Assyrian Podcast

Episode 173 - Dr. Emil Anton is a theologian and author living just outside Helsinki, Finland. He has published four books in Finnish with the last diving into the cultural and religious history of ancient Mesopotamia and modern day Iraq. Through his book “Kahden virran maa” (The Land Between Two Streams) and his many published articles, Emil is unearthing his own past in real time. In this episod...

Episode 173 - Ramina Odicho is a content creator and comedian born and raised in Chicago IL. She writes, acts, and produces comedy sketches on social media and many of her videos are inspired by Assyrian culture, traditions, and taboos. Many RaminaRated videos are either in Assyrian or a mixture of Assyrian and English. She has recently started performing stand-up comedy and has been traveling to...

Episode 171 - Maria Nissan is an Assyrian Environmental Artist. Residing in Jordan, Maria’s passions in art and the environment merge as she turns Jordan’s plastic waste into art. In this episode we discuss Maria’s life and what led her to become an artist and then soon after an environmental artist.  Instagram: @marianissanart and @microplasticsjo  Facebook: @MariaNissanArt  Website:  https://www...

Episode 170 - Dalia Ashurina is the current resident director of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She was born in Turlock, CA, and found her love for theater early in life. In this episode, we discuss her Assyrian upbringing, her experiences in theater, and how she hopes to write a musical that showcases the joys of her community.  https://www.instagram.com/YOUR_GAL_DAL/   https://www.daliaas...

Episode 169 - Henry Wooster is the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan; he also happens to be an Assyrian! In this episode, you’ll hear about his life and upbringing, his work as a diplomat, and how he and and his family have honored his mother and her legacy through the “Rita's First-Gen Scholarship”; a scholarship that is intended to change the life of a student who will be the first in their family to at...

Episode 168 - Poulyana Pazand-Srouji is a Partner for a Healthcare Organization, Children’s Book Author and Adoption/Fertility Coach. She is a mother to a sweet little boy that she and her husband adopted when he was just a few hours old. Her struggles with fertility over the years encouraged her to be an advocate for couples who are struggling with fertility and to raise awareness around a topic...

Episode 167 - This week's guests all recently went on a remarkable journey :  a journey to the Assyrian homeland in Iraq. Esther, Dylan, Roxanne, Alan, Stephanie, and Sargon share their feelings and experiences traveling through their ancestral homeland and describe how this journey has changed their Assyrian identity.  This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real es...

Episode 166 - Aril Brikha was born in Tehran, Iran, before migrating to Jönköping, Sweden as a child. He grew up in Sweden and inspired by his parents, Depeche Mode and a keyboard, found himself making electronic music. He got signed onto the famous Detroit techno label Fragile, associated with Detroit legend Derrick May. He found himself regularly touring in front of thousands, with a long list o...

Episode 165 - Evelyn Anoya was born in Baghdad, Iraq. Her parents immigrated to the United States in early 1980. She graduated from DePaul College of Law in 2001 with a Juris Doctor and Certificate in International Law. Since graduating from law school, Evelyn spent 20 years as an international civil servant employed with international tribunals in The Hague, Netherlands. She is specialized in int...

Episode 164 - David A. Armstrong is an Assyrian-American cinematographer, film producer and director. He is best known for his work on the first six installments of the Saw franchise, and has also directed the films Pawn and The Assassin's Code. David is also the author of Dragons and Violins, a memoir of war and music. Dragons and Violins tells the story of his grandfather’s journey through life,...

Episode 163 - This week’s guests all have something in common: they’re all from different cultural backgrounds and married to Assyrians. In this episode, Nick, Atsushi, Lundi, Celia and Dylan reflect on their experiences marrying into the Assyrian culture. We discuss everything from their first impressions to their challenges and everything in between. This episode is not one to miss! This episode...

Episode 162 - Making Room for Atheism with Mathew Sharif Mathew Sharif is a first generation Assyrian-American. He was born and raised in the technologically and culturally rich city of San Jose, California. Mathew’s parents met and married in America and raised Mathew in an Assyrian household.  Even though Mathew was raised in an Assyrian church, he went the unconventional route of choosing athei...

Episode 161 - Robert Noghli is a drummer who began his musical career in Iran before the Islamic Revolution. Under the tutorage of an Armenian drummer, he worked on his craft and began playing with some of the giants of Persian pop music like Ebi, Googoosh, and Dariush. After moving to the United States, he worked with various Assyrian singers like Linda George, Walter Aziz, Shamiram Urshan, and O...

