Pop & Politics (4): Gaye Su Akyol | Turkish rock’s “Anatolian Dragon”
This week on Pop & Politics we are joined by Gaye Su Akyol, an award-winning Turkish musician who has commanded respect in Turkey and abroad for her unique combination of traditional Anatolian music, Turkish classical music, psychedelic rock, surf rock, and post-punk. She’s equal parts Müzeyyen Senar and Nirvana, traditional and bold, rooted and futuristic. […]
Pop & Politics (2): Fighting injustice with film | Ümit Ünal
This week on Pop & Politics we are joined by Ümit Ünal, a screenwriter, director, and author who has been making celebrated films since the 1980s. In conversation with Kenan Behzat Sharpe, Ünal discusses the state of creative freedom in Turkey, the film industry, why Turkey has yet to have its “Parasite” moment, the LGBTQ+ […]
This Week in Turkey (257): Dr. Selin Nasi on Erdoğan UAE visit, Dr. Kenan Sharpe on Tarkan’s new song
Tonight: The opposition expands the coalition. Erdoğan visits the UAE and we’ll have Selin Nasi from Ankara Policy Center to comment. The Alawite houses of worship file complaints over electricity bills, a gruesome homicide rocks the nation and Turkey’s megastar Tarkan drops a new song and it gets political; Dr. Kenan Sharpe returns to give […]
Sezen Aksu, Gülşen controversies strike the nerve of Turkey’s culture wars
by Leo Kendrick Famed Turkish popstar Sezen Aksu made headlines last week after her 2017 song “Living Something Wonderful” (‘Şahane Bir Şey Yaşamak’) came under fire from religious conservatives for a line allegedly ‘insulting to religious values.’ One of the most legendary musicians in Turkey, Aksu has been active since the mid-1970s. A music video for Aksu’s […]
This Week in Turkey (252): Singer Sezen Aksu under fire
Tonight, singer/songwriter Sezen Aksu is under fire by religious conservatives. We’ll have Dr. Kenan Sharpe back with us to comment. Turkey misses the deadline to respond the European Human Rights Court ruling on Osman Kavala, it is the 15th year anniversary of journalist Hrant Dink’s murder, we’ll have the latest on the economy and regional […]
This Week in Turkey (243): Turkish Lira’s crash and Netflix Series “The Club”
Tonight, the Lira is in Free-fall yet again, main opposition party CHP chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İYİ Party chair Meral Akşener go on a tour of reconciliation and a tale of 1950’s İstanbul, takes the world by storm. Our guests tonight are Doctor of Economics Kamil Yılmaz who’ll be speaking to us about the most recent financial catastrophe and columnist Kenan […]
This Week in Turkey (167): with Kenan Sharpe on the arts and culture scene during the pandemic
This Week in Turkey‘s guest was freelance journalist and academic Kenan Sharpe. Mr. Sharpe is based between Santa Cruz, California and Istanbul, Turkey. He has a PhD in literature from the University of California. He is an editor and co-founder of “Blind Field: A Journal of Critical Inquiry”, a columnist of Duvar English and an assistant […]
This Week in Turkey (150): with Kenan Sharpe on the literary legacy of political prisoners: the case of Demirtaş
This Week in Turkey’s guest was Behzat Kenan Sharpe. Mr. Sharpe is a freelance jorunalist and academic based between Santra Cruz, California and Istanbul, Turkey. He has a PhD in literature from the Univerity of California. He is an editor and co-founder of Blind Field: A Journal of Critical Inquiry, a columnist of Duvar English […]
