Assyrian Podcast

Episode 197 - George Piro was born in Lebanon and immigrated to the United States in the 1970’s. After adjusting to life in Turlock, CA with his parents and siblings, he enlisted in the Air Force at 18 and eventually joined the FBI. He is best known for being the special agent in charge of interrogating Saddam Hussein, a process that lasted 7 months. In this episode we discuss the influence of his...

Episode 196 - Matthew Joudeh hosts an LGBTQ+ panel of Assyrians who openly share their unique experiences of being members of the LGBTQ+ community. Matthew leads the discussion, providing a safe space for these individuals to express their stories, challenges, and triumphs. Join us as we delve into the intersectionality of their Assyrian heritage and LGBTQ+ identities, fostering understanding, emp...

Episode 1 - Missed Opportunities is the first essay from our new podcast series, Musing with My Samovar with Obie Yadgar. In this episode, Obie recalls three individuals from his past and muses on conversations that were never had: an Assyrian man he met once who had been imprisoned in Siberia, a well-dressed stranger at the airport, and his uncle Rabi Benyamin Arsenos.

Episode 195 - Mattico David is an Assyrian-American actor born and raised in Flint, MI. He is a veteran of the stage and has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and regional theatrical productions. A graduate of the University of Michigan’s Theatre Performance program, Mattico was a founding member of the Flint City Theatre and a regular performer at Jeff Daniel’s Purple Rose Theatre Co., in Chelsea...

Episode 194 – Dr. George Marano. Dr. Marano is an esteemed expert in geopolitics and a distinguished writer for the South China Morning Post, Asia's premier English-language newspaper. Throughout our conversation, Dr. Marano shares his unique insights and perspectives on the complex dynamics of geopolitics. With a focus on the Assyrian experience as a dispossessed people, we explore the historical...

Episode 193 - Mikhail Benjamin was born in 1969 in the valley of Nahla, in northern Iraq. He is a teacher, human rights activist, and the chairman of the Alliance of Iraqi Minorities Network. He advocates for minority rights and land rights for Assyrians in Iraq. Listen to this episode to learn more about how he works torward real political participation, preservation of heritage, and implementati...

Episode 192 - William D.S. Daniel can be considered an Assyrian icon in our modern day history. He was a prolific Assyrian writer, musician, and composer, credited with creating some of the earliest original Assyrian music and responsible for the artistic and cultural advancement of his people. He also created the “Epic of Kateeni Gabbara” that not only revived a dying Assyrian epic, but also expo...

Episode 191 - Obelit “Obie” Yadgar is an Assyrian-American radio personality from Glendale, Wisconsin. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq. Raised in Tehran, he moved to the United States in 1957. He was drafted into the US Army's 4th Infantry Division, serving as a combat correspondent in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968. In this episode we talk about his time in Vietnam, his connection to music and the radio,...

Episode 190 - Rachel Sarah Thomas is an Assyrian American singer and songwriter hailing from the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. Born to Assyrian parents, she was raised with a deep appreciation for her cultural roots, and grew up speaking and writing in Neo-Aramaic - a language that most people believe is extinct. Immersed in the dance, liturgical, and folk music traditions of her Assyrian famil...

Episode 189 - Attiya Gamri is a Dutch politician from the Labour party in the Netherlands. She was born in Arbo, Tur Abdin and has been involved in Assyrian causes from a young age. Attiya was one of the founding members of the Assyrian Federation of the Netherlands and was the first chairwoman of the Assyrian Confederation of Europe.

Episode 188 - Stephanie Khio is a published author and poet. She hosts monthly creative writing & somatic workshops . She has a Bachelor’s of Art in Creative Writing & Philosophy from Roosevelt University (2014) and is certified in MindBody Therapy from Embodied Philosophy. We are excited to have her on the Assyrian Podcast! In this week's episode of the Assyrian Podcast, we’ll be learning more ab...

Episode 187 - This episode features Dr. Peter, Lily, Sharokina, Ninos, & Marganita who advocate for the usage of Assyrian names. You’ll hear about naming conventions and the historical context for the popularity of certain names among Assyrians during different time periods and how the naming tradition has evolved and continues to evolve to this day. You’ll also learn about a few resources aimed t...

