Long Reads: Mohammed Harbi and the Algerian Revolution w/ Muriam Davis

Long Reads: Mohammed Harbi and the Algerian Revolution w/ Muriam Davis

From Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

June 5, 2026 · 1h 6m

About this episode

The episode discusses the life and work of historian Mohammed Harbi, focusing on his role in the Algerian Revolution and his political engagement throughout his life.

On January 1 this year, Mohammed Harbi died at the age of 92. Harbi was one of the leading historians of modern Algeria and the movement that led it towards independence. Harbi began writing about the Algerian revolution after taking part in it himself. Born under French colonial rule, Harbi became a member of the National Liberation Front in the 1950s. He was an adviser to Algeria’s first president, Ahmed Ben Bella. But Harbi was sent to prison after Ben Bella was removed from power in a military coup. He later escaped from house arrest and went into exile. Harbi remained deeply engaged with political events inside the country, from the civil war of the 1990s to the hirak protest movement of the last decade. Muriam Haleh Davis joins Long Reads for a discussion of Harbi’s life and work. Muriam is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She’s the author of Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria . Read her obituary for Jacobin , “Mohammed Harbi Was Algeria’s Revolutionary Historian”: https://jacobin.com/2026/02/mohammed-harbi-algeria-historian-obituary Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and…

People in this episode

Host: Daniel Finn

Guest: Muriam Haleh Davis

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Organizations: University of California, Santa Cruz, Jacobin

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