Assyrian Podcast

Episode 123 - Jeremy Bristow, a director who worked for the BBC for 21 years, and Eli Melki, a reporter for BBC Arabic and a BBC World Service Broadcast Journalist and Producer for more than ten years, are the two guests of today's episode. They made the 2019 documentary Last Christians, a film about the plight of Assyrians in Iraq and Turkey since ISIS invaded and terrorized the populous, which a...

Episode 122 - Atour Sargon is a Village of Lincolnwood Trustee. Elected in 2019, Atour is serving her first four year term. We discuss her path to politics, women running for office, and the overall importance of Assyrian involvement in the political process.  Support for this week’s episode of The Assyrian Podcast is brought to you by Tony Kalogerakos and the Injury Lawyers of Illinois and New Yo...

Episode 121 - Comrade Hermis Yousif was born in Nineweh (Mosul) Iraq, on March 6, 1956. From an early age, he yearned for an opportunity to contribute to the betterment of his nation and was influenced by his Father’s love for nationalism, poetry and the Assyrian language.   Late in the evening on July 19, 1984, Hermis was arrested by the Iraqi Security Service for his work with Zaw’aa. Hermis and...

Episode 120 - Dan David YouTuber and all around creator Dan David brings you laughs, scares, and amazing looking shirts. Find out how Dan went from churning out hilarious YouTube videos, to telling scary stories, to writing scary stories and publishing his own book “The NOPE Collection.” Author of the recently released book “The NOPE Collection: 20 Short Horror Stories” Owner/Founder of Divinity A...

Episode 119 - Odette Y. Esho was born in Iraq and fled with her family to the US when she was a child. Following her brother’s footsteps, she joined the United States Air Force in 2009 and currently holds the title of Master Sergeant. In this episode you will get to hear Odette’s family’s story of fleeing to Turkey, coming to the US and joining the Airforce, and how she is defying stereotypes in h...

Episode 118 - Juliana Jendo was born in Syria and educated in a French school run by nuns in her city. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Aleppo in French Literature on a full-ride scholarship from Syria’s Department of Education. She later immigrated to the United States with her family, where she continued her French Literature studies, earning a Master’s Degree from Univer...

Episode 117 -Ashur Sada Before there was social media as a way for Assyrians to digitally connect, there was the Assyrian Voice Network (AVN). In 1999, Ashur Sada of Toronto, Canada created the AVN and since then has helped thousands of Assyrians virtually connect with one another from friendships to marriages.  www.assyrianvoice.net   Support for this week’s episode of The Assyrian Podcast is bro...

Episode # 116 - Michael Atniel  Michael E. "Mike" Atniel grew up in Southern California, and found a way to turn his love for drawing into his dream career. He began his first internship animating when he was only 18 years old and since then he has worked as one of the main animators for major video game creators as well as the hit show The Simpsons. In this episode, you’ll hear about his upbringi...

Episode 115 - Lanah Haddad is a young Kurdish-Iraqi archaeologist, who grew up in Germany and recently moved back to Erbil, to reconnect with her roots. She studied the ancient history of Mesopotamia and worked in several archaeological projects in Iraq, Germany, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Moved by her desire to bring back the Iraqi people more in touch with their own heritage, she created a strateg...

Episode 114 - Ron Susek is best-selling author, evangelist, and television and radio Bible teacher, with fifty years in Christian ministry. A resident of Pennsylvania, he and his wife, a musician and recording artist, have appeared together on TV ministry and spoken at many conferences around the world. His latest book, "The Assyrian Prophecy: A Betrayed and Broken Nation Destined to Rise Anew fro...

Episode 113 – Peter Esho was born in Sydney but spent some of his childhood in Kuwait. He is a market commentator and has ventured out on his own to run a real estate investment firm. In this episode he talks about the how and why of investment and business, his religious roots and family’s involvement in the Assyrian community, and his message for young Assyrians in diaspora. https://www.wealthi....

Episode 112 - Adnan Rasho was born in Baghdad, Iraq and came to Chicago, Illinois at the age of thirteen. Growing up, Adnan experienced seasons of low self-esteem and shyness. He began self-medicating by drinking alcohol and experimenting with drugs. Over time, his drug use began to escalate until he found his drug of choice, crack cocaine. According to Adnan, the first time he used crack cocaine,...

Episode 111 - Dr. Ramina Jajoo-Frindrich is a retired Rheumatologist residing in Phoenix where she has been a partner at Arizona Arthritis and Rheumatology Associates, She is currently serving as a strategic consultant and Chairwoman of Seyfo Center, Arizona Chapter where she and her team worked tirelessly to help pass the Assyrian Genocide Rememberence Day Proclamation in the House of Representat...

