The Middle Geeks

With Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny 's release, and taking place in Morocco, we simply have to review it. Our friends Nadia Osman and Zaina Ujayli join us once again to discuss Dial of Destiny , and whether it does better by North African peoples than it did in the past (spoiler alert: not so much.) Why does this keep happening, and why did director James Mangold dive into Orientalism and w...

Nadia Shammas is a Palestinian-American Harvey award winning comic writer for their incredible groundbreaking graphic novel Squire , created with Jordanian-American artist Sara Alfageeh, and the co-creator of  Where Black Stars Rise with artist Marie Enger. In Squire , Nadia wrote a story inherent to the lived experiences of SWANA peoples across the region, beautifully weaving in our cultures and...

Rocky joins us once again to discuss Nida Manzoor's debut feature film, Polite Society . What did we love about this film and Nida's creative vision? How did Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya do so well at conveying this vision and the Khan sisters' love for one another? How did the action and dance sequences propel the plot? Just how outright hilarious was Polite Society ? We discuss all that and more...

Senzel Ahmady has made history as the first actress of SWANA/MENA descent to play Princess Jasmine in a major Aladdin production in North America, starring in the tour of the acclaimed musical . In our wide ranging conversation, we discuss Senzel's upbringing and Afghan and Filipina background, her foray into musical theater, why she finds Jasmine so enduring as a role model for SWANASA people, th...

With Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny coming out soon, we discuss the long and torrid history of the franchise's use of Orientalism and racism against Southwest Asian, North African, and South Asian (SWANASA) peoples, and whether we think the new film will continue that trend. Why is Orientalism and white saviorism so foundational to this popular franchise? How did this affect modern day stor...

In our 50th (!) episode, we review Moroccan director Maryam Touzani's beautiful film Cannes-award winning film"Blue Caftan," which is a nuanced and heartfelt display of Moroccan life, culture, and queer identity. What are married couples willing to sacrifice? Why is it so refreshing to watch a nuanced and quiet story like this from North Africa? We also discuss the horrific news of the earthquake...

In our first episode of 2023, we finally review Palestinian and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam's visceral masterpiece Farha , now streaming on Netflix , which details the first events of the Nakba in 1948, which saw the expulsion and killing of over 700,000 Palestinians. With such an unflinching and brutal eye in showcasing these events, Sallam and her team have created a crucial film that au...

Like us, you know her, you love her as Zari Tarazi on Legends of Tomorrow , it's Tala Ashe on the podcast! Mae has a riveting conversation with Tala on her life and career, her time as Zari on Legends , what she learned about herself playing the role, her theater roles in the SWANA plays English and The Vagrant Trilogy , and much more! We also discuss the situation in Iran and how Tala aims to and...

We welcome Zaina onto the podcast for us to review The Swimmers ! Yusra and Sara Mardini are two real-life Syrian refugee sisters whose riveting and raw story has now been put to the screen in Sally El Hosaini's The Swimmers , streaming now on Netflix. How well does the story do at conveying the visceral experience of refugees? What do we think of the characters as they're translated from real lif...

We welcome Iranian-American actress Kathreen Khavari on the podcast! Kathreen is an esteemed actress and voice actress whose roles include Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in various Marvel animated series, Badyah in Netflix's hit series Dead End: Paranormal Park , and the upcoming Nickelodeon series Transformers: AllSpark . Kathreen discusses her career with us and what she hopes that the roles she and oth...

We welcome Hanna back on the podcast for us to review Black Adam together! The Rock has finally arrived as Black Adam in the DCU. But does he really "change the hierarchy" of the universe that much? How well did the film do at portraying the fictionalized SWANA/MENA country of Kahndaq, and was this film good SWANA/MENA representation? Were the JSA necessary at all in this movie, or did they just c...

We welcome Hanna back on the podcast to discuss her new debut book "Strong Female Character"! We discuss Hanna's process of writing her autobiography through the lens of film, the state of SWANA representation today compared to when she was growing up how she approaches her work as a critic, what films she finds inspiring, and much more in our long conversation. We also discuss our recommendations...

Tariq Raouf joins us once again to review the third season of Ramy , out on Hulu now! Where do we find Ramy Hassan (Ramy Youssef) this season after the terrible things he did at the end of Season 2? How well does the show depict Palestine and Jerusalem? What do we make of the other characters' journeys this season? Before our Ramy discussion, we also discuss the Iran Protests, news from the MCU, a...