Episode 186 - Ninos Dankha, professionally known by his stage name, Prince of Assyria, is a musical artist, songwriter, and producer living in Stockholm, Sweden. Born in Baghdad, Ninos and his family fled to Sweden when he was under a year old. He has released three studio albums starting with Missing Note in 2009, Changing Places in 2014, and 3rd Level in 2020. In all three, his music seamlessly...

Episode 185 - Katie Acuña is an Assyrian bodybuilder from the Bay Area, California. She began competing in the Spring of 2022 and went pro in October of 2022 after which she was featured on the cover of Inspire Magazine. In this episode, Katie talks about what it takes to become a bodybuilder and some of the difficulties versus rewards. Katie hopes to compete again; potentially in the fall of 2023...

Episode 184 - On this  episode of the Assyrian Podcast, Steve and Adessa take a walk down memory lane as they reflect on the past five years of the Assyrian podcasting journey. In this special episode, they delve into what worked, what could have been better, and share some fascinating stories that have helped shape the podcast's growth. As part of their celebration, they invite some of the hosts...

Episode 183 - Andre David is a retired Major League Baseball player who played for the Minnesota Twins in the 1980’s. He played in 38 games and had 13 hits with 1 home run and a .245 batting average during his career. His sole home run was hit during his first official at bat in the Major Leagues. Andre currently serves as the assistant hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals. 

Episode 182 - Tenise Marie is an Assyrian Canadian singer-songwriter, performer, and recording artist based in Nelson, British Columbia. She grew up in the remote community of Argenta. In this episode, we discuss her and her family’s fascinating journey in putting the pieces together of their Assyrian heritage and what the journey has been like.  Her songwriting is influenced by the likes of Joni...

Episode 181 - Carmen Lazar was born in Tehran, Iran and migrated to Australia in 1971. After teaching at the Assyrian School in Sydney and serving in the Assyrian Australian Association, Carmen then became the lead for the Assyrian Resource Centre (ARC), established by the Association to serve and empower Assyrians recently arrived in Australia. Carmen has worked at the ARC for over 20 years, help...

Episode 180 - Annukina Warda is a long-time policy analyst from Sydney, Australia. She explores ancestral recollection, recovery and renewal for Indigenous Peoples facing mass displacement from their traditional homelands, and cultural and linguistic erasure.  Annukina provokes a cultural re-emergence through storytelling. She grapples with the themes of memory and loss through the famous Assyrian...

Episode 179 - For Assyrians, volunteering is not just something optional but necessary to keep our communities tight knit and allow us to grow closely within our heritage. In this episode, we hear from different perspectives on the how and the whys of contributing and volunteering in the Assyrian community.  Guests: Rami Noori, Melissa Farhad, Sargon Younadim, Marna Khamis, Shemeram Khoshaba, and...

Episode 178 - Martin Yousif Zebari was born in Iraq and immigrated to the US in 2002. While attending Niles North High School in Skokie, IL, he began studying theater and acting, which led him to pursue acting in college, both in Illinois and abroad in England. In this episode, we talk about his upbringing, pursuit-of acting, and broader topics like intersectionality, storytelling, queerness, and...

Episode 177 - Babylonia Bhugwansing is an Assyrian intercultural coach and speaker for women from the Middle East and beyond. She was born and raised in Germany and now lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands with her husband and two kids. They are a mixed family of multicultural backgrounds, Assyrian and Surinamese. During the Covid Pandemic, she quit her corporate job in order to do what she felt she wa...

Episode 176 - Ken Ibrahim has worked for over two decades at the emerging intersection of technology and art spanning a career in film, games, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and robotics. His career includes being a Visual FX Technical Director at numerous studios on some of the highest grossing movie franchises to date including Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Tran...

Episode - 175 Barseen Oshana was born in Sydney, Australia and heads the Assyrian Students Association of Australia. The ASAA is an independent student-led organisation that facilitates the presence of Assyrians at universities in Australia, as well as coordinating external events to bring Assyrian students together. He also serves as a board member of the Assyrian Australian Association and has b...

Episode 174 - “O.D.”, more simply known as Oditte, is a Certified Personal Trainer in Canada. Prior to becoming a personal trainer, O.D. attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a NCAA Division I Basketball scholarship where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. From the combined experiences of her athletic life and academic life comes her personal philosophy: to...