Voice of Literature (آوای ادبیات)

Ep37. Tajiks - Iranians of the East? (تاجیکان: ایرانیان شرق؟) Join me for this important conversation with Prof. Richard Foltz, scholar of Iranian studies at the Concordia University, Montreal Canada. We cover a lot of ground, 5000 years of Tajik history to be precise! Here are some of topics we discuss at length: - Aryan peoples migration into Central Asia - Sogdians/Bactrians - Turk/Tajik dichot...

Ep36. Musica Poetica: Heraclitus & Democritus (موسیقی شاعرانه: هراکلیتوس و دموکریتوس) The sheer reality of life, with all its ups and downs, awareness of our mortality, sickness, laughter, tragedy and comedy of life, these some aspects of life that we humans have to deal with thru-out life 🙂 Heraclitus and Democritus are famous greek philosophers who thought very differently about the world and o...

Ep35. Sediq Shabab: Songs of Defiance (صدیق شباب: موسیقی، مبارزه و مقاومت) Join me as I explore the world of protest music. In this episode I take a deep dive into this very daring music genre that has occupied many great minds and artists thru-out history. 🎤 I am grateful for having met Sediq Shabab who is not only a very talented and famous singer and has millions of listeners worldwide, but he...

Ep34. Qawwali: A brief history (قوالی: تاریخچه مختصر) Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines or dargahs throughout South Asia, it gained mainstream popularity and an international audience in late 20th century. Qawwali music received international exposure through the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Aziz M...

Ep33. Ahmad Shah Abdali: Facts & Fictions (احمد شاه ابدالي: میان افسانه و واقعیت) آنچه در پی می‌آید، روایتی ساختارشکنانه از پاره‌ای کلیشه‌های جاافتاده در مورد .چگونگی به قدرت‌رسیدن احمدشاه ابدالی در تاریخ‌نگاری افغانستان است پادکست حاضر ترجمه‌ی فصل دوم کتاب «افغانستان؛ از ۱۲۶۰ بدین‌سو» نوشته‌ی جاناتان لی می‌باشد. این فصل که تحت عنوان احمدشاه و تأسیس سلسله‌ی ابدالی: افسانه و واقعیت (مشتمل بر صفحات...

Ep32. On Afghan historians and their biased views (بررسی تاریخ نگاری در افغانستان) Join me as I go deeper into Afghan historiography and discuss how Afghan historians have given us false narratives that has harmed the people of this country. It was their work that has influenced generations into biased views about the country and its origins. Don't forget to like and share the show! Thank you! Mai...

Ep31. On Historiography (شيوه تاريخ نگاري و تاريخ نگري) Tune in as I explore the history of history-writing itself! It's important that we look into historiography in order to understand how history has reached us thru history books. Needless to say, there has been a lot of discussions around this throughout history. Historians disagree about what is an actual historical fact and what's not. They...

Ep30. "Game of Thrones" (پادشاه گردشی) Dear listener, Jaad-e Maiwand is back! I had to deal with some personal set-backs, but I managed to finally get myself together and give it yet another go. Podcasting is my passion. I love making shows that we all can enjoy listening to. Shows that hopefully can change some minds along the way, including my own! Life's struggles are not foreign to me. They ar...

S1. Ep29. Toxic femininity among Afghan females (سمی زنانه در میان زنان/دختران افغان) March 8th is International Women's Day. A day to celebrate and commemorate the cultural, political, and socioeconomic achievements of women. ❤️ However, in this episode I talk about female toxicity, which believe it or not, is an actual thing. Especially among my fellow female Afghans. 🧐 This may be considered a...

S1. Ep28. What is history and does it have a structure? (تاریخ چیست و چه شکلی دارد؟) This episode has two parts. Part 1 is where I share my opinion about Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Part 2 is where I go into discussing history and its structure. I consider this a pre-amble to our later discussions around the history of Afghanistan. What is history exactly? Does it have a specific structure, direc...

S1. Ep27. What is intellectualism and who is an intellectual? (روشنفکری چیست و روشنفکر کیست؟) Who can be called an intellectual? An intellectual or 'man of letters' is a person who tries to use his or her intelligence and analytical thinking, either in their profession or for the benefit of personal pursuits. An individual who is deeply involved in abstract erudite ideas and theories. But who defi...

S1. Ep26. What is the meaning and purpose of life? (معنی و مفهوم زندگی چیست؟) Does life have any meaning? People nowadays often say – sometimes in a sad way, other times more aggressively and cynically – that ‘life just has no meaning.’ Two reasons are often cited for this. The first has to do with religion. Once upon a time, so the story goes, life had a clear meaning given to us by God: it was a...

