Peacemindedly

Omid Roustaei is a Persian chef / recipe developer with a well-attended blog called Caspian Chef - Omid Roustaei. Omid’s love of Persian cooking started when Omid was determined to keep his nostalgic connection with his homeland Iran, and his home-city Babol. A former-private chef, Omid combines his passion for cooking, expert knowledge, and life experience to take his audience on a culinary exped...

Sonora Jha, Ph. D., is a novelist, essayist, researcher, and a Professor of Journalism at Seattle University . Sonora was born in India, where she had a career as a journalist in Mumbai and Bangalore before moving to Singapore and then to the United States. Sonora’s academic research on the emerging intersections of the press, politics, and the Internet has been published in top-tier national and...

Celene Ibrahim is the author of Women and Gender in the Qur'an. In her book, Ibrahim explores the complex cast of female figures in the Qur'an, probing themes related to biological sex, female sexuality, female speech, and women in sacred history. Celene explores the complex cast of female figures in the Qur'an, probing themes related to biological sex, female sexuality, female speech, and women i...

Kate Gaertner is a leading expert, sought-after speaker and consultant in corporate sustainability with 25 years of combined corporate and entrepreneurial experience. The world is getting hotter. This summer, wildfires engulfed the West Coast and floods ranged through China and Europe. Britain, once a generally wet and cold place, issued its first heat warning. Extreme weather becomes each day mor...

Zahra Hankir features nineteen Arab women journalists who speak out about what it’s like to report on their changing homelands in this first-of-its-kind essay collection. A growing number of intrepid Arab and Middle Eastern sahafiyat —female journalists —are working tirelessly to shape nuanced narratives about their changing homelands, often risking their lives on the front lines of war. From sexu...

We Wrote in Symbols is the first anthology to feature writing by Arab women on lust, love and the erotic. spanning 3000 years, it includes the works of classical authors, award-winning contemporary authors and emerging writers, published in English for the first time. It is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. Behind that secret lies another – that m...

Halal for Muslims is not just about food. It’s a way of life that encompasses the notion of tayyib , connoting a body of ethical principles designed to promote healthy, clean, and wholesome living. Halal is the corporate social responsibility for Muslims. With executives of Halal Expo and Summit USA, we discuss implication of halal lifestyle in American Muslim communities.

This is the story of a child raised in Canada by parents who embraced a puritanical version of Islam to shield them from racism. Chaudhry explores the joys and sorrows of growing up in a fundamentalist Muslim household , wedding grand historical narratives of colonialism and migration to the small intimate heartbreaks of modern life. In revisiting the beliefs and ideals she was raised with, Chaudh...

Listen to our new season

Recipes for Refuge is a delicious and unique collection offering readers an experience that transcends mere cookery. First, the food . These are the recipes that are passed down from mother to daughter, father to son, recipes that connect these global refugees to the place they once called home.

Kevin Jones is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Georgia, and author of The Dangers of Poetry: Culture, Politics, and Revolution in Iraq . Levi Thompson is Assistant Professor of Arabic at the University of Colorado Boulder, who translated Syrian-Palestinian poet Ramy al-Ashegh latest poems My Heart Became a Bomb . They will talk with Sara Jamshidi about the dangers and implicati...

Susanne Koelbl is an award-winning journalist and foreign correspondent for the German news magazine DER SPIEGEL. In her recent book Behind the Kingdom’s Veil: Inside the New Saudi Arabia Under Mohammed Bin Salman , she chronicles the changes in Saudi Arabia in recent years. Sara Jamshidi will talk with Koelbl about Saudi Arabia and the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi .

Leila Rafei, author of the Spring , a daring beautiful novel about Egypt and Arab Spring, studied Middle East Studies at the American University in Cairo. Originally born to Iranian-American parents, Leila knows a great deal about Egypt, its culture, food, music and its revolution. She will talk with Sara Jamshdi about Spring , her novel took place in Egypt.

