The afikra Podcast

Rajat Malhotra — partner at Sole DXB: Dubai's annual footwear, music, art and lifestyle festival — comes on the afikra podcast to talk about bringing street culture to his home city. He shares what it was like starting the festival alongside his co-founders, reflects on his favorite acts from over the years, and what it's really like to curate an event of this scale. Rajat also reflects on Dubai's unique nature as a city that people of mixed heritage can easily make home, what Saudi Arabia's immense cultural investment might mean for Dubai's cultural eco-system, and whether political hip-hop can thrive in the Gulf.

Rajat Malhotra is a partner of Sole DXB alongside Hussain Moloohbhoy and Joshua Cox.

Connect with Rajat 👉https://www.instagram.com/raj9714/

Sole DXB is an annual footwear, music, art, and lifestyle festival that takes place in the Dubai Design District in Dubai, UAE. It launched in 2011 as a modest gathering for sneaker enthusiasts and has since grown into a regional platform that brings global brands and performers to Dubai.

afikra partnered with Sole DXB in December 2023 to facilitate and moderate some talks as part of the festival.

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Renowned professor of ethics, law and political thought and leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies, Dr Wael Hallaq, joins us on this episode of the afikra podcast to discuss Sharia law, the modern state, Legal Orientalism, and the idea of a "stateless" yet still orderly world.

Dr Hallaq deals with reductionist understandings of Sharia law, critiques modernism and the modern state, and breaks down the successes and shortcomings of Edward Said's Orientalism. We discuss the concept of Legal Orientalism, delve into the advanced complexities of Sharia law, and talk about his book "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament". Finally, Dr Hallaq talks passionately about what he calls the "bankrupt realities" we're facing in the modern era and calls the very states and systems that make up our world into question.

Wael B. Hallaq is the Avalon Foundation Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he has been teaching ethics, law, and political thought since 2009. He is considered a leading scholar of Islamic Legal Studies and Islamic Law. He has written several books including "The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral Predicament" and "Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge".

Connect with Wael 👉https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-directory/wael-hallaq/

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Maysoon Zayid, Palestinian comedian, actress, graphic novel author and co-creator of the NY Arab-American Comedy Festival, joins us on the afikra podcast to talk all things comedy, Palestine, Arab-America, and advocating for the disabled community.

Maysoon talks about how she grew up to be the confident, unapologetic, publicly Palestinian comedian we know and love today. She gives us an insight into the world of comedy: from testing new material, getting bored of making fun of Donald Trump, and being vilified as an Arab comedian in the United States. Finally, she tells us about her upcoming graphic novel "Shiny Misfits".

Maysoon Zayid is a Palestinian comedian, actress, writer and disability advocate who was born and raised in New Jersey. She is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the New York Arab American Comedy Festival and The Muslim Funny Fest.

Connect with Maysoon 👉https://www.instagram.com/maysoonzayid/

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

The first of three live Design Doha podcast recordings features an interview with the Biennial's deputy director Fahad Al Obaidly. He takes us behind the scenes of Design Doha, breaks down what "Celebrating Regional Design Excellence" means in practice, and how the Biennial roots itself in locality. Fahad tells us about the strength of the design industry in the Arab World as well as his personal highlights from the Biennial.

Fahad Al Obaidly is the Deputy Director of Design Doha, as well as a fashion designer, artist and filmmaker.

Connect with Fahad 👉https://www.instagram.com/fahadalobaidly/?hl=en

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

Design Doha is a landmark biennale dedicated to creative innovation, here to foster the design culture of the MENA region, and create a space of design excellence in Qatar. It provides creatives and institutions with a space to showcase their designs and ideas. The biennale is committed to offering tangible and authentic solutions, showcasing the richness of MENA culture and creativity, while highlighting the exceptional design environment of Qatar on the global stage.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
 

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Marwan Kraidy, CEO and Dean of Northwestern Qatar and leading scholar of global communication and media, joins us on the afikra podcast to discuss media, truth, and journalism in the Arab world.

This episode dives into the impact of mobile phones, reflects on whether social media is a force for good or not, and explores the notion of “socio-political maturity”. We discuss how the center of gravity for media in the Arab world has shifted to the Gulf and why the old adage “Cairo writes, Beirut publishes and Baghdad reads” no longer holds true. Finally, we talk about the business model for media in the Arab world right now and why Turkish TV series have seen such major success. 

Marwan M. Kraidy is dean and CEO of Northwestern in Qatar. He founded the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, which hosts multidisciplinary teams of faculty and students dedicated to evidence-based storytelling on the diverse histories, cultures, societies and media of the Global south. He is a scholar of global communication and an authority on Arab media, culture and politics. 

Connect with Marwan 👉https://twitter.com/MKraidy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Art historian, educator and author Jonathon Bloom joins us on the afikra podcast to talk about paper, print and the Islamic world. He talks us through changing understandings of "Islamic" art and architecture through the decades, explains the premise of his book "Paper Before Print: The History and Impact of Paper in the Islamic World" and whether it's worth using the term "Islamic Art" in the first place. We touch on the fascinating architectural history of the Minaret, the cultural impact of paper, and what it's like to co-write and work alongside his wife Sheila Blair.

Jonathon M Bloom is an art historian, author and educator. He retired in 2018 as the Norma Jean Calderwood University Professor of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College and in 2019 as the Hamad Bin Khalifa Endowed Chair of Islamic Art at Virginia Commonwealth University, positions that he shared with his wife and co-author Sheila Blair.

Connect with Jonathon 👉https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/morrissey/departments/art/people/retired-faculty/jonathan-bloom.html

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Waleed Ziad — author of "Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints beyond the Oxus and Indus" — joins us on the afikra podcast to demystify Sufism. Ziad explains the mystical and scientific aspects of Sufism and its far reaching geographies that surpass today's "securitized" borders and colonial conceptions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East as "reified zones". We also learn about the concept of sovereignty in the Islamic world and how modern day understandings of Sufism and abandonment of meditative practices differ from the realities of the pre-20th century Muslim world.

Waleed Ziad is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the author of Hidden Caliphate: Sufi Saints beyond the Oxus and Indus" which won the Albert Hourani Prize. His research concerns the historical and philosophical foundations of Muslim revivalism and revivalist responses to internal political fragmentation and colonialism in the "Persiante" world.

Connect with Waleed 👉https://twitter.com/waleedziad?lang=en-GB

Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by:

Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
 

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Professor John Esposito joins us on the afikra podcast to talk about studying Islam, Islamophobia in the US, and what Arabs inside and outside of the Arab region misunderstand about Islam. Esposito shares his roundabout journey into the field of Islamic studies, starting with wanting to become a priest. Finally, he reflects on the Iranian revolution and 9/11 as watershed moments in the (mis)understanding of Islam in the States.

John Esposito is a Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Islamic Studies at Georgetown University. He is the Founding Director of the Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding and The Bridge Initiative: Protecting Pluralism - Ending Islamophobia in the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He has written over 55 books including "What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam", "The Future of Islam", and "Islam and Democracy after the Arab Spring".

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Art historian and author of “What is 'Islamic' Art?: Between Religion and Perception”, Wendy Shaw talks to us about whether art can truly be "Islamic" or "theological", and if so, what that means. We talk about the complex ways in which museums interact with the broader economies and what this means for decolonizing the field of art history, and her roundabout journey into this field all the way from biochemistry.

Wendy Shaw is an art historian and professor of the Art History of Islamic Cultures at the Freie Universität berlin. Her book "What is 'Islamic' Art?: Between Religion and Perception" explores the perceptions of arts, including painting, music and geometry through the discursive sphere of historical Islam including the Qur'an, Hadith, Sufism, ancient philosophy, and poetry. By emphasizing the experience of reception over the context of production, Shaw creates a new approach not only to Islam and its arts, but also as a decolonizing model for global approaches to art history.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

A captivating conversation with theater director and playwright Laila Soliman about theater, cultural discourse and decolonization across the Arab world. Using three of her major works – Zigzag, La Grande Maison and her first opera Woman at Point Zero – as reference, we discuss western-centric art education, dismantle the concept of “alternative narratives”, and collective memory. We think about theater as a medium, what it takes to bring about a cultural “golden age”, and where and how is the best place to pass on knowledge.

Laila Soliman is an independent Egyptian theater director and playwright who lives and works in Cairo. Born in Cairo, she gained a degree in theater and Arabic literature from the American University in Cairo and a MA at Dasarts in Amsterdam. 

Her performances have been shown across the Arab world, India, South Africa and Europe. Her first opera production – Woman at Point 0 – based on Nawal el Saadawi’s novel by the same name premiered in 2022. 

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Al-Andalus exists in history, geography and the Western cultural imaginary. Professor Eric Calderwood talks to us about Al-Andalus, examining it as both a place and an idea which is productive in memory, culture and politics. He explains how this cultural imaginary has transcended its geographic bounds and has created fruitful debates around the identity not only of this place, but of Spain and Morocco as modern nations.

We reflect on why it's difficult to put an exact date on when al-Andalus actually "ended", the brotherhood it has created between Spain and Morocco and the importance of these interconnected histories.

Finally, Eric shares how music and dance led him to study al-Andalus and why he chose to explore this topic from five different perspectives including from Pan-Arab, Feminist and Palestinian viewpoints.

Eric Calderwood is Associate Professor of Comparative and World Literature at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the author of the award-winning Colonial al-Andalus: Spain and the Making of Modern Moroccan Culture. He is a contributor to NPR, the BBC, and Foreign Policy. His most recent publication is On Earth or in Poems: The Many Lives of Al Andalus.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

AI is upending education and learning as we know it. In collaboration with Qatar Foundation, we wanted to explore the possible impacts, challenges and opportunities that artificial intelligence presents for education internationally and more specifically in the Arab world. 

We sat down with Mehdi Benchaabane, director of Qatar Academy Doha, to discuss the current advantages and shortfalls of AI in the classroom. We discuss the significant questions AI has raised around educational honesty and integrity, key concerns at all levels from students, educators and policymakers to parents, and whether the educational system as a whole is broken. Mehdi highlights the unique dynamic between teachers and their students who, as digital natives, are naturally adept at working with and leveraging new technologies. Finally, we reflect on whether AI will redefine educators as "master prompt engineers" who are simply teaching their students how to work effectively with these tools and the linguistic challenges of AI in Arabic. 

Mehdi Benchaabane is the director of Qatar Academy Doha. Before taking up his current position, he was the director of the Qatar Foundation’s Education Development Institute where his work focussed on teacher professional learning, curriculum improvement and developing school leadership capacity. 

The Qatar Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that brings together centers and programs focused on education, research and innovation, and community development. 

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.

Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the fourth of six, featuring a conversation with and performance by Nesrine Belmokh, along with more snaps from a performance by Bab L'Bluz at Joe's pub.

Nesrine Bolmokh is a Franco-Algerian singer, cellist and songwriter who brings the Mediterranean together with North Africa in her music.

Bab L'Bluz is a Moroccan-French rock band that was formed in Marrakesh in 2018 by Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin. Their music takes inspiration from Gnawa music, blues, Chaâbi and Afrobeat and is born out of the "Nayda" movement which seeks to honor local culture and heritage.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Contemporary Arab art doesn’t always get the attention it deserves or needs. Alia Al-Senussi — cultural strategist and arts affairs advisor — talks to us about the power that museums hold in informing and shaping cultures, forgiving and healing from the pasts, and building resilient economies. Focussing on Saudi Arabia’s cultural revolution in motion, she explains why everyone seems to be obsessed with the so-called “creative economy” and how her own relationship with art started as a tourist, delineating between modern and contemporary art. 

