The afikra Podcast

Daniel T. Potts talked about his career in field excavations in Iran, Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf, specifically Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. Daniel T. Potts received his AB (1975) and PhD (1980) in Anthropology from Harvard, specializing in Near Eastern archaeology. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Arabian Archaeology & Epigraphy , he is a Corresponding Member of th...

Fawz Kabra talked about her latest project, Brief Histories .  Brief Histories was founded in 2011 as a collaborative project with a wide community of artists focused on actions responsive to our unfolding social conditions and interactions. Created by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Hosted by Aya Nimer Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Outl...

Moustafa Elrefaey talked about his culinary philosophy and passion that reflect the growing trend towards a healthier and natural lifestyle. Chef Moustafa creates cuisine that pleases the senses and enhances the natural flavors of food. He had recently won at the London Falafel Festival. Chef Moustafa Elrefaey is the Executive Chef, Cofounder and Partner of Zooba Home Grown in Egypt. He is a proud...

Hannah Feldman talked about her research, teaching, and advising that center on late modern and contemporary art and visual culture. Hannah is a core faculty in Middle Eastern and North African Studies as well as Comparative Literary Studies. Hannah Feldman is author of From a Nation Torn: Decolonizing Art and Representation in France, 1945-1962, she was an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation New Directio...

Howayda Al-Harithy talked about her current research which conceptualizes urban recovery in relation to processes of historical editing, urban trauma, and protracted displacement. Howayda Al-Harithy is Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the Department of Architecture and Design (ArD) at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Her early research was centered on the architectural and urb...

Hussein Alazaat talked about archiving processes in light of his work in archiving and preserving books at The Beautiful Books Trove. Hussein Alazaat is a multi-disciplinary designer, instructor, Arabic calligraphy artist, and typography enthusiast from Jordan. He founded ALAZAAT Design Studio in Amman and offered his services to various clients in diverse industries around the world. Hussein focu...

Heba Hage-Felder talked about her career in community development, writing, and visual storytelling. Arab Image Foundation aims to track down, collect, preserve and study photographs from the Middle East, North Africa and the Arab diaspora. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the afikra Conve...

Larissa-Diana Fuhrmann talked about her latest book,  Sudan Retold.  The book is not primarily concerned with historical details, but with an understanding of historical contexts through artistic representation. Since her MA graduation in African and Islamic Studies at the University of Cologne (Germany) with a focus on art and gender, Larissa works as a cultural manager and curator. After her gre...

In this conversation, we talked to Tarek Atrissi about his career in contemporary graphic design landscape. Atrissi was listed in 2017 as one of the most influential 100 Lebanese professional figures around the globe. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the afikra Conversations: Our long-form...

In this Mujalasa interview, we talked to Eugene Rogan his research on modern middle eastern history. Rogan is the author of The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East, 1914-1920 (2015) and The Arabs: A History (2009, 2018) which has been translated to 18 languages. في هذه المقابلة، تحدثنا مع يوجين روغان عن أبحاثه حول تاريخ الشرق الأوسط الحديث. روغان مؤلف "سقوط العثمانيين: الحرب الك...

In this interview, we talked to Charles Al Hayek about our new podcast series, Mujalasa, in collaboration with Heritage and Roots. في هذه المقابلة، تحدثنا مع شارل الحايك عن إطلاق بودكاست مجالسة الجديد بالتعاون مع تراث وجذور.   Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna & Charles Al Hayek  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Mujalasa: Mujalasa i...

In this event, we talked to professor of linguistics Enam Al-Wer and professor and chair of Arabic language and literature Bilal Orfali about the future of the Arabic language. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures: Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inc...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Mennat-Allah El Dorry about her career in archaeobotanical analysis. Much of her research has revolved around food and trying to reconstruct how people in the past cooked and ate. Created by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Hosted by Salma Serry Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Matbakh: Matbakh is a conver...

In this conversation, we talked to Fida Adely about her research on education, labor, development, and gender in the Arab world. Her primary research site has been Jordan, although she teaches and writes about the Arab world more broadly. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the afikra Convers...

In this Movie Night event, we talked to Viola Shafik about her career in the filmmaking industry. Shafik talked about film theory in Arab cinema. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Movie Night:  Movie Night is an interview series that calls for afikra community members who are interested in...

In this conversation, we talked to Peter Adamson about his career in the field of ancient and medieval philosophy. His two monographs deal with the Arabic version of Plotinus, the so-called "Theology of Aristotle," and with al-Kindi (d. after 870 AD). Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the a...

In this conversation, we talked to Issam Kourbaj about his career in fine arts and design .  Issam’s work has related to the Syrian Crisis and reflects on the destruction of his cultural heritage. Created by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Hosted by Mysa Kafil-Hussain Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the afikra Conversations: Our long-form...

In this Quartertones event, we listened to Adnan Joubran as he performed three musical pieces followed by a discussion. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Quartertones: QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Arab w...

In this conversation, we talked to Naomi Shihab Nye about her career in prose and poetry writing .  Nye is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for her work, including the Ivan Sandrof Award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Book Critics Circle, the Lavan Award, the Paterson Poetry Prize, the Carity Randall Prize, the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry aw...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Charles Perry about his career as a translator of several medieval cookbooks from Arabic to English and published widely on the history of food. In 2005 Perry translated from Arabic A Baghdad Cookery Book, also known as Al-Baghdadi’s Kitab al-Tabikh, the only medieval Arabic cookbook known to the English-speaking world. Created by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Hosted...

In this conversation in collaboration with Liwan Design Studios & Labs at Qatar Museums, we talked to JILID founder Isa Aljalahma, Creative Dialogue creative director Samer Yamani & Studio 7 Concept Store creative director Asma Derouiche about designing, experimentation & reviving craft. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.in...

In this conversation, we talked to Roger Allen about  his career in translating the works of renowned Arab authors such as Naguib Mahfouz. Allen translated Mahfouz’s  God’s World , that being the collection mentioned in the published citation of the Nobel Literature Prize Committee in 1988. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www...

In this event, we talked to Yara Khoury Nammour and Lara Captan about the future of the Arab script.  Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures: Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates o...

In this Quartertones event, we listened to Firas Zreik as he performed three musical pieces: Taksim, Zawraq & Refractions. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Quartertones: QuarterTones is a music show. It is an opportunity to listen to music, across genres, from musicians of and from the Ara...

In this conversation, we talked to Zeina Maasri about her investigation focused on post-1945 anti-colonial struggles, transnational anti-imperialist solidarities and violent conflicts, as complicated by a global Cold War order. Created & hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About the afikra Conversations: Our...