Stay ConnectedStories from the Middle East and North Africa, and the spaces in between.
Kerning Cultures is produced by Kerning Cultures Network. Support this podcast on https://www.patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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Copyright: © 2021 Kerning Cultures Network
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We’re thrilled to share another podcast from Kerning Cultures Network with you: al empire.
al empire returns for Season 3 with more stories of exceptional Arabs from around the world and their journey to the top, from comedians and entrepreneurs to musicians and media mavericks. This season of al empire, we’re also releasing the full uncut video episodes online.
In this episode, we sit down with Palestinian-American stand-up comedian and actor Mo Amer.
Mo always knew he wanted to be a comedian, and he has turned that life-long passion into an incredible career in stand-up, TV, film, and many other mediums. The star of Mo, Ramy, DC’s Black Adam, and many Netflix specials like The Vagabond sits down with Dana Ballout to kick off Season 3 of al empire. They discuss his early years as a Palestinian refugee in Houston, TX, touring comedy clubs in post-9/11 America, and how he hopes to “influence the culture” with his art.
This episode is hosted by Dana Ballout. Produced by Finbar Anderson and Alex Atack with additional support from Ahmed Ashour. Edited by Alex Atack and Ahmed Ashour. Research and fact checking by Deena Sabry. Sound design by Monzer El-Hachem.
Special thanks to Majd Bani Odeh, and Quincy at Sacred Stone Media in Houston, Texas.
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Since our series about 'Aizen' ended, many of you have been in touch asking for an update on his story. When we left you at the end of the last episode, he had arrived in Europe, three years after leaving his home in Kabul and travelling through a labyrinth of smuggler networks. He claimed asylum in the UK, but his case was in limbo... Now we have an update for you.
This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout. Fact checking was by Deena Sabry, and sound design was by Paul Alouf. Artwork by Ahmad Salhab. Batoul Khalifeh is our operations manager. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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When Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s, she was only planning for a short visit. But she quickly found herself at the centre of a special period in the country’s history, as Algiers played host to liberation groups from across the world – earning a reputation as the “Mecca of revolution”.
In this unlikely setting, Elaine moved in the same circles as world famous radicals, rag tag political parties, spies and military leaders. And she became an unlikely sidekick to one of the most iconic liberation groups of our time, just as it was beginning to fall apart.
This episode was produced by Deena Sabry and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Eman Alsharif, sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, Paul Alouf and Alex Atack. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Elaine’s book is Algiers: Third World Capital
Justin's book is Revolution or Death: The Life of Eldridge Cleaver
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Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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Two stories about two streets, and the justices and injustices hidden in their names. Follow us to Tehran and Khartoum as we uncover two histories brought together by one common denominator.
This episode originally aired in February 2021, and was produced by Zeina Dowidar with editing by Dana Ballout. Additional support from Nadeen Shaker, Alex Atack, Shraddha Joshi, and Abde Amr. Fact checking by Shraddha Joshi, sound design by Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack, with mixing by Mohamed Khreizat.
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When Heba was very young, there was a knock at the door at her home in Lebanon. It was another family from the village, claiming that they knew her… from a past life.
Now, as an adult, she still wonders: Have I always been Heba? Or was there another life before this one?
This episode was produced by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi, and sound design by Paul Alouf. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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You might remember Somali bananas from your childhood, lining the shelves at your local supermarket. During the late 80s and early 90s, Somalia made millions of dollars exporting its coveted bananas to Italy and the Middle East. But this thriving export business ground to a halt suddenly in 1991, when the country was thrown into the grip of a civil war.
Decades later, farmers have returned home to try and bring the Somali banana back to its former glory. But with so much standing in their way – ruined farmland, the threat of Al Shabab, and the ghosts of warring militias and multinational banana companies – will they succeed?
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker and Sawsan Abdillahi and edited by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack. Fact checking was by Deena Sabry and sound design by Monzer El-Hachem. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar and Finbar Anderson.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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'Yasir?' That's too difficult. I'll just call you Tony.
This episode originally aired in October 2017.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $2 a month.
