The afikra Podcast

Ganzeer talked about his work as a muralist and street artist and how the Egyptian Revolution was a turning point in his career. Described as a “chameleon” by Carlo McCormick in the  New York Times , Ganzeer operates seamlessly between art, design, and storytelling, creating what he has coined:  Concept Pop.  His medium of choice according to  Artforum  is “a little bit of everything: stencils, mu...

Raghad Odeh talked about Arab animation and how it traveled from Japan to the Arab world, in a conversation in collaboration with Manarat Al Saadiyat. Raghad Odeh started storytelling with my Webtoon (Peasant Queen). She started getting freelance work as a children books illustrator. She was always fascinated with animation, especially Ghibli films. Odeh started Sadeem Studios which is currently d...

Joudie Kalla talked about her books "Palestine on a Plate" & "Baladi," how her work connects both food and politics, and her special chosen dish 'Fatteh.' Joudie Kalla is a Palestinian-British chef and food writer. She is the author of two prizewinning cookbooks,  Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother’s Kitchen  (2016), and  Baladi: A Celebration of Food from Land and Sea  (2018), and has...

Naila Farouky talked about the work of the Arab Foundations Forum: non-profit membership-based association of actors in the philanthropy sector-based or working in the Arab region. She also talked about her career as a co-producer of Sesame Street which helped shape Arab childhoods. With over 20 years of experience in project management, media production, and strategic communication, Naila Farouky...

Dalia Khamissy talked to Mohamed Somji about her approach in photography and her numerous projects that portray ongoing events happening in Lebanon and her personal life. Dalia Khamissy is a Lebanese photographer based in Beirut, Lebanon. She received a diploma in photography from the Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik in 1999. Her work since then has revolved around social and political stories in...

Christopher Silver talked about the history of music in North Africa, notably in Tunisia and Morocco. He outlined the contributions of famous Jewish and Muslim North African musicians to our current knowledge of modern-day music.  Christopher Silver is the Segal Family Assistant Professor in Jewish History and Culture at McGill University. He is the founder and curator of the website Gharamophone....

Lina AbiRafeh, PhD is a global women’s rights expert and gender equality advocate with decades of experience worldwide. Lina worked for over 20 years in development and humanitarian contexts in Afghanistan, Haiti, Central African Republic, Papua New Guinea, and others. Her experience spans global organizations such as the World Bank and various United Nations agencies. Lina advises several organiz...

Omar Naim spoke to us about his new film, "Route 10," which tells the story of two siblings who must make a journey through the desert in order to attend their father's wedding but underestimate the many hazards of the desert road, which includes an angry stranger whose terrifying pursuit has the brother and sister driving for their lives. Omar Naim is a Lebanese-born director, writer, and documen...

Kim Ghattas talked to us about her newest podcast, People Like Us, which tackles issues that matter in the Arab world but resonate with a global audience, as well as other materials she has authored such as her book, Black Wave. Kim Ghattas started her journalism career in 1998 as an intern in Beirut at the local English-language newspaper The Daily Star. Within a couple of years, she was reportin...

Kevin Jones talked about poetry in the Middle East and his book, The Dangers of Poetry, which is the first book to narrate the social history of poetry in the region through their function as social acts that critically shaped the cultural politics of revolutionary Iraq. Kevin Jones is Associate Professor of History at the University of Georgia. He earned his PhD in History from the University of ...

في هذه الحلقة من رؤوس أقلام٬ تحدثت دينا محمد عن سلسلة كتبها المصورة شبيك لبيك التي نالت على جوائز عدة في فئة الروايات المصورة. دينا محمد، رسامة ومصممة مصرية. بدأت في مجال الكوميكس في سن الـ١٨ لما نشرت سلسلة الكوميكس الرقمية “قاهرة” اللي كانت تتناول القضايا الإجتماعية من منظور سوبرهيرو مصرية محجبة. ظهرت هذه السلسلة المصورة على عديد من المواقع الإعلامية مثل البي بي سي وفورين بوليسي ونالت جائزة في مه...

Sami Zubaida talked about culinary cultures of the Middle East, drinks and social boundaries, and the history of his chosen single dish: Koshari. Sami Zubaida is Emeritus Professor of Politics and Sociology at Birkbeck, University of London and has held visiting positions in Cairo, Istanbul, Beirut, Aix-en-Provence, Berkeley CA, Paris and New York. His research interests include Middle East Politi...

