Episode 1: Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore joins Jonathan Harounoff on UNscripted to discuss his new book, "The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East."

In this hour-long conversation, they explore:
• How the modern Middle East emerged from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire
• Whether there is a better term than "the Middle East" to describe the region
• Why Montefiore believes Iran's Islamic Republic will fall
• Why the West fixates on Israel-Palestine while ignoring Yemen, Syria and Sudan
• Russia’s forgotten history in the Middle East
• Whether lasting peace in the region is possible

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction

0:56 Can the Middle East ever cool down?

2:56 What is the Middle East, and is there a better term to describe the region?

6:41 Inside Montefiore's "chaotic" and “insane” process of writing sweeping histories

10:35 Why the West is obsessed with Israel-Palestine but ignores Yemen, Syria and Sudan

16:24 The myth of Israel as a "new nation" among ancient ones

24:00 The biggest roads not taken in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

31:17 Russia's forgotten role in the Middle East

40:09 Why the Islamic Republic of Iran will fall

47:20 What history can teach us, and what we keep failing to learn

56:40 Which figure from "The Cauldron" Montefiore would be reincarnated as

59:10 Closing remarks

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Produced in collaboration with the Center for Jewish History, American Sephardi Federation, Noff Media and Odd One Out Studios.

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