S1. Ep25. Comedy, tragedy and satire: The Great Dictator (کمدی، تراژدی و طنز: دیکتاتور بزرگ) This episode comes into two parts. Part 1 is where I go into the concepts of comedy, tragedy and satire and Part 2 is where Amir-ul-Momeneen takes over and shares his thought with the world. I hope you enjoy the show 😏 Don't for get to share, like and subscribe✌️ Maiwand

S1. Ep24. My favourable Afghanistan 🇦🇫 (افغانستان مطلوب من) I know you were expecting an episode on comedy, tragedy, satire and Charlie Chaplin, but I decided to release this episode first because I think it's important that you, my dear listener, should be fully aware of my stance and my views on a number of fundamental issues. This is an episode where I introduce my vision for Afghanistan, my fa...

S1. Ep23. On freedom and its betrayal: Isaiah Berlin (آزادی و خیانت به آن: آیزایا برلین) This is an episode on freedom and its betrayal by the enemies of freedom. Let's explore together what it means to be free. What's negative and positive freedom? Can a philosopher like Isaiah Berlin help us define 'freedom'? Also, we have a brave soul on the show; a courageous human being, a woman who has now b...

S1. Ep22. Thank you, dear listener! (!تشکر شنونده عزیز) This episode is made specially for you, yes you, dear listener! Thank you for sticking around and tuning in and giving me an opportunity to grow and produce valuable content. In this episode I shall introduce my plans for this year. Spoiler alert! I am going to diversify and create "side shows". Stay tuned for our first book club! The book cl...

S1.Ep21. S1. Ep21. Dante and the Divine Comedy (دانته و کمدی الهی) As promised, the 'hellish' episode has finally arrived! Dante's epic journey into the underworld and his ascent to the heavens. Tune in for loads of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Guess who ends up in hell ;) Believe me you do NOT want to miss this episode!! Don't forget to like, share and subscribe to Jaad-e Maiwand. Hope yo en...

S1. Ep20. What is a podcast? (پادکست چیست؟) What is a podcast exactly? How do they work and how do you listen to them? How can I subscribe to my favourite podcast so that I never again miss a show? What are the best podcast listening Apps? Join me as I go thru all the above questions. Please make sure this episode is shared with anyone new in the world of podcasts. I hope this episode will help th...

S1.Ep19 - The World of Music - Zahir (دنیای موسیقی - ظاهر) Dear Jaad-e Maiwand listener, Happy New Year and thanks again for being patient with me and giving me a chance to work harder and create better content! I appreciate your support. Many thanks! This episode is dedicated to one of my favourite artists the land of the Afghans has ever produced. Ahmad Zahir, artist, rebel, daring, courageous s...

In this episode I visit the 60's and 70's, probably one of the most interesting and vibrant periods of Afghanistan. I meet all sorts of artists, singers, poets and intellectuals who shaped the history of the country, some for the good and some for the bad. Artists like Ahmad Zahir, also known as the Elvis Presley of Afghanistan, have marked the music scene for eternity. He still has a huge followi...

In this episode, which is very dear and near to me, I'll take a dive into the amazing music of Afghanistan. This episode is very close to my heart :). It was challenging but absolutely awesome to research and fun to make. I hope you enjoy the show as much as I have. Maiwand

S1. Ep16. The World of Music - Philosophy (نگاهی به دنیای موسیقی - فلسفه موسیقی) In this episode we discuss philosophy of music. Philosophers have always been interested in the arts, especially the art of music. From Pythagoras to Nietzsche, all the great philosophers have said amazing and sometimes weird and disturbing things about what music is and what it's supposed to be and what it does to us...

S1. Ep15. The World of Music - Short History (نگاهی به دنیای موسیقی - تاریخچه کوتاه) In this episode we dive into the beautiful world of music and its historical roots across different cultures of the world. From early human civilisations to Egyptians, Sumerians, Persians, Indians, Chinese and European civilisations. Music, singing and dancing have been integral to us humans. Making music is what...

Ep14. The World of Music – Introduction (نگاهی به دنیای موسیقی) A month after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, the music is going quiet. The last time the militant group ruled the country, in the late 1990s, it outright banned music. Musicians are afraid that once again a ban will come, and some Taliban fighters on the ground have started enforcing rules on their own, harassing musicians a...

George Orwell's 1984 is probably one of the most studied novels of the last century. Join me as I discuss Orwell, his legacy and what 1984 can teach us today. In this episode, I shall try to re-interpret the novel and see if it can help us understand our contemporary world, especially in regard to what's taking place in Afghanistan. I believe we need to look at the main opposition in the world rig...