Finally, she highlights the critical role that artists and their art play as “interpreters of our time” and the difficulties of building private and public collections, and shares her “playbook” for building a successful cultural institution. For art lovers and curious minds alike, Alia also shares her favorite museums, cultural institutions and galleries, and communities from across the region as well as her favourite North African artists. 

Alia Al-Senussi is a cultural strategist and art world affairs advisor with nearly 20 years of experience in the field. She works with cultural organisations across the world to support the creative sector. She is Art Basel's UK and MENA representative and advisor for the Milken Institute of Arts and Culture, and has previously been chair of the Tate Young Patrons, founding member of the Tate's Acquisitions Committee for the Middle East and North Africa, and the board of Patrons of Art Dubai.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.

Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the third of six, featuring a conversation with Bab L'Bluz's Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin, along with snaps from a performance by Tarek Yamani and the the Yacine Boulares Quartet at Joe's pub.

Bab L'Bluz is a Moroccan-French rock band that was formed in Marrakesh in 2018 by Yousra Mansour and Brice Bottin. Their music takes inspiration from Gnawa music, blues, Chaâbi and Afrobeat and is born out of the "Nayda" movement which seeks to honor local culture and heritage.

Tarek Yamani is a Lebanese jazz-pianist, composer, producer and educator. Through his music, he explores the relationship between African-American jazz and Classical Arabic music.

Yacine Boulares is a French-Tunisian saxophonist, clarinetist and composer based in New York. His music explores North & West African rhythms as well as Jazz. He founded the Shems Record label and Habibi Festival in 2020.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK

QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study.

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh

ABOUT AFIKRA

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Goodbye Julia — which played in Cannes’ section Un Certain Regard and won the Freedom Prize — is a poignant reflection on Sudanese society. The film is Kordofani's first feature. He sat down with us to discuss his journey from aviation engineer to film director and screenwriter, achieving the critical balance between "good" and "bad" while portraying humanity on screen, and how it felt to be acknowledged at the Cannes Film Festival.

We asked him about his decision to set the film between 2005 and 2011 — a significant moment in Sudan’s recent history — and who he made the film for: international viewers curious about Sudan or Sudanese cinema-goers reflecting on themselves. Finally, we untangle some of the main social critiques and themes that the film seeks to confront — in particular, racism between Northern and Southern Sudanese people.

Mohamed Kordofani is a Sudanese film director and screenwriter. He started out as an aviation engineer, before changing careers to pursue his passion for film. His first feature film, Goodbye Julia, gained international recognition and won the Freedom Prize at Cannes Film Festival. Since then, it has also been screened internationally and was selected by the Sudanese National Committee operating in exile in the category of Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. 

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Kawalis is afikra’s Movie Night podcast that dives into all types of production from stage to the small or big screen, zooming in on the work of professionals from the field. This interview series is an opportunity to ask actors, directors, scriptwriters and cinematographers questions about the industry, the writing and production processes, the behind the scenes and genres behind some of the Arab world’s best films, TV series, plays and performances, and to discover some of the best work out there from experts in the field. Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39iF2VuxlZ0&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7IMTj6Jk7yAJXCMMqxaP5A

ABOUT AFIKRA afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC. 

Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is the second of six, featuring a conversation with mother-son duo Firas Zreik – who has previously joined us on Quartertones – and Amal Murkus, as well as snaps from their performances at Joe's Pub. 

Amal Murkus is a Palestinian singer, actress, producer, TV & Radio host. Born and raised in Kufer Yasef in the Galilee, her career has been dedicated to the promotion, preservation and enrichment of Palestinian music and culture around the world. Her music is pioneering in its creation of a post-modern musical style that brings different Mediterranean influences together.

Firas Zreik is an artist, composer, lyricist and educator. A Palestine-born New Yorker, Zreik has revolutionized global perceptions of the Kanun instrument. While still preserving its identity as a vital part of the Maqam tradition, Zreik has "stretched its potential as a cultural chameleon enhancing a range of fresh, evolving sounds." He has collaborated with a number of leaders including Roger Waters, Simon Shaheen, Amir ElSaffar, Fabrizio Cassol and his internationally-renowned mother and frequent artistic partner Amal Murkus, for who he works as musical director.

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK 

QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study. 

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh 

ABOUT AFIKRA 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

We're excited to announce that our special episodes on Palestine are turning into their own podcast. The atrocities that continue to take place in Palestine are a reminder that, more than ever, we need to dedicate our platforms to stand for justice and truth.

 "This is not a watermelon" is a podcast about Palestinian history and culture. In this episode, we sat down with Andy Clarno, author of "Neoliberal Apartheid: Palestine/Israel and South Africa after 1994" to understand more about transnational solidarity particularly between South Africa and Palestine. 

He helped us define apartheid and neoliberalism, sharing what he considers to be a useful working definition of the terms, unpacking their origins, and explaining what systems and realities they actually refer to. 

We discussed what it takes to dismantle such systems and how essential the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement is. Andy sheds light on the decades-strong transnational solidarity between South Africa and Palestine, walks through the steps it took to achieve liberation in South Africa, and considers whether the post-apartheid South African model is what Palestine should be aspiring to. 

Finally, Andy explains the concepts of racial capitalism and the relationship between neoliberalism and new forms of apartheid.

This episode was recorded on December 21st 2023 at 6pm Palestine Time. 

Andy Clarno is an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is the coordinator of the Policing in Chicago Research Group and specialises in Sociology and Black Studies. HIs research interests include racism, capitalism, colonialism, empire, policing and comparative racial formation. He is the author of Neoliberal Apartheid. About "Neoliberal Apartheid": This book traces the shifting dynamics of racial capitalism and settler colonialism in South Africa and Palestine/Israel after 1994. The book addresses the limitations of liberation in South Africa, highlights the impact of neoliberal restructuring in Palestine/Israel, and argues thata new form of “neoliberal apartheid” has emerged in both regions. 

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship series featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

ABOUT AFIKRA 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC. 

Each night we taped live conversations with the artists on stage. This special Quartertones episode is one in six, and features a conversation with Hadi Eldebek and Omar Offendum – both of whom have been on Quartertones so make sure to go and check out those podcast episodes – as well as snaps from their performances at Joe's Pub. 

Omar Offendum is a Syrian-American rapper and spoken word artist living in Los Angeles. An Architecture graduate, he was able to carve a distinct path for himself as a thoughtful entertainer and activist able to speak to a multitude of relevant issues and a diverse global audience over the course of a decade-long career. Offendum was named a Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow for 2018/2019. Known for his unique blend of Hip-Hop & Arabic poetry, he’s been featured on prominent world news outlets, lectured at a number of prestigious academic institutions, collaborated with major museums & cultural organizations, and helped raise millions of dollars for various humanitarian relief groups. 

Hadi Eldebek is a musician, educator and entrepreneur based in New York City. He has collaborated with prominent figures and institutions in the Arts, culture, and education sectors, including Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble, Harvard Graduate School of Education, The Kennedy Center, TED, and Disney World Imagineering. His piece for Oud & String Quartet, Istimrar, was played at Farkas Hall in Cambridge, MA featuring Yo-Yo Ma on Cello. In addition, Hadi has founded several cultural startups, including grantPA and Circle World Arts. His TED talk, discussing the importance of funding the arts and artists, has gone viral with over 1.25 million views. 

THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK 

QuarterTones is afikra’s music podcast which hosts current Arab musicians from different geographies who play contemporary and modern music, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The guests are invited to talk about their work and play their music – whether live or recorded – in three segments. The audience gets a chance to listen to some of the most interesting work from across the region and genres, and understand the music that these musicians and musicologists perform or study. 

Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg2zwxYLPXg&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7FiLcdH_iSgv4RiXEy4GAh 

ABOUT AFIKRA 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

This conversation offers a brief history of Palestine and its peoples, a look at the Palestinian experience both in exile and within modern-day Israel. 

Professor Maha Nassar – author of Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab world – talks us through the daily indignities, state repression, and racism faced by Palestinians in Israel. She unpacks the origins and meanings of the phrase "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and how she goes about dismantling false narratives. 

This episode was recorded on Friday, November 24 at 5pm Palestine Time Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times. 

About Maha Nassar: Maha Nassar is an Associate Professor of Modern Middle East History and Islamic Studies at the University of Arizona. Specifically, she is a cultural and intellectual historian of the 20th century Arab world with a focus on Palestinian history. Nassar's research looks at the intellectual constructs of social, political and cultural identities to trace the circulation of political vocabularies that construct as well as contest nationalist narratives. 

Nassar's book "Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World" examines how Palestinian cultural producers in Israel during the 1950s and 60s positioned themselves within an Arab and "Third World", social, cultural and intellectual milieu that extended far beyond the confines of the Israeli nation state. By mapping the strategies they deployed, her book demonstrates the importance of Arabic newspapers and literary journals in traversing national boundaries and in creating transnational and transregional communities of solidarity. In 2018 Brothers Apart received a Palestine Book Award for academic titles. 

(via https://menas.arizona.edu/person/maha...) 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Sudan’s ongoing crisis gets little attention in western media if in any media at all. Kholood Khair helps us go beyond the sparce headlines to get a better sense of how the daily atrocities are affecting the broader society right now. 

Kholood is a policy and political analyst and founding director of Khartoum-based “think-and-do” tank Confluence Advisory. We spoke to her about what it means to be Sudanese in this moment in time, tried to define "statehood" and "nationhood" in the Sudanese context, and explored the fragile relationship between democracy and stability. 

She explains the repercussions of the capital Khartoum being at the epicenter of destruction and the wider impacts this has had on civil society, education and cultural production. Finally, laying bare her frustration around the fact that very few people are paying attention to Sudan, Kholood underscores the importance of transitional solidarity. 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters

 🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

As journalists on the ground in Gaza are targeted, the “truth” weaponized, and an information war for the ages unravels, we sat down with Professor Ibrahim Abusharif to discuss the construction of narratives, framing terminologies, and the ethics of journalism. Delving into questions of decolonizing journalism, the boundaries between storytelling and reportage, and pushing back against established journalistic practices, we explore the state of (war) reporting and how coverage of the Arab world has changed over time. 

Professor Abusharif points us towards the Al Jazeera effect and what he sees as a destabilization of western dominance over media narratives. He also offers some tips for how to decolonize pitches and reporting and some recommendations for what to read. 

This episode was recorded in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation.

Ibrahim Abusharif is an associate professor in residence in Northwestern University Qatar’s Journalism and Strategic Communication Program. His research focuses on narrative journalism, religious studies, and the decolonization of storytelling. He looks in particular at the intersection of religion and media, as well as digital media disruptions and their effects on contemporary religious authority. His work also explores the origins, promulgation, and effects of key journalistic framing terminologies used in prominent Western news sources in their coverage and reportage of the Middle East and Muslim minorities in the West. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES *****

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Support our work: http://afikra.com/support

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

Farha – the internationally acclaimed film that brought the Nakba to screens around the world – depicts the heartwrenching events of 1948 through the eyes of a 14-year old girl. In her debut film, director Darin Salam creates an intense, feminine story that captures the emotions and human experience of the Nakba in a raw yet approachable way. 

In this special podcast episode, Darin explains how the story of Farha found her, offers context for viewers who aren’t familiar with events around the Nakba, and breaks down the logistical elements of casting, shooting and producing the film. She talks about how she positions Farha as a meaningful contribution to a wider conversation that uses art and film as a means to preserve this history for generations to come. 

Finally, Darin speaks to the fear and initial reluctance she faced from the film industry as well as the challenges she overcame to secure funding that respected the integrity of the story she was trying to make. 

