Instant Coffee

In the final episode of this season, Ahmad Abu Hussien, an urban sociologist from Jordan, brings together academics and practitioners to explore theories of urban planning and design through case studies of Jordan and Dubai.  This episode explores the concept of infrastructural citizenship, a framework that helps us understand infrastructure not simply as roads, public spaces, water or sewage...

In this penultimate episode, Yara Shawky Shahin has a frank discussion with her colleague Yasmine D’Alessandro about how to create programmes of real economic empowerment for women in the Middle East and North Africa based on their decades long experience working with international and grassroots organisations in the region. Yara Shawky Shahin is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Eq...

In this episode, Diana Magdy, a gender equality specialist, feminist researcher and oral historian has a conversation with Professor Hoda Elsadda unpacking the politics of archiving, revealing archives as spaces of power and resistance rather than neutral repositories. Diana Magdy is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity and a feminist researcher and gender equality specialist from Cai...

Manar Alzraiy, a Palestinian education professional dedicated to resilience and equity in crisis-affected schools, brings together her colleagues from Gaza to talk about education since October 7 2023, how Israel's war on Gaza and forced displacement has destroyed the education sector, and what is needed to rebuild it both physically and intellectually. These interviews took place in the summer of...

In this first episode of season 4, Hamidreza Vasheghanifarahani speaks with Azadeh Sobout and Rindala about how transnational solidarity networks can strengthen efforts towards social change. While both Azadeh and Rindala focus their discussion on Syria and the 2011 Revolution, the conversation explores broader approaches and challenges to political organising and revolutionary politics that can b...

How did the radio, a major technological development in the history of sound and music, change the social, cultural and political landscape of the region? In this last episode of the season, we speak to audio curator Hazem Jamjoum, and Elias Anastas and Saeed Abu Jaber, two of the co-founders of the Palestinian radio station Radio Al Hara. We find out more about the history of the radio in the reg...

This episode explores the link between technology, warfare and nationalism. Turkey and Israel are two countries in the region who have developed their technological capabilities for both domestic and international conflict. We speak to two researchers who have been tracing the use of military technologies and the effect they have had on a sense of nationalism amongst their populations. Digdem Sola...

What does the era of ‘big data’ mean for development technologies in MENA? How can data be used for good, to ensure projects working with vulnerable communities such as informal workers and women are seen and supported? What kind of repercussions does poor data collection have on emerging technologies? How can data-driven research and technology improve prospects for the next generation in the reg...

Writer and art critic, Rahel Aima, who grew up and currently lives in Dubai, talks to us about living in the Gulf, a region rapidly developing itself as the place to be for smart cities and high-tech living. Rahel explores a concept she has been thinking about for some time, the Khaleeji Ideology, which meets at the intersection of technology, economy, the environment and nation building, as a way...

How can art complicate claims of progress, innovation and the use of rapidly developing emerging technologies in MENA? In this episode, Cima Chehab speaks to visual artist Nadim Choufi about how he incorporates technology into his artwork both as subject matter and as medium. In the conversation, they discuss Nadim’s own artistic practice, his use of “lecture performances” and the question of whet...

Majd Al-Shihabi of 'Palestine Open Maps' and Sana Yazigi of the 'Creative Memory of the Syrian Revolution' talk to us about how they have centered their archiving processes around maps, and what digital archiving can do for Palestinian and Syrian community-building. This episode also features comment from Dr Sara Salem and Dr Mai Taha of LSE, who explore the importance of creative archiving throug...

Iraq’s engagement with fintech is new but rapidly developing, amidst a contemporary economic history that has struggled with foreign intervention and internal corruption, while Iranians have been engaging with a form of fintech - alternative digital currencies - for some time, to evade and work around sanctions and a crippled economy. In this episode we speak to Ali Al-Hilli and Shayan Eskandari,...

Smartphones, food-only debit cards, biometric data checks at border crossings, these are some of the ways refugees and migrants interact with technology in their daily lives both in the region and the diaspora. This episode unpacks the benefits, ambivalences and concerns surrounding these technologies. Our guests, Dr Reem Talhouk and Dr Yener Bayramoğlu discuss refugee-centered design technologies...

