From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan - WHM

Nick Danforth, deputy editor at Foreign Policy sits down with author Suzy Hansen to discuss her latest book, From Life Itself: Turkey, Istanbul, and a Neighborhood in the Age of Erdoğan.

In her first book since the Pulitzer Prize-finalist Notes on a Foreign Country, Suzy Hansen returns with From Life Itself, a deeply reported, intimate portrait of Istanbul’s Karagümrük neighborhood. Hansen spent over a decade in Turkey, embedding herself in this working-class community as it faced the frontlines of the 21st century’s greatest disruptions: the Syrian refugee crisis, domestic political coups, and a shift toward authoritarianism. By focusing on the lives of local residents and their Muhtar, Hansen weaves a powerful narrative that shows how global forces—from climate change to technological shifts—reshape the very fabric of "home".