Converging Dialogues

• #435 - The Ballistic Movement Within Sports Medicine: A Dialogue with Henry Abbott

  In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Henry Abbott on the Peak Performance Project (P3) within sports medicine. They discuss the landscape of injuries in the U.S., P3, chronic injuries, healthy movement and hip rotation, landing and ACL injuries, prevention and recovery, mental endurance, and many more topics. Henry Abbott is an award-winning journalist and founder of TrueHoop. He led ESPN’s 60-person NBA digital and print team, which published several groundbreaking articles and won a National Magazine Award. He is the author of the book, Ballistic: The New Science of Injury-Free Athletic Performance. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

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• #434 - Shifting Sands of the Sahara: A Dialogue with Judith Scheele

  In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Judith Scheele about the human history of the Sahara. They discuss the perceptions of the Sahara, landscape of the Sahara, sand and freshwater, multiple uses of camels, peoples of the Sahara, Slavery and race in the Sahara, Islam, contemporary Sahara, and many more topics. Judith Scheele is professor of social anthropology at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, EHESS). She has spent almost two decades living in and researching Saharan societies. She is the author of three previous books and is the author of the recent book, Shifting Sands: A Human History of the Sahara. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

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• #433 - Empire of AI: A Dialogue with Karen Hao

  In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Karen Hao about OpenAI and the current landscape about AI. They discuss the origins of OpenAI, Sam Altman and his motivations, his relationships with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, using cheap labor in Venezuela and Kenya for AI, supercomputers and mega campuses for data centers, and many more topics. Karen Hao is a bestselling author and award-winning reporter covering artificial intelligence. She was an application engineer at the first startup to spin out of Google[x]. She received a B.S. in mechanical engineering and minor in energy studies from MIT. She has written for many publications such as The Atlantic and others. Previously, she was a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal focused on AI & China, and a senior editor at MIT Technology Review, where she wrote about the latest AI research & its social impacts. She has been a fellow with the Harvard Technology and Public Purpose program, the MIT Knight Science Journalism program, and the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network. She was the first journalist to profile OpenAI and author of the book, Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

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• #432 - American Authoritarianism and Erosion of Democracy: A Dialogue with Katherine Stewart

  In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Katherine Stewart about democracy and American authoritarianism. They discuss the evolution of conservatives to the Far Right, critiques of the Far Right, reactionary nihilism and the anti-woke. They discuss issues such as abortion, conservative conventions, religion, and many more topics. Katherine Stewart is a journalist and author who has been covering the rise of the anti-democratic movement for over 16 years. Her writing appears in The New York Times op ed, New Republic, Religion News Service and others. Her 2012 book, The Good News Club: The Christian Right’s Stealth Assault on America’s Children, focused on the religious right’s efforts to undermine public education. Her previous book, The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism (Bloomsbury 2020), won First Place in the Nonfiction Books category from the Religion News Association, as well as a Morris B. Forkosch Best Book award. The Power Worshippers formed the basis of the documentary feature God & Country, produced by Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner; Stewart served as executive producer. Her latest book, Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy (Bloomsbury 2025), is an instant New York Times bestseller. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

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• #431 - Western Meddling and Betrayal in the Middle East: A Dialogue with Fawaz Gerges

  In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Fawaz Gerges about continuous Western involvement in the Middle East. They discuss misconceptions of the Middle East, role of colonialism, Iran and Turkey being exceptions to foreign colonial involvement, Arab Nationalism, Civilizations and colonialism, political Islam, and many more topics. Fawaz A. Gerges is Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and holder of a Professorship in Contemporary Middle East Studies. He was also the inaugural Director of the LSE Middle East Centre from 2010 until 2013.He earned a doctorate from Oxford University and M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. He has taught at Oxford, Harvard, and Columbia, and was a research scholar at Princeton and the chairholder of the Christian A. Johnson Chair in Middle Eastern Studies and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College, New York.His special interests include Islam and the political process, social movements, including mainstream Islamist movements and jihadist groups (like the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda), Arab politics and Muslim politics in the 20th century, the international relations of the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, state and society in the Middle East, American foreign policy towards the Muslim world, the modern history of the Middle East, history of conflict, diplomacy and foreign policy, and historical sociology.His recent books include Making the Arab World: Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Arab World, ISIS: A History, Contentious Politics in the Middle East: Popular Resistance and Marginalized Activism beyond the Arab Uprisings, The New Middle East: Protest and Revolution in the Arab World , Obama and the Middle East: The End of America’s Moment? and The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda. He is also the author of several recently acclaimed books: Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy, and The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global. He is the author of the latest book, The Great Betrayal: The struggle for freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Get full access to Converging Dialogues at convergingdialogues.substack.com/subscribe

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