Who REALLY Made the Modern Middle East - with Simon Sebag Montefiore (Part 2)

Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict really at the center of the Middle East?

In Part 2 of Dan’s conversation with historian Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of The Cauldron, they trace how the balance of power in the Middle East shifted after 9/11, from Iran’s rise and its network of proxies to the emergence of Israel, Iran and Turkey as the region’s dominant military powers. They also ask whether the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has obscured a much larger struggle for power across the region, and what history can tell us about the possibility of peace.

Purchase a copy of Simon’s book The Cauldron here.

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This episode is sponsored by The Israel Democracy Institute: For resources on Israel's upcoming election and to learn more about IDI, visit elections.idi.org.il/2026.

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In this episode:

- How the Iraq War empowered Iran

- Iran’s proxy empire and October 7

- The rise of the Middle East’s non-Arab powers

- The surprising parallels between Turkey and Israel

- Why does the West focus so intensely on Israel?

- Beyond the one-state vs. two-state debate

- Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a regional sideshow?

- Can the Middle East choose “honey” over blood?

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Credits: Ilan Benatar, Beth Pearlman, Brittany Cohen, Ava Weiner, Martin Huergo, Mariangeles Burgos, and Yuval Semo