This episode was recorded on November 9 2023 at 11am Palestine time. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES *****

Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in all types of production for the small and big screen to zoom into the work of professionals from the field – from actors and directors to scriptwriters and cinematographers. This interview series is an opportunity to ask questions about the plot, the behind the scenes, themes and information about a film or TV series and discover some of the best work from experts in the field who are from the Arab world.‎  

Explore all Movie Night episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39iF2VuxlZ0&list=PLfYG40bwRKl7IMTj6Jk7yAJXCMMqxaP5A

Colonial violence, resistance movements and French-colonial Algeria. Professor Benjamin Brower explains the ways in which violence is conceptualized, treating it as a historic lens to understand colonial events in the past and what is happening right now in Palestine. 

This conversation is key for anyone who wants a detailed history of the French presence in Algeria and their mechanisms for colonial expansion and control, and to have a critical base of knowledge around colonialism and violence that can inform our understanding of what we’re witnessing in Palestine. 

Benjamin Brower is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a historian of colonial-era Algeria (1830-1962) whose research focuses on social and political questions, which he approaches through critical and literary theories, and postcolonial studies. 

His first book, A Desert Named Peace: The Violence of French Empire in the Algerian Sahara, 1844-1902(2009) tells the story of colonial violence in nineteenth-century Algeria, and it won two major book prizes. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ 

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

Dima Khatib, managing director at AJ+, is leading crucial work to speak truth to power in the face of what we’re witnessing in Palestine: tackling misinformation, dismantling false narratives on multilingual platforms, and standing apart in the current media landscape.

We start with a reflection on the targeting of journalists and the assassination of the truth from Iraq to what we’re witnessing right now in Gaza. We explore the idea of war of information and “embedded journalists”. Dima shares her first-hand experience in combating misinformation and replacing dehumanizing narratives, explaining AJ+’s approach to speaking to different audiences in their own languages about what’s happening on the ground. 

We ponder about western media, the notable absence of journalists speaking up against injustice and war crimes, and the debilitating but far reaching double standards that permeate western media and popular narratives. 

In a more hopeful light, Dima points to the powerful role of Gen Z on platforms like TikTok and Instagram and the fact that vocabulary such as “Nakba” and “settler colonialism” is becoming part of a common, global language. 

Finally she shares reading recommendations from Jewish, Israeli and South American writers that have helped her understand what is happening in Palestine and to Palestinians, and the realities of colonialism and idigineity. 

This episode was recorded on Tuesday November 14 at 6:45pm Palestine Time 

Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.

About Dima: 

Dima Khatib is the managing director of the award-winning AJ+ channels in four languages: English, Arabic, Spanish and French. She joined the Network in 1997 as a junior broadcast journalist in Qatar and went on to become the first female executive within Al Jazeera. Later, Dima set up bureaus in China and Venezuela where she was Al Jazeera’s bureau chief for almost a decade. Dima has reported from over 30 countries in five continents, interviewing presidents and people from all walks of life. Dima is a polyglot who has published the book “Love Refugee”. She has been classified as one of the most influential Arabs online since the early days of social media.

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Peace processes, two-state vs one-state solutions and nonviolent protests. In conversation with Professor Wendy Pearlman from Northwestern University, we take two of her books as a foundation to examine grassroots activism historically and to consider a potential future “just” solution. 

Wendy shares her views on realistic outcomes for the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli condition, and takes us through the history of Palestinian grassroots activism both in Palestine and internationally, delving deeper into the parallel between the apartheid in South Africa and in Palestine. Finally, we talk about the atmosphere on US college campuses right now — both for students and teaching staff. Wendy explains why she aims to speak to all her students in the classroom, regardless of where they stand on the Palestine issue. 

This episode was recorded on November 8, 17:10 Palestine time

Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.

About Wendy: 

Wendy is the Crown Professor of Middle East Studies and the interim Director of the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program at North Western University. She is a scholar of the comparative politics of the Middle East, social movements, and forced migration and has studied or conducted research in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Israel and the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. She is the author of five books including Occupied Voices: Stories of Everyday Life from the Second Intifada (Nation Books, 2003) and Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement (Cambridge, 2011).

Since June 2023, Wendy has served as co-editor-in-chief of the journal Perspectives on Politics. Previously, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Spain, a Starr Foundation Fellow at the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad at the American University in Cairo, a Junior Peace Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, and a postdoctoral Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund’s president and founder, Steve Sosebee, joins us to talk about Gaza’s children, the nature of the work that the PCRF is doing and the immense pressure that the healthcare and sanitary systems are under right now in Gaza. 

Steve lays out the state of the healthcare system in Gaza pre- and post-October 7 and how the absolute destruction taking place is impacting their ability to support Gaza’s children and vulnerable patients. He conveys the reality of what “operational” means for hospitals doing their best to support the community in Gaza right now, as well as the risks posed by the spread of disease now and in the imminent future. 

Finally, he explains why he believes there’s no sufficient psychological treatment or support for the trauma that Palestinian children are facing because the real source of the trauma is the continued occupation and state violence that they are enduring. This episode was recorded on Tuesday Nov 7, at 7pm Palestine time. 

Please note that we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.

About Steve Sosebee:

Steve Sosebee is the president and founder of the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF). While working as a journalist, Sosebee met two children in Hebron who had been injured by a bombing of their home. He brought them from the West Bank to the USA for free medical care. Following this, he met and later married a Palestinian woman named Huda al Masry, a social worker with the YMCA in Jerusalem. Together, they built the PCRF with the support of a network of volunteers from all over the world. In 2009, Huda passed away from cancer and Sosebee moved back to Palestine with their daughters, building the first public pediatric cancer department in Beit Jala Hospital in his late wife’s name. 

About PCRF: 

Since its establishment in 1992, PCRF has become the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine that delivers critical and life-saving medical relief and humanitarian aid. To date, they’ve sent over 2000 children abroad for free medical care, as well as thousands of international doctors and nurses to provide tens of thousands of children free medical care in local hospitals. They have also delivered crucial humanitarian aid to Palestine’s children. PCRF has also established two pediatric cancer departments, a new PICU and pediatric cardiology department in Ramallah, amongst other projects that support the country’s healthcare system. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

This conversation is about the spatiality and architecture of occupation. Abusaada talks to us about our very understanding of the land of Palestine, how maps invent geography and not the other way around, and why colonialism should be studied while it’s happening and not when it’s over and done with. We examine the way that humans interact with space – specifically under occupation – as well as the history of the Palestinian landscape and how it has been artificially and purposefully manipulated to further the Israeli agenda of control. 

This episode was recorded on October 28, 10:42 Palestine time

Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.

Dr. Nadi Abusaada is an architect and historian. He is a Zürich Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (GTA) at the Department of Architecture, ETH Zürich. Prior to moving to Zurich he was an Aga Khan Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his PhD and M.Phil degrees at the University of Cambridge and his BA (Hons) at the University of Toronto. Abusaada is also the co-founder of Arab Urbanism which is a global network dedicated to historical and contemporary urban issues in the Arab region. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES *****

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters

🎧  New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡  Support our work: http://afikra.com/support

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

A raw and honest conversation about Palestine, Germany and Palestinians in Germany. Sarah El Bulbeisi discusses the history of the Palestinian diasporic experience in Germany, the erasure, tabooization and criminalization of this very experience and the structural hostility, racism and trivialization faced by the Palestinian community and anyone in support of it there. Finally, she grapples with the notion of post-War guilt and its impact (or lack thereof) on the German perception and treatment of Palestinians.

This episode was recorded on Friday Oct 27 at 16:41 Palestine time.

Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times.

Sarah El Bulbeisi completed her PhD at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich, Germany and currently works as a post-doctoral research assistant at the Oriental Institute Beirut. Before joining the OIB she coordinated the DAAD project “Violence, Forced Migration and Exile: Trauma in the Arab World and in Germany”, a Higher Education Dialogue between Palestinian and Lebanese universities as well as with the LMU Munich. Prior to that, she worked as a lecturer and research associate at the Institute for Near and Middle East Studies at the LMU Munich. Her PhD thesis “Taboo, Trauma and Identity: Subject Constructions of Palestinians in Germany and Switzerland, 1960 to 2015” draws on conversations, life stories and participant observation and explores the tension between the (family) histories of first and second generation Palestinians, which are characterized by the experience of expulsion and dispossession, and the reshaping of this experience in the Western European representation of the so called Middle East conflict.

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

محادثة مهمة وغنية بالمعلومات حول مدينة غزة. من ثقافتها الخاصة وتاريخها الواسع الى الأثر الزلزالي للاستعمار البريطاني. عمر ذوابه يحاور البروفيسور أباهر السقا، مؤلف كتاب "غزة: التاريخ الاجتماعي لغزة تحت الاستعمار البريطاني (1917- 1948)" الذي يرسم صورة حية للحياة الاجتماعية والاقتصادية والثقافية في غزة منذ العصر المملوكي وحتى الاستعمار البريطاني. يسلط السقا الضوء على المدينة من عدسة التاريخ الاجتماعي وعلى الهوية المادية والثقافية المتعددة الأوجه لغزة وكيف تغيرت على مر العقود.

سجلت هذه الحلقة في 26 أكتوبر

يرجى ملاحظة أننا نقوم بتسجيل حلقات بودكاست خاصة لفهم السياق التاريخي لما يحدث في فلسطين. اطلع على المحادثات الأخرى الغنية بالمعلومات مع ضيوف من تخصصات مختلفة والذين يعطون من وقتهم ويشاركون رؤيتهم بسخاء في هذه الأوقات المظلمة  
A timely and vital conversation about the city of Gaza: its rich history, culture, and the seismic impact of British colonial rule. 

Omar Thawabeh interviews professor Abaher El-Sakka, author of Gaza: A Social History under British Colonial Rule, 1917-1948 paints a vivid picture of Gaza’s social, economic and cultural life from the Mamluk period through to the British colonial rule. He illuminates the city through a social history lens, shedding light on Gaza’s multifaceted physical and cultural identity and how it’s changed through the decades. This episode was recorded on October 26 Please note, we're recording special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Make sure to check out the other highly informative conversations with guests from completely different disciplines who are generously sharing their time and insight in these dark times 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎

Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

**** ABOUT AFIKRA ***‎*

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

In conversation with Professor Beshara Doumani, the inaugural Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies at Brown University. Professor Doumani gives us critical historical context for what's happening now in Palestine. Explaining why and how pre-colonial Palestinian history is relevant today, he draws a stark contrast between pre-WW1 Gaza and the besieged Gaza of the present-day. 

This episode was recorded on October 24 at 20:44 Palestine time. 

Please note, we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts. 

About Beshara Doumani: 

Beshara Doumani is the inaugural Mahmoud Darwish Professor of Palestinian Studies, the first chair of its kind dedicated to this field of study. He is also the founding director (2012-2018) of Brown's Center for Middle East Studies (CMES), and founder of New Directions for Palestinian Studies, a CMES initiative since 2012. From 2012-2020 he was the Joukowsky Family Distinguished Professor of Modern Middle East History. 

Doumani's research focuses on groups, places, and time periods marginalized by mainstream scholarship on the early modern and modern Middle East, with a focus on the social, economic, and legal history of Eastern Mediterranean. He also writes on the topics of academic freedom, and the Palestinian condition. 

His books include Rediscovering Palestine: Merchants and Peasants in Jabal Nablus, 1700-1900, and Family Life in the Ottoman Mediterranean: A Social History. He is currently working on the modern history of the Palestinians through the social life of stone. Doumani is the editor of a book series on Palestinian Studies published by the University of California Press, co-editor of the Jerusalem Quarterly and editorial committee member of the Journal of Palestine Studies. From 2009-2011, Doumani led a team that produced a strategic plan for the establishment of the Palestinian Museum. In 2015, Doumani and received the Sawyer Seminar award from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the proposal, Displacement and the Making of the Modern World: Histories, Ecologies, and Subjectivities.

