The afikra Podcast

In this event, we talked to Mohamed Somji and Farah Fayed about the future of the Arab Image. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, raise critica...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Bethany Kehdy about her writings on cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. Bethany was elected one of the four Mediterranean Food Ambassadors in 2012 and won several awards for publishing “The Jewelled Kitchen” in 2013. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com...

In this Outline event, we talked to Carol Sansour about her latest project, In the Time of the Apricots. The book is a collection of poems that has been translated to Arabic, English and French. Art critic and writer Youssef Rakha describes this book as “a post-national discourse of belonging by necessity which, in its truth aesthetic, speaks more eloquently to the human condition than to any poli...

In this Conversation, we talked to Hoda Elsadda about her research on Arab literary history from a gender perspective where she attempts to answer the question: if gender is a category of analysis, how would we rewrite the history of the Arab literary tradition? Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/...

In this Double Exposure event, we talked to Tanya Habjouqa and Tasneem Alsultan about their work, motivations, stories behind their photos, and catalogues. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Double Exposure: Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world. T...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Kamal Mouzawak about how he founded the first farmers market in Lebanon, leading a social and environmental change and transformation. Kamal, through Souk El Tayeb, had the vision of celebrating food and traditions that unite communities and promoting small-scale farmers and producers and the culture of sustainable agriculture.  Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna...

In this Conversation, we talked to Lamia Joreige about her career in art and film and how she portrays history through narration. Lamia, rooted in her country’s experience, explores the possibilities of representing the Lebanese wars and their aftermath. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About th...

In this Conversation, we talked to Tarek El-Ariss about his academic work on Al Nahda, contemporary Arabic culture and media, comparative literature and critical theory, and digital and visual culture. 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 interview serie...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Anissa Helou about how her work and writings on cuisines and culinary heritage of the Middle East, Mediterranean and North Africa. She is the author of award-winning cookbooks “Sweet Middle East”, “Levant”, “The Fifth Quarter”, “An Offal Cookbook,” and more.  Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https:/...

In this Quartertones event, we listened to Layth Sidiq as he performed three musical pieces, of which two are composed by him and talked to him about these pieces. 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 g...

In this Conversation, we talked to John Waterbury about his work as a leading source in politics in the Arab region, his 10-year journey as an AUB president, and higher education in the arab region..  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 interview series...

In this Outline event, we talked to Adib Dada about his latest project, Beirut RiverLESS Urban Forest. Beirut RiverLESS offers a set of replicable interventions to rehabilitate lost ecosystems and improve the living conditions and quality of life of people in the city who live along the river and to restore the area’s biodiversity.  Adib Dada is the founder of theOtherDada [tOD] Regenerative Consu...

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Fadi Kattan about how his cuisine and savoir-faire combine worldly influences, a desire for perfection and a passion for the local terroir. When Fadi started his Fawda Restaurant in 2016, he created a cuisine honoring Palestine’s best produce with a modern twist, raising to the challenge of rendering this traditional kitchen into a gourmet dining experience. Cre...

In this Conversation, we talked to Linda K. Jacobs about her interest in promoting Middle Eastern culture and knowledge in the United States. Having all four of her grandparents’ members of the New York Syrian Colony, Linda is at work on a study of all the Syrian colonies in the United States. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://...

In this Double Exposure event, we talked to Tanya Traboulsi and Tamara Abdul Hadi about their work, motivations, stories behind their photos, and catalogues. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ About Double Exposure: Double Exposure focuses on photography and photographers in and of the Arab world....

In this Matbakh event, we talked to Omar Sartawi about his creations and subtle blend of flavors from his travels to Europe and the Arab Gulf with his heritage and Jordanian roots. Omar’s popular consecration came in 2017, when he took the local food scene by storm with the launch of Jameed Chocolate, acclaimed as “a great twist on the symbol of the Jordanian cuisine”. Created & Hosted by Mikey Mu...

In this Outline event, we talked to Lara Atallah about her latest project, The Sun That Stood Still. The project is an artist book that examines a shifting relationship to a shifting landscape. The book is about Lara’s grandmother, but also about loss, the Mediterranean, and living in a perpetual state of uprootedness while paradoxically finding grounding by the sea. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muha...

In this event, we talked to artists Mohamed Elshahed and Heba Y. Amin about the future of decolonization. Tasmeem Doha 2022: Radical Futures is an inclusive and multi-faceted view of the future, one that not only speculates on technological advancements—but on future threats and changes whether environmental, geographical, cultural, or social. Now more than ever, we must ask pertinent questions, r...

In this Outline event, we talked to Andrea Assaf about her latest project, 'Eleven Reflections on September.' The project explores Arab American experience, wars on and of terror, and “the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty” that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.c...

In this conversation, we talked to Jannis Stürtz about his record label “Habibi Funk”. Based in Berlin, Habibi Funk is dedicated to music from the Arabic-speaking world and aims to re-release a style of music that historically never existed as a musical genre. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/tarek_yamani/ Ab...

In this Outline event, we talked to associate director of NYUAD Research Public Outreach Nouf Al Hamly and research public engagement specialist Rawdha Al Mansoori about their latest project, Citizen Research at NYU Abu Dhabi. The project, inspired by the global movement of Citizen Science and driven by the mutual benefit that can exist when professional researchers and members of the public work...

In this conversation, we talked to award-winning correspondent and columnist Nora Boustany about her career in covering Middle East and human rights issues. Nora had received George Polk Award, Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award, and Bronze Medal for foreign correspondence for covering the Lebanese war, struggles in Gaza, and the plight of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Cr...

In this conversation, we talked to Iraqi Kurdish filmmaker Philip Jamal Rachid about his latest film: “It Ain't Where You From”. The film has assembled the primary talent of the burgeoning, young Gulf Hip Hop scene in a first-time collaboration with some of its key figures. Created & Hosted by Mikey Muhanna , afikra  Edited by: Ramzi Ramman Theme music by: Tarek Yamani https://www.instagram.com/ta...

We talked to Amani Hassan (Program Director at Arab British Centre) and Rabih El Khoury (SAFAR) on the 2021 edition of SAFAR curated around the theme of Generational Encounters in Arab Cinema as part of the Shubbak Festival x  afikra Roundtable series. This collaboration between Shubbak and SAFAR will be showcasing contemporary and classic films with emergent youth, familial disparities, and socie...

We talked to Paul Salem, President of The Middle East Institute, on the work of the Middle East Institute including his career working in economic, social, and foreign policy studies.  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 interview series features academ...