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In 2014, the palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim went public with an astonishing discovery he’d made while studying a set of dinosaur bones from the Moroccan Sahara. But almost immediately, it caused a rift amongst his colleagues – forcing them to question everything they’d ever known about their work.
This is the strange and chaotic story of Nizar’s discovery – how it upended everything we know about dinosaurs – and the unlikely, devastating saga behind humankind’s pursuit of the truth about the Spinosaurus.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking was by Deena Sabry and sound design by Youssef Douazou. Our team also includes Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Finbar Anderson.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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Nagi Daifallah was a young farm worker from Yemen who moved to California in the early 1970s, when he was just 20 years old. He went on to become one of the organisers of the influential 1973 grape strikes in California, led by Cesar Chavez.
But one night, after a day of striking, he was beaten to death by a local county sheriff outside a restaurant in Lamont, California.
Although the sheriff who killed him never faced justice, Nagi’s story - and the movement he helped organise - went on to make real change to farm workers’ rights in America, and continues to inspire Yemeni American activists today.
This episode originally aired in April 2021.
This episode was produced by Suzanne Gaber and Will Thomson, and edited by Dana Ballout. Additional support on this episode from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar, Shraddha Joshi and Abde Amr. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat.
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After finally reaching Europe, Aizen was back in jail. He had calculated that the journey from Afghanistan to France would take three months. But more than two years later, he was somewhere completely different. Then, finally, his luck started to turn.
This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with editorial support from Heba El-Sherif. Fact checking was by Eman Elsherif and Deena Sabry, and sound design was by Monzer El Hachem and Paul Alouf. Artwork by Ahmad Salhab. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
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Through smugglers, barbed wire fences and forests, Aizen arrives in Europe. But the sense of relief he feels at making it this far is short-lived: the physical and mental toll of travelling so far from home begins to weigh heavy.
This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with editorial support from Heba El-Sherif. Fact checking was by Eman Elsherif and Deena Sabry, and sound design was by Monzer El Hachem and Paul Alouf. Artwork by Ahmad Salhab. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
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‘A game’ is what smugglers and migrants call attempting to cross illegally from one country to another. As Aizen leaves his childhood behind in Afghanistan, his only way to get to Europe is to play the game, travelling through this dangerous network of human traffickers.
This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with editorial support from Heba El-Sherif. Fact checking was by Eman Elsherif and Deena Sabry, and sound design was by Monzer El Hachem and Paul Alouf. Artwork by Ahmad Salhab. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
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‘Aizen’ says he’s the most unlucky person in the world. This football-obsessed teenager from Afghanistan grew up in the chaos of Kabul, and at 15, was imprisoned in one of the worst adult prisons in the world. All for a crime he didn’t commit. In this four part series, we’re following Aizen’s journey as he leaves his childhood in Afghanistan behind for what he hopes will be a better life in Europe.
This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with editorial support from Heba El-Sherif. Fact checking was by Eman Elsherif and Deena Sabry, and sound design was by Monzer El Hachem and Paul Alouf. Artwork by Ahmad Salhab. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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When you think of good quality olive oil, which countries first come to mind? This week, we’re travelling to the heart of the world’s largest exporter of organic olive oil to learn all about the liquid gold that graces dinner tables around the globe. And it’s not where you’d expect.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Deena Sabry and sound design by Youssef Douazou. Our team also includes Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Kaia Olive Oil is on Instagram at @worldofkaia and at worldofkaia.com.
You can find a transcript for this episode at our website: kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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A father and daughter journey to their ancestral homeland, looking to track down the place their family had lived before being forced to flee the Armenian genocide.
They’re among hundreds of Armenian families who, over the last three decades, have returned to their ancestors' home on a search for answers, in a country that that still denies the genocide ever took place.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and Deena Sabry, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking was by Deena Sabry and sound design by Monzer El Hachem. Our team also includes Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Finbar Anderson.
A special thank you to Syuzanna Petrosyan and Salpi Ghazarian at the University of Southern California’s Institute of Armenian Studies.