Episode 157 – Nineb Toma is best known as Nineb Lamassu. Born in Kirkuk, his family and him fled to Iran in 1986 and later settled in New Zealand. His hardships as a refugee and the culture shock he experienced as an immigrant in New Zealand had a deep impact on him, inspiring him to take pen to paper and write poetry.  Poet, organic academic, politician and peace builder, Nineb’s passion is to wo...

Episode 159 - Dr. Sargon Donabed is an associate professor of history at Roger Williams University. He holds a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto and a MSci from Canisius College in Anthrozoology/Animal Studies. He also serves as one of the Board of Directors for the Assyrian Studies Association.  Donabed is one of the foremost experts on the perennial hist...

Episode 158 - Philimon Darmo has spent over 50 years volunteering for Assyrian community in Australia, whether it be teaching Assyrian, running an Assyrian radio programme or translating important announcements. Born in Iraq, Philimon migrated to Australia in the early 60s and while officially retired, still translates to this day. He recently gained wide recognition for his role in translating Go...

Episode 157 – William Bnyameen, better known as Khlapieel, was born in 1993 in Sarsink and is one of seven children. He later studied film making in Duhok and became a documentary filmmaker, directing such films as “A Civilization Under the Rubble” and “Rise of Gilgamesh,” both short films giving an exclusive look at Khabour (Syria) and the lives of Khabour's Assyrians post-ISIS. He is currently c...

Episode 156 - Eva Toma is an extraordinary blend of both sides of the brain—encompassing the technical and design skills sets that make her the well-rounded and hard-to-come by professional in the architecture and interior design spaces. With proven acumen in both worlds, Eva has a robust list of clients across the entire hospitality spectrum—from boutique power houses in hotel hospitality to inde...

Ep. 155 - ܩܫܝܼܫܐ ܝܘܿܚܢܢ ܒܕܠ ܦܝܼܪܘܿ - Reverend Qashisha John Badal Piro was born on February 7, 1973 in Turlock, California to his father Reverend Cor-Bishop Badal S. Piro, and Bereshwa Piro. He completed both his Bachelors of Science and Masters of Science degrees in Physiology from the University of California, Davis. In 2004, he obtained his Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Californi...

Episode 154 - Brian Patto is the writer and director of a new short film, Grace. The film has been a finalist for numerous film festivals and tells the poignant story of a father attempting to keep his daughter safe in war-torn Iraq. In this episode we talked about Brian’s inspirations behind creating the film, the casting process, and the name of the movie.  Instagram for Brian Patto: @brianpatto...

Episode 153 - Steve Oshana is the executive director of A Demand for Action, which advocates for the rights of minorities in the Middle East. He started his career in Washington DC as an intern and worked his way to becoming a political consultant, or lobbyist. In this episode we talk about what lobbyists do, how he manages to work with US politicians across the aisle on Assyrian issues, how he ma...

Episode 152 - Ninwa Yonan is 29 years old and the former chairwoman of the Assyrian Youth Federation in Central Europe (AJM). She currently works as a psychotherapist in training and resides in Berlin, the capital of Germany. In this episode she shares information about her case study in regards to the Sayfo (or Seyfo) Genocide and transgenerational Trauma, her upbringing, and her perspective on t...

Episode 151 - Eleanor Thorn is a first generation Assyrian-American, born in Chicago and currently residing in the north suburbs of Chicago. Early family tragedies didn’t prevent Eleanor from getting a college education, having a long and well-traveled career in accounting, starting her own family, and creating a legacy as the most recent steward of Lake Forest Bookstore. Tune in to learn more abo...

Episode 150 - Dr. Ashurina Ream is a clinical psychologist who began to focus on perinatal psychology and education for women, after the birth of her son turned her world upside down. Feeling alone and experiencing postpartum depression, she began cultivating a community online that validates the experiences of other moms struggling with similar issues and educates them and their partners on how t...

Episode 149 - Ninus Benjamin is a first generation Assyrian American. He has a twin sister, Shamiran, and older brother, Danny Benjamin. The twins were born in Santa Clara, California. Being raised in an Assyrian home to hard-working immigrants who had to learn things from scratch set a wonderful example for them. Being bilingual has been an added advantage not only in academics, but also when it...