The afikra Podcast

We talked to Resat Kasba about his work as a professor and expert on the history and politics of the Middle East. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the history and c...

We had a conversation with Rayyane about his work and most recent exhibition: Alien Property, hosted at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Hosted by: Yazan Kopty & Sarah Graff Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who a...

We talked to Professor Zainab Bahrani about her books and research. Professor Bahrani is the author and editor of multiple books and articles on Ancient Near Eastern and East Mediterranean art and archaeology, art theory, historiography,  and philosophies of representation.  Created by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Hosted by:   Mikey Muhanna  & Sarah  Graff  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek...

We talked to Eman Abdelhadi, professor and sociologist at the University of Chicago, ‎about her research on Muslim communities in the US, gender, and inequality.  Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who ar...

In four afikra FWDs, the presenters share resources on a Yemeni skateboarder,  the Abandon Fairgrounds in Tripoli, Lebanon, ancient Egyptians’ diet, and on Architecture ‎in Lebanon. ‎ Note: The presenters are not experts on this subject but are sharing information in the hopes ‎of spurring interest in the subject.‎ Hosted by:   Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek...

We talked to Celine Semaan, the founder and executive director of the Slow Factory about fashion activism, her perspective on improving sustainability literacy in fashion, fashion activism, and the slow factory and its projects!  Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hos...

We had a conversation with Suheyla Takesh about her work at the Barjeel Art Foundation, and about the recent exhibition she co-curated "Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s–1980s." Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics...

Randa Jarrar is a performer and the author of the forthcoming memoir "Love Is An Ex-Country", the novel "A Map of Home", and the collection of stories "Him, Me, Muhammad Ali". Zaina Arafat is the author of the novel "You Exist Too Much", with stories and essays appearing in The New York Times, Granta, The Believer, and more. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme...

Al-Hakawati is a teller of tales, legends, and fables; a storyteller, a performer, and someone who earns his living by fascinating and captivating an audience with his tales. Julia talks about this and explores the tradition of oral storytelling and how it's being preserved today.  Hosted by:  Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About afikra Community Presen...

Suad Amiry is an author and architect, and she is best known for her book Sharon and My Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries. Amiry is also the Founder of RIWAQ, a center founded to work on the rehabilitation and protection of architectural heritage in Palestine. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our lo...

We talked to Omar Al – Qattan about his work as a director and film producer, and about his experience making “Tale of the Three Jewels” in addition to his many other movies and films. We also asked him about Al – Qattan Foundation and the mosaic rooms they established in London in 2008. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afik...

Omar explores how Orientalist depictions in music have contributed to the development and understanding of Western culture, and even Arab culture in general. Hosted by:  Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About afikra Community Presentations: Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a ‎topic related to the Arab world’s history...

George Junne is a scholar and an associate professor in the Africana studies department at the University of Northern Colorado and the author of "The Black Eunuchs of the Ottoman Empire: Networks of Power in the Courts of the Sultan", 2016.  Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview...

Tasneem Alsultan is an acclaimed Saudi photographer whose work explores gender & social issues across the GCC and MidEast. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who are helping document and/or shape the hist...

Antonio talks to us about what Clay Pot Yogurt is and about Kitchen Pottery in the Arab World. Hosted by:  Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About afikra Community Presentations: Every Saturday a community member delivers an in-depth presentation on a ‎topic related to the Arab world’s history and culture during a one-hour online event. The presentation is...

Maria reads to us into Edward Said’s essay “Living in Arabic". Camilia explores how invisible black Moroccans can be made visible through the ideas and works of M’Barek Bouhchichi. Nadia Muijrers reviews "On Identity" by Amin Maalouf. Yasmine looks into the story of Swatch . Hosted by:   Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani Once a month we hold an afikra Mez...

Natasha is a Ph. D. candidate in modern Middle Eastern history at Columbia University. She studies the establishment and development of the oil industry in Iraq and the Levant after the First World War. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring acad...

We talked with Mohammed Zakaria about his work as a photographer, as well as his career building the budding skateboarding scene in the region. Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring academics and arts ‎and media experts who are helping document...

Laila explores the work of Karimeh Abbud: (كريمة عبّود‎) who was a Palestinian professional photographer and artist who lived and worked in Palestine in the first half of the twentieth century.  Note: Laila is not an expert on this subject but is sharing information in the hopes of spurring interest in the subject. Hosted by:  Rami Abou-Khalil Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani A...

Greg Burris is a film maker, cultural theorist, and professor at the American University of Beirut whose work focuses on race, media, and emancipatory politics. He is also the author of "The Palestinian Idea: Film, Media, and the Radical Imagination" (Temple University, 2019) Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversat...

Ahmad Damen realized that World Music research is based on a comparative study with Western Music Theory. Thus, he asked, how would this field of study be like if the music of the world were studied based on a Middle Eastern Theory model instead?  Connect with Ahmed: https://www.instagram.com/damenjarre/ Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About a...

Malika Bilal is the host of The Take podcast by Al Jazeera and former co-host of The Stream, a social-media driven talk show on Al Jazeera English. Connect with Malika: https://www.instagram.com/mmbilal/ Follow The Take: https://www.instagram.com/ajthetake/ Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna   & Yazan Kopty Created by:   Mikey Muhanna   Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra c...

Nihal looked for the ways Abu Abdullah Muhammad Al-Idrisi contributed to cartography while Ahmed researched “Things We Lost in the Fire: What was in the University of Mosul's Central Library when it Burned?”, Usman shared his reading and information on the “Animals Lawsuit Against Humanity” book, and Maha forwards us the legacy of Doria Shafik (درية شفيق‎‎). Hosted by:   Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Ed...

We talked to the creative powerhouse & scholar, Maytha Alhassen about her academic scholarship, her work as a poet and activist, and her recent work as a writer on the Hulu show Ramy.  Connect with Maytha: https://www.instagram.com/maythaalhassen/ Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form int...

We talked to Rana Abdelhamid, a  social entrepreneur and community organizer, about the organizations she founded like MALIKAH and Little Egypt. Connect with Rana: https://www.instagram.com/ranaabdelhamid/ Created & Hosted by: Mikey Muhanna , afikra Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani About the afikra conversation series: Our long-form interview series, hosted on Zoom, featuring a...