Find out more about Nubar’s upcoming documentary here: scarsofsilence.com.
Carel’s book is called A House in the Homeland, and you can find it at Stanford University Press.
Find out more about Annie’s tours and see pictures and videos of previous trips at her Facebook page, @historicarmenia.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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This is the final week of the first World Cup hosted in the Middle East. And it’s been a tournament like no other: We’ve seen Morocco advance further than any Middle East or African team has before, making the whole region proud. And we’ve seen many joyous moments go viral as fans from across the world descend on Doha.
But it’s also a World Cup shrouded in controversy, that has left many of us with mixed feelings.
So, over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been going out to speak with fans around the world to get a sense of what people make of it all, from the highs and lows of the tournament itself, to everything happening off the pitch.
This episode was produced by Ban Barkawi, Alex Atack and Ahmed Ashour, with help from Sarah Risheq, Al Shaibani, Shahd Bani-Odeh, Maher Ali, Soumaya Bouabdellah, Youssef Douazou, Sara Kaddouri and Zeina Dowidar. It was edited by Sarah Risheq and Dana Ballout. Sound design was by Paul Alouf. Our team also includes Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
Our sister podcast - Masafat - has also released an episode about the Qatar world cup in Arabic. To hear that, search Masafat in your podcast app.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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Alex Odeh was well known in the Arab community in Santa Ana, California. He was often on TV or writing into newspapers, talking about discrimination against Arabs in the US or about his beloved homeland, Palestine. But on the morning of October 11th 1985, he stepped through his office door and a pipe bomb exploded. He died hours later. From the beginning, the FBI had strong leads and a list of suspects. But decades later, Alex Odeh’s murder is still unsolved.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Deena Sabry and sound design by Mohamad Khreizat. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and Finbar Anderson.
You can read David Sheen’s story for The Intercept here.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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Kerning Cultures season 4 launches next week, December 8th. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts so you don't miss an episode.
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It’s 1988, and Somalis are fleeing the city of Hargeisa. People are trying to get out, trying to save their families. But in the city’s radio station, staff are packing cassettes and reel to reel recordings into a secret underground bunker. On them: A slice of their country’s musical heritage, to remain for years in an underground room—until now.
This episode was produced in collaboration with Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala, from the TED Audio Collective. To listen to other episodes that travel all over the world to explore ideas, follow Far Flung with Saleem Reshamwala wherever you're listening to this.
This episode was produced by Sawsan Abdillahi, Hiwote Getaneh, Alex Atack and Saleem Reshamwala. Production support in Hargeisa by Ismaaciil C. Ubax. Fact checking by Nicole Bode and Paul Durban, and sound design by Kristin Mueller. The executive producer was Eric Nuzum.
Special thanks to Vik Sahonie at Ostinato Records for letting us use the music from the Sweet As Broken Dates album.
You can hear songs from the buried tapes on this Spotify playlist.
Find a transcript for this episode on our website: kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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A blind oud player from humble beginnings, Sheikh Imam's destiny changed drastically when he met a dissident poet called Ahmed Fouad Negm, and they formed a duo. Together, they would go on start a new era in Egyptian popular music. Their songs would shake regimes, travel the world on cassette tapes, and transcend their own time to become part of the soundtrack to Egypt's revolution decades later.
Today, the story of Sheikh Imam: the Egyptian singer who became an icon of dissent.
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker, Heba El-Sherif and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking was by Deena Sabry and sound design, music and mixing by Monzer El Hachem. Voice over by Eihab Seoudi, and translation help from Maha El Kady. Cover art by Ahmad Salhab.
The songs you heard on this episode were composed and performed by Sheikh Imam and written by Ahmed Fouad Negm and Zein Alabidin Fouad. Lyric translations were by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla.
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You can find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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Stuck in his Palestinian hometown of Jenin during lockdown, Mo'min Swaitat walked into an old music shop where thousands of dusty cassettes lined the walls. They contained decades of Palestinian music and field recordings once confiscated by the Israeli army, long since forgotten, and never meant to make it out of Palestine.
