The Pakistan Experience

Hassan Javid has a PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also spent some time as an LSE Fellow in Political Sociology. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.   Hassan comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Military Budget, the economic response to Covid19, the thr...

Farhan Virk, the most well known social media troll in Pakistan, is a self-labelled online activist. Virk gained notoriety after making Dr. Abdul Qadeer's fake Twitter account.   For the past 5 years Farhan Virk is running social media groups in favour of Imran Khan and PTI working closely with party leaders. After being suspended by Twitter for his activities, Farhan has now been forsak...

Norbert Almeida is a security advisor with 22 years in the field, he runs an update group on Twitter and Whatsapp to provide security updates for free.   Norbert has been reporting on the Corona virus over the past few months. He comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the experience of reporting on Corona virus cases/deaths, his thoughts on the mortality rate and what the future hol...

Radio plays gained popularity a century ago. With all of us quarantined we are trying to revive the tradition by producing audio plays.   The first of the series is Chirya Ghar, an urdu adaptation of the classic Edward Albee play, The Zoo Story. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication, social disparity and dehumanization in a materialistic world.  In the...

Abdul Ahad Ayub and Hashim Kaleem have Masters in Education Policy from the Harvard School of Education.   Both of them come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the issues with the education system in Pakistan.   What is the solution? Privatizing education or uniform public education?  What is the future of online education?  Can schools survive the Corona virus out...

Atia Naqvi is a Clinical Psychologist and a Therapist. She comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Suicide, Depression and How to Deal with Grief.   All of us were shaken by the sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput last week. Suicide is stigmatized in our society; Atia Naqvi is doing everything she can to fight that stigma because if we do not even talk about it then people will con...

Dr. Furrukh Khan is an Associate Professor at LUMS. He has a PhD in Postcolonial Studies from University of Kent at Canterbury, where he taught for two years prior to coming to LUMS.  Dr. Furrukh Khan comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss culture, literature and language and how they intersect to create identity and history. Dr. Khan talks about how colonialism, and neocolonialism, is l...

Hajra Khan is the captain of the National Womens Football Team and holds 3 Guiness World Records. She is Pakistan's highest goal scorer.  Zufli is a poet and a musician.   A meme went viral on Eid using their pictures, Zulfi and Hajra Khan come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss gender norms, casual sexism and the state of Womens Football in Pakistan.  Zufli expands into the...

Mr Randonaut himself, Mr. Nick Hinton, comes on the Podcast to discuss some of the most interesting conspiracy theories, from explaining why he thinks we are living in a simulation to the Saturn time cube theory, Nick goes deep into the discussion on parallel universes, the Mandela Effect and Psychedelics.   Nick also talks about his DMT trip; how the world around him became like a Dr Se...

Sabahat Zakariya urf Feminustani is a journalist, writer and Feminist. Her placard at the Aurat March reading, "Divorced and Happy" caused quite a stir.  Sabahat come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how divorced women are treated in Pakistan and the struggles they face along with talking about the Aurat March and the Feminist movement in Pakistan.  The Pakistan Experience is a podc...

Dr Nida Kirmani, Professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences, is a feminist sociologist working on gender and urban marginality in South Asia.  Nida comes on the podcast to discuss her work at LUMS, online activism and research. Nida has extensive research in New Delhi and Lyari. Her book "Questioning the Muslim Woman was published in 2013.  We recorded this a day after the PIA...

Faraz Anwar, guitarist/singer Mizraab, was recently in the news for making an account on Fiverr. Faraz comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how poorly artists, and specifically musicians, are treated in Pakistan.  Faraz goes deep into his own artistic process and life history - from teaching some of the best guitar players in Pakistan to singers screwing him out of jobs and money, Fara...

Hassan Kilde Bajwa, an online content creator, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how he feels boys need to be communicated to to build a kinder and safe world.   Recently, screenshots from an Instagram called Boys Locker Room in India were leaked online showing boys joking about the worst things. Hassan and Shehzad discuss the creation of these incel groups online and the perpe...

