The afikra Podcast

Meklit Hadero spoke about her career as a singer, this episode is in collaboration with the NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center. Meklit Hadero, known simply as Meklit, is an Ethiopian-born American singer and songwriter based in San Francisco, California. She is known for her soulful performing style, and for combining jazz, folk, and East African influences in her music. She sings in her native Amharic, an...

Rahim performed 3 pieces from his work and spoke about his work as a composer and musician. Rahim AlHaj has performed all over the world, on tour with Munir Bashir, his teacher, as well as solo and with his string quartet project, including numerous concerts in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and France and hundreds of concerts in the United States. He has r...

Shawkat M. Toorawa talked about his work in Arabic translation and literature. Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa is a Professor of Arabic at Yale, he received his BA, MA, and PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Arabic at Duke University, medieval French literature and Indian Ocean studies at the University of Mauritius, and Arabic and other literatures at Cornell University. His scho...

مقابلة مع مصممة الأزياء ريم العدل تخبرنا فيها عن خبرتها في عالم التصميم للأفلام والتلفزيون مصممة أزياء مصرية حاصلة على العديد من الجوائز. لمع اسمها من خلال عدة أعمال مهمة ومميزة تدور أحداثها في أزمنة وبيئات متنوعة. وتمتلك ريم مسيرة تضم أكثر من 30 عمل بالتلفزيون والسينما والمسرح. ومن أبرزهم مسلسلات سجن النسا، واحة الغروب، في كل أسبوع يوم جمعة، وأفلام نوَّارة، اشتباك، شيخ جاكسون، الضيف، أبو صدّام، و...

In this Book Club, we talked to Sabrina Mahfouz about her book "These Bodies of Water."  The novel is about imperialism, and the history of the Middle Eastern coastlines and waterways that were vital to the British Empire's hold. Sabrina Mahfouz is a British-Egyptian writer, performer and educator. Her first short play, That Boy, was performed at the Soho Theatre in 2010 and won a Westminster Priz...

Claudia Roden talked about her new cookbook MED as well as her other work, and the process behind writing them. Claudia Roden is an Egyptian-born British cookbook writer with a special interest in the social, cultural and historical background of food. She is best known as the author of many cookbooks including A Book of Middle Eastern Food, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food and Arabesque. Besid...

Ahd spoke about her film, "Sanctity." Ahd Kamel is an actress, filmmaker from Saudi Arabia. She is most well known for her starring role in “Wadjda” (2012) which is Saudi Arabia’s first feature film. She is multi-lingual and speaks English fluently. She launched her film career in 2005 with a string of internationally successful short films, all three of which have won festival awards. Kamel moved...

Gilbert Achcar spoke about his work as an academic and his recent book, "The People Want." Gilbert Achcar is a Lebanese academic and writer. He is a Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. His research interests cover the Near East and North Africa, foreign policy of the United States, Globalization, Is...

DJ Habibeats talked about how he grew his social media accounts and creating content. DJ Habibeats is a LA-based DJ/Producer and resident DJ for TikTok Radio on SiriusXM. Originally from the Bay Area, he has been DJing for over 12 years and has held residencies at nightclubs across San Francisco and Los Angeles. Habibeats has accrued over 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram for his DJ...

Mostafa talked about his work as a professor and his published books such as, "The Ottoman Scramble for Africa: Empire and Diplomacy in the Sahara and the Hijaz." Mostafa Minawi researches different forms of imperialism in the Middle East and Northeast Africa at the turn of the 20th century. He also investigate how global events and the internal crisis in the empire were refracted through the live...

Firas performed three songs, spoke about starting Last Floor Productions, and his work in movie/TV composition. Firas Abou Fakher is a Lebanese composer, producer, and writer. While attending the American University of Beirut (AUB), he co-founded Mashrou' Leila with Hamed Sinno, Haig Papazian and Carl Gerges and is the band's composer, guitarist, and keyboardist. He also co-founded Last Floor Prod...

Oualid talked about his feature film debut, "1982." Oualid Mouaness is an award winning director, writer and producer. His work traverses narrative and documentary features, music films, music videos and commercials. He is a Sundance Fellow and completed his undergraduate studies in journalism and theatre in Beirut, and holds an MFA in film from the Florida State University college of Motion Pictu...