Suad Amiry talked about her book, "Mother of Strangers: A Novel," which is a story of young love set in Jaffa in between 1947 and 1951. Suad Amiry is a Palestinian writer and architect living in the West Bank town of Ramallah. She studied architecture at the American University of Beirut, the University of Michigan, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents went from Palestine to Amma...

Menna Agha talked about Nubian Architecture, its evolution, purpose, history, and more. Dr. Menna Agha is an architect and researcher who has recently been coordinating the spatial justice agenda at the Flanders Architecture Institute in Belgium. She joins the Azrieli School to promote pedagogy and research in the newly established area of Design and Spatial Justice. Menna holds a PhD in Architect...

Hervé Koubi spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about What The Day Owes To The Night, which tells the story of a young boy from Yasmina Khadra's novel through  highly physical, stunningly fluid, gravity-defying piece that combines capoeira, martial arts, urban, and contemporary dance. Hervé Koubi is a dancer at the National Choreographic Center of Nantes Claude Brumachon a...

Ghada Almuhanna talked about her work in storytelling, cultural preservation and cultural exchange. After graduating with a master of laws (LL.M.), Ghada spent several years working as a researcher within the security and political sector. Over time, she noticed the perceptions revolved around the Arabian Peninsular culture, and shifted my work towards media and public diplomacy to give a better p...

Nadia Kaabi-Linke talked about her work as a visual artist and her process for creating pieces and holding exhibitions. Nadia Kaabi-Linke was born in Tunis, Tunisia, in 1978, and raised in Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. She graduated from the University of Fine Arts, Tunis, in 1999, and earned a Ph. D. at Université Paris-Sorbonne, in 2008. Growing up between Tunis, Kyiv, and Dubai, and now...

Reem Almenhali and Joanna Settle spoke to us in this special collaboration episode with NYUAD about their play, Al Raheel | Departure, which is about the depth and diversity of life as a woman in the UAE. Created and hosted by Mikey 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 s...

After graduating from the School of Cinematic Arts at The University of Southern California, Bassel wrote and produced the OSCAR nominated and BAFTA winning film “Theeb.” His directorial debut, “The Alleys,” premiered at the Piazza Grande of the Locarno Film Festival before going on to play at the BFI London and Rotterdam Film Festivals. Bassel is in post-production with Chasing Dreams , a six-par...

Nadine performed three of her songs and spoke about her musical career. Nadine El Roubi is a Sudanese artist who grew up in Virginia, she hopes to expand the understanding of what it means, and looks like, to be Arab Muslim woman. She takes inspiration from icons like Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, and more. She debuted in 2018, with her first solo single “gr8ful”. She has performed in Sudan, Egypt, th...

Sahar Mustafah talked about her book "The Beauty of Your Face." The novel is about a Palestinian American woman wrestles with faith, loss, and identity before coming face-to-face with a school shooter, it navigates a country growing ever more divided. The daughter of immigrants, Sahar Mustafah explores her Palestinian heritage in her writing. She earned her MFA in Fiction from Columbia College whe...

Febe talked about her work involving food and history, including writing her book with Bogac Ergene of  Halal Food: A History. Febe Armanios received her BA, MA, and Ph. D. from the Ohio State University. Her research interests have focused on the history of Christian communities in the Middle East, particularly on Egypt’s Coptic Christians, on Muslim-Christian relations, as well as food history a...

Kinan performed three musical pieces and spoke about his work as a composer. Originally from Damascus, Syria Kinan Azmeh is a soloist, composer, and improvisor. He has performed in places such as the Opera Bastille, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, Damascus Opera House, and more. Kinan’s compositions include several works for solo, chamber, and orchestral music, as well as music for film, live illustrat...

Danyel Reiche spoke about his research on the FIFA World Cup 2022 and his book, "Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change." Dr. Danyel Reiche is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) and an Associate Professor at Georgetown University Qatar where he leads a research initiative on the FIFA World Cup 2022. With Paul Brannagan,...

Mohamed spoke about starting Egyptian Streets and how he created the platform. In 2012, Mohamed founded Egyptian Streets (ES Media) as a blog to share his ramblings about Egypt on. Two years later, Egyptian Streets was founded as a media company in Egypt and has become one of the region’s fastest growing media organizations and Egypt’s leading independent English media organization. In January 201...