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

 ****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

In conversation with interdisciplinary scholar Brendan Ciarán Browne, author of “Transitional (in)Justice and Enforcing the Peace on Palestine”, who has degrees in Law and a PhD in Sociology.

This episode was recorded on October 24 at 11:30 Palestine time. 

Please note, we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding historical context to what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts.

About Brendan Ciarán Browne: 

A native of Belfast, Dr Brendan Ciarán Browne is an interdisciplinary scholar with degrees in Law (LL.B, LL.M Human Rights) and a PhD in Sociology. He has held academic and research positions at Queen's University Belfast, Al Quds (Bard) University, Palestine and is currently Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution, and a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin (FTCD). His research interests are focused on transitional justice, settler colonialism and liberal peacebuilding, and conflict and forced displacement. Dr Browne is an award-winning teacher, having been nominated twice for Trinity College Dublin's prestigious Provost's Teaching Award, winning the accolade in 2019. In addition, he has been nominated twice for the Trinity Civic Engagement Award in recognition of his work on community engagement in the North of Ireland and Palestine (being shortlisted in 2018). In 2023 he was again nominated for an award, the Excellence in Research Supervision at Trinity College Dublin, in recognition of his commitment to his research students. 

In: 'Refugees and Forced Displacement in Northern Ireland's Troubles: Untold Journeys' (co-authored with Dr Niall Gilmartin, Liverpool University Press) Dr Browne challenges and broadens prevailing understandings of conflict-related violence, harm, and loss in Northern Ireland, so as to demonstrate the centrality of forced movement, territory, and demographics to the roots and subsequent trajectory of the 'Troubles'. 

His most recent work: 'Transitional (in)Justice & Enforcing the Peace on Palestine' (Palgrave Macmillan) critically unpacks transitional justice practices that have been trialled in Palestine by arguing that such interventions mimic a deeply flawed liberal peacebuilding agenda, one that has been weaponised against the Palestinian population. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES ***** 

The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

Mara Kronenfeld, the Executive Director of UNRWA-USA, gives context about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza right now and the devastating impact the 17-year-long blockade has had on Palestinian life.

This episode was recorded on October 20 at 15:30 Palestine time.

Please note, that we are dedicating all the afikra podcast programming to special podcast episodes relevant to understanding the historical context of what is happening in Palestine. Each episode will be recorded in real-time and uploaded to YouTube and anywhere you get your podcasts.

Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director 

👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters

 🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

*******

This conversation is a deep dive into every corner of the Muslim world. We hear about the story of Slavs and Tatar’s origins, what their work is concerned with, and why much of their activity is about disarticulation and decentering. We reflect on linguistic gravitas, the meaning of language, paying attention to “small peoples'', and the racist origins of the very term “Tatars”. We move onto the role of art, why it’s infantilising, and how it should scramble things and harness its social capital – and about the Slavs and Tatar’s slavic aperitivo “Pickle Bar '' as a facilitating space. 

Slavs and Tatars is an art collective and faction of polemics and intimacies devoted to an area east of the former Berlin Wall and west of the Great Wall of China known as Eurasia. It was founded as a collaboration between artists and designers Payam Sharifi and Kasia Korczak. The group’s work is centered around exhibitions, books and lecture performances. Slavs and Tatars has a residency and mentorship program for young professionals from their region, a slavic aperitif bar-cum-project space called Pickle Bar in Berlin, and an online store by the name of MERCZbau. 

***** ABOUT THIS SERIES *****

 The afikra Podcast is our flagship program featuring experts from academia, art, media and beyond who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community walks away with a new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎ 

Explore all afikra Podcast episodes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0voh_EioBM&list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

📍 Local events in 30 locations worldwidehttp://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work: http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

What does the post-AI era hold? And what do these kinds of conversations look like in the context of the Arab world? In this captivating conversation, Basma Hamdy sheds light on everything AI and the Arab world, from ethics to art. What are ownership, originality and intellectual ownership? How will AI impact the visual arts? How are ethics going to be re-defined? Why is Arabic-language processing lagging behind? And what does algorithmic bias have to do with it? 

Basma delineates between the pre and post-AI worlds, pressing for an adaptation of our principles and ethical frameworks that takes the changing landscape into account. We reflect on the influence of Western modernity on the region’s ethics and how collaboration and cooperation may be re-centered in this new AI age. As well as on what skills are going to be lost and gained for the AI-native generation.

Basma Hamdy is an assistant professor of Graphic Design at VCUarts Qatar. She is a research-based designer, author and educator producing work that bridges historical, political and social issues with archival, documentarian, participatory and critical mechanisms. She collaborated with Don Karl to research and document the creative output of the Egyptian Revolution in the book “Walls of Freedom: Street Art of the Egyptian Revolution”. She is currently working on her second book, Found Khatt, in collaboration with Noha Zyed, which documents found typography across Egypt. The Qatar Foundation is a not-for-profit organization which brings together centers and programs focused on education, research and innovation, and community development. 

Watch our previous conversation with Basma as part of a panel for Tasmeem 2022: Radical Futures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1sX1pVqpKU 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters

 🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

In conversation with Professor Hicham Safieddine, we get to grips with Lebanon’s banking system. He walks us through the history of central banks, who Lebanon’s Barons of Banking were, and how Lebanon’s banking sector got to where it is today. We reflect on Beirut’s economy and banking system from the 1800s to the present day, taking into account the Ottoman Imperial Bank, Banque de Syrie et du Liban, Banque du Liban and the Intra-affair. Finally, we discuss the current state of affairs and if change is on the horizon. 

Hicham Safieddine is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the History of the Modern Middle East at the University of British Columbia. His research mostly focuses on the 19th and 20th century financial, economic and intellectual history of the MENA region. Safieddine is currently examining the emergence and transformation of global and national monetary regimes and financial systems under capitalist expansion, debt, war, colonial conquest, national liberation and revolution. Outside of his academic work, Hicham is the co-founder of e-zines Al-Akhbar English and The Legal Agenda’s English Edition. 

About “Banking on the State: The Financial Foundations of Lebanon”: 

Banking on the State reveals how the financial foundations of Lebanon were shaped by the history of the standardization of economic practices and financial regimes within the decolonizing world. The system of central banking that emerged was the product of a complex interaction of war, economic policies, international financial regimes, post-colonial state-building, global currents of technocratic knowledge, and private business interests. It served rather than challenged the interests of an oligarchy of local bankers. As Hicham Safieddine shows, the set of arrangements that governed the central bank thus was dictated by dynamics of political power and financial profit more than market forces, national interest or economic sovereignty. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

With a vast discography featuring both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in Arabic music, Sleiman Damien is completely tapped into the region’s pop genre. We asked him what he thinks of the phrase “Arab pop fusion”, which metrics actuallymatter to him, and why he thinks legacy superstars have more sticking power in today’s fickle industry. 

We reflect on the role of ego in the region’s music industry, comparing the “old guard” to emerging musicians and their approach to collaboration. Sleiman also talks about his experience working as a ghost producer and how he reacts emotionally to his own work. 

He also shares his mental health journey, especially when it comes to the emphasis placed on performance metrics and an obsession with knowing how people feel about his own creations. 

Sleiman Damien is a music producer, DJ and audio engineer from Beirut, Lebanon. Much of his work is focussed on the Arab pop genre. 

He has worked with music talents from across the region such as Georges Wassouf, Nassif Zeytoun, Haifa Wehbe, Assi Hallani, Ragheb Alama, Abeer Nehme, Dana Hourani, Maritta Hallani, Adonis, Zef and many more. 

Theme music: "Peninsular", Tarek Yamani 

👉: https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

🔊: https://spoti.fi/47I59ns

Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director 

👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/

**** ABOUT THE SERIES **** 

Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies. 

Join the live audience:

https://www.afikra.com/rsvp

Watch all afikra Conversations:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters

 🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra

*******

Bill Bragin – executive artistic director of the NYUAD Arts Center – talks to us about the center’s upcoming season, how it's impacted the city of Abu Dhabi so far, and what he envisions for the future of both the center and its ripple effect on the country as a whole. 

Bill shares his approach to curatorial work and practice, as well as the importance of responding to a space/venue when programming. We also reflect on what it means to exchange culture and build long-lasting educational institutions, and how Abu Dhabi’s unique audience has reacted to the center’s work so far. 

This conversation kicks off the second season of the podcast series in collaboration with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi and delves deep into the intricate tapestry of the Arab world's histories and cultures. This podcast is your passport to the Arab world's rich and diverse histories and cultures. Get ready to embark on an immersive journey of knowledge, inspiration and endless curiosity. 

ABOUT THE SERIES

Join us on an intellectual odyssey with The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast Series that delves deep into the intricate tapestry of the Arab world's histories and cultures. 

As our guests share their expertise and personal journeys, we invite you to embark on a voyage of discovery. Prepare to be enlightened, entertained, and intrigued, as each conversation sparks a new flame of curiosity within you. 

The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi Podcast Series  is your passport to the Arab world's rich and diverse histories and cultures. Get ready to embark on an immersive journey of knowledge, inspiration, and endless curiosity.

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

Learn about Arab Marxism, radical patriarchal politics, and Lebanon’s political economy over the last century in this conversation with professor Fadi Bardawil from Duke University. Starting with his book “Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation”, Professor Bardawil maps out the history of the Political Left in Lebanon and more broadly in the region, pointing us to key moments over the past century. We also touch on the New Left, Lebanon’s new political realities and the significance of October 17th as a moment of feminist resurgence. 

Fadi Bardawil is assistant professor of contemporary Arab cultures in the Department of Asian Studies and Middle East Studies at Duke university. He also regularly writes for Megaphone, an online independent media platform based in Lebanon. His work is interdisciplinary, combining political anthropology, critical theory and intellectual history. In particular, Bardawil focuses on Lebanon investigating articulations of cultural production and political practice. 

About “Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation”: 

The Arab Revolutions that began in 2011 reignited interest in the question of theory and practice, imbuing it with a burning political urgency. In Revolution and Disenchantment Fadi Bardawil redescribes for our present how an earlier generation of revolutionaries – the 1960s Arab New Left – addressed this question. Bardawil excavates the long-lost archive of the Marxist organization Socialist Lebanon and its main theorist, Waddah Charara, who articulated answers in their political practice to fundamental issues confronting revolutionaries worldwide: intellectuals as vectors of revolutionary theory; political organizations as mediators of theory and praxis; and non-emancipatory attachments as impediments to revolutionary practice. Drawing on historical and ethnographic methods and moving beyond familiar reception narratives of Marxist thought in the postcolony, Bardawil engages in "fieldwork in theory" that analyzes how theory seduces intellectuals, cultivates sensibilities, and authorizes political practice. Throughout, Bardawil underscores the resonances and tensions between Arab intellectual traditions and Western critical theory and postcolonial theory, deftly placing intellectuals from those traditions into a much-needed conversation. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ 

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity.

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

P-Thugg, one half of music duo Chromeo, shares the secrets to a successful and long-term musical collaboration. On set with us in Beirut, he talks about the experiences that led to his discovering funk and hip hop, growing up between Lebanon and Canada and his changing relationship with the former, and what it’s like attending the VMAs. He tells us of Chromeo’s early days when he and David “Dave 1” Macklovitch met and started making music together. We also reflect on how the craft of making music videos has changed and how important humor, honesty and musical knowledge are. P-Thugg also talks about the origins of his online marketplace “Ya Habibi Market” and names his all-time-favorite dance artists. P-Thugg, also known as Patrick Gemayel, is a Lebanese musician and one half of the electro-funk duo Chromeo. He’s also the founder of Ya Habibi Market, a collective of multidisciplinary MENA creatives, artists and designers from around the world. 

