Listener mail: Iran, Fidan and Bilal Erdoğan

Description

Happy birthday to Recap radio! To mark our first year of podcasting, Turkey recap editors Emily Rice Johnson and Diego Cupolo opened our mail bag and responded to a wide range of listener questions. Covered in this episode are election forecasts, candidacy prospects for Hakan Fidan, Bilal Erdoğan and Mansur Yavaş as well as the implications of the Iran war and ongoing PKK peace process for Turkey. We also discuss Turkey recap-specific questions about freedom of speech, journalism under pressure how to write puns on the run (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_28JnC6mTE) — which is a pun about a nun movie that we do not recommend. Your questions are always welcome. Email us at info@turkeyrecap.com or fill out the anonymous Google form below. Referenced in this talk: Submit a question with this form (https://forms.gle/953tUNACVoZjpyPa7) In Turkey, is Bilal Erdogan preparing to replace his father? (Al-Monitor (https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2026/02/turkey-bilal-erdogan-preparing-replace-his-father) ) What Turkey’s Election Observers Saw (The Atlantic (https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/04/turkey-erdogan-referendum-kurds-hdp-fraud/523920/) ) Ankara Mayor Yavaş says will consider presidential candidacy ‘if there is demand’ (Duvar (https://www.duvarenglish.com/ankara-mayor-yavas-says-will-consider-presidential-candidacy-if-there-is-demand-news-65700) ) Other ways to watch & listen: Our webcasts are also available on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@turkeyrecap) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1KzyzWkguHP5t9jPWRChEZ) , Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/recap-radio/id1813696945) and other podcast players. Turkey recap is an independent, reader-supported newsletter that helps people make sense of the fast-paced Turkey news cycle. Contact us: info@turkeyrecap.com (mailto:info@turkeyrecap.com) . Subscribe here on Substack (https://turkeyrecap.substack.com/subscribe) (or on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/turkeyrecap) for discount options).