Nasser Jaber talked about his service catering company, The Migrant Kitchen, and the story behind it.  Originally from Ramallah, Nasser Jaber came to the United States as a university student in economics and finance. Working in restaurants to pay for his degree, Nasser soon found that his true passion was food, and that his talents would take him from waiting tables to training under the best che...

Heba Gowayed talked about her latest book “Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential.” Heba Gowayed is the Moorman-Simon Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University. Her research, which is global and comparative, examines how low-income people traverse social services, immigration laws, and their associated bureaucracies, while grappling with gender and racial inequalities. Her forthc...

Shahd Alshammari talked about her work as a writer, academic, and researcher in the field of Gulf literature and disability studies. Dr Shahd Alshammari is a Kuwaiti-Palestinian author and academic. She is the author of Head Above Water (Neem Tree Press, 2022). Alshammari teaches literature and has written numerous stories and creative nonfiction. Her research areas include illness narratives and...

Hisham Fageeh talked about his career as an actor, producer, writer & director of the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. Recently appointed as Director of the Middle East Media Initiative (MEMI) at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Hisham Fageeh is a Hijazi multi-hyphenate creative straddling both Western and Arab audiences. His work has been written about by The...

Lynn Adib performed three musical pieces: Youmma, Taht El Ward & Autruche followed by a discussion. Born and raised in Damascus, Syria. Lynn Adib is a singer, composer who has been exploring Arabic music and improvisation through Jazz music that she discovered around the age if 19 after spending years in the Choir if Joy in and learning classical flute at the National Conservatory, both in her hom...

James Zogby talked about his work in the field of political and policy research within the Arab American community. James J. Zogby is the founder and president of the Arab American Institute (AAI), a Washington, D.C.-based organization which serves as the political and policy research arm of the Arab American community. He is also managing director of Zogby Research Services, which specializes in...

Raphael Cormack discussed his new book Midnight in Cairo: The Divas of Egypt's Roaring 20's. Midnight in Cairo  tells the thrilling story of Egypt’s interwar nightlife and entertainment industry through the lives of its pioneering women. Introducing an eccentric cast of characters, it brings to life a world of revolutionary ideas and provocative art – one which laid the foundations of Arab popular...

Faisal Al Yafai talked about the process of establishing New Lines Magazine. New Lines is a magazine for the best ideas and writing about the Middle East and beyond. Based in Washington DC, New Lines specializes in long-form essays, including reportage, arguments and memoir, which bring together politics, culture and history. The magazine’s celebrated podcast has featured deep-dive interviews with...

Dima Adra talked about her new cookbook "Mama Ghannouj" which includes recipes from the Lebanese cuisine. Dima Adra is the author of Mama Ghannouj, a self-published and crowdfunded Lebanese cookbook. She focused on gathering recipes from 10 moms who are excellent cooks in the community, to have a written record of their recipes (that are usually shared orally) as a way to preserve the cultural tra...

Big Hass performed four musical pieces: Iraq Cypher, Arab Femcee Cypher, Sudan Cypher & Khadsha followed by a discussion. Hassane Dennaoui, aka “Big Hass" is the host of Saudi Arabia's first and only FM hip-hop radio show Laish Hip-Hop? and is also founder of Re-Volt Blog and Re-Volt Magazine. He hosted the radio show Spitter with Big Hass at Sole DXB 2019. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afik...

Tala Bashmi talked about her culinary approaches at Fusions and her chosen single ingredient: Mehyawa. Born in Bahrain, Tala Bashmi is making a name for herself as one of the most promising stars of the culinary world. The MBC Top Chef finalist and winner of MENA’s Best Female Chef award 2022 is on a quest to not only modernize Arabic cuisine but also create a culinary journey like no other in her...

David Knox, Joanne Farchakh Bajjaly and Assaad Seif talked about situating heritage and cultural protection fund in Lebanon. David Knox was appointed Country Director, Lebanon in September 2018. He comes with over 30 years’ experience of cultural relations and international development. Prior to Beirut, in his role as Director, MENA, Governance and Civil Society based in Cairo (2014-18), he led th...

AN OUTLOOK ON CHANGE | Featuring: Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez (curator, educator, writer), Lara Rudar (artist, filmmaker, environmental advocate), Philip Mawn Maughan (writer, editor, co-founder, black almanac). PART OF  CULTURES IN CONVERSATION: PRELUDES & POSTSCRIPTS. The brand new series with Alserkal and powered by afikra. Cultures in Conversation is commissioned by Expo2020 Dubai and programmed...