DEJA VU strips away the myth of modern exceptionalism. Through intimate, fireside conversations with the world's most provocative historians, philosophers, and public intellectuals, we excavate the buried parallels between today's crises and history's most pivotal moments. Each episode asks: What can we learn from the last time this happened?

Latest episodes

Did the fall of Muslim Spain reshape Europe forever? | Tariq Ali

October 4, 2026 · 49 min

From Spain to Sicily, Muslims helped shape Europe for centuries. Why do they still seem to be cast as outsiders? In this episode of Deja Vu, author Tariq Ali traces the rise of Al-Andalus to its fall amid the burning of books and the loss…
Jews and Muslims lived together for centuries. Did Zionism tear them apart?

September 20, 2026 · 43 min

Can Judaism exist without Zionism? Rabbi Haim Sofer traces Jewish identity through exile and persecution to centuries of life alongside Muslims, from al-Andalus to Morocco and Iraq. How did the dream of a Jewish state and plans for a Third…
How the West’s promise of freedom created a world of anger | Pankaj Mishra

September 6, 2026 · 1 hr 7 min

Why does anger seem to rule the world today? Pankaj Mishra traces our age of anger to the collision of Enlightenment promises of liberty and equality with empire, nationalism and capitalism. He asks what happens when those promises are…
Will the Iran War bring down the American empire? | Laleh Khalili

August 23, 2026 · 1 hr 4 min

What happens when a revolutionary movement takes control of the world’s most vital waterway, bringing global oil shipping to a halt and sparking war with an empire? It’s not the Strait of Hormuz, but the Suez Crisis of 70 years earlier. In…
Empires fought over Iran. Now Iran is fighting back | Mehran Kamrava

August 9, 2026 · 1 hr 15 min

Why does every empire want Iran – and how has Iran outlasted attempts to control it? Long before the CIA-backed coup, there were wars with Russia and British control over oil and tobacco. Iran learned from its history of invasions, wars…
Is Israel repeating the Crusaders' fatal mistake? | Roy Casagranda

July 26, 2026 · 1 hr 0 min

A European settler state in the heart of Palestine, ruled by religious zealots, fueled by Western arms. A divided Muslim world fights back. Sound familiar? We’re in 1099, when the First Crusade conquered Jerusalem and subjugated its native…
Deja Vu: New podcast from Al Jazeera

July 23, 2026 · 1 min

Explore how past moments have shaped the crises we face today. Join host Mohamed Hassan for in-depth conversations with historians and public thinkers who reveal the patterns behind the headlines. Listen now for a preview; first full…