This is the story of what was on those cassettes, and Mo'min's mission to give them a second life.
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Deena Sabry, sound design and mixing by Nadeen Shaker, Alex Atack and Monzer El Hachem. Our team also includes Zeina Dowidar.
You can listen to the Intifada album on Bandcamp.
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In the 1960s, a college professor and his group of students were determined to build and launch rockets into space. And so, they did. This week, on Kerning Cultures, a story about the first-ever rocket launched from the Arab world into space.
This episode first aired in 2020 and was produced by Tamara Rasamny with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Azzam Alwash remembers the marshlands of southern Iraq as a magical place, where he would spend long days gliding through the thick reeds by boat with his father. But for decades now, the area has been under threat, so Azzam has become part of the effort to save the natural wonder before it's too late.
This episode was produced by Dana Ballout, Alex Atack and Tamara Juburi with fact checking by Deena Sabry. Sound design and mixing by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat.
A special thanks to Azzam Alwash for speaking to us.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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In the 1930s, the architect Nasri Khattar had an idea to singlehandedly overhaul the Arabic script. For the next 47 years, he worked day and night to get the world to adopt his writing system, Unified Arabic. Ultimately, he failed. This is his story.
This episode was produced by Jahd Khalil and edited by Dana Ballout with Alex Atack and Hebah Fisher. Sound design and mixing was by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat.
You can find Yara Khoury's book - Nasri Khattar, a Modernist Typotect - here.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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In 2012, a Yazidi family fled to Sweden in the hope of a better life, far from persecution. After nearly six troubled years struggling to seek asylum without proper paperwork, their traumatised daughter “fell asleep” - and didn't wake up again for another five years.
For half a decade she has been in a coma-like state, a condition called resignation syndrome that afflicts thousands of other asylum-seeking children in Sweden.
Producers Zeina Dowidar and Andrei Popoviciu travel to Sweden and meet the families, doctors and social workers who are trying to figure out what this mysterious illness is, and how to treat it.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar and Andrei Popoviciu. It was edited by Dana Ballout with support from Alex Atack and Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking on this episode was by Deena Sabry, audio editing by Youssef Douazou, and sound design and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Translation by Amina Khalil.
A special thanks to all of the families we spoke to, as well as Dr. Elisabeth Hultcrantz, Dr. Karl Salinn and Dr. Debra Stein for speaking with us for the episode.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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A warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence and assault.
As Egyptian women celebrated the arrest of serial predator and rapist Ahmed Bassam Zaki in the summer of 2020, another case came to light: An alleged gang rape in the upscale Fairmont Hotel. If the men involved were convicted, this case would be another big success for the #MeToo movement in Egypt. But instead, it took nasty turns; evidence would be buried, case witnesses would be arrested and campaigners for the victim would face threats and intimidation. Many began to ask: was this the end of the #MeToo movement in Egypt?
This week, the second in a two-part series: the rise and fall of #MeToo in Egypt.
This episode was written and produced by Nadeen Shaker and Zeina Dowidar, with editing by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Deena Sabry and sound design and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat and Paul Alouf.
Special thanks to everyone who made this story happen: Sabah Khodir, Noor Gohary, Nadine AbdelHamid, Farah Desouky, Zeina Amr, and Nadine Enan.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story inaccurately stated that Sabah Khodir had seen the Fairmont video. In fact, she had only seen screenshots of it. The audio has been updated to reflect this correction.
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A warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence and assault.
In the summer of 2020, a 22-year-old Egyptian woman made the difficult decision to publicly call out her harasser on social media. In a moment of rage, she picked up her phone and typed out a post that would end up travelling much further than she expected - far beyond her social circle. Over the next few weeks, in a whirlwind of Tweets, Facebook posts and Instagram stories, it became clear that she wasn't the only person this man had assaulted: over 50 other women stepped forward with a laundry list of accusations against him.
It was the first step towards a major reckoning for Egypt; one that inspired big changes in how the country - and the law - deals with sexual assault cases. But for the activists driving that change, it would turn out to be exhausting, and even dangerous.
