Cairo Calling

It’s been a long year. People involved in this podcast have had the long experience living in authoritarian states one way or another. But what we are witnessing about Trump’s 2nd presidency is something else. In this episode Peter and I try to make sense of Trump's first three months. What's at risk in the US, and how it's already impacted many abroad. And we talk about what kind of response is n...

Since October 7th, Palestinians have been arriving in Cairo from Gaza. It was often incredibly expensive crossing the border and refugees arrived in a new place, injured and traumatised, and without resources. Dody brought a group of friends together to give support to those arriving. We could quickly provided basic support to those who were falling in the gaps and missed by larger organisations....

The climate is changing faster than safety codes can keep up. Architect-friend Arathi joins Dody, Peter and Tarek to talk about to help us understand the built environment and where we live, whether it's Washington DC or Cairo, Egypt. It's a conversation that holds clarity about the big picture at the same time as being routed in place and community. Or, in other words, “Dodylandia”. As ever, musi...

Welcome back to season two of Cairo Calling! After many heavy episodes in season one, we’re starting with a light one…. on British culture, traffic cones and Shakespeare. Peter and Dody talk about a British tourist who graffitied a message into the Colosseum. We talk about heritage, incest in Indonesian folklore and how Dody was nearly named after King Charles. It's fun, dumb, and insightful. Good...

In the middle of April 2023, conflict broke out in Khartoum, as two Generals started fighting for control. In this episode we hear from two friends who were there, and how they got out. “Not the best night of my life:” voicenotes from Marine give us live updates through the first week of violence, and her experience as a foreign aid worker suddenly needing to shelter. The airstrikes ring in the ba...

What was school like for us, and what do we wish it could be? Carol speaks with Dody and Peter about how we see education and what we wish it was. The three of us are lifelong learners: we share our personal experiences, how we see learning in our own lives, and what schools could be. This is a rich and fun conversation about how schools fit into our societies and lives, and about teaching sex-ed...

We asked our friends and family what their first memories were, and how those resonate in their lives. These are moments from our childhoods that often shaped who we are and who we try to be. There are memories from before, during and after wars, there are moments of pure childhood joy, and our earliest sadnesses. One friend shares the “longest walk of his life” and another confesses to stealing t...

Peter and Dody speak to Ina, who has been doing humanitarian work in Gaziantep, Türkiye, for five years. She was preparing to wrap up her time there when February's earthquake hit. This is conversation full of adrenaline and reflection as Ina shares her lucky escape and how the weeks after the earthquake changed her world. We understand the context of the quake, and why it might be forgotten all-t...

Laura and Dody spoke to their friend Francesca, a humanitarian worker who arrived in Gaziantep, Türkiye, in December 2022. She was looking forward to a quieter duty station after several assignments in emergency response in Iraq and Nigeria. Then a devastating 7.8 earthquake struck on February 6th, 2023, with epicenter only 37 km from where she was. She shared about the chaos of the first days of...

Peter and Dody explore how politics cross through our lives. We go around the world from Brazil to Myanmar, and talk about revolutions in Indonesia and Egypt. Despite the violence, Indonesia got lucky in its transition away from dictatorship. Together we reflect on freedom, power, patriarchy, and how they interact. Dody shares why he makes a software company in Egypt and how talent can be develope...

We’re so touched by your Valentines messages . Definitely catch up with that episode if you didn't, it'll change the way you think about love, as it did for us. It's beautiful to create this podcast with friends – thank you for opening up so trustingly. We’d love to make another montage of the moments you share with us. Our next prompt for your stories and insights is first memories. These moments...

Friends around the world told us love saved them, how it hurt them, and what they're still looking for. We hear about love in marriages, divorce, arranged marriages 2.0, and situationships, self-love and the violence of love. Whether you're resenting or celebrating Valentines days, loving or still looking, or “inbetween of inbetween”, this episode will touch you and probably change the way you fee...

Dody and Peter speak with Nomsa, who tells us about returning to South Africa in the early 2000s and how she was part of a generational change in black professionals entering the corporate workforce. It's a conversation full of laughter and reflections, with fresh perspectives on what's changed, what hasn't, and how Nomsa stays optimistic about the future. We talk about how the violence of aparthe...

Peter and Dody put 2022 on the chopping board. Weaving in and out of our own experiences and big ways the world is changing, we get into catching covid, the war in Ukraine, and how it impacted cat food in Cairo. Episode two has our first listener voice message, the question Dody won't answer – but he definitely wants all of you to send us notes about. Message us on cairocalling@substack.com. We in...

Episode One has our very first guest, the wonderful Stephanie. She tells us about work with Dublin Simon , a charity tackling the long-term crisis of homelessness in Dublin. We talk about what home means, and how dealing with homelessness means providing services in all areas of life, as well as taking measures to stop it happening in the first place. See Scrappy but Happy for artwork and creative...

We’re trying to figure out how to live right now: and we’re trying to figure out how to make a podcast about it. This episode is about memory, connection and sharing, and how we hope to shape meaningful conversations with people all over the world. All credit to Tarek for brilliant sound-track and producing the audio. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribe...