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?
Publisher
Al Jazeera
Category
history · news · religion & spirituality · science · society & culture
Did a secret book fuel a witch hunting frenzy in Europe?
Here’s how conspiracy theories shaped the last 600 years. The printing press helped spread European witch hunts even as it helped usher in the Enlightenment. The Nazis turned radio into a weapon of mass persuasion. Social media promised freedom but gave dictators new tools of control. We trace centuries of conspiracy theories – and ask what AI could bring next.
Aya Labanieh (@ayafrankenstein (http://ayafrankenstein)), Writer and Academic
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé, Marthe Van der Wolf and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
18 Oct 2026
Was ancient India the world's forgotten superpower?
Long before Europe ruled the seas, India’s vast ocean trade linked it to the world. Thinkers like Brahmagupta and Aryabhata spread mathematical ideas that shaped the Renaissance and the modern age. Then colonialism shifted the balance of power. As global power shifts back towards Asia, was the colonial era the exception?
In this episode:
William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill (https://x.com/DalrympleWill)), Author and Historian
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé, Marthe van der Wolf, and David Enders. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
4 Oct 2026
Did the fall of Muslim Spain reshape Europe forever? | Tariq Ali
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 of a shared past. How does that history still shape Europe’s politics today?
In this episode:
Tariq Ali (@TariqAli_News (https://x.com/TariqAli_News)), Author and Editor of The New Left Review
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
20 Sept 2026
Jews and Muslims lived together for centuries. Did Zionism tear them apart?
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 Temple reshape those ties – and why does Neturei Karta, an Orthodox Jewish anti-Zionist movement, oppose a Jewish state?
In this episode:
Rabbi Haim Sofer, Religious Scholar
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan and Marcos Bartolomé. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
6 Sept 2026
How the West’s promise of freedom created a world of anger | Pankaj Mishra
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 broken – and when the Global South turns Western ideals back on the West itself.
In this episode:
Pankaj Mishra, Author, Age of Anger
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
23 Aug 2026
The Suez Crisis stopped the British Empire. Will Hormuz defeat the US?
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 1956, Egypt shut the Suez Canal and took on three armies alone. When the canal reopened months later, now with Egypt in control, the region and the global economy would change forever.
In this episode:
Laleh Khalili (@lalehkhalili (https://bsky.app/profile/lalehkhalili.bsky.social)), Political Scientist and Author of ‘Sinews of War and Trade’
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
9 Aug 2026
Why does Iran defeat the empires trying to conquer it?
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, and revolution – why do great powers keep making the same mistake? Political historian Dr. Mehran Kamrava reveals how great-power rivalry forged modern Iran.
In this episode:
Mehran Kamrava (@mehrankamrava (https://x.com/mehrankamrava)), Political Historian, Georgetown University Qatar
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolomé, and Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Jo de Frias is Al Jazeera’s head of podcasts.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
26 Jul 2026
Is Israel repeating the Crusaders' fatal mistake? | Roy Casagranda
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 population. Just 88 years later, it was lost to Saladin’s newly united Muslim army. Why did the Crusaders fail to build an everlasting kingdom, and will Zionism meet the same fate?
In this episode:
Roy Casagranda (@DrRoyCasagranda (https://www.youtube.com/@DrRoyCasagranda)), Political Philosopher
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan and Marcos Bartolomé, with Sonia Bhagat. It was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Jo de Frias is Al Jazeera's head of podcasts.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on X (https://twitter.com/AJEPodcasts), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts), and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I)
23 Jul 2026
Deja Vu: New podcast from Al Jazeera
A history podcast interrogating the past to understand the present and future.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.5 / 5
8 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
17 ratings
Contact Déjà Vu
Guest appearances
Books guests
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