I'm having fits with TypePad – they're doing upgrades, and I never seem to find a good time to upload pictures.  While I struggle with that, check out In Our Time's current podcast download: The Arab Conquests.

Melvyn Bragg discusses the mighty Arab conquests of the 7th century
with his guests Hugh Kennedy, Professor of Arabic at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University of London; Amira Bennison,
Senior Lecturer in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University
of Cambridge; and Robert Hoyland, Professor in Arabic and Middle East
Studies at the University of St Andrews.