Theme music: "Peninsular", Tarek Yamani 

👉: https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ 

🔊: https://spoti.fi/47I59ns 

Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna, afikra Founder & Executive Director 

👉: https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/ 

**** ABOUT THE SERIES **** 

Quartertones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies. 

Join the live audience:

 https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

Watch all afikra Conversations:

 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters

 🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

Did “Arabness” die in 1973? How meaningful is the word Arab now anyway? And what role does the internet play in visual culture and civic imagination? In this multifaceted conversation with Dr Omar Kholeif, we explore many strands of thought, venturing from Arab culture as a “creole culture” to looking at the internet as a “pesky medium”. We share afikra’s core tenets and philosophy and reflect on key players in the production of Arab pop culture now in 2023. 

Dr Omar Kholeif is an Egyptian-born artist, author, broadcaster, edit and curator (among other things). They are currently director of collections and senior curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation. Kholeif started their career as a music writer, researcher and documentary producer, going on to found the UK’s first Arab Film Festival (now called the Safar Film festival). They have since worked across film, media, fine art and visual culture. They have taught at many institutions including the University of Chicago and University of Oxford. 

About their most recent publication “Art_Internet: From the Birth of the Web to the Rise of NFTs”:

“A leading figure in the world of networked culture explores the artists and events that defined the mass medium of our time.”

Since 1989, the year the World Wide Web was born, the art world has grappled with the rise of networked culture. This unprecedented survey of the artists and innovators in this area from 1989 to today is interwoven with the personal narrative of one of the leading voices of the digital world. In this book, Omar Kholeif, whose prolific career parallels the growth of the internet, tells the story of this mass medium and how it has fostered new possibilities for artists, both analog and digital.

The book showcases work spanning a range of media from legendary artists including Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Nam June Paik, Heather Phillipson, and Wu Tsang. Tracing the key artists and innovators from the emergence of browser-based art to the dawn of NFTs, this is a tale for the present and the future.

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ 

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

What is Syria’s business model? How will the current political constriction, brain and human drain, and regional geo-politics affect the country moving forward? In this fascinating conversation with Bassam Haddad, we consider money as a mentality, Syria’s political economy, and reflect on the growing drug trade and rentierism. He also shares his experience founding (and naming) Jadaliyya and being the executive director of the Arab Studies institute. 

Bassam Haddad is the Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and an associate professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He’s also the co-founder and editor of Jadaliyya and executive director of the Arab Studies Institute. He wrote “Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience” and co editor of “A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East.” 

About “Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience”: 

Collusion between business communities and the state can lead to a measure of security for those in power, but this kind of interaction often limits new development. In Syria, state-business involvement through informal networks has contributed to an erratic economy. With unique access to private businessmen and select state officials during a critical period of transition, this book examines Syria's political economy from 1970 to 2005 to explain the nation's pattern of state intervention and prolonged economic stagnation. As state income from oil sales and aid declined, collusion was a bid for political security by an embattled regime. To achieve a modicum of economic growth, the Syrian regime would develop ties with select members of the business community, reserving the right to reverse their inclusion in the future. Haddad ultimately reveals that this practice paved the way for forms of economic agency that maintained the security of the regime but diminished the development potential of the state and the private sector. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ 

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

*******

Studying Yemen, al-Shawkani, Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and football. In this fascinating conversation with Professor Bernard Haykel, he offers deep insight into contemporary Saudi Arabia, the realities of pivoting an entire economy away from oil, and what MBS’ vision 2030 actually looks like for the country. 

We talk about why Haykel started out studying Yemen before moving onto Saudi Arabia, contemporary geopolitics, and key axes of power between China, the US, and Saudi Arabia. 

Bernard Haykel is a professor of Near Eastern Studies and the director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia at Princeton University. Between 1992 and 1993, he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in Yemen. He has taught at New York, Oxford, and Princeton Universities. His research is primarily focused on the political and social tensions that arise from questions about religious identity and authority. He has written two books: “Saudi Arabia in Transition” and “Revival and Reform in Islam”. 

About “Saudi Arabia in Transition: Insights on Social, Political, Economic and Religious Change”: Making sense of Saudi Arabia is crucially important today. The kingdom's western province contains the heart of Islam, and it is the United States' closest Arab ally and the largest producer of oil in the world. However, the country is undergoing rapid change: its aged leadership is ceding power to a new generation, and its society, dominated by young people, is restive. Saudi Arabia has long remained closed to foreign scholars, with a select few academics allowed into the kingdom over the past decade. This book presents the fruits of their research as well as those of the most prominent Saudi academics in the field. This volume focuses on different sectors of Saudi society and examines how the changes of the past few decades have affected each. It reflects new insights and provides the most up-to-date research on the country's social, cultural, economic and political dynamics.

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

DJ Nooriyah’s iconic Boiler room set with her Baba on the oud, growing up between Saudi, Japan and London, and her beloved CDJ 2000s Pioneer decks. We sat down with Nooriyah Qais to talk about everything DJing, her guide to safeguarding yourself in the club industry, and how she transforms a sample into an infectious dance track. 

We also touch on the community she’s built with her curated event and party series “Middle of Nowhere”, how she’s bringing SWANA music into the mainstream, and her favorite Arab cities to play.

Nooriyah Qais is a radio host, producer, DJ and journalist. Through her work as a DJ and audio producer, she champions music from the Arab region and diaspora, founding “Middle of Nowhere” which is a “SWANA focused collaborative in London”. Her iconic Boiler Room set reached over 1 million streams in the first 3 months. Nooriyah has performed at global dance festivals including Glastonbury. 

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

What was it like curating the biggest exhibition of Arab art happening right now? Why is “Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation” such a landmark exhibition? We sat down with the exhibition’s curator and deputy chair of Christie’s MENA, Dr Ridha Moumni, and the founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation to go behind the scenes of the curation process. 

They share the logistical challenges of putting this exhibition together and share some of their favorite pieces on display including work by: Shakir Hassan Al Said, Ibrahim El Salahi, Mahmoud Sabri, Safia Farhat, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, Mohammed Melehi, Nadia Saikali, Samia Halaby, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Fahrelniss Zeid, Huguette Caland, Samia Osseiran Jumblatt, Simone Fattal, Kadhim Hayder, Abdel Hadi El Gazzar, Marwan and Hassan Sharif.

 “Kawkaba: Highlights from the Barjeel Art Foundation” at Christie’s London is an “immersive journey through the transformative epochs and powerful voices that shaped the modern Arab art landscape.” Drawing from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s rich collection, this gender-balanced exhibition showcases the region’s artistic heritage through the work of both well-known and emerging artists. The exhibition runs until 23rd August 2023. Kawkaba is a gender-balanced exhibition that presents masterpieces of leading figures of the field, such as Huguette Caland, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Etel Adnan, Marwan, Safia Farhat, Jewad Selim, Inji Efflatoun, and Mohamed Melehi. 

It concurrently sheds light on underrepresented artists - based in the region, from the diaspora, or exiled -, who have highly contributed to modern Arab Art. Kawkaba is a window into the soul of the Arab world, an exploration of its complexities, and a tribute to its resilience and creativity. Through this exhibition, visitors are invited to traverse the artistic spirit of the Arab world and partake in its unrivalled transformative journey.

Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi is an Emirati columnist, researcher, scholar and founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation. He established the Barjeel Art Foundation in 2010 as a Sharjah-based organization dedicated to promoting North African and West Asian art. 

Dr Ridha Moumni is an Art and Archaeology historian with a specialist focus on Antiquity and the early and modern art of Tunisia. He is the current Deputy Chair of Middle East and North Africa at Christie’s. Prior to taking up his position at Christie’s, Moumni was an Aga Khan Fellow at Harvard University’s Department of Art History.

 ****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp Watch all afikra Conversations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... 

****** ABOUT AFIKRA ******‎ 

afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 

🖥️ Live Events & Conversations hosted on Zoom http://afikra.com/rsvp 

📍 Local Events in 30 locations worldwide (17 in MENA, 7 in Europe, 6 in Americas) http://afikra.com/chapters 

🎧 New Podcasts + Videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts 

⚡ Support our work http://afikra.com/support 

🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_ 

🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official 

🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra 

What impact did the 2011 Arab Uprisings have on our use of technology? How shouldwe approach, regulate and manage technologies as they emerge? And is it really possible to make political predictions by analysing tweets? 

We talk about cross-cultural communication, her book ‘Arabic Glitch: Techno Culture, Data Bodies and Archives’ and using machine learning to predict the fall of Qaddafi. She explains what sentiment analysis actually means and how she grapples with existential anxiety. We also discuss why she sees the Arab World as the nexus of the technology era and not Silicon Valley. 

Laila Shereen Sakr, better known to some as VJ Um Amel, is an Egyptian-American digital media theorist and artist. She is the founder of the digital lab, R-Shief, which is “one of the largest repositories of Arabic-language tweets”. Laila is also an assistant professor of Film and Media Studies, as well as a Faculty Affiliate in the Feminist Studies Department at the University of California.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Outline:

Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Writing Between Two Moons:An Arab-American coming of age story set in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn during the “War on Terror”. Author Aisha Abdel Gawad sheds light on her experience writing the novel while balancing her work as a high-school teacher, capturing Bay Ridge’s unique community in her book, and her creative process. 

Together, Mikey and Aisha reflect on the post-9/11 War on Terror, age of surveillance, and how this impacted the Arab-American community. Aisha also shares her advice for aspiring novelists and her must-reads for high-school students. 

Aisha Abdel Gawad is a writer and high-school teacher. She won the 2015 Pushcart Prize for her short-story “Waking Luna”. After college, Aisha worked at the Arab American Association of New York in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Her debut novel, Between Two Moons, is a coming of age story set in Bay Ridge during the post-9/11 War on Terror. 

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Book Club:

Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

The early days of Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, growing up in Lydda, and working with artists across the region and from the diaspora: Suhel Nafar joins us on QuarterTones to discuss his colorful and accomplished musical career to date. We talk about his family’s ‘Bootleg Jackson 5’ group, Palestinian hip hop and his departure from DAM. 

Suhel Nafar is the co-founder of Palestinian hip-hop group DAM, which was featured in award-winning documentary Slingshot Hip Hop. Formerly, Nafar was the global lead of Arab music and culture at Spotify and is now the vice president of strategy and market development at Empire Distribution WANA. He is also the music supervisor for Netflix’s show ‘Mo’. 

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Being a director, winning the Angénieux Encouragement Award at Cannes, navigating the film industry, and differences between working on ads, TV and cinema: award-winning Egyptian director Haya Khairat gives us an insider view on life behind the camera. 

In conversation with Mikey, Haya shares her experiences grappling with cynicism, being a women director, and keeping her passion for cinema alive. She also lists her key dos and don’ts for aspiring directors and recommends her top 5 films and filmmakers that keep her inspired. 

Haya Khairat is an Egyptian director, cinematographer and photographer. She was the first Egyptian to win the Angénieux Special Encouragement Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Haya worked as first assistant cameraman for “Afrah al-Qobba”, “La Tatfi al-Shams” and “Al-Rehla”. She was also the director of photography for “Dark Chocolate” which won “Best Short Film” at the Cairo Film Festival in 2019.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Outline:

Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

What was it like curating the 1st Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale? And how do you capture the essence of a place that is in the hearts and minds of Muslims around the world? Sumayya Vally talks to us about her personal relationship with Saudi Arabia, suspended geographies, adding to the Islamic Art canon, and reimagining Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal as an exhibition space. She talks us through it from the very conceptualization of the Diriyah Islamic Arts Biennale in Saudi Arabia to individual pieces that caught Mikey’s attention when he attended the opening. We also touch on what it’s like letting go of a creative project once it has come to fruition, with Sumayya likening the process to post-partum depression. Lastly, we hear about what Sumayya and her research and architecture practice, Counterspace, are working on now.

