment to learning as the fear of looking stupid in front of someone you (wrongly) assume is smarter than you. As I always tell my students, “the only thing I have on you is experience and time - not intellect.” I firmly believe that’s true for most of us, whether we’re willing to admit it or not.
So to return to the question of why I’ve chosen to divide publications into two sections, I have to own up to one of the most obnoxious aspects of academic writing: generally speaking, academic publications are full of jargon, seem to perpetually “try too hard” to impress, and use a register of rhetoric that a general audience is rarely equipped to fully grasp (again, not because of inherent capabilities, but simply because graduate school trains us to write almost as if we’re learning another language). And, I confess: it’s much easier to publish academic work, because excellent writing is clear writing, which means: edit, edit, edit - a sad indictment of academia, given its ostensible objective is to share knowledge.
I could not be more passionate about education, and I couldn't care less about gatekeeping access to knowledge production from those who haven’t had the opportunity to pursue a college degree, or the luxury of studying what truly interests. My commitment to providing high quality education for anyone who wants to learn, and at no cost, is what originally drove me to join Twitter — and I want to build on that platform here. Anyone who has a desire to learn deserves the opportunity to do so, and if that’s a commitment one takes seriously, then keeping the wisest possible audience in mind is critical.
With that rant finally over (for now), I can step aside and let you get back to what you came here for - the content. As bad as I am about forgetting to keep track of media appearances and public events in general, I discovered in the process of putting together this page that… surprise, surprise - I’m approximately 85% worse when it comes to written commentary and print media interviews (aside: unfortunately, some of the outlets I once wrote for have now closed. I’ve located PDF versions of some, but not nearly all, of this work. However, I will keep trying to hunt down the rest - at some point, anyway). It’s much easier to keep track of academic work, given the ridiculously slow rate of publication - as well as the fact that none of the work you’ll find here (policy pieces, commentary, media interviews, analysis, etc.) will help an applicant out on the academic job market (similarly, none of this work would count for tenure, were I currently employed at a university). But that doesn’t mean these publications don’t matter - in fact, I’d argue that in many ways, they matter much more: this work isn’t for the lucky few in the ivory tower. It’s for all of us.
I hope you enjoy.
The Century Foundation - The Patriot-Terrorist Dichotomy
Commentary – May 5, 2022
The Century Foundation - Roundtable: The Age of Armed Groups
Commentary - April 28, 2022
The Independent - How Republicans plan to use 6 Jan 'denialism' to win midterms and elect Donald Trump again
Print Media Interview - January 6, 2022
The Atlantic Council | Digital Forensic Research Lab - Experts React to the year since January 6 | Propaganda, profit, and post-truth partisanship in the media after January 6
Commentary – January 4, 2022
The Century Foundation - Policy Roundtable: A World Still Disfigured by 9/11 | The War on Terror Comes Home
Commentary - September 1, 2021
The New Republic - The U.S. Military Has a White Supremacy Problem
Print Media Interview – May 17, 2021
Broken Pencil Magazine - Hate Zines: Understanding 40 Years of Neo-Nazi Self-Publishing [Feature]
Commentary – May 14, 2021
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The Century Foundation Policy Roundtable: Biden’s Chance to Avoid Old Wars and New Pitfalls in the Middle East | Reverse Course on Western Sahara
Commentary – March 3, 2021
The Century Foundation - Dismantling White Supremacist Infiltration of the Military and Law Enforcement
Commentary - January 25, 2021
The Atlantic Council - The Death of Baghdadi: How ISIS used al-Qaeda’s Mistakes to Build a Caliphate
Commentary – November 8, 2019
The Independent - Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead, but ISIS will live on. Here's how.
Print Interview – October 28, 2019
The Conversationalist & Anti-Nihilism Institute - When Britain Revoked a Jihadi Bride’s Citizenship, They Fell for ISIS Propaganda.