Episode 110 - Shlimon Betshmuel is a singer, composer, and songwriter who began his singing career at an early age. He sought refuge in Iran when he was in his early 20’s, after singing a patriotic Assyrian song about Simele caused the Iraqi government to be displeased with his work. In Iran, he recorded his first album and continued to perform until he moved to the United States at the start of t...

Episode 109 - John Badal A third generation Assyrian-Chicagoan, John Badal has never had a full connection with the Assyrian community, but that doesn’t mean he’s never known his roots. Just like his Grandfather before him, John is leaving his culinary footprint @northbranchgourmet in a city that prides itself heavily on their world famous food scene.   IG: @jbadal4 @northbranchgourmet @northbranc...

Episode 108- Dr. Ashor Sworesho is a Chiropractor and business owner in Hamilton, Ontario. Outside of his work, he has dedicated his life to serving and advancing the Assyrian community in Hamilton through a multitude of areas; all with an emphasis on professionalizing efforts. In this episode, you’ll gain a greater awareness of those efforts, as well as his family’s life in Malta before settling...

Episode 107 - Scott Christian Sava is an animator, illustrator, director, writer, producer and an all around awesome Assyrian! Over the last twenty years, Scott Christian Sava's work has brought some of the world's most beloved characters to life in film, television, comics, and games. From Casper the Friendly Ghost to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to Star Trek and Spider-Man. Scott's unique ta...

Episode 106 – Yosip Bet Yosip was born in 1942 to Rabi Korush Bet Yosip and Anna Khoshaba Bet Yosip in the village of Zumalan, a suburb of Urmieh, Iran. Early in his youth Yosip learned about the Assyrian culture through listening to Assyrian folk songs, poetry, and story telling (ܛܲܐܲܠܝܵܬܹ̈ܐ) conducted by the local elders. This is when his love for the Assyrian culture and heritage was originated...

Episode 105 – Awkar arrived in Australia in 2012, as a 16-year old refugee from Iraq via Syria. Not knowing much English, Awkar was subjected to bullying at school, but instead of succumb to the 'haters', Awkar studied intensely and pursued his passion for architecture, inspired by a visit to the iconic Sydney Opera House upon his arrival to Australia. In two years, Awkar graduated from high schoo...

Episode 104 - Emmanuel Samano is a British Assyrian who moved to London, England, from Iraq, in 1972. Born and raised in Kirkuk, he later moved to Baghdad, where he worked as an actor on the radio and the screen for the Iraqi Media Corporation. After the Ba’ath regime tried to pressure him to join their party several times, he fled to London, where he eventually became an Interpreter for the Unite...

Episode 103 - Joe Snell is a reporter based in Washington, D.C. On track to work in TV development in Hollywood, Joe left the entertainment industry in 2016 to pursue his passion for reporting on the Middle East. Since then, his reporting has taken him from a local newsroom in Texas to across the world from Germany, Paris, Brussels and Iraq. He eventually founded The Assyrian Journal and Assyrian...

Episode 102 - Zalgai Aho is a fashion designer, world traveler, and the daughter of a revered oomtanaya, the late Malfono Ninos Aho. In this episode, you’ll learn about the western dialect of Assyrian, a glimpse of life in Södertälje, Sweden, the places Zalgai has lived -  including the U.S. Virgin Islands, her life in fashion, loss, and how she has continued her father’s legacy of nationalistic w...

Episode 101: R.C. or Robert Samo began his journalism career in 1996 as a college freshman. He has been published everywhere from Pro Wrestling Illustrated to the Oakland Tribune and Orange County Register. He is the creator of Fanboy and FangirlNation. His vision for both was to return a sense of traditional journalism to a world full of sensationalism and geek rage. If you hadn't noticed, R.C. r...

Episode 100: Join us on this milestone episode as the voices that bring you the Assyrian Podcast week after week and the social media crew behind it discuss their motivation behind joining AP, their favorite episodes from the past year, what has surprised them the most working on the Assyrian Podcast, and how it has impacted their view of themselves as Assyrians in this roundtable discussion. Supp...

Episode 99 - Ashur Kasrani, also known as “The Great Kasrani” is formerly a magician, who has entertained royalty, oligarchs, celebrities, corporations and private clients around the world. Leaving his career behind, he returned to the homeland and now lives a simple, basic life in the valley of Nahla. He documents the valley life on his social media channels and informs and inspires thousands of...