Sumayya Vally is an award-winning architect from South Africa. In 2022, the World Economic Forum chose her as one of its Young Global Leaders. She has been featured as a TIME100 Next List Honoree. Vally is also on the board of directors for the World Monuments Fund and is the founder of Counterspace, a research and architecture practice. 

In 2019, Counterspace was chosen to design the 20th Serpentine Pavilion in London. This made Vally the youngest architect to ever win this prestigious commission. Finally, Vally worked as artistic director for the very first Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah that ran from January through to April of 2023. 

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Outline:

Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Dearborn, capturing the diverse voices of Dearborn’s residents, and doing justice to the myriad Arab-American lived experiences post 9/11. We discuss the complexities of faithfully depicting a multi-layered community through short-stories, the history of Arab-American immigration, and more with author and assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin College Ghassan Zeinnedine. We also explore the Arab-American experience in the post-9/11 era, looking at what anxieties and tensions are still felt in the Dearborn and wider communities. 

Ghassan Zeinnedine is an author and assistant professor of creative writing at Oberlin college. He is also the co-editor of the creative non-fiction anthology Had Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging. 

Dearborn: Spanning several decades, Ghassan Zeineddine’s debut collection examines the diverse range and complexities of the Arab American community in Dearborn, Michigan. In ten tragicomic stories, Zeineddine explores themes of identity, generational conflicts, war trauma, migration, sexuality, queerness, home and belonging, and more.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode of Matbakh, we’re joined by Viven Sansour, founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. This was a really compelling conversation about the politics of environmentalism, her work through the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library, and the link between anxiety and agriculture. 

We spoke about the importance of indigenous wisdom in farming, changing landscapes in the Middle East, and Vivien’s work in preserving bio-cultural heritage. 

Vivien Sansour is an artist, storyteller, food historian, researcher and conservationist. Vivien is the founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library which finds and reintroduces threatened crop varieties and also collect stories to assert the ownership of seeds by communities. 

She also established the Traveling Kitchen, which is an extension of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Library. This project seeks to engage people in conversations around bio-cultural heritage, agrobiodiveristy and the process of coevolution between human activities in the field and kitchen. 

She uses image, sketch, film, soil, seeds and plants to revive old cultural tales in contemporary presentations and thus advocate for the protection of biodiversity as a cultural and political act. 

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

What does it mean to work across textile and digital mediums? Nour Hage, award-winning British-Lebanese designer and artist, delves into her practice, exploring themes of West-Asian Identities, NFTs and Web3. We discuss traversing the physical and digital realms and why she chooses digital art for her personal exploration. We also explore the meaning of the evil eye and misunderstanding/seeking to understand our grandparents as people. 

Nour Hage is an award winning British-Lebanese designer and artist, based between London and Dubai. She works across textile and digital and her practice is centred on the exploration of West Asian identities, culture, history and storytelling, with a particular focus on women, the supernatural and mental wellbeing. She was the inaugural Jameel Fellow at the V&A Museum in 2021 - 2022. Her solo exhibition Kheit at Leighton House is open until 16th July.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Outline:

Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Michelle Keserwany joined us on Movie Night to talk about her and her sister Noel’s short film Les Chenilles. We dive into the 3.5 day filmmaking process, the inspiration behind it and the colonial impact of the silk industry. Michelle also shares her journey into film, why she doesn’t completely consider herself a musician, and her top films of note. And of course, we listen to her and Noel’s viral songs Jagal El Usel and Men3id w Men3id. 

Michelle Keserwany is a Lebanese singer, musician and scriptwriter. She’s well known for the songs that she composes and performs alongside her sister Noel. Their lyrics are notable for their incisive satire and criticism of the state of Lebanese society. 

Les Chenilles: Short Film:
‘Les Chenilles’ is a short film that follows two women, Asma and Sarah, from the Levant working at the same restaurant in Lyon, France. The film unpicks the colonial legacy of the Silk Road which links both Asma and Sarah to their homeland, exploring themes of exploitation, female solidarity, friendship, and the myriad experiences of forced migration. The inspiration of this story was triggered by an article by Fawwaz Traboulsi called “ Un Amour de Soie” (Beirut-Express - 1996) that explores the relationship between women from Mount Lebanon and foreign silk factories in the 19th century.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Movie Night: 

Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Akher Zapheer’s front-man and longest standing member, Basem Sayej, talks to us about Amman as his muse and a misunderstood city, the Arab rock scene, and his favorite places to perform round the world.

We listen to three of Akher Zapheer’s songs from across their albums and get an insight into how Basem approaches song-writing. Finally, Basem shares his personal mixtape for the best alternative bands from around the Middle East.

Basem Sayej is the frontman, guitarist and vocalist of Akher Zapheer, a Jordanian grunge Arabic rock band from Amman. The band’s name literally translates to ‘last exhale’.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode of Matbakh, The VoiceNote Chef tells us about about transforming childhood memories into viral recipes, capturing his mom’s unique voice in voicenote form, and cooking to ease homesick hearts around the world. We discover how the account took off, how its changed his relationship with his mom, and his favourite videos to date.

We also discuss the importance of authenticity, the various aspects of content creation, and how Kareem stays true to no-frills and simple cooking.

Kareem, better known as The VoiceNote Chef, is a New York based Lebanese-Kuwaiti content creator. Kareem launched his now viral platform in April 2020 when he was feeling homesick due to the global pandemic. Now, together with his mom, Kareem creates viral recipe videos that feature audio instructions from his mom in voicenote form. Before launching his viral platform, Kareem worked in advertising.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

We’ve all heard of the Arab League, but we wanted to know more about its history, intended purpose and its inner workings. Ambassador Hesham Youssef joined us for a fascinating conversation about foreign-affairs, Arab geopolitics, and to help us better understand this key regional institution.

In this episode, we cover the history of the Arab League, its activities and impact, and what Ambassador Youssef predicts for the future of our region.

Ambassador Hesham Youssef was a career diplomat, posted to Canada and the Egyptian Mission in Geneva during his time at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry. He went on to work at the Arab League and now works at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

He has extensive experience working in conflict resolution in the Middle East, with particular focus on the Arab-Israeli conflict, reconciliation in Iraq and the situation in Sudan. He has also worked on economic and trade issues with the UN and the WTO.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode of Quartertones, Thanks Joey takes us on a journey through hip hop, Brooklyn music, and his Syrian grandfather’s old records. We talk about working with Omar Offendum and Narcy, his music making process, and what inspired his Lahme song.

He gives us a sneak preview of unreleased tracks, tours us round his sampler, and reflects on infusing his music with his heritage.

Thanks Joey is a musician, producer, and engineer, and all-round music aficionado. He specialises in producing unique culture sounds in hip-hop, R&B, Reggaeton, and Afropop and is the Founder of Colors of The Culture label. 

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode, two-time Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, Nariman El-Mofty, sits down with Mikey for a compelling conversation about photojournalism, capturing history and human stories, and the impact of the Orientalist gaze within the news industry. Nariman shares her experiences in producing coverage about HIV in Egypt, Yemen, and the Tigray War. We discover how Nariman came to photojournalism, how she feels to be in front of the camera instead of behind it, and the importance of being a fly on the wall to capture candid human stories. 

Nariman El-Mofty is an award winning Egyptian-Canadian photojournalist based in Cairo. Her work is dedicated to documenting stories on human rights, as well as long-term projects focussed on social and cultural issues. She worked at The Associated Press between 2011 and 2022 and received 2 Pulitzer Prizes for Breaking News for her coverage of the war in Yemen and in Ukraine.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Award-winning director Philippe Aractingi joined us on set for this special episode of Movie Night. We talked about his journey into filmmaking, why he considers himself a ‘storyteller’, and why he shifts between genres: musical comedies to war films, and most recently into theatre.

We also reflect on the notable absence of an ‘Arab Cinema Scene’ or ‘Industry’, the Orientalist gaze in cinema, and the role of film as a form of self-expression and in the search for identity. Finally, Philippe talks about his latest venture into theatre and stage performance with his debut play ‘Sar Wa2t El Hake’ which opens at the Monnot Theatre on the 15th June.

Philippe Aractingi is an award-winning Franco-Lebanese film-director and producer. His two most well-known films are ‘Bosta’ and ‘Under the Bombs’, both of which were the only Lebanese film entries in the 2006 and 2008 Oscar ceremonies, respectively.

His other works, including ‘Heritages’, ‘Listen’, and ‘On The Footsteps of Christ’, are also widely-acclaimed. And he has received awards at international festivals including Venice, Dubai, and Sundance. Philippe is also the co-founder of the Lebanese Cinema Foundation (FLC) and vice-chairman of the Beirut Screen Institute Committee. Philippe was appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture in 2018.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Movie Night: 

Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Mehmed Ali is dubbed the ‘Father of Modern Egypt’, so who was he? And how did he rise through the ranks from soldier to Pasha? Mikey sits down with Professor Khaled Fahmy to discuss this enigmatic figure that shaped and formed Egypt into the nation-state we know today. In Part 2, Professor Fahmy walks us through Mehmed Ali's rule, death, and legacy.

Professor Khaled Fahmy is a historian of the Modern Middle East with an emphasis on the social and cultural history of 19th century Egypt.

His particular areas of interest are military, medical, legal and social history of the Modern Middle East. And through his work, he explores conscription, vaccination and legal torture as mechanisms through which the modern state of Egypt was established. He has written a number of books including ‘All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern Egypt’, ‘Mehmed Ali: From Ottoman Governor to Ruler of Egypt’, ‘Al-Jasa wa-l’Hadatha (The Body and Modernity., and most recently, ‘In Quest of Justice: Islamic Law and Forensic Medicine in Modern Egypt' which won the Social History Society Book Prize.

Professor Fahmy has taught at Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and is currently the Edward Keller Professor of North African and the Middle Eastern History at Tufts University.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Mehmed Ali is dubbed the ‘Father of Modern Egypt’, so who was he? And how did he rise through the ranks from soldier to Pasha? Mikey sits down with Professor Khaled Fahmy to discuss this enigmatic figure that shaped and formed Egypt into the nation-state we know today. In Part 1, Professor Fahmy walks us through Mehmed Ali's origin story and rise to power.

Professor Khaled Fahmy is a historian of the Modern Middle East with an emphasis on the social and cultural history of 19th century Egypt.

His particular areas of interest are military, medical, legal and social history of the Modern Middle East. And through his work, he explores conscription, vaccination and legal torture as mechanisms through which the modern state of Egypt was established. He has written a number of books including ‘All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern Egypt’, ‘Mehmed Ali: From Ottoman Governor to Ruler of Egypt’, ‘Al-Jasa wa-l’Hadatha (The Body and Modernity., and most recently, ‘In Quest of Justice: Islamic Law and Forensic Medicine in Modern Egypt' which won the Social History Society Book Prize.

Professor Fahmy has taught at Princeton, NYU, Columbia, Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and is currently the Edward Keller Professor of North African and the Middle Eastern History at Tufts University.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode of the afikra podcast, Professor Kirsten Scheid invites us into the world of Modern Art in Lebanon, and Lebanon through the lens of Modern Art. 

We explore what art meant in the 1920s, before the establishment of the Lebanese state, how national imaginaries and identities were expressed through art, and the roles of artists during this era. 

Kirsten Scheid is an associate professor of anthropology in the Department of Sociology, anthropology, and media studies, and an affiliated faculty in the fine arts and art history department at the American University of Beirut. Her research focuses on themes of the Anthropology of Art, Aesthetics, Art Historiography and Theory, and Modernization and Cosmopolitanism among others. Her book ‘Fantasmic Objects: Art & Sociality from Lebanon, 1920 - 1950’ explores modern art in Lebanon and modern Lebanon through art. Kirsten earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from Princeton University and her BA in Art History from Columbia University. Alongside her research, Kirsten also contributes actively to the art community through curation and exhibitions, as well as writing in art journals. 