We review the first season of Neflix's first ever Palestinian original series, Mo ! Co-created by Palestinian-American actor and comedian Mo Amer and Ramy Youssef, this outstanding comedy-drama is a semi-autobiographical take on Amer's own life in Houston. How does it do well at portraying Palestinians, and Houston and its various people? Why does it have such a perfect balance of comedy and heart...

Isa and Maznah join us to discuss the final two episodes and the entire first season of the MCU's M s. Marvel . How well did the show do at portraying Kamala's family, culture, and religion? What do we think of the Clandestines and the overall handling of them in the show? What do we make of *that* twist at the end, and what it means for Kamala Khan going forward in the MCU? We discuss all that an...

M s. Marvel is ramping up in its plot, and we're joined by writer and longtime Ms. Marvel fan Maryam Ahmad to discuss episodes 3-4. How good is the series doing at portraying Pakistani, South Asian, and Muslim cultures? How good are the family scenes? What do we think of the villains and the constant twists and turns with them and Kamala's powers? Why was the wedding so amazing? What do we think t...

M s. Marvel is here! We discuss the first two episodes of the series, discussing how wonderful Iman Vellani is in the main role, how well the series does at portraying Kamala and her family and friends, how well it does on portraying Islam, and where it can do better in certain fronts. We also discuss the exciting news that Abubakr Ali is starring in Billy Porter's Anything's Possible for Amazon P...

We are delighted to welcome on Kuwaiti-American author Chelsea Abdullah who has just made her debut with the mesmerizing Arab fantasy novel The Stardust Thief ! Chelsea tells us all on the origin of her debut novel and how she put herself into these wonderful characters and story. We also discuss the landscape for Arab and SWANA authors and creators, what more can happen, and delve into what stori...

We're at the end of our Moon Knight discussion! Hanna Flint joins us once again to talk about the breakthroughs in SWANA representation with this series, how we've enjoyed the show overall, and how the landscape for representation is changing across popular media. We also compare Moon Knight with other Marvel and DC properties, give our recommendations, and much more!   Spoilers for Moon Knight an...

We discuss episodes 3-4 of the new MCU Disney+ series Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawke, joined by Egyptian writer and podcaster, Nadia Osman! After we dive into Nadia's career, we dive into the latest two episodes of Moon Knight! How well is this series doing at portraying Egypt and its people? Is there anything we'd like to see more of? Why is May Calamawy so amazin...

We discuss episodes 1-2 of the new MCU Disney+ series 'Moon Knight' starring Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawke. What did we enjoy about this series? What did head director Mohamed Diab (who's actually Egyptian!) bring to the story? Why is Layla the best character? Where could it be better? We also discuss the unfortunate news of the plagiarism accusations against Iranian director Asghar F...

We are delighted to speak with Legends of Tomorrow cast member Shayan Sobhian and his writing partner and director Max Mooney on their new film "Does Bigfoot Dream of Flowers?". What inspired them to do this project? How is this depiction of Bigfoot similar and different from those we've seen before? We also hear from Shayan on his role as Behrad on Legends of Tomorrow, and where the show might go...

We discuss Netflix's new horror series Archive 81 , which headlines two SWANA stars with Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi! What did we enjoy about this creepy series? Would it have been better if Mamoudou and Dina's characters were SWANA coded? What do we want from a Season 2? We also discuss the exciting news that Kuwaiti-American author Chelsea Abdullah will have her book debut with The Stardust...

We are joined by the Organizing Director of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), Donna Farvard, and our friend and Vulture critic Roxana Hadadi to discuss acclaimed Iranian director Asghar Farhadi's latest film and award-buzzed film, "A Hero." How does this film give insight into Iranian society and systems of reputation? What is Farhadi saying about how we hold each other in esteem, and...

Even though there's not a lot to be merry about, we count our blessings and make it merry! We also discuss the wonderful 2020 film "Gaza Mon Amour" by director brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which shows old love in the middle of Gaza, starring our fave Hiam Abbass. We also discuss the exciting news of "We Are Lady Parts" Season 2 renewal, Mena Massoud's new Netflix rom-com coming out soon, and m...