In the thirteenth episode, I speak to Joseph McQuade, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, on his recent book A Genealogy of Terrorism: Colonial Law and the Origins of an Idea published by Cambridge University Press in 2020. The book demonstrates how terrorism was shaped by colonial emergency laws in the 19th and early 20th centuries. McQuade traces the genealogies, trends, and events that influenced the legal measures colonial officials adopted to delegitimize and control anti-colonial violence. The conversation begins by exploring how McQuade became interested in this topic before understanding why colonial genealogies are significant when understanding terrorism and how it manifests. McQuade explains why language proved vital in the conceptualization of colonial imaginaries used to depoliticize the actions of anti-colonial revolutionaries. Finally, we cover the book’s implications when trying to understand the nature and logic of political violence in other parts of the world and the use of colonial-era laws in India to control and curb the actions of various groups antithetical to the state. Links https://www.cambridge.org/sg/academic/subjects/history/south-asian-history/genealogy-terrorism-colonial-law-and-origins-idea?format=HB&isbn=9781108842150