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

In this episode, Ummayah Cable weaves together themes of art, media activism, politics, and the social aspects of cinema. Together, we explore the power of cinema and film as a mobilizing agent to catalyse wider conversations and societal discourse. We also untangle questions of categorizing films as 'Palestinian', Israel's Pink Washing, and compulsory Zionism. Ummayyah Cable is a Palestinian-American assistant professor of American Culture and Film, Television at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Their research and teaching interests span the fields of race and ethnic studies, film and media studies, anti-colonial studies, and queer theory. They are currently working on a book that looks at the history of Arab American media activism in the mobilization of Palestine solidarity politics in the US. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 

In this episode of Book Club, Malika Gharib joins us to share her musings on what it means to be an artist, the symbiotic relationship between journalism and comics, as well as what the 'American Dream' truly means. She reflects on growing up as a first-generation Filipino Egyptian, her changing relationship with her heritage, and how she uses her work as a medium to grapple with questions of identity, family, and lived experience. Malika Ghareeb, is a journalist, cartoonist, and graphic novelist. She's the artist and author of I Was Their American Dream which reflects on growing up first-generation Filipino-Egyptian, and which was the winner of the 2020 Arab American Book Award. By day Malika is the digital editor of the NPR podcast Life Kit. Her reporting work for NPR has been recognized with two Gracie Awards. Before joining NPR, she worked at the Malala Fund. 

****** ABOUT THE SERIES ****** 

afikra Conversations is our flagship program featuring long-form interviews with experts from academia, art, ‎and media who are helping document and/or shape the histories and cultures of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with new ‎found curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into head first. ‎Following the interview there is a moderated town-hall style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp 
 

John Bakhos talks about forming his metal band, Anuryzm, and the progression of its music throughout the years. In this Quartertones episode, John plays three songs: Cosmos, Neo Luddite, and Ruby Demon.

John Bakhos is a Lebanese musician, guitarist, and the founder of the progressive metal band Anuryzm. Born in Beirut, Bakhos started playing the guitar at a young age and was heavily influenced by bands such as Dream Theater, Metallica, and Iron Maiden.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Ramzi Ghosn talks about the profession of wine and arak-making and its significance in the Levant, notably in Lebanon. From Massaya, he discusses the speaks about how Phoenicians valued viticulture and developed the finest wines that continues to be exported to the world.

Massaya is a Lebanese winery and arak distillery owned and operated by the Ghosn brothers Sami and Ramzi. The outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 forced the family to leave the estate and both Sami and Ramzi Ghosn left Lebanon to study abroad. In the early 1990s Sami and Ramzi returned to Lebanon and decided to work on revitalisating the war-ravaged estate.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Rana Husseini talks about the history of the feminist movement in Jordan and how it progressed from the 1940s until now. She explains what women in Jordan have achieved so far and the challenges that they still face; notably honor crimes.

Rana Husseini is a Jordanian journalist and human rights activist who has dedicated her career to raising awareness about crimes against women in Jordan and the Middle East. Her investigative reporting on honor killings and other forms of violence against women has brought these issues to the forefront of national and international discourse, leading to changes in legislation and social attitudes.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Eli Rezkallah talks about the reality and future of photography industry in the Arab region. He delves into the works of Plastik and tells us how the magazine contributes to the creative industry.

Eli Rezkallah is a Lebanese-born photographer and visual artist based in New York City. He is best known for his work in fashion and advertising photography, as well as his creative direction and visual storytelling. Rezkallah studied graphic design at the American University of Beirut and later pursued his passion for photography and filmmaking in the United States. His work has been featured in various fashion publications such as Vogue Italia, Harper's Bazaar Arabia, and Elle Arabia, among others.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Fadi Bou Karam talks about the history of Levantine etymologies and their possible origins. He discusses the influence of the Ottomans on the way certain words are pronounced, notably in Lebanese Arabic. The words include fruits and vegetables, such as artichoke, orange, loquat & more.

Fadi Bou Karam is a photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. He was born and raised in Beirut, and growing up in a war-torn country, photos held a special significance for him as they were often the only remnant of people who no longer existed.

It wasn't until he reached his thirties that Bou Karam realized how much he needed photography, both as a therapeutic tool and a way to discover oddities within the mundane. In 2013, he and a group of photographers from around the world started the Observe Collective, which was founded on a shared fascination with watching and documenting the diverse humanity that surrounds us.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Aida Abbashar talks about the current situation in Sudan. She discusses how the war is affecting citizens and refugees in the country and explains its future implications.

Aida is a Research Assistant for the LSE Middle East Centre’s project ‘Understanding the Barriers and Enablers to Women’s Leadership in Sudan’ and a PhD candidate at Durham University. Her research focuses on the history of constitution-making in Sudan, where she looks at the role that different actors, policies, and events have played in constitutional development and negotiations since 1956. More broadly, she is interested in Sudanese political history and racialised and gendered discourses in Sudan. 

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Tahir Shah talks about his experiences in the Arab region. He talks about The Caliph's House, a book he has written that is inspired by his trips to Morocco in his childhood; from Marrakesh to the Sahara.

Tahir Shah is a best-selling author and filmmaker known for his work in both fiction and non-fiction. He has produced over forty works, including books, documentaries, screenplays, and journalism. Tahir's work is characterized by his unique perspective as an "enthusiast and adventurer," which has taken him to some of the world's most exotic and little-known places. His books have been widely translated, and his documentaries have been screened on major channels such as National Geographic TV and The History Channel. Tahir's work is highly regarded for its ability to uncover the hidden and often overlooked aspects of the places and cultures he explores.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Book Club:

Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

J. E. Peterson talks about his research about the history of the Arab region. In this afikra Conversation, Peterson introduces us to the history of Oman through his books "Historical Muscat," "Oman at War," and "Oman in the Twentieth Century."

Dr. J.E. Peterson is a historian and political analyst specializing in the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf. He obtained his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and has worked at the Library of Congress and taught at several universities in the US. He has been a Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Middle East Institute and has served on the editorial boards of several academic journals. Dr. Peterson's extensive experience and knowledge make him a valuable contributor to the field of Middle Eastern studies.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

George Khoury (JAD) talks about the history of comics in the Arab region. He discusses how visual storytelling has shaped major events in Arab countries and how he has contributed to the field.

George Khoury (JAD), Comics critique, Comics Artist and Animator since the 80s. Lecturer at the Lebanese American University in the Graphic Design Department, and Manager of the Animation Department at Future Television since its launch in 1993. His artworks and movies have been featured in many local instances and international festivals. His Comics “Shahrazad” is acquired by The National Museum of Comics in (France/Angoulême). Co-founder of the “Lebanese Syndicate of Professional Graphic Designers, Illustrators and Animators”, he earned several awards for his artwork and filmography. Author of the “History of Arabic Comics” in addition to several essays and articles related to the Art of Comics and Animation.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Mai Al-Nakib talks about her novel "An Unlasting Home" which traces Kuwait's rise from a pearl-diving backwater to its reign as a thriving cosmopolitan city to the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion.

Mai Al-Nakib is a Kuwaiti writer and academic. She was born in Kuwait and spent her early years living in London, Edinburgh, and St. Louis, Missouri. She received her PhD in English literature from Brown University and is currently an Associate Professor of English and comparative literature at Kuwait University. Her academic research focuses on cultural politics in the Middle East, with an emphasis on gender, cosmopolitanism, and postcolonial issues. In 2014, she published a collection of short stories titled "The Hidden Light of Objects," which won the Edinburgh International Book Festival’s 2014 First Book Award, making it the first collection of short stories to do so. In April 2022, she published her debut novel, "An Unlasting Home," which explores the themes of family, loss, and displacement.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Book Club:

Book Club is an interview series that calls for afikra community members, who are interested in literature and reading, to spend time reading along with the entire community. Books in Arabic and English will be announced on afikra’s reading list and the members will be asked to do the reading at home at their leisure and then join afikra for a conversation with the authors of those books. Every two weeks, a conversation will be held with an author to discuss their work and the book in particular. Individuals joining the call will be expected to have read the book and prepared questions regarding the context, motivation, and background stories. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Karen Barkey talks about her research that stems from her fascination in the empire. She discusses how cultural diversity shaped the Ottoman empire. 

Karen Barkey’s research has been engaged in the comparative and historical study of the state, with special focus on its transformation over time. Her work has explored state society relations, peasant movements, banditry, and opposition and dissent organized around the state. Her main empirical site has been the Ottoman Empire, in comparison with France and the Habsburg and Russian Empires. She also pays attention to the Roman and Byzantine worlds as important predecessors of the Ottomans.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Blu Fiefer plays three of her songs: Sharaf, Nazele Big Champagne, and Sint El Ew. She talks about her contribution to hip-hop in Lebanon and how she uses storytelling in her music.

Blu Fiefer is a Lebanese-Mexican artist, music producer and director, approaching her art as a multi-faceted platform. Today, Fiefer readies her debut album 'Villain Bala Cause' inspired by the traditions of story-telling and testimony captured in hip-hop while paying tribute to Arabic music. The record will come out on Mafi Budget, her independent label based in Lebanon that’s focused on the Arabic Hip Hop scene emerging from the MENA region.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Fawzi Mesmar talks about the gaming industry in the Arab region. He introduces us to his book which is the first gaming book to be written in the Arabic language. Fawzi explains the challenges in the field, the responsibilities a game designer should have in the region, and pointers to succeed in the gaming industry.

Fawzi is an award-winning Creative Director, Game designer, Leader, author, public speaker, mentor and retired e-sports player that has been in the gaming industry for 2 decades in a career that spanned The Middle East, New Zealand, Japan and Europe working for companies such as Ubisoft, DICE (EA), King (Activision Blizzard), Gameloft and Atlus (SEGA) to name a few.

Created byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Hosted by Ashraf Abi Said

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Omar El Ouaer plays three of his songs: Alif Ya Soltani, Aziza, and Mana3ref Win. He tells us about Tunisian music and how he discovered Jazz.

Omar el Ouaer, a Tunisian jazz musician. He started his music education at the age of 11, studying Arabic music at the conservatory, and later discovered jazz and modern piano. He participated in various jazz workshops and played concerts with local and international musicians, including the JCT Bigband project under the direction of renowned musicians from the New York Vangard Jazz Orchestra. He is currently touring with his own project "Another Perspective" in a quartet and teaches jazz piano at the Higher Institute of Music in Tunis.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Mary Ann Peters talks about her art work and productions that stem from the histories of the Middle East. She uses watercolor, gouache, and walnut ink to create pieces that tell stories.

Mary Ann Peters is an artist whose combined studio work, installations, public art projects and arts activism have made noted contributions to the Northwest and nationally for over 30 years. Most recently her work has focused on the overlap of contemporary events with splintered histories in the Middle East. Her awards include the 2015 Stranger Genius Award in Visual Art, a 2013 Art Matters Foundation research grant, the MacDowell Colony Pollock Krasner Fellowship (2011), the Civita Institute Fellowship (2004) and the Behnke Foundation Neddy Award in Painting (2000). She is a founder of COCA (Center on Contemporary Art), a recipient of the Artist Trust Leadership and Arts Award, and former board member and board president of NCFE (National Campaign for Freedom of Expression).