This week, the first in a two-part series: the rise and fall of Egypt's #MeToo movement.
This episode was written and produced by Nadeen Shaker and Zeina Dowidar, with editing by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Deena Sabry and sound design and mixing by Paul Alouf.
Special thanks to everyone who made this story happen: Sabah Khodir, Noor Gohary, Nadine AbdelHamid, Farah Desouky, Zeina Amr, and Nadine Enan.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website, kerningcultures.com/kerningcultures.
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In 1917, a musical prodigy called Zabelle Panosian recorded a song that captured the heartbreak of a generation of Armenian Americans in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. She toured the world, selling thousands of records. And then, she was almost completely forgotten.
This episode originally aired in July 2020.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamed Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Ian's new book about Zabelle Panosian can be found here.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode at our website.
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In 1962 the library at the University of Algiers was burned to the ground, turning hundreds of thousands of books to dust. But it was overshadowed by Algeria's independence from the French, and was largely forgotten. So one man has made it his mission to answer a simple question: are these books really gone? Or were they smuggled out by the extremists who set the library on fire in the first place?
Thank you to Samir Hachani and Bruno Boulanger for speaking to us for this episode. Thank you also to Dr. Andrew Bellisari, and Rayane from @ze.art.nerd.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar and edited by Dana Ballout. Additional support from Alex Atack and Nadeen Shaker, fact checking by Deena Sabry, with sound design and mixing by Paul Alouf. Additional production support from Abdelraouf Meraga.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode here.
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We're holding off on releasing this week's Kerning Cultures episode. Instead, we're sharing resources on how to help the crisis in Ukraine. You can read the full list here.We'll be back next week.
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This week, we're following the trail of an elusive camel herder called Hadj Ali (or, as the Americans called him; Hi Jolly). He was one of the first people from the Middle East to move to the USA, and although he died penniless, alone and almost entirely forgotten, he played a big role in America's westward expansion... all on camelback. It's a wild ride, so saddle up.
This episode was produced by Laith Majali, Dana Ballout and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout. Fact checking by Deena Sabry and additional support by Nadeen Shaker and Zeina Dowidar. Sound design and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat and Alex Atack.
A special thanks to Doug Baum, Marshall Trimble, Heba Afify and all of the cameleers who spoke to us for this story.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode here.
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How do you preserve a language when your government is actively trying to erase it?
Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist who was trying to stop the Chinese government from replacing Uyghur with Mandarin. He had been studying the language's history, teaching Uyghur to younger students and writing books in Uyghur. But when the Chinese government began forcibly detaining Uyghurs in Xinjiang, his work got much riskier. Then, they came for Abduweli himself. This week on Kerning Cultures, Abduweli's fight to preserve his mother tongue.
This episode originally aired in August 2019.
Special thanks to Abduweli Ayup and his family for sharing their story, and to Arienne Dwyer and Timothy Grose.
You can find a transcript for this episode here.
This episode was produced by Durrie Bouscaren and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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A family secret, hidden for decades by a grandfather in Iraq, gets uncovered by his grandson - who chooses to revive a potentially dangerous legacy.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and Tamara Juburi, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Nadeen Shaker and Zeina Dowidar. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi and sound design by Mohamad Khreizat.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode here.
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During the Syrian war, a group of archeologists risk their lives to record the damage being done to their country's cultural heritage, just as it was being taken away from them.
This episode was written and produced by Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi and sound design by Sara Kaddouri.
Thank you to Alice Fordham and Salman Ahad Khan for their help recording interviews for this story, and to Abdullah Al Assil, who performed the voice of Adnan.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Find a transcript for this episode here.
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Since 9/11, US governmental agencies have poured millions of dollars into spying on Arabs, Muslims and Arab Americans. Their surveillance has changed countless lives as ordinary citizens all over the country were interrogated, arrested or had their homes raided.
But this didn't start in 2001.
Invasive - and even illegal - surveillance programmes against Arabs and Arab Americans have a long history in the US, going all the way back to the 1970s, with a program code-named Operation Boulder. But it wasn't until a lawyer named Abdeen Jabara took his own government to court that the true size and scale of the programme was revealed.
