The afikra Podcast

Language serves as the vital intersection of cultural identity and technological innovation, yet the rapid rise of AI reveals a significant representation gap for the nearly many million ways the Arab world communicates. Professor Nizar Habash, a computer science professor and director of the CAMEL Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, explores the historical anxieties surrounding technological shifts, drawing a...

Imperialism was a masterclass in maintaining the fiction of autonomy while quietly acquiring the assets of an empire. Professor James Onley, chair of Gulf and Arab Studies at the American University of Sharjah, dissects the sophisticated loopholes used by colonial powers to exert influence without the liabilities of formal control. This conversation highlights the deep-seated socioeconomic connect...

Theatrical stages often mirror the intricate evolution of the societies that build them. Professor Carmen Gitre explores the burgeoning performance culture of Cairo between 1867 and 1930. This era witnessed a shift from street storytelling and shadow plays to formal theater houses designed for an emerging class of Western-educated intellectuals. The discussion traverses the grand spectacle of the...

For centuries, the Arab and Muslim worlds led humanity in scientific discovery, establishing a culture where faith served as an inspiration rather than an obstacle to empirical research. The conversation with astrophysicist Dr. Nidhal Guessoum explores that profound intellectual legacy, from the systematization of algebra and breakthroughs in optics to the creation of the world's first dedicated a...

Modern sports did not just change how people played; they fundamentally rewired how they lived, looked, and identified within a rapidly transforming world. The conversation with Murat Yildiz, an assosciate professor of history at Skidmore College, explores the high-stakes intersection of physical culture, social status, and the 19th-century quest for a new global aesthetic. Elite educational and m...

Egyptian print media has historically functioned as a cultural barometer, shifting from the early official bulletins of the 20th century into a relentless and aggressive form of capitalism on steroids. Professor Bahia Shehab discusses her book, "A Trade in Dreams: A Century of Egyptian Print Advertising", unpacking how visual culture has been both a witness to and a victim of political upheaval. H...

Palestinian architect and artist Dima Srouji explores the systematic displacement of Palestinian material culture and the liberation lab working to bring it home. For over a century, archaeology in Palestine has been weaponized, used as a tool for land grabs and the erasure of contemporary identity. From ancient glass vessels held in Western museums to human remains stored in university basements,...

Rare artifacts within the vast archives of the Library of Congress (LOC) represent a shift in how our region's history is fundamentally understood. Moving beyond traditional nationalist timelines, Arab World specialist in the African and Middle East division at the LOC, Dr. Muhannad Salhi, explores the transition of diverse items in the library's "Near East" collection, from 3000-year-old economic...

Beyond the Orientalist myth of being seductive, mysterious, and dangerous, what is the reality of Tangier? Professor of anthropology Majid Hannoum deconstructs the invention of the Maghreb and delves into the complex socioeconomic and racial fabric of contemporary Moroccan cities. He explores how colonial legacies continue to shape identity, from the very term "Maghreb" – which he argues did not e...

Modern Egyptian art was not simply an institutional byproduct of the 20th century, but rather a profound ontological shift in how the nature of the art object was fundamentally understood. Moving beyond traditional nationalist timelines, this transformation was deeply intertwined with the physical dismantling of historic Cairo, where stripped architectural fragments were repurposed into autonomous...

Unveiling the suppressed history of "Shar," Professor Ali Abdellatif Ahmida details the forgotten genocide of the Libyan people under Italian settler colonialism in 1911. As a distinguished political scientist and historian at the University of New England, Professor Ahmida dedicated 15 years to investigating why this mass tragedy was systematically erased from global scholarship and collective me...

Model and entrepreneur Kenza Fourati discusses her origins, growing up 1990s in Tunisia to becoming a trailblazing figure in the international fashion industry. She reflects on how she initially viewed beauty through a French lens and the subsequent realization of how limiting that perspective was to the beauty of her immediate surroundings. The conversation delves into her brand, Osay (Our Storie...