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Outline:

Outline is a process-focused conversation that looks at guests’ individual projects rather than their full bodies of work. The conversation sketches the journey of the project; the spark of curiosity that led to the project, the process of implementing the idea, the struggles that emerged throughout the implementation, and the aftermath of the project that includes new questions and new ideas. The name “Outline” stems from the idea of creating a retroactive project outline which is part of a broader emphasis on the process of curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking from a nuts and bolts perspective. Outline is not discipline-specific; the series will be held with artists, academics, writers, filmmakers, among others. Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com
 

Haya Bishouty talks about her techniques in recreating traditional Palestinian food through Haya's Kitchen. She speaks about her favorite dishes and desserts such as Christmas Kaak, Rummaniyeh, Shush Barak Bel Laban and more.

Haya Bishouty is the founder of Haya's Kitchen, a supper club that she started in order to revive the tradition of Palestinian grandmothers opening their homes and inviting people to feast communally. While she began with friends, word began to spread and eventually she would have strangers join her traditional Palestinian feasts where she would share the context and stories behind the dishes she was serving.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Daizy Gedeon talks about her work as a filmmaker and activist, producing work about Lebanon from Australia. She discusses the importance of the role of the diaspora in creating change.

Daizy's family immigrated to Australia when she was five years old. She began her writing career as a sports writer in 1987 and was the first female sports journalist on The Australian newspaper and the first female football writer in Australia which led her to the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Clive Holes talks about the relationship between standard and non-standard Arabic, cultural myths of the history of Arabic, and the vectors impacting the evolution of Arabic.

Clive Holes received his education from High Arcal Grammar School, Trinity Hall (Cambridge University), Wolfson College (Cambridge University), and Birmingham University. He worked as an Overseas Career Officer of the British Council in various countries and was involved in the establishment of Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat, Oman. He served as a Lecturer and Reader in Arabic at Salford and Cambridge Universities, respectively, and held the Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Saud Chair for the Study of the Contemporary Arab World at Magdalen College and the Oriental Institute. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2002 and became Emeritus Professor in 2014. He was also elected as the President of the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL) in 2017.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Dorian Paul Rogers, Salem Al Attas & Maryam Alshehhi talk about Rooftop Rhythms and how it aims to add life and positive energy in to the UAE community with culturally-appropriate performance arts and nightlife concepts.

Rooftop Rhythms was founded in March 2012 by award-winning poet and educator, Dorian Paul Rogers, Ed. D. What started as a poetry open mic night in Abu Dhabi quickly grew into a variety of community-based culture, arts, and nightlife event offerings.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Zeid Hamdan introduces us to the Indie music scene in the Arab region. We listened together to songs he produced: Herzan by Soapkills and Zamel by Bedouin Burger, which he forms with Lynn Adib.

Zeid Hamdan is a Lebanese music composer. For the last 2 decades, he's been producing some of the most interesting bands of the Lebanese and regional indie music scene such as Soapkills, The New Government, Hiba Mansouri, Kanjha Kora, Maryam Saleh, Maii Waleed and his own songs under the band name "Zeid and the Wings".

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Rami George Khoury talks about the status of politics and journalism in the modern world and how it shapes people's lives. He discusses how the media has shifted in light of today's circumstances.

Rami George Khouri is Co-Director of Global Engagement at the American University of Beirut (AUB) based in NY, an internationally syndicated political columnist and book author, and Journalist-in-Residence at AUB, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Nadir Nahdi talks about his exploration of the world's cultures through their different cuisines. He discusses his revelations in Morocco, Yemen, and Palestine through Bastilla, coffee steaks, and Jaffa cakes.

Nadir Nahdi is a presenter, film-maker and producer from London with Yemeni, Indonesian, Pakistani and Kenyan heritage. Nadir was recently voted by the Evening Standard as one of 'the most influential Londoners'. His videos articulate the unique experience of children of the diaspora. His work has acquired 10 million views and has since been selected as a YouTube Creators for Change Ambassador. He is also the founder of BENI, a ‘Culture Lab for innovative Ideas’, providing an online and offline community with engaging events, content and unique products that address social issues.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Maysoon Pachachi talks about her film "Our River... Our Sky," an Arabic language narrative feature film. The film is a web of intersecting stories that describes a collective drama happening in this time and place... in 2006 Baghdad.

Maysoon Pachachi is a London-based filmmaker of Iraqi origin. As a director, she largely works through her production company, Oxymoron Films (www.oxymoronfilms.com). Her documentary films include Iraqi Women — Voices from Exile, Bitter Water about four generations of Palestinian refugees in a camp in Beirut; Return to the Land of Wonders about her return to Iraq after an exile of over 30 years; Iranian Journey and Our Feelings Took the Pictures; and Open Shutters Iraq about a participatory photography project with 12 Iraqi women. She has taught filmmaking and she is a founding member of ACT TOGETHER: Women’s Action for Iraq (www.acttogether.org). In 2004, with London-based Iraqi filmmaker, Kasim Abid, she set up the Independent Film & Television College (www.iftvc.org), a free-of-charge film-training center in Baghdad.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Movie Night: 

Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

يتحدث الشيف محمد كمال عن أساليبه في الطهي النوبي في مصر وكيف يحافظ عليه بين الذاكرة والابداع.

محمد كامل هو شيف نوبي متخصص في المأكولات النوبية الحديثة، يمزج تقاليد الماضي مع الأذواق والأساليب الحديثة. نظرًا لأن المطبخ النوبي غير معروف كثيرًا خارج المنطقة النوبية، يطمح كمال إلى الحفاظ على الثقافة حية من خلال تطوره في الأطباق التقليدية. كان أيضًا جزءًا من المنتخب الوطني للشيفات المصريين الذي حصل على كأس 2022 لفنون الطهي الأفريقي.

إعداد مايكي مهنا

تقديم سلمى سري

إنتاج رمزي رمان

موسيقى طارق يمني https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Malika Zarra takes us on a musical journey to discover Moroccan music. She tells about her newest album "RWA (The Essence)" and about who inspires her the most, from Moroccan Hajja Hamdaouia to Lebanese Farid Al-Atrash and Algerian Warda.

Malika is a singer and composer who was born in Southern Morocco and raised in a suburb of Paris. Her musical background is a blend of French and Moroccan influences, with jazz and Arabic music being the most prominent. Her breakthrough came when she started singing in Arabic and writing new lyrics for jazz standards, which evoked a strong emotional response from her audience. In 2004, she relocated to New York City, where she developed her unique repertoire, combining Berber, Gnawa, Chaabi, French pop, and jazz music. With the release of "Berber taxi" in 2011, Malika took her place as a prominent world-jazz artist in New York's multicultural music scene.

Created & Hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Quartertones:

QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab world. This series is similar to NPR’s All Songs Considered that is focused on the Arab world. afikra will be inviting musicians of all genres, as well as music historians, to help better understand the music that they perform or study. In this series, the guests will be invited to talk about their work and play their music, whether live or recorded, in three segments. The series will host current musicians who play contemporary and modern, including alternative scene or hip-hop, electronic, classical music, among other genres. The musicians will also be from different geographies.

Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Rula Alami talks about her work at INAASH and her private work as a collector and artistic curator. She talks about Palestinian embroidery "Tatreez" and how its empowers Arab identity and culture.

Rula Alami is an art collector, assistant curator and art dealer based in Lebanon. She is the vice president of INAASH Association. She has been engaged in Middle East art market for over 15 years. Her area of special interest is Arab modern and contemporary art. She has co-curated thematic exhibitions in Beirut (Art in Iraq Today), Dubai (Art Palestine) and Kuwait (Third Identity), and collaborated with regional galleries (Amman) to curate exhibitions for Lebanese and Palestinian artists.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

What happens when you take a lawyer turned pastry chef trained in France and mix in Egyptian flavors and heritage? Listen to find out. Beware: don't listen while hungry! 

After 10 years of experience in law (studying and working), El Charkawy first discovered her love of cooking while pursuing a Master’s degree in Law in France. Prior to her move, she had hardly ever stepped foot in the kitchen.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Iconic Palestinian Artist Sliman Mansour has spent a lifetime inspiring people all over the world with the power of his art. You don't want to miss this conversation. ⁠

Sliman Mansour is one of the most distinguished and renowned artists in Palestine. His style embodies steadfastness in the face of a relentless military occupation. His work — which has come to symbolize the Palestinian national identity — has inspired generations of Palestinians and international artists and activists alike.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

From Shankaboot to Brando Al Sharek, we talk with innovative Emmy-winning filmmaker Amin Dora about cinema, advertising, working with George Khabbaz, Shankaboot, Beirut, and where we are today in TV and Film in Lebanon.⁠

Amin Dora is an Emmy-Winning Film Director and Visual Artist, born and raised in Zahle, Lebanon. Dora won "International Emmy Award" in 2011 for Shankaboot, the world's first Arabic Web Drama series he directed, and in which he explored innovative ways of portraying real life in Beirut by depicting tough issues and tackling taboo subjects that mainstream media wouldn't touch, Shankaboot successfully engaged young audiences across the region during the Arab Spring, inspiring discussions across social media networks and in the press and engaged young audiences across the region

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Movie Night: 

Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in movies and films to spend time watching along with the entire community. Movies will be announced on afikra’s watching list. This interview series will host filmmakers and actors who are featured in the announced movie. Community members will be asked to watch the film on online streaming platforms or online film festivals before the series and join the conversation with the creators of the film. Movie Night is an opportunity for members to ask questions about the plot, behind the scenes, themes, and information about the movie.Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Talking to the Khatt Chronicles team, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès, Yasmine Taan, Yara Khoury Nammour & Fawzi Rahal, about the new season of the Khatt Chronicles. We talk about the history of graphic design in the region and what people can expect from season 2 of Khatt Chronicles.

Khatt Chronicles podcast features remarkable designers, illustrators and researchers from the Arab World. We host engaging conversations about their practice, vision, and aspirations.

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Helping facilitate positive impact and growth in disaster struck communities, Theresa Chahine talks about the importance of social entrepreneurship and enabling sustainable businesses and organizations.

Teresa Chahine is the inaugural Sheila and Ron '92 Marcelo Lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management. She is the author of "Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship," a twelve step framework for building impactful ventures in new and existing organizations..

Created & hosted byMikey Muhanna, afikra

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About the afikra Conversations:

Our long-form interview series features academics, arts, ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and culture of the Arab world through their ‎work. Our hope is that by having the guest share their expertise and story, the community still walks away with newfound curiosity - and maybe some good recommendations about new nerdy rabbit holes to dive into headfirst. ‎Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

Follow

Youtube -Instagram (@afikra_) -Facebook -Twitter 

Support 

www.afikra.com/support

About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com

Bringing Iraqi food into the English food scene, Chef Philip Juma is keeping the essence of the Iraqi home alive with his Kubba, Quozi, and Dolma at Juma Kitchen.

Philip Juma studied Economics for Business and started his career in finance. Throughout his time in finance, he always loved cooking – he would speak about food, restaurants, hospitality with such enthusiasm but it was just a ‘passion’ of his.  He worked for an energy consultancy company and after 18 months there, he made the leap in becoming a chef.

Created byMikey Muhanna, afikra 

Hosted by Mysa Kafil-Hussain

Edited by: Ramzi Ramman

Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/

About Matbakh:

Matbakh is a conversation series that focuses on food and drink of the Arab world. The series will be held with food practitioners who study how food and the kitchen have evolved over time in the Arab world. The guests will be discussing the history of food and what its future might be, in addition to a specific recipe or ingredient that reveals interesting and unique information about the history of the Arab world. Guests will be chefs, food critics, food writers, historians, and academics. Following the interview, there is a moderated town-hall-style Q&A with questions coming from the live virtual audience ‎on Zoom.‎ Join the live audience: https://www.afikra.com/rsvp   

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About afikra:‎

afikra is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region- past, present, and future - through conversations driven by curiosity. 
Read more about us on afikra.com