Photo, left: The Kurdish national flag waved from a most precarious position.  In the midst of its other tribulations, Kurdistan endeavors to maintain the safety and rights of its religious and ethnic minorities. See Hour 1, Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East, by Gerard Russell.
See also the photo: Members of the Sabaean Mandaeans, a pre-Christian sect that follow the teachings of John the Baptist, take part in a bathing ritual on the banks of the Tigris river in Baghdad to mark the new year, which they celebrate as a five-day holiday.  Vanishing faiths: ISIL pushes minority religions to the brink of extinction  Khalid Mohammed / AP photo
 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
 
Hour One
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 1, Block A: Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East, by Gerard Russell (1 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 1, Block B: Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East, by Gerard Russell (2 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 1, Block C: Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East, by Gerard Russell (3 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 1, Block D: Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East, by Gerard Russell (4 of 4)
 
Hour Two
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 2, Block A: Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, by Jack Devine and Vernon Loeb (1 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 2, Block B: Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, by Jack Devine and Vernon Loeb (2 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 2, Block C: Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, by Jack Devine and Vernon Loeb (3 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 2, Block D: Good Hunting: An American Spymaster's Story, by Jack Devine and Vernon Loeb (4 of 4)
 
Hour Three
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 3, Block A: America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, by Bret Stephens (1 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 3, Block B: America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, by Bret Stephens (2 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 3, Block C: America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, by Bret Stephens (3 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 3, Block D: America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder, by Bret Stephens (4 of 4)
 
Hour Four
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 4, Block A: America's Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, by Hugh Wilford (1 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 4, Block B: America's Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, by Hugh Wilford (2 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 4, Block C:  America's Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, by Hugh Wilford (3 of 4)
Saturday 18 April 2015  / Hour 4, Block D: America's Great Game: The CIA’s Secret Arabists and the Shaping of the Modern Middle East, by Hugh Wilford (4 of 4)
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