“The Incredible Turk” (1958)

Turkey has for decades been one of the most important allies of the Western powers. The rise of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan–a charismatic nationalist and polarizing figure who survived a coup attempt in July 2016–has stirred up consternation among the establishment about his loyalty to the geopolitical status quo.

This episode revisits the Western media’s love affair with a Turkish strongman who didn’t offend the fickle tastes of the Anglo-American foreign policy elite. In 1958, CBS produced a made-for-TV documentary “The Incredible Turk” aboutMustafa Kemal Ataturk– narrated by none other than Walter Cronkite. I have included the entire documentary (lightly edited for time) and a short preamble from contemporary commentators who long for the return of our man in Ankara.

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Podcast created by Sina Rahmani (@urorientalist)