Mustafa Akyol believes that it is high time for Islam to undergo liberalizing reforms and he knows just the person to do it: Mustafa Akyol. In two books along with regular New York Times columns, Akyol articulates an emerging school of liberal Islamic thought and practice.

Mark Lilla, Professor of Humanities at Columbia University, discusses his book, “The Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics,” offering insights into the past failures of progressive politics and how the liberal left can reinvent itself.

Who lost Russia? In “The Future is History,” acclaimed author Masha Gessen dove into the heart of the Soviet Union and came up with the root causes of Russia’s trajectory in the decades after communism.

Dr Shay Rabineau, Assistant Professor of Israel Studies at Binghamton University, discusses his forthcoming book “Marking and Mapping the Nation: A history of Israel’s hiking trail network,” analyzing Israel’s unique culture of yediat ha’aretz, educational outdoor activities.

Dr Jonathan Karp, Associate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at Binghamton University, discusses the crossover between Jewish-American and African-American cultural, economic and intellectual histories.

Dr Nir Arielli, Associate Professor of International History at the University of Leeds, discusses his book “From Byron To Bin Laden: A History of Foreign War Volunteers.”

In Israel, people vote for a party rather than a candidate. But over the years, there’s been a shift towards the personalization of politics. Why have our elections become a competition among single personalities rather than a confrontation among different parties and ideas?

How did the influence and power of ultra-Orthodox parties shaped Israel’s political life? Gilad Malach, director of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel program at the Israel Democracy Institute offers his take.

In this special panel discussion recorded in Wash., DC, Gilad Halpern and Ori Nir speak to Amir Tibon and Said Arikat about covering consecutive US administrations, journalism in the age of social media, and the role of diaspora groups in setting the dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian-American love-hate triangle over the years.