Episodes
Omer sits down with Josh Paul, former Director in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs at the U.S. State Department, who was responsible for U.S. weapons transfers to other countries. Paul resigned in late October 2023, after working for the U.S. government for 11 years. They discuss U.S. arms transfers, the process of sending weapons to Israel, how Joe Biden sees Palestinians, Israeli-Saudi backroom diplomacy,  prospects for a ceasefire, the day after the war ends, and other...
Published 02/23/24
Published 02/23/24
Omer talks with Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University, about the war in Gaza, the history of Palestine and Israel, Zionism, the notion of Western guilt, Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump, the disconnect between political elites and the public, and what ordinary people can do to make their voices heard. Books mentioned in this episode: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine, by Rashid Khalidi Poems, by Mahmoud Darwish Plays and Novels, by Ghassan...
Published 02/01/24
On the eve of the launch of his debut book, Brown Boy: A Memoir, Omer sat down with award-winning journalist Lee Hawkins for a candid conversation on writing the memoir, growing up Muslim, race and American history, Canada and colonialism, the Brown and Black experiences in North America, the notion of 'privilege,' how life can change in an instant, living in Paris, the differences between Harvard and Yale, intergenerational stories, and other topics. At the end of this episode, Omer reads...
Published 12/29/23
Omer sits down with Jameel Jaffer, Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. They discuss free speech on campus, when free speech turns to hate speech, the First Amendment, 'cancel culture' and conservatives, social media companies, censorship, the Israel-Gaza war, and other topics. Jameel's book recommendations: State of Silence by Sam Lebovic Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi Learn more about Omer's book here Subscribe to Omer's...
Published 12/14/23
Omer sat down with Jason Furman, formerly President Obama's top economic advisor and currently a professor at Harvard. Jason served as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the White House from 2013 to 2017. In this conversation, Omer and Jason talked about economic inequality, inflation, Silicon Valley Bank, working in the White House, the best advice he ever gave President Obama, and being roommates with Matt Damon. More about Omer's book.  Jason's book recommendations: The Myth...
Published 12/01/23
Omer Aziz sits down with legendary Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward to talk about Donald Trump, the presidency, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, the craft of journalism, and other topics. More about BROWN BOY: A MEMOIR. More about Omer's work at Harvard.  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 03/31/23
Omer sits down with Vijay Vaitheeswaran of The Economist magazine. They discuss climate change, innovation, the Inflation Reduction Act, clean energy, China, the future of journalism, and other topics.   More about Omer’s book, BROWN BOY: A MEMOIR.  More about Vijay’s book, POWER TO THE PEOPLE.   More about Vijay’s work at The Economist.  More about Omer’s research at Harvard. Support independent and local bookstores. You can pre-order BROWN BOY: A  MEMOIR everywhere books are...
Published 03/26/23
Omer speaks with with Shahzad Younas, Founder and CEO of MUZZ, the world's largest Muslim dating app.  They talk about leadership, management, starting a company, the story of MUZZ, Islam and love, investment banking, and  more. More about Omer's book, BROWN BOY: A MEMOIR, coming April 4th. More about Omer's research at Harvard.  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 03/25/23
Omer Aziz talks to Sumbul Siddiqui, Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, about city government, her political journey, the tension between progressive cities and high rents, mental health initiatives, and how local government can support working-class families.  More about BROWN BOY: A Memoir can be found here. More about Omer's research at Harvard can be found here.  BROWN BOY: A MEMOIR comes out April 4 2023.  Twitter: @omeraziz12 Instagram: @o.maz12  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram:...
Published 03/06/23
Omer talks with Noam Chomsky about free speech, American history, fascism, Donald Trump, China, Israel, George Orwell, and other topics.  Minority Views is the podcast from Omer Aziz, Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard and author of "Brown Boy: A Memoir," coming this April from Scribner.  More about Omer's book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Brown-Boy/Omer-Aziz/9781982136314  More about Omer's research at Harvard: https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/people/omer-aziz Twitter:...
Published 02/17/23
Omer Aziz sits down with Dr. Homeira Qaderi, author, activist, Harvard Radcliffe Fellow, and refugee from Afghanistan who was on the last U.S. military plane out of Kabul in August of 2021. They discuss her personal story, the re-emergence of the Taliban, and the fate of Afghan women after twenty years of war.  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 02/01/23
Omer Aziz sits down with Noah Feldman, a constitutional law professor at Harvard Law School, columnist for Bloomberg, author of 10 books, and the host of the Deep Background Podcast.   They spoke about rising antisemitism, social media, Ye and Trump, threats to the Constitution, the study of different languages, and other topics.  Feldman can be found on Twitter @NoahRFeldman. More information about Professor Feldman can be found on his website noah-feldman.com.  Twitter:...
Published 12/21/22
Omer Aziz talks with Murtaza Hussain, national security reporter for The Intercept, about the World Cup, human rights, the Middle East, China, and the new era of global competition. The New York Times piece referenced in the episode can be found here:  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/06/opinion/qatars-showcase-of-shame.html  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 12/02/22
Omer Aziz talks to first-year Harvard student Thomas Tait (Class of 2026), also a producer of the Minority Views Podcast, about meritocracy, class, college admissions, cancel culture, and how to get into Harvard.  Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 11/23/22
Omer sits down with accomplished journalist and author of The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy, Anand Giridharadas to discuss Democratic Party messaging, patriotism, AOC, and the future of our democracy.  Check us out on Instagram: @MinorityViewsPodcast and Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Twitter: @MinorityViews_ Instagram: @minorityviewspodcast
Published 10/28/22