This episode was produced by Suzanne Gaber and Will Thomson, and edited by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Deena Sabry. Additional support from Nadeen Shaker and Zeina Dowidar. Sound design and mixing by Paul Alouf.
Thank you to Afnan, Amaney Jamal, Abdeen Jabara, Anan Ameri, John Shattuck, and Nicole Nguyen for speaking with us for this episode, and to the Bentley Historical Library for the use of their archives.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
Read this episode's transcript here.
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Kerning Cultures season 3 launches next week, January 27th. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get podcasts so you don't miss an episode.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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Ahead of the latest season (which launches at the end of this month!), our team gets together to talk about what they're excited for, and what they've learned from producing the upcoming season of Kerning Cultures.
Kerning Cultures' season three launches on January 27th. Make sure you're subscribed wherever you get podcasts so you don't miss an episode.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.
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Lynn left behind her hometown village in the Philippines for a housekeeping job in Lebanon at the age of 23. It was only meant to be temporary… until she met Butros, her employer's nephew, and they fell in love. But for Lynn, marrying Butros has meant choosing to settle down in a country where she's treated as an outsider.
This episode originally aired in June 2019 and was produced by Dana Ballout, Nathalie Rosa Bucher and Alex Atack. Editorial support from Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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His whole life, Walid Waked had been told that his great grandfather invented the Arabic typewriter. And then, one day, he learned that another family – the Haddads – believed they invented it. This week on Kerning Cultures, the contested history of the Arabic typewriter.
This episode originally aired in September 2019.
Thank you to everybody we spoke to for this story: Ahmed Ellaithy – for taking us down the rabbit hole with you – Walid Waked, Anis Waked, Alexandre Cordahi, Nagla Badran, Pascal Zoghbi and Titus Nemeth.
This episode was produced by Ahmed Ellaithy, Hebah Fisher, Nadeen Shaker, and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, and Zeina Dowidar. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
This episode is brought to you by GoSell by Tap Payments: https://www.tap.company/sa/ar/sell
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Faysal Bibi and his team of palaeontologists have been captivated by this one particular moment that took place in the Abu Dhabi desert seven million years ago. This week, a journey back to a time before the desert was the desert… when elephants, crocodiles and monkeys reigned supreme in the UAE.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny and Zeina Dowidar. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
This episode originally aired in September 2020.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Ronnie Chatah started giving his walking tours of Beirut in 2008, during a period of stability for the city. He would guide tourists through the city, telling stories of Phoenician ruins, French architecture and Ottoman houses. He'd also talk about Lebanon's civil war, and the problems that came to follow it. These were always stories about other people, other eras and other lives, until December of 2013, when Ronnie's own life was sucked into the political unrest that he'd spent years talking about on his tour.
This episode originally aired in August 2018.
This episode is brought to you by GoSell by Tap Payments: https://www.tap.company/sa/ar/sell
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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In 1968, a trio of Palestinian filmmakers began making films about life under Israeli occupation. Almost 15 years and over 90 films later, their film unit became a dominant force in the Arab film industry. But in 1982, their film reels disappeared. Overnight, decades of footage and thousands of hours of archives were gone. Today on Kerning Cultures, the search for the Palestinian Film Unit's lost archives.
This episode originally aired in August 2020 and was produced by Zeina Dowidar, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny, Dana Ballout, and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Sound design and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
For the list of films and other resources mentioned in this episode, visit our blog: https://kerningcultures.com/kerned-and-cultured/palestinian-film-unit
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In October 1960, the walls were closing in for Patrice Lumumba. Months earlier, he had been celebrated as the Congo's first democratically elected prime minister after decades of brutal colonial rule. But now, he had been overthrown in a coup and was being kept under house arrest by his political opponent.
With Lumumba's life at risk, the Egyptian government under Gamal Abdel Nasser proposed a dangerous and unusual plan to have three of Lumumba's young children smuggled out of the country and away to the safety of Cairo.
This week on Kerning Cultures; Patrice Lumumba's children, and their escape to Cairo.
