Culture Bites

In this episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews are joined by The National’s in-house pop culture expert Faisal Al Zaabi to talk about his experience of the Art in Scents tour at Louvre Abu Dhabi. The museum has collaborated with Swiss fragrance maker Givaudan to interpret the aromas of nine artworks in its permanent collection. Visitors receive a book, which they can scratch the p...

In this episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews explore the world of art heists in the aftermath of the break-in at the Louvre in Paris. It took only seven minutes for thieves to break into the museum’s Apollo Gallery and steal several pieces of precious jewellery, all of which have significant historical value. This is not the first time the Louvre has been the target of thieves....

This week on Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews bring attention to an often neglected but worthy force of nature − the mushroom. Their guest in this episode, Georgina Pereira, is the species survival manager at Terra, Expo City Dubai where she works as a mushroom scientist. On the occasion of World Mushroom Day, she talks to Enas and Farah about the infinite ways that fungi shape our wor...

In this episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews give the scoop on the production of Dune: Part Three in Abu Dhabi. Filming for the third instalment of the sci-fi blockbuster is expected to start this month in the emirate’s Liwa desert. Leading cast members, including Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, are expected to be arriving in the UAE soon. Jason Momoa was already spotted in Dubai...

This week on Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews tell the story of the famous Hejaz railway, as Turkey, Syria and Jordan prepare to bring a section of it back to life. Back in the 1900s, Sultan Abdulhamid II of the Ottoman Empire envisioned a rail line that stretched from Istanbul all the way to Makkah, making pilgrimage easier. While it was never completed entirely, the railway did...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews react to Drake’s new track, which samples a song from the Lebanese icon Fairuz. During a live stream to promote his upcoming album, Iceman, the Canadian hip-hop artist played a song that featured vocals from Fariuz’s 1979 hit Wahdon. It sparked concern among Arab audiences over whether the Lebanese singer would be credited and c...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews take a closer look at the reactions to The Voice of Hind Rajab at the Venice Film Festival. The film uses real audio from the harrowing distress call of a five-year-old girl trapped in a car in Gaza as she came under Israeli fire. It won a Silver Lion and received a record-breaking standing ovation, but some critics called it ou...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews follow the story of Mosul’s historical landmarks from construction to destruction and finally restoration. This week, The National’s team visited the 2,500-year-old Iraqi city to observe the completion of a seven-year UAE-led project to rebuild Al Nuri Mosque with its famous leaning minaret, as well as the churches of Our Lady o...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews trace back the origins of the seven emirates, and how they got their names. Drawing from both official records and local narratives, they look at the connection between human activity and geography that shaped each emirate. Abu Dhabi for example derives its meaning from accounts of early settlers following a gazelle to fresh wat...

This week on Culture Bites, host Farah Andrews chats with her colleagues at The National about the UAE’s cultural representation in Japan, and the regional music scene. Gaming and Culture Reporter Faisal Al Zaabi joins Farah to talk about exploring the UAE pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka. The exhibit invites visitors to appreciate the country’s past, present and future and is designed to evoke their s...

In this episode of Culture Bites, host Farah Andrews explores the intersection of cities and street art through No Trespassing, an exhibition at the Ishara Art Foundation in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, running until August 30. Curated by Priyanka Mehra, the show presents six site-specific interventions that brought street materials into the gallery space. Priyanka joins Farah in the studio to share h...

On Culture Bites this week, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews offer some inspiration for a richer summer with their recommendations of what to read, watch and see during the holidays. For long flights, the hosts suggest skipping cinematic spectacles and opting instead for breezy, entertaining films that are more suitable for smaller screens. If video is not an option, Enas and Farah also share some id...

This week on Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews discuss their favourites from this year’s Emmy nominations. From dramas to comedies, some of the most highly rated TV series from 2025 have made the list, including Adolescence, The Last of Us and the latest season of The White Lotus. Some of the shows that Enas and Farah have recommended before on the podcast made the cut, such as Th...

In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews give a preview of the Zayed National Museum which is set to open in December. The building has already become a landmark of Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District. Its five steel structures are shaped like feathers, inspired by the country’s tradition of falconry, and the museum itself will tell the story of the UAE over...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews offer some inspiration for an art-infused summer with respite from the heat. Enas discusses a family day out at Saadiyat Cultural District , including a stop at teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi . The Japanese multisensory digital art concept was founded in 2001 and has expanded across the globe, most recently to the UAE where it open...

On Culture Bites this week, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews talk about the perks of going phone-free during comedy shows. Enas tells Farah about her experience of watching Dave Chappelle’s stand-up act in Abu Dhabi where the provocative comedian took to the stage for a second year in a row. Attendees had to secure their smart devices in locked pouches to ensure no one filmed the performance. T...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews join the hype around F1 The Movie, the thrilling motorsport film that was partly filmed in Abu Dhabi. The National’s arts and culture editor William Mullally returns to the podcast to give his take on the film on its UAE cinema release day. He talks about the fine details that went into the production to make the race scenes as...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews are joined by The National’s arts and culture editor William Mullally to talk about Jaws to mark the film’s 50th anniversary. The iconic shark attack film had such a massive impact in Hollywood when it was released in 1975, carving out an entire thriller genre for decades to come. In fact, people began describing hit summer film...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews trace the journey of pilgrims who rode all the way from Spain to Makkah on horseback. The riders crossed 6,500km over seven months to arrive at the holy site in time for Hajj. Inspired by a promise that one of them made to himself 36 years earlier, the journey recreates the Andalusian tradition performed by Muslims 500 years ago...

In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews celebrate Abu Dhabi’s urban culture through some of its beloved local businesses. A number of long-time establishments in the emirate have been honoured as Urban Treasures by Abu Dhabi Culture for their contribution to the commercial and cultural fabric of the capital over the past few decades. As the city grows and evolves, the...

This week on Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews discuss some of the most promising Arab entries at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which is running until May 24. They tease some of the titles they’re most eager to watch, including Once Upon a Time in Gaza, a revenge thriller directed by Gaza-born twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser. Another film that’s making waves at the event this year is S...

This week on Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews discuss Palestinian poet and writer Mosab Abu Toha, who won a Pulitzer Prize this week. He was recognised for his essays on life in war-torn Gaza, which reflect the hardships faced by Palestinians under Israeli siege. The hosts also review the most notable looks from this week’s Met Gala, where celebrities dressed to the theme, Superfine: T...

In this episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews share some of their picks from The National’s list of the 50 most important Arabic novels of the 21st century. The compilation reflects the diversity of the region’s modern literary scene and the influential authors whose works have impacted audiences near and far. Enas talks about the impression Alaa Al Aswany's The Yacoubian Buildin...

In this episode of Culture Bites, our hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews explore the unlikely connection between Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta and Sharjah, which he chronicled in his writing. Sharjah hosted a rich literary programme during its participation as guest of honour at the 30th Rabat International Book Fair, highlighting the historical connections between Morocco and the UAE. The famou...

In a special episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews host the show from Art Dubai, the city's annual art fair that is taking place this week. They share some of their recommendations for what not to miss at the event this year – including regional, international and digital art. The hosts speak to Mirjam Varadinis, the curator of the Bawwaba section at Art Dubai, about her vision f...