Jami is a film maker and one of the most prominent directors in Pakistan. From directing commercials to some of the most popular music videos to his breathtaking feature film, 'Moor'.   A brave raw podcast; Jami begins talking about the state and the future of the film industry in Pakistan, from sponsorship in Film to a lack of a cinematic tradition in the country.   Jami then...

From breaking onto the scene with the hit Alu Anday, Ali Aftab Saeed has been making music and using satire to give his political take for the past ten years. Ali Aftab Saaed is a musician, satirist and a journalist.  Ali comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss satire, censorship, his personal history and Mohammad Asif.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories ab...

The intellectual giant that is Tariq Ali - writer, historian, Film maker, dissenter - comes on the The Pakistan Experience to discuss a political history of Pakistan lived through the left.  From inspiring Mick Jagger and John Lennon to write songs to being on the Russell War Crimes Tribunal in Vietnam, From being a child watching Ahmadi shops being burnt down in Lahore to watching Imran Khan...

Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, the visionary leader of The Indus Hospital, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the current state of the Corona virus outbreak in Pakistan. Dr. Bari gives an analysis of where we stand devoid of political agendas or any partisanship; he discusses why a lockdown is necessary and what healthcare professionals need right now to fight this crisis.  The Pakistan Experi...

WARNING: The Podcast contains profanity and strong language. Children and people who are easily offended should stay away.  Miss Phudina Chatni is the no holds barred drag comedy character created by Muhammad Moiz. She's feme, she's crass, she tells her story and she holds no prisoners. Deeply comfortable in her own skin, Miss Phudina Chatni, holds no punches back telling the stories of her s...

Hurmat Ali Shah got radicalized in Swat. He moved to UET for his college, where he joined the Tableeghi Jammat. After spending years in the organization working for them and preaching on their behalf, Hurmat left the organization due to ideological differences.   Hurmat comes on The Pakistan Experience to reflect on his journey - on why he joined and what made him quit.   The P...

Asim Sajjad Akhtar is a left wing politician, academic and columnist.   Asim comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the history of politics in Pakistan, from the leftist politics of the 70s to the emergence of PTI, Asim does an overview of how we got here discussing some of the forks in the road along the way.   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories...

Ammar Rashid, the President of Awami Workers Party Punjab, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the role of the political left in Pakistan, especially after the Corona virus outbreak. Rashid weighs in on the successes of the Sanders and Corbyn campaigns, talks about being banned from appearing on television and discusses what solutions the left has for Pakistan right now. Ammar Rashid is a...

Tamkenat comes on episode 33 (did you think we would make it this far?) of The Pakistan Experience to discuss her experience of being a content creator in Pakistan. How it is like to be yourself, face societal stigma and what it is like to be a woman in the public eye. Tamkenat talks about her work, her Corona scare and shares her thoughts on the current sociopolitical climate. The Pakistan Experi...

Ammar Ali Jan has a doctorate degree in History from the University of Cambridge. Ammar has taught at GC and PU. Recently, Ammar got into hot waters on Twitter for calling PTI a fascist party, and people questioned Ammar's meeting with Bilawal Bhutto last year.  Ammar comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss that meeting, why he faced sedition charges and got picked up in the middle of the...

Sharmeen Khan is a therapist and a mental health counsellor. Sharmeen comes back on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how to best manage your stress and anxiety during the Corona virus quarantine. It is critical to take care of your mental health as well, Sharmeen discusses the impact this virus could have on mental health and how to best manage your day.    The Pakistan Experience...

Vicky Zhuang Yi-Yin is a Chinese-Pakistani Drama Teacher and works for Olomopolo Media in Lahore. Recently, with Covid19 cases rising in the world Vicky faced racism with people calling 'Corona Corona' on the streets. Vicky comes on the latest episode of The Pakistan Experience to discuss the racist incidents, the Chinese-Pakistani community and to clear about any misconceptions about Chinese peop...