Ron Bourke, filmmaker exploring issues of displacement, education, and healthcare directed Terror and Hope: The Science of Resilience . He features Rana Dajani, scientist , world expert in genetics and founder of We Love Reading Project, as well as other other experts to learn about how Syrian children's not only cope with terror in refugee camps, but to create resilience and happiness. Terror and...

Medina Tenour Whiteman is a writer, poet, translator, musician, and an Anglo-American born to Sufi converts. In her recent book The Invisible Muslim: Journey Through Whitness and Islam , she discusses how her white privileged background has not helped her to feel ‘at home’ with her Muslim friends in Europe. Sara Jamshidi will talk with Whiteman about what it means to be an invisible Muslim, examin...

Aili Mari Tripp is Chair of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, and professor of Political Science, and Gender & Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her new book Seeking Legitimacy: Why Arab Autocracies Adopt Women’s Rights recently published. Fatima Sadiqi is president of the Center for Studies and Research on Women, and professor of Linguistics and Gender Studi...

Dr. Seema Yasmin is an Emmy-Award winning journalist who was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She and Fahmida Azim , illustrator whose artwork appeared on NPR, Dallas News, and a number of books and graphic novels, coauthored Muslim Women Are Everything: Stereotype-Shattering Stories of Courage, Inspiration, and Adventure. They talk with Sara Jamshidi about what inspired them to publish the book...

Pádraig Ó Tuama is a poet, theologian, and traveler who writes extensively about language, power, conflict and religion. Ó Tuama is the master storyteller and host of On Being’s Poetry Unbound . Previously, he was the leader of the Corrymeela Community, Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. He will talk with Sara Jamshidi about poetry, God, sexual orientation, words, prayers and...

Chantal Blake is a travel writer and plant-based consultant from New York City. She currently lives in Oman. Chantal got frustrated about the lack of information about women’s bodies and sexuality. She invited Nicole Monteiro, mental health expert, researcher and consultant to create a course to teach women about their bodies and sexuality. Naaila Clay, marriage consultant, works with them. They t...

Iram Parveen Bilal just directed her third feature movie, I'LL MEET YOU THERE. Bilal is an ardent advocate for fair representation of female directors in the entertainment industry. To help us make sense of the movie, Dalia Mogahed, Director of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, ISPU , join us to talk about American Muslim struggle and dilemma in the US. Dalia is also former Execut...

At the time of feast, family and being merry, we are dealing with a deadly virus this year. The number of people getting affected by the Coronavirus is at the rise. Many families are experiencing hardships and heartbreaks. Yet, Thanksgiving is approaching. The tradition of Thanksgiving, giving thanks to what we have and what we acquire, is sacred and important for us Americans. Could we pray our p...

Sertac Sehlikoglu shows us how women , not only in Istanbul, but in larger Middle East region, are using thier power, intelectual agencies and social status to create a favorable condition for htier personal desires. Sara Jamshidi talk with Sertac Sehlikoglu about the making of Muslim women desire in the Middle East.

Jessica Goudeau is the author of After the last Border: Two Families and the Story of Refuge in America . Goudeau holds a PhD in literature from the University of Texas and served as a Mellon Writing Fellow and Interim Writing Center Director at Southwestern University. She has spent more than a decade working with refugees in Austin, TX and is the cofounder of Hill Tribers, a nonprofit that provi...

Shahla Haeri is an Associate Professor of Anthropology and a former director of the Women’s Studies Program at Boston University . Haeri is one of the pioneers of Iranian Anthropology, and has produced cutting-edge ethnographies of Iran, Pakistan and the Muslim world. In her latest book, The Unforgettable Queens of Islam: Succession, Authority, Gender Haeri looks at extraordinary lives and legacie...

When a conversation takes a turn into sometimes uncomfortable and often contentious topics of race, religion, gender, sexuality, and politics, it can be difficult to know what to say or how to respond to someone you disagree with. In a conversation with Sara Jamshidi, Diane Hamilton, Gabriel Wilson, and Kimberly Loh discuss Compassionate Conversation tools we can use to manage a difficult conversa...