Program Description

The UCLA Center for Middle East Development hosted the event, "CMED Chats, Episode 2," on June 30, 2021. Watch or listen to the second edition of the series, hosted by CMED Director, Dr. Steven Spiegel, with guest, internationally renowned journalist, Robin Wright, by clicking on the podcast or video above.

CMED Chats is a unique new monthly series that will engage charismatic guests who are from the Middle East and North Africa or connected to the region in some capacity. We plan to bring you diplomats, activists, journalists, analysts, policy makers, artists, musicians, and many more guests who can help us dig deeper into an often misunderstood, complex part of the world. Our hosts will sit down for one-on-one casual chats of at least 30 minutes, covering a variety of topics that will highlight the myriad voices and realities that enrich this colorful region. 

Robin Wright is a senior fellow at the US Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center. She has reported from more than 140 countries for The New Yorker, The Washington Post, TIME, The New York Times Magazine, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Wright has also been a fellow at the Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Yale, Duke, Stanford, Dartmouth, and the University of California. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the UN Correspondents Association Gold Medal for international affairs, the National Magazine Award for Iran reportage, and the Overseas Press Club Award for her coverage of African wars. Wright has authored eight books.

Dr. Steven Spiegel is Director of the UCLA Center for Middle East Development. He is also a research professor of political science, focusing on international relations and American foreign policy in the Middle East. He has written over 100 books, articles, and papers. He is the author of “The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict: Making America’s Middle East Policy from Truman to Reagan,” and “World Politics in a New Era,” as well as one of the authors of "The Peace Puzzle: America’s Quest for Arab-Israeli Peace, 1989-2011.”

Picture Credits (Left to right): Arafat (University of Michigan), Microphone (USIP), American Flag (Woodrow Wilson Center), Syria (University of Michigan), News Interview (PBS), Mubarak (University of Michigan), Red Suit (MPR News), Pope (University of Michigan), Iranian Chief of Staff (University of Michigan).