Assyrian Podcast

Alexander Paul David – Has been an active member of the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) since 2009. He is the Illinois Sector Director of the Movement, and participated in the 8th conference of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, which took place on March 2017 in Dohuk, Iraq. He is a Co-Founder and Board Member of the Nineveh Plain Defense Fund, a direct funding organization for the Nineveh Pla...

Episode 46 - Kathryn Pauline, of Cardamom and Tea, is a world-renowned food blogger. Her blog was a 2018 finalist for Saveur’s Best Food and Culture Blog award and was featured on Amsterdam Diary’s Top 20 Up and Coming Food Blogs in 2018. In this episode you will learn about Kathryn’s life in Hong Kong and how her passion for baking and cooking led her to create Cardamom and Tea, where she shares...

Episode 45 - Lisa and Jacob David are siblings who own/operate the Nineveh Assyrian Food Truck in Olympia, Washington. In this episode, you’ll learn about their family lineage and growing up Assyrian and Jewish, life in Toledo, Ohio and the move to Olympia, and their experiences running their business that allows them to share a piece of our culture with people every day. www.nineveholympia.com IG...

Episode 44 - Abboud Zeitoune is the author of the Assyrian books,“Music Pearls of Bethnahrin”, “Modern Assyrian Music” and others. He has properly documented modern Assyrian music spanning over the last 100 years - an invaluable gift for our nation. He was born in Syria, grew up in Lebanon and fled to Germany as a young man, where he currently resides. He is in the process of working on a book abo...

Episode 43 - Evan Yako is a multi-talented session drummer, drum teacher, and recording artist. He is the founder of the “Healing Through Evan Yako’s Drumming” program, that helps to heal the trauma of school-aged refugees through music. He owns his own recording studio in Fairfield, Sydney, Real Rhythm Studio, where he has produced music for national and international artists, records and teaches...

Episode 42 - A vivid tale of up-close, government injustice in Bahrain is just one of the highlights in our discussion with immigration lawyer Christina Abraham. We discuss her path into law, and choosing a perhaps less glamorous, yet satisfying field of law. You can read more about Christina and her law practice at abrahamlaw.co Support the Etuti institute by buying Christmas gifts for children i...

Episode 41 - Nardin Hermiz, RN, BSN, Certified Medical Aesthetic Injector. Live longer by listening to today’s episode. Nardin is committed to creating a unique environment where her clients can explore different aspects of medical aesthetics. She tailors each service to her client’s distinctive features in a manner that will enhance their natural beauty.    Nardin graduated with honors from nursi...

Episode 40 - Ramos Jakob is a musician and producer who’s talent has gotten him to perform in front of millions on Australia’s hit TV show, “All Together Now.” Ramos has performed in and produced several music videos reaching over 500,000 views on YouTube. He just finished wrapping up a tribute video, “Made for Now” which led him to get a shoutout from the iconic Janet Jackson. In this episode you...

Episode 39 - Dr. Helen Malko is an Archaeologist and Anthropologist, working at Columbia University in New York City. In this episode you’ll learn about her life growing up in Iraq and the circumstances that brought her to the US, her love for history, archaeology, and anthropology and how it led to her vocation, as well as how acts of cultural genocide affect our collective and cultural memory. Y...

Episode 38 - In the first Assyrian Podcast recorded in Australia, we speak to Demeel Khananishoo, co-founder of @TheCryptoClass. Demeel left the corporate world to kick start a career in all things cryptocurrency, including his media channel which focuses on spreading awareness of blockchain and communicating great cryptocurrency projects to the world. For more information visit: https://www.faceb...

Episode 37 - Patrick Bet-David is an entrepreneur who has launched several businesses. He launched a financial firm (PHP Agency) that has over 8,000 agents in roughly 49 states. He’s the host of the #1 channel on youtube for Entrepreneurs called Valuetainment. His video “The life of an Entrepreneur in 90 seconds” has over 31,000,000 views. He’s interviewed Mike Ditka, Mark Cuban, Ric Flair, Vanill...

