Eiynah Mohammed-Smith
Polite Conversations
Growing up in Saudi Arabia as a Pakistani, who now resides in Canada, Eiynah brings a global perspective to discussions about religion, politics, culture & sexuality - through the lens of a progressive ex-muslim immigrant. This podcast often focuses on unpacking various forms of extremism, particularly types that are less overt and masquerading as ‘intellectual’. Eiynah has a specific interest in covering online scenes like New Atheism and the Intellectual Dark Web. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Author
Eiynah Mohammed-Smith
Category
Podcast website
Latest episode
Jul 3, 2026
Where to listen?
Podcasts in the app Replaio Radio Coming soonPodcasts are coming to the app soon. Install now and be the first to see a whole new take on podcasts
Episodes
Episode 17 - Sam Harris 07.11.2016 2:57:42
DISCLAIMER: This is an old episode, my views on Sam Harris and his politics have changed quite a bit since this conversation...partially because of how telling this convo was. For more recent views on Sam check out my recent episodes on him, or my miniseries #WokingUp-----Last Friday, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sam Harris! We had an excellent, robust discussion on a variety of topics. We...
Episode 16 - Halloween Special with Lucien Greaves of The Satanic Temple 31.10.2016 1:34:01
For this episode, the co founder of The Satanic Temple returns to the show for a discussion about offensive halloween costumes, cultural appropriation, whether pumpkins have anything to do with white privilege...Satanic cultural identity, conspiracy theory culture in america vs. muslim world (even though, sadly, anti semitic conspiracy theories are common place among muslims i haven't come across...
Episode 15 - Michael Sherlock: opposing tribes & "befriending bigots" 23.09.2016 1:14:01
[Sorry for all the sound effects. Michael's neighbours were drilling and hammering, I was recording in my basement for the first (and last) time..where it turns out the mic picks up the sound of water going through the pipes] ****Here's my chat with Michael Sherlock - activist, atheist, author. We delved into some pretty interesting conversations....about 'befriending' bigots...jihadists..islamist...
PC Panel Discssion 3 - The Burkini/hijab/niqab debate 01.09.2016 1:51:43
What happens when four women of Muslim background with varied opinions discuss Islamic modesty clothing? Fireworks! Join Me, Sarah Haider (co-founder of Ex Muslims of North America), Hoda Katebi (Muslim Iranian fashion blogger), Hala Arafa (former newscaster/news editor at Voice of America, Arabic branch) for this wonderful, passionate and intellectually diverse discussion. Please note that there...
Non Conference Speech - Reclaiming the Left : The space between Terror & Trump 14.08.2016 15:00
I spoke via skype at the non conference on Saturday Aug 13th. The audio was a bit unclear so I re-recorded it on my end, for those who wanted to hear. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 14 - Ex Zoroastrian Priest 09.08.2016 1:01:49
"Zoroastrianism is one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions. It was founded by the Prophet Zoroaster in ancient Iran approximately 3500 years ago." (BBC)Join me as I speak to a former member, Zubin Madon, of a rarely heard about religion. In India and Pakistan they are a small and mysterious, dwindling community. We discuss how the religion has evolved over the years, the openness that ref...
PC Panel Discussion 2 - Freedom of Speech & Social Media Bans 26.07.2016 2:04:39
A panel discussion with @westerspace and @elibosnick regarding the recent Milo ban from Twitter. Pls consider supporting the show via Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/nicemangosiTunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/polite-conversations/id1086199663?l=en&mt=2#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F269208778 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 13 - Lucien Greaves Cofounder & spokesperson for The Satanic Temple 25.07.2016 1:09:50
After the last couple of episodes being stressful and debate-y, what could be better than a cute, fluffy episode on Satanism?
Episode 12 (part 2): Tarek Fatah 16.07.2016 51:46
At the end of the podcast there are a few Urdu words, loose translation:Tarek: Go find your (future) kids a 'white school' - oh but all schools here (in Canada) are whiteMe: Oh yeah ... all schools here are white... whatever should i do now (sarcasm)Him: Is there anything left? (to talk about)Me: Whats left? Nothing. Tell me, do you at least now believe i'm a Pakistani woman? Him: Yes, yes I belie...
Episode 12 (part 1): Tarek Fatah 06.07.2016 1:05:21
Tarek and I may agree on the basic fact that Islamism is a huge problem, that isn’t adequately being addressed….you’ll quickly see we disagree on many things as well. Starting from the weather :P But in more seriousness, I am a harsh critic of Islam, who is not a fan of generalizations against Muslims. I may be mistaken, but it seems to me that Tarek defends Islam, Mohammed while generalizing Musl...
Saudi Attacks : The Nothing to do with Islam Phenomenon 05.07.2016 15:07
Some quick thoughts on Saudi Arabia and yesterday's multiple attacks...and how people are using attacks near a holy site as some sort of proof of ISIS' non-muslim status. Saudi is a place i have so many different feelings for. Read more about the Conquest of Mecca here:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Mecca Read more about The Destruction of early Islamic heritage sites in Saudi Arabia...
PC Panel Discussion 1 : Haramadan Edition ft. Ali Rizvi, Faisal Al Mutar 01.07.2016 1:42:27
Join me, Ali Rizvi, and Faisal Al Mutar for a fun and *polite* conversation. We discuss the Ex-Muslim/Muslim identity, the necessity of labels, Ramadan of course, US presidential candidates, Justin Timberlake and much much more. :DFollow Ali Rizvi @aliamjadrizvi & look out for his new book, The Atheist MuslimFollow Faisal @faisalalmutar & check out his work at www.faisalalmutar.comRSS: http://feed...
