Politics and the Exilic City

Episode 6: Hormones, Biopolitics, and Gender

In this episode, we continue our discussion of the current landscape for gender expression and liberation. We talk about the theoretical framework for Zein’s book project and think beyond trans politics to consider the ways that gender is constructed in wartime to meet certain political objectives. If you like what you hear, then please be sure to rate us or to head to our Instragram account (@exilic_city) to drop a comment with your thoughts!

Episode 5: Transgender Politics with Special Guest Prof Paisley Currah

In this episode, we talk with Professor Paisley Currah about the current landscape of anti-trans laws in the US and how they create conditions of internal exile for transgender people by stripping them of legal status. Read more: Isaac Sederbaum and Paisley Currah, "When Compliance Becomes a Crime: What Does Transgender Citizenship Mean after a New Kansas Law? [https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/when-compliance-becomes-a-crime]" Can We Still Govern?, March 3, 2026. Paisley Currah, "The Anti-Trans Playbook," New York Review of Books, December 18, 2025. Unpaywalled [https://archive.is/mmLeI⁠] Paisley Currah,  Donald Trump's War on Gender is Also a War on Government, [https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/donald-trumps-war-on-gender-is-also-a-war-on-government]" The New Yorker, May 27, 2025. Unpaywalled [https://archive.is/atCHB⁠] TransLash [https://translash.org/] with Imara Jones

Episode 4: James Baldwin, Malcolm X, and Critique of the U.S. w/ Prof. Christina Greer

What does it mean to oppose one's country, and can that critique come from a place of love? Joined by special guest Dr. Christina Greer, we discuss Malcolm X and James Baldwin as quintessential American thinkers as well as outsiders linked to larger global struggles against colonialism and imperialism. The conversation ends with important insights about how their message resonates today.

Episode 3: On Iran and the US-Israeli Attacks

In this special episode, we discuss the recent February 28 attack on Iran by Israel and the United States, with close analysis of how the war has been manufactured, what the role of the Iranian diaspora has been, and what possible outcomes lie ahead.

Episode 2: MIGA & Diasporic Identities

In this preview episode, we briefly discuss the on-going situation in Iran with an interest in thinking about the ways people in the Iranian diaspora approach this political moment.