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker and edited by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack, with additional support from Zeina Dowidar, Shraddha Joshi and Percia Verlin. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi, and sound design and mixing by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat. Bella Ibrahim is our marketing manager.
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After their employer abandoned the vessel they was working on, Vikash Mishra and his crew spent nearly three years stuck on a slowly sinking ship off the coast of the UAE. This week on Kerning Cultures: Vikash's ordeal, and how he eventually made it back home to his family in India.
This is the second of two episodes about ship abandonment in the Middle East. Listen to part one here.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and edited by Dana Ballout, with additional support from Zeina Dowidar and Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi, and sound design and mixing by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat. Ayushi Shah provided additional production support in Mumbai. Special thanks to Martha Schlee.
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Because of what's happening in Palestine this week, we're holding off airing our usual programming. Instead we're going to re-air one of our favourite episodes from last season: Jerusalem Calling. With this episode, we hope to remember the rich history of Palestine, and that the occupation and Israel's apartheid policies go back decades. If you'd like to learn more about ways you can help Palestinians, we've put together a list of resources on our website, and will be sharing them on our Instagram this week: @kerningcultures.
The Palestine Broadcasting Service started airing in 1936, from a brand new transmitter tower in Ramallah. It was a British station in three languages, aimed at promoting the message of the mandate government throughout the region. But over the following decades, as Palestine saw political upheavals, bloody conflicts and power shifts, the radio station found itself in the middle of it all... and became a unique capsule of the events that lead up to the Nakba.
This episode was produced by Shahd Bani-Odeh, Alex Atack and Darah Ghanem, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny, Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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When seafarer Mehmet Gulsen stepped on board the Kenan Mete, he thought he was signing up to a pretty standard 7 month contract, and then he'd be home in Ukraine with his young daughter and his dog. But a few months in, things started going wrong, and he ended up abandoned with his crew at a port in the Suez Canal, with no idea when they'd be able to go home.
This week on Kerning Cultures, the strange legal limbo that allows seafarers to wind up abandoned and unable to leave their ships... sometimes for years at a time.
This episode was made in collaboration with 99% Invisible. Check them out wherever you get your podcasts. It was produced by Alex Atack and edited by Katie Mingle, with additional support from Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker and the whole 99% Invisible team. Dilara Çelik provided translation support and Onur Akmehmet was the voice of Mehmet.
You can find a transcript of this episode at our website.
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Loving Lebanon is one thing; living there is another. Generation after generation, surviving in the homeland sometimes costs too much.
This essay was written and read by Zahra Hankir, and it was originally published in Guernica. The episode was produced by Alex Atack with support from Dana Ballout. Sound design and mixing was by Paul Alouf and Alex Atack. Bella Ibrahim is our marketing manager.
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Two stories of music getting lost… and then found again. A record producer unearths a Moroccan masterpiece in the back of a dusty electronics shop in Casablanca, sending him on a long and complicated mission to find out what happened to the artist. And, a song that was never meant to be heard outside a small group of friends becomes an internet sensation.
This episode was written and produced by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with editing support from Zeina Dowidar and Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking by Tamara Juburi. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat. Bella Ibrahim is our marketing manager. Special thanks to Nahida Tarbaou, who helped us record one of the interviews for this episode, and to Roger Bendaly, Jannis Stürtz, Nordine Aboura and Joey Hamoui for speaking to us for these stories.
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In 1942, Lebanon's National Museum opened in Beirut, celebrating the country's golden age, and inside, it housed some of the region's most important artifacts. So when the Lebanese war started in 1975, the museum staff came up with an elaborate scheme to save everything inside the museum. This week on Kerning Cultures, the story of how a small team of museum employees protect thousands of years' worth of history.
This episode originally aired in December 2019, and was produced by Alex Atack and edited by Dana Ballout, with additional support from Tamara Rasamny and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and sound design by Mohamad Khreizat.
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Nagi Daifallah was a young farm worker from Yemen who moved to California in the early 1970s, when he was just 20 years old. He went on to become one of the organisers of the influential 1973 grape strike in California, led by Cesar Chavez.