The Abbasid and British Empires are the nexus through which our two guests, Dr Ahmed Ragab and Dr Katayoun Shafiee explore technology, knowledge production and power. This episode charts medieval paper production and Abbasid-era hospitals to the “discovery” of oil by foreign entrepreneurs in southern Iran, exploring the different ways technological knowledge production developed across empire. Ahm...

What kinds of obstacles are people in MENA facing with regards to access to technological opportunity and concerns around digital rights abuses? How are they tied to global challenges? Dr Nakeema Stefflbauer, tech executive, investor and digital rights advocate shares her thinking. This episode also features comment from Kassem Mnejja and Marwa Fatafta of Access Now, a digital rights advocacy grou...

From Tlmecen through to Bethlehem and the Bekaa Valley, we chart the history of wine production in the Middle East and North Africa. Farrah Berrou talks us through her journey of wine writing for a Western audience and what the future holds for Lebanese wine. We also explore the relationship between french colonialism and wine production, and ideas of nationhood, religion, and politics in Algeria...

Have you ever thought about the names behind the dishes you’re eating? Salma Serry, an Egyptian born filmmaker and interdisciplinary foodways researcher, gave us the lowdown on how many of the foods we know and love came to be named. We discuss folk tales, personal and national histories, and even get into the grammar of it all!    This episode also features contributions from Mahmoud Ar...

No new episode this week, but we're working on something that requires your help. Do you know any interesting facts, stories or folk tales about the names of dishes from the region? If so we want to hear from you! Drop us an email or contact us on Instagram to get involved. @instantcoffee.pod n.almanasfi@lse.ac.uk; r.sleiman-haidar@lse.ac.uk

Camel milk, mushrooms, ta’miyah, agashe, aseeda, tarkeen, these are just some of the foods and dishes that make up Sudan’s intricate network of cuisines. We spoke with Omer Eltigani, cook, archivist and founder of ‘The Sudanese Kitchen’ to talk more about the country’s vast foods, their historical influences and how he is trying to bring these recipes to the younger generation.    This e...

Is there such a thing as a Dubai cuisine? What role do the migrants and expats of the Emirate play in curating this food culture? On episode 7 we see if Vidya Balachander can help us find some answers.  The episode also features additional analysis from Steffen Hertog, Associate Professor in the Department of Government at LSE.    Vidya is a food writer, editor and journalist curren...

In this episode, we speak about veganism both around the world and in Iran with Mana Shamshiri. Mana is a philosophy graduate and creator of the website and Instagram platform 'The Iranian Vegan'. She wanted to showcase the diversity of Iranian cuisine as well as provide a space for vegans of colour and those who aren't from traditionally vegan backgrounds.   Follow Mana's work here: https://...

‘UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food’ - who wouldn’t want that job title? When we read about Michael, we knew we had to interview him to learn about what he had to do to get this cool job and to know what it actually entails. He talked to us about why food is a human right and how  he uses the case of Lebanon, his home country, as a sounding board for his right to food questions. &nbsp...

On episode 4, Nadine Almanasfi speaks with artist, storyteller and conservationist Vivien Sansour. Nadine has been trying to grow her own food and vegetable in her small allotment in north London and was very excited to speak with Vivien, who advocates for seed conservation and the protection of agro-biodiversity as a cultural and political act. She is founder of the Palestine Heirloom Seed Librar...

On episode 3, Taif Alkhudary speaks with Nawal Nasrallah about the history and development of Iraqi cuisine from Mesopotamia to modern day through her own cookbook 'Delights from the Garden of Eden' and her translation of the medieval Arabic cookbook 'Annals of the Caliphs’ Kitchens', an annotated translation of the tenth-century, Abbasid-era cookbook Kitab al-Tabikh by Ibn Sayyar al-Warraq. ...

On episode 2, Professor Madawi Al-Rasheed speaks with Faris Sheibani about the history and culture of coffee in Yemen, and how the drink can be used to connect with, and sustainably support, Yemeni farmers.   Faris is a British Yemeni social entrepreneur and founder of Qima Coffee, a Yemeni social enterprise that uses coffee as a vehicle for livelihood generation in Yemen.  Learn more ab...