The concept of domicide and its profound impact on Homs, Syria, is explored through the work and personal experiences of architect Ammar Azzouz. A research fellow at the University of Oxford, Dr. Azzouz discusses the deliberate destruction of homes, the trauma of exile, and his eventual return to his homeland. He examines how international attention frequently prioritizes the loss of ancient herit...

What made Egypt the longest-surviving country in the world? Aidan Dodson is a professor and author of over 30 books and helps us explore fundamental shifts in our understanding of ancient Egypt. The discussion spans the civilization's long run, from the unification around 3000 BC—a feat commemorated by the crucial Narmer Palette—until Christianity began to erode its religious and linguistic founda...

As the daughter of the renowned intellectual Edward Said, Najla Said discusses the unique pressures of navigating her family's legacy while forging her own creative voice in the shadow of his immense influence. The conversation explores her journey from attempting to assimilate into American culture as a youth to confronting her heritage during a pivotal trip to Palestine and Lebanon. Said details...

We explore the interconnected artistic and political lives of figures from the Maghreb and the Black diaspora who collaborated in North Africa from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s, forming what our guest calls the Maghreb Generation, and cover the iconic 1969 Pan-African Festival of Algiers, where cultural figures like Nina Simone and political groups like the Black Panthers were present. Assistan...

Historian Faisal Husain wrote the book "Rivers of the Sultan: The Tigris and Euphrates in the Ottoman Empire" and in this episode, helps us explore the history of the Tigris and Euphrates. He argued for the necessity of understanding human history within the context of geological time, discussing the rivers' origins roughly 20 million years ago, tracing their influence on civilization from the "ag...

Award-winning creative director Ruba Abu-Nimah (known to many as @ruba on Instagram) discusses the state of creativity in the Arab world, the importance of young Arab talent embracing their culture, and the challenges of navigating corporate spaces as a Palestinian in the West. She talks about the foundational skills of graphic design, the vital role of design in communication, spaces and politics...

We delve into the stark realities of learning inequality, the crucial role of the science of teaching, and the transformative power of education, even in the face of conflict. Dr. Asyia Kazmi, CEO of WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education), an organization that is part of the Qatar Foundation, helps us explore the challenges and solutions in global education. As a former math teacher, Dr. Kaz...

The president of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), discusses her unique vision for innovation in the Arab world, emphasizing the crucial need to tie technological advancement to our roots, culture, heritage, and fundamental needs. Rama Chakaki shares insights from her career, which is defined by bridging the gap between impact and financial return, and explains QSTP's role as a platfor...

The unifying youth culture across the Arab region is characterized by a proud new Arab identity and the changing standards of beauty with the rise of "Arab beauty" (A beauty), which celebrates Arab features and aesthetics. The founder of Mille World and Mille Creative, Sofia Guellaty, talks about her journey launching the first Arab youth platform in the Arab world, the role of media professionals...

The conversation covers the historical emergence of Algeria as a political and territorial unit, starting in the Ottoman period in the 16th century. Key pivotal moments in Algerian history are highlighted, including French colonialism beginning in 1830, which led to a settler colonial project, the rise of the modern mass nationalist movement in the interwar period, the War of National Liberation (...

Discover the interconnectedness of peddling and factory work, the surprising origins of the Aloha shirt, and the key role Syrian workers played in major labor actions like the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Associate Professor of History at the University of California and author of "Unmentionables: Textiles, Garment Work, and the Syrian American Working Class" Dr. Stacy D...

The discussion covers the evolving role of debt as an instrument of empire, the emergence of sovereign wealth funds, and the ways financial instruments and flows of money subtly shape political realities and people's lives in the region. Professor Elyachar discusses her latest book "On the Semicivilized: Coloniality, Finance, and Embodied Sovereignty in Cairo" and how she challenges the notion tha...

The discussion delves into the complex historical eras of Iraq, challenging binary understandings of its past and present. A professor at Haverford College and author of "Political Undesirables: Citizen Denaturalization and Reclamation in Iraq and Return to Ruin: Iraqi Narratives of Exile and Nostalgia", Zainab Saleh discusses how the Iraq she grew up in—during the Ba'ath Party reign and under Sad...