Episode 36 - Rabel Betshmuel is an artist who blends modern design with ancient Assyrian art. We discuss his early journey to the United States, his beginnings in art, what inspires him, and what he is doing to nurture and grow the next generation of Assyrian artists. His work can be found on Facebook and Instagram @rabelbetshmuel and at rabelbetshmuel.com

Episode 35 — Dan Shomon is a government consultant and strategist in Illinois. He served as an aide and advisor to then Senator Barack Obama from 1997 to 2006. In this episode, we talk about his grandfather’s migration story, his parents, politics, and his week long trip across Illinois with Obama. https://www.danshomon.com/

Episode 34 - Julian Ibrahim is the co-founder of Assyrian Dishes, alongside her husband, Fadi. She is passionate about preserving and providing resources to an important part of Assyrian culture: food! Her goal is to make Assyrian cooking as easy as possible, and to help anyone from young Assyrians moving out of their home to experienced cooks looking to try a new dish, and everyone in between. To...

Episode 33 - Hannibal Travis teaches and conducts research in the fields of cyberlaw, intellectual property, antitrust, international and comparative law, and human rights. He’s written numerous books about Assyrians and in this episode we talk about his latest book: Genocide, Ethnonationalism, and the United Nations: Exploring the Causes of Mass Killing Since 1945. For more information visit:  ht...

Episode 32 - Billy Haido is a board member and former President of the Assyrian Athletic Club, a former Community Relations Commissioner of Niles, a member of the Economic Development Commission of Skokie, a co-founder of Vote Assyrian and the Executive Producer of four Assyrian films including 2016’s Basamtit Reesha. Billy’s support of the Assyrian community manifests itself through the arts, ath...

Episode 31 - In this episode, we hear from Dr. Mona Hanna Attisha, a pediatrician, professor, and public health advocate whose research exposed the Flint water crisis. Her research revealed children were exposed to dangerous levels of lead in Flint, Michigan. In this episode, she talks about her family, her work, and her book What the Eyes Don't See. 

Episode 30 - Paul Batou, a native Assyrian Iraqi artist, received a degree in pharmacy in 1982 from the University of Baghdad. While in school, Batou worked and was inspired by many teachers and artists studying at the University. In 1980, he had his first art show in Baghdad. During his years spent in Baghdad, Paul Batou placed his art in several galleries, learned to play the guitar, and was for...

Episode 29 - Efrem Yildiz was elected in 2017 to serve as Vice Chancellor of the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain. He was previously the Chair of Hebrew and Aramaic Studies at the University of Salamanca's Department of Languages. Though he specializes in Semitic languages, he is fluent in Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Hebrew, Turkish, and modern Aramaic. ​He obtained his B...

Episode 28 - Tony Kalogerakos is a lawyer at the Injury Lawyers of Illinois, and President of the Assyrian-American Bar Association which he helped co-found in 2017. His desire to work in the legal world came early on in life, and provided the perfect platform for him to give back and help the Assyrian community. He works to cultivate more Assyrian lawyers through the Assyrian-American Bar Associa...

Episode 27 --Meet Noor Matti -- one of the founders of Shlama Foundation and a former Michigan resident, who in 2008, looking for purpose, direction, and happiness, left his life in the suburbs of Detroit and found it all in Ankawa, Iraq, where he currently resides.  

Episode 26 - This week we hear from Tatiyana Shaba of Sydney, Australia. Tatiyana is a HUGE soccer fan, and amongst other things, is a presenter for COPA90, a media platform dedicated to celebrating soccer and its fans. We also discuss twitter as a means to connecting the Assyrian diaspora and much more! You can connect with Tatiyana at @tatiyanayitat.

Episode 25 - Simo Parpola, Professor Emeritus of Assyriology at the University of Helsinki. Dr. Parpola received his PhD in Assyriology from the University of Helsinki in 1971. The main focus of his research has been on the study of the Neo-Assyrian Empire in all its aspects, but he has contributed to a number of studies, including that of modern Assyrian identity. He also taught at the University...

Episode 24 - In this episode, we hear from two long time Flint, Michigan residents, Alice Abraham and Liz Baley, whose parents were an integral part of growing the community in Flint starting in the 1930’s. Alice and Liz talk about various memories of Assyrians in Flint during the Great Depression and beyond and what became of the once flourishing Assyrian community.

Episode 23 - Reine Hanna is a Co-Founder and Director of the Assyrian Policy Institute. Together with a dedicated team at the policy institute, Reine helps raise awareness of Assyrian issues, and advocates for the Assyrian homeland by guiding and influencing U.S policy. Much of that advocacy began when Reine co-authored the human rights report “Erasing Assyrians,” which catalogued -  in detail - h...