Episode 10 - Bina Shah 15.06.2016 1:34:27
Join me and New York Times Columnist Bina Shah for a Polite Conversation about Feminism (Islamic and intersectional) , Religion, Cultural appropriation, Sam Harris and Dawkins. Here is a link to the poll i mention: https://twitter.com/NiceMangos/status/738395690515222528Pls note: this conversation was recorded before Orlando. If you think this show could sound better, pls support the podcast via p...
Orlando - caught between denialists and bigots 13.06.2016 17:45
My thoughts on Sunday's deadly terror attack in Orlando and on what we should be doing to combat homophobia in all communities. An appeal to Western liberals. Here's a link to My Chacha is Gay: https://www.buzzfeed.com/imaansheikh/pakistans-first-childrens-book-on-lgbtq?utm_term=.om8NGj4xz#.giXbRP68EAnd a link to Canadian (mostly muslim) parents reacting to it on a radio talk show : https://soundc...
Episode 9 - Saba Ahmed: Trump supporting Muslim 07.06.2016 50:46
I've got quite the episode for you today. Sorry it took so long to release. After I finished recording it a couple of weeks ago, I had a cold.. *again* - and needed to record some postscript comments to insert, so I waited around to sound a bit better. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy my conversation with founder of the Republican Muslim coalition. To her credit, it's a rare thing that a conservative Muslim...
Episode 8 - Sohail Ahmed, Ex Salafi extremist turned gay activist 10.05.2016 1:04:51
I chat with @SohailPakBrit about his incredible journey from being a former extremist who at one point considered carrying out attacks...to a secular gay activist. We discuss our different experiences growing up Muslim, him in Britain and me in Saudi Arabia. A really wonderful conversation, I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did. Do reach out to Sohail and let him know what you think! :)itu...
Episode 7 - Passover 29.04.2016 1:19:56
An ex-Muslim and an ex-orthodox Jew walk into a Skype conversation...Join us as we talk about Passover, Spiritual impurity in women during menstruation, post-wedding consummation rituals, ritual baths, animal sacrifice, chicken whirling, and all sorts of other good stuff...Do reach out to Avraham via Twitter @noreallyimfine and give him some Twitter love :) And please excuse my sniffling and cough...
Snippets from a previous #PoliteConversation - Mansplaining 19.04.2016 0:23
A 25 second bit from my conversation with Conner Habib, about how easily people get upset with Richard Dawkins for saying the simplest things...because he's a man... however seem totally fine with the pages and pages of mansplaining contained within the holy pages they so desperately protect. (listen to our full convo here: https://soundcloud.com/politeconversations/episode-3-conner-habib) Hosted...
Episode 6 - Charlie Hebdo Editorial: How Did We End Up Here? 06.04.2016 21:48
So a bit of a practice episode, many of you asked for my thoughts on the recent "controversial" Charlie Hebdo editorial, so here you go! https://charliehebdo.fr/en/edito/how-did-we-end-up-here/I mention Teju Cole's article too, you can read that here: https://roarmag.org/2016/04/04/charlie-hebdo-teju-cole/?utm_content=buffer0b841&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=bufferI know,...
Episode 5 - Ali Rizvi: The Hostage Episode 27.03.2016 58:01
It's been quite a wild ride to have this episode of Polite Conversations returned to me. It was returned butchered, with some really nasty messages about me, inserted into it. Some random ads were placed in as well. So, the quality/flow of sound is not great at some parts, but bear with us. Just being able to release this once endangered episode is quite a big deal. Just like Jesus, Polite Convers...
Episode 3 - Conner Habib - Twitter battles, Atheism, Dawkins 26.02.2016 1:07:48
Conner Habib is a writer, lecturer, and sex worker advocate. He has appeared in nearly 200 adult scenes and is the Vice President of the Adult Performer Advocacy Committee, which works to improve the experiences, safety, and health of porn performers. He gives talks about sexuality, sex&culture, and pornography around the world ----However , we didn't talk much about that :P He joined us to discus...
Episode 2 - Aliyah Saleem - Seduced by Extremism 26.02.2016 1:30:44
In this Episode we chat with the excellent Aliyah Saleem. Ex-Muslim activist, and co-founder of http://faithtofaithless.com/ . We talk to her about being seduced by the extremist ideology of Islamic school Al Huda, bizarre notions of women's empowerment within this school. It's also the same institute that Tashfeen Malik, the San Bernardino shooter attended. We discussed hijabs, and niqabs...the s...
Episode 1 - Maryam Namazie 22.02.2016 1:16:31
We kick off our the first episode of our show with activist Maryam Namazie. Yes, it's *that* episode that got us banned from YouTube twice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episode 4 - John Semley - Is Charlie Hebdo Racist? 17.02.2016 1:03:56
YouTube link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBve1K6u2X8&feature=youtu.beBooks Columnist John Semley (@johnsemley3000) from Canadian paper The Globe & Mail joins us to discuss his review of Charb's posthumous book called Open Letter. Do check out his controversial piece here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-charlie-hebdo-editor-charbs-open-letter-is-proble...
Similar podcasts
Replaio is not a podcast publisher; show names, artwork and audio belong to their authors and are distributed through public RSS feeds.