Not to Forgive, but to Understand
A podcast series discussing topics in genocide studies with scholars and individuals deeply involved in understanding the complexities of genocide and its perpetrators. Presented by writer, and scholar of Genocide Studies Sabah Carrim, along with co-host Luis Gonzalez-Aponte. Tune in to this podcast series for insightful discussions on pressing topics in the field.
Episodes
43 episodes
Kate English & Kim Klett: Holocaust Education, Human Rights, and the Right to Learn
We speak with Kate English and Kim Klett of the Educators Institute for Human Rights (EIHR), an organization that works with teachers internationally to develop resources and training in Holocaust, genocide, human rights, and conflict education...
Judi Rever: Rwanda, Congo, Burundi, and Politically Protected Violence
Investigative journalist Judi Rever joins us to discuss her work on Rwanda, Congo, and the Great Lakes region. Drawing from her books *In Praise of Blood: The Crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front* and *Rwanda’s 30-Year Assault on Congo: The Cr...
Edward Westermann: Thirst, Dehydration, and Water Sanitation in the Holocaust
Edward Westermann is the Theodore Zev and Alice R. Weiss HEF Chair in Holocaust Studies and Visiting Professor in the Department of History at Northwestern University. He is the author of Drunk on Genocide: Alcohol and Mass Murder in Nazi Germa...
Mahi Ramakrishnan: Refugees, Rights, and the Rohingya in Malaysia
The plight of the Rohingya remains under-addressed in public discourse, even as the genocide case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar continues before the International Court of Justice.In this interview, we speak with Mahi Ramakrishn...
Christopher Tounsel: Sudan and the Politics of Solidarity
There are genocides that are neglected and underreported, and Sudan is often sidelined while other conflicts dominate global attention. In this episode, we speak with Christopher Tounsel, historian of modern Sudan and author of “Bounds of Black...
Saira Hussain: Humanitarian Medical Practice in Gaza: Between Ethics, Anger, and Resilience
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire, conditions in Gaza remain unstable and violence continues to affect civilian life and medical care. Saira Hussain discusses her most recent medical mission to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Drawin...
Catherine Filloux: Staging "Lemkin’s House"
We spoke with Catherine Filloux, an award-winning French Algerian American playwright and librettist whose work has engaged human rights, war, and mass atrocity for more than three decades. Her plays and operas have been produced internationall...
Omer Bartov: Academic Silence, Gaza, and the Costs of Speaking
In this episode, we speak with Omer Bartov about academic silence, Gaza, and the costs of speaking publicly about ongoing mass violence. Bartov reflects on the pressures shaping scholarly speech in the United States, the uneven application of l...
Daria Mattingly: Culpability of Rank-and-File Perpetrators in the Holodomor
In this episode of Not to Forgive, but to Understand, we are joined by Daria Mattingly, a historian whose work focuses on perpetrator studies and the social and cultural history of the Soviet Union, with particular emphasis on Ukraine. The conv...
Saira Hussain: Medicine Under Siege, Famine, and Starvation in Gaza
In this episode of Not to Forgive, but to Understand, we are joined by Saira Hussain, an anesthetist who has worked in Gaza at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis through humanitarian deployments with Medical Aid for Palestinians and IDEALS....
David Chandler & Peg LeVine: Genocide Priming, Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot, and ECCC
In this episode, we speak with David Chandler, historian of Cambodia, biographer of Pol Pot, and leading researcher on the S-21 Prison under the Khmer Rouge, who provided expert testimony at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia ...
Amy Fagin: International Art Competition: Beyond Genocide
In this episode, we speak with Amy Fagin, the author and project lead of Beyond Genocide; members of the Beyond Genocide Arts Award Advisory Council—Bjorn Krondorfer, Alexis Herr, and Sabah Carrim—as well as Linda Paganelli, the 2024–2025 award...
Alexandra Birch: The Sound of Atrocity — Music in Nazi Europe
In this episode, we’re joined by Alexandra Birch, violinist, historian, and author of Hitler’s Twilight of the Gods: Music and the Orchestration of War and Genocide in Europe.Birch’s research examines how music and sound functioned as tools...
Mehnaz Afridi: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and Muslims in Holocaust Memory
In this conversation, Mehnaz Afridi—Professor of Religion and Philosophy and Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan University—discusses her groundbreaking work “Shoah Through Muslim Eyes”, the overloo...
Bruce Robbins: On Literature, Atrocity, and Academic Freedom
In this episode of Not to Forgive, but to Understand, we speak with Bruce Robbins—Columbia University professor and author of Atrocity: A Literary History. Drawing on his recent book, we explore how literature grapples with th...
Ava Homa: On Kurdish Identity and Social Fragmentation in Iran
DescriptionIn this episode, we speak with Ava Homa—award-winning author of Daughters of Smoke and Fire and Echoes from the Other Land—about Kurdish identity, structural violence, and the cycles of oppression in I...
Roni Mikel-Arieli: Jewish Detainees in Mauritius During WWII
In this episode, we speak with Roni Mikel Arieli, a cultural historian and Teaching and Research Fellow at the Rabb Center for Holocaust Studies, Ben Gurion University of the Negev. Mikel Arieli specializes in modern Jewish history, African stu...
Zachariah Mampilly: Not Beyond Salvation: A Discussion on Congo
🎙️ In this episode, we sit down with Zachariah Mampilly—Marxe Endowed Chair of International Affairs at CUNY and co-founder of the Program on African Social Research—to unpack the deep historical and geopolitical roots of the ongoing conflict i...
Yair Wallach: The Ceasefire, & The Future of Israel-Palestine
In this episode, we are joined by Yair Wallach, Chair of the Centre for Jewish Studies at SOAS, University of London, to discuss the January 2025 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Gaza officials.The conversation examines the immedi...
Uğur Ümit Üngör: Holocaust and Genocide Studies: Cucumber and Vegetable Studies?
In this interview, historian and sociologist Uğur Ümit Üngör discusses the controversy and complication over the use of the “g-word” (genocide), as well as the damage done to humanity because some genocides are deemed “more equal” than others. ...
Arie M. Dubnov: 7 Questions on Israel
Join us for an insightful conversation with Arie M. Dubnov, Jewish-Israeli historian and associate professor at George Washington University. Dubnov discusses the complexities of genocide studies, the role of oral histories in the Holocaust, an...
Omar Yousef Shehabi: 7 Questions on Palestine
Join us for an insightful conversation with Omar Yousef Shehabi, an acting assistant professor at NYU School of Law and a JSD candidate at Yale Law School. With a wealth of experience working as a legal officer for the United Nations Relief and...
Zukiswa Wanner: Giving up the Goethe Medal for Gaza
Join us for an enriching conversation with Zukiswa Wanner, acclaimed writer and activist, as she shares insights from Johannesburg, South Africa. In this interview, Zukiswa reflects on her literary achievements, activism, and firsthand experien...
Alex Hinton: The Engaged Scholar
Join us in conversation with Alex Hinton, Director of the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, and UNESCO Chair in Genocide Prevention at Rutgers University. In this interview, we delve int...
Dirk Moses: The Problems of Genocide: Israel and Palestine
Join us as we're privileged to host Dirk Moses, the Anne N. Bernard Spitzer Professor of Political Science at City University of New York and author of 'The Problems of Genocide: Permanent Security and the Language of Transgression.' Tune in as...