But one night, after a day of striking, he was beaten to death by a local county sheriff outside a restaurant in Lamont, California.
Although the sheriff who killed him never faced justice, Nagi's story - and the movement he helped organise - went on to make real change to farm workers' rights in America, and continues to inspire Yemeni American activists today.
This episode was produced by Suzanne Gaber and Will Thomson, and edited by Dana Ballout. Additional support on this episode from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar, Shraddha Joshi and Abde Amr. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat.
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Over the last half century, as many nations around our region have gained independence or been through regime change, they've have had to ask themselves big questions. Like, what makes our country, our country? What are the symbols that define us? And, who gets to decide the answer to those questions? In our episode today, two stories about the complicated paths two countries took to arrive at those decisions.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack and Abde Amr, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Zeina Dowidar and Nadeen Shaker. Fact checking by Percia Verlin, and sound design by Mohamad Khreizat and Alex Atack.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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The graceful courtyards of Mexico and Puerto Rico aren't the first places you'd go looking for a secret Islamic history. But a closer look at the tiles and teacups reveals a bloody, beautiful and largely forgotten past.
This episode was produced by Alice Fordham and edited by Dana Ballout, with additional support from Alex Atack. Fact checking by Percia Verlin, and sound design and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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What happens when somebody dies in a country that's not their home? In the UAE, the answer to that is complicated. This week on Kerning Cultures, stories about the families who've had to go through the experience, and the group of volunteers who help repatriate the bodies of foreigners after they've died in the UAE.
This episode originally aired in September 2019.
Special thanks to Zaki, Max, Ashraf Thamaraserry, Vidhyadharan, Amal Mathew, Ambika and Renji. The people at the Indian Association; CM Bashir, Sajad Saheer, Mohamed Mohideen and Baiju G. Sunil at the Hindu Crematorium and Mr. Johnson at Holy Trinity Church.
This episode was produced by Noha Fayed and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Hebah Fisher, Shahd Bani Odeh and Tamara Rasamny. Translation by Ashfana Hameed. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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In 2015, our producer Nadeen Shaker visited the Cairo Genizah in one of Egypt's oldest synagogues. It was the place where, thousands of years ago, the Jews of Egypt literally stored any papers with God's name on them instead of throwing them away.
After a prominent Egyptian Jew, Jack Mosseri, discovered the Genizah manuscripts almost a century ago, and his untimely death afterwards, the manuscripts disappeared from view for decades.
When they were finally rediscovered, the question of where the collection of manuscripts would eventually go – Egypt, Israel, or the UK – became a thorny and still unanswered debate.
Today on Kerning Cultures, the story of the Genizah manuscripts and the question of where Egyptian Jewish history should be kept.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker and edited by Dana Ballout, with additional support from Alex Atack, Zeina Dowidar, Shraddha Joshi, and Abde Amr. Fact checking by Alex Atack and sound design and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.
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On August 2nd 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait City overnight, and its residents woke up to a city under occupation. The only airport was put on lockdown, and the Iraqi military set up checkpoints on the city's streets. The US, UK and Russia condemned the invasion, and some British and American citizens were taken as hostages. But the Indian government had no stake in the conflict, and around 165,000 Indian citizens living in Kuwait were caught up in a situation that didn't involve their country.
Which left the Indian government with a question they'd never had to face before: how do we evacuate tens of thousands of our citizens from a foreign country, all at once?
Today on Kerning Cultures, the story of one family's escape from Kuwait during one of the largest government evacuations in history.
This episode was written and produced by Alex Atack and Shraddha Joshi, and edited by Dana Ballout with support from Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Abde Amr. Fact checking by Shraddha Joshi, sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Bella Ibrahim is our marketing manager, and Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Ahmed Twaij explores an often-overlooked issue in the Arab world; racism towards Black Arabs. In this episode, he looks at racism in his own community, taking us from his Iraqi roots, through to modern day slurs still commonly used in many Arab communities around the world.
This episode was produced by Ahmed