Commentary – March 1, 2019
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The Washington Post - Britain’s decision to revoke Shamima Begum’s citizenship is wrong and smacks of racism
Print Interview – February 20, 2019
Hummus for Thought - From ISIS To the Abortion Wars: America, We Need to Talk
Commentary - December 23, 2018
Muftah - America’s Guide to Post-Campaign Relationship Recovery
Commentary - November 8, 2016
CNN - The unlikely godfather of the Islamic State
Print Interview – July 3, 2016
CNN - ISIS claims suicide attack on Iraqi stadium that kills 33
Print Interview – March 26, 2016
Newswise - Disorder Of Trump Protests And The Stoking Of His Supporters’ Fears All Play Into The Hands Of ISIS, Researcher Says
Print Interview – March 15, 2016
Wofford College - Expert to Speak on Syria’s Refugee Crisis, Islamophobia, ISIS PR Machine
Print Coverage - March 7, 2016
VICE - Marking Against ISIS: US State Department Enlists Students to Fight Terror
Print Interview – February 8, 2016
Georgia State News Hub - The Many Names of ISIS
Print Interview - January 27, 2016
Al Jazeera - Why don't we care about anti-Muslim abuse?
Print Interview – December 22, 2015
NPR - Sen. Murphy: US Should Declare War on ISIS
Print Interview – December 9, 2015
Muftah - Jeff Halper’s New Book Uncovers Israel’s Primary Export, the Military-Industrial Security Complex
Commentary – December 3, 2015
Middle East Research and Information Project - Think Again, Turn Away…From Lousy Public Diplomacy
Commentary – October 21, 2015
The Walrus - Brand ISIS: The sophisticated marketing machine of the Islamic State
Print Interview – March 2015
Rolling Stone - Teenage Jihad: Why did three American kids from the suburbs of Chicago try to run away to the Islamic state, and should the Feds treat them as terrorists?
Print Interview – March 25, 2015
Al Jazeera - The ISIL Franchise: From Syria to Pakistan and Libya, the armed Sunni group is spreading its brand of violence in the region
Print Interview – February 20, 2015
OZY - Immodest Proposal: Stop Talking About ISIS
Print Interview – January 31, 2015
Al Jazeera America - Republican ISIL fearmongering amplifies extremists' message, experts say
The Cairo Review of Global Affairs - A Street Called Muhammed Mahmoud
Commentary – Summer 2014
Muftah - In “The Square,” Hope Drags on for Egypt’s Ongoing Revolution
Commentary - January 13, 2014
Muftah - Go Home, FEMEN, You’re Drunk
Commentary - December 30, 2013
The New York Times - Saudi Arabia Vows to Aid Egypt's Regime
Print Interview – August 19, 2013
Muftah - War Crimes in Afghanistan: Protective Anonymity and Lives that Matter
Commentary - June 12, 2013
Muftah - Hunger Strikes at Guantanamo Bay: the Orwellian Geometry of Asymmetric Warfare
Commentary - June 5, 2013
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Muftah - Cultures of Violence: Woolwich, Jodi Arias and the Market Value of Atrocity
Commentary - May 28, 2013
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Muftah - Death Pornography: Mass Media, Atrocities, and Burial Politics After Boston
Commentary - May 13, 2013
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Muftah - Neoliberal Islamism: Egypt and the Effects of the IMF Loan
Commentary – January 6, 2013
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Aslan Media - After the Ceasefire, Ending the Siege: Gaza and the Spatial Logic of Resistance
Commentary – November 26, 2012
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Muftah - Freedom of Expression Under Threat in North Africa: An Open Letter from Ganzeer
Commentary – November 23, 2012
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Muftah - The Conflict in the Gaza Strip: The Rhetoric of Hypocrisy and Illogic
Commentary – November 12, 2012
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Muftah - Image Politics: The Surrealism of Black Flags and the Egyptian Riots
Commentary - September 20, 2012
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Muftah - An Algerian Apocalypse for Egypt? Not Quite
Commentary - July 16, 2012
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Libyan Tweep Forum - Op Ed: Media, Civil Society, and Responsibility in Libya
Commentary - May 21, 2012
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Kifah Libya - Residents and Dissidents: Reflections on Libya from an outsider
Commentary – May 12, 2012
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Aslan Media - Image, Space, and Power: Photography and Paradox in Algeria
Commentary – May 10, 2012
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RETURN TO COMMENTARY.