David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf States

David Commins on Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism, and the Future of the Gulf States

David Commins, author of the new book Saudi Arabia: A Modern History, brings decades of scholarship and firsthand experience to explain the kingdom's unlikely rise. Tyler and David discuss why Wahhabism was essential for Saudi state-building, the treatment of Shiites in the Eastern Province and whether discrimination has truly ended, why the Saudi state emerged from its poorer and least cosmopolitan regions, the lasting significance of the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure by millenarian extremists, what's kept Gulf states stable, the differing motivations behind Saudi sports investments, the disappointing performance of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology despite its $10 billion endowment, the main barrier to improving its k-12 education, how Yemen became the region's outlier of instability and whether Saudi Arabia learned from its mistakes there, the Houthis' unclear strategic goals, the prospects for the kingdom's post-oil future, the topic of David's next book, and more.

Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel.

Recorded August 22nd, 2025.

This episode was made possible through the support of the John Templeton Foundation.

Other ways to connect

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(288)

Paula Byrne on Thomas Hardy's Women, Jane Austen's Humor, and Evelyn Waugh's Warmth

Paula Byrne on Thomas Hardy's Women, Jane Austen's Humor, and Evelyn Waugh's Warmth

Donate to Conversations with Tyler Give Crypto Other Ways to Give What can Thomas Hardy's tortured marriages teach us about love, obsession, and second chances? In this episode, biographer, novelist,...

11 Joulu 202454min

Stephen Kotkin on Stalin, Power, and the Art of Biography

Stephen Kotkin on Stalin, Power, and the Art of Biography

Donate to Conversations with Tyler Give Crypto Other Ways to Give In his landmark multi-volume biography of Stalin, Stephen Kotkin shows how totalitarian power worked not just through terror from abo...

4 Joulu 20241h 26min

Russ Roberts on Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate

Russ Roberts on Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate

In this crossover episode with EconTalk, Tyler joins Russ Roberts for an in-depth exploration of Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate, a monumental novel often described as the 20th-century answer to Tolst...

25 Marras 20241h 1min

Neal Stephenson on History, Spycraft, and American-Soviet Parallels

Neal Stephenson on History, Spycraft, and American-Soviet Parallels

Neal Stephenson's ability to illuminate complex, future-focused ideas in ways that both provoke thought and spark wonder has established him as one of the most innovative thinkers in literature today....

13 Marras 202447min

Christopher Kirchhoff on Military Innovation and the Future of War

Christopher Kirchhoff on Military Innovation and the Future of War

Christopher Kirchhoff is an expert in emerging technology who founded the Pentagon's Silicon Valley office. He's led teams for President Obama, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and CEO of Go...

30 Loka 202456min

Musa al-Gharbi on Elite Wokeness, Islam, and Social Movements

Musa al-Gharbi on Elite Wokeness, Islam, and Social Movements

Subscribe to Pluralist Points on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts Musa al-Gharbi is a sociologist and assistant professor at Stony Brook University whose research explores how people think about, ...

16 Loka 202449min

Tom Tugendhat on Modernizing the UK and Political Reform

Tom Tugendhat on Modernizing the UK and Political Reform

Tom Tugendhat has served as a Member of Parliament since 2015, holding roles such as Security Minister and chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee. Before entering Parliament, Tom served in in I...

9 Loka 202450min

Kyla Scanlon on Communicating Economic Ideas through Social Media

Kyla Scanlon on Communicating Economic Ideas through Social Media

Kyla Scanlon has made it her personal mission to bring economics education to a larger audience through social media. She publishes daily content across TikTok, YouTube, Substack, LinkedIn and more, e...

2 Loka 20241h 5min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
adhd-podi
rss-rahamania
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-narsisti
kesken
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-luonnollinen-synnytys-podcast
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
rahapuhetta
filocast-filosofian-perusteet
rss-niinku-asia-on
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
rss-arkea-ja-aurinkoa-podcast-espanjasta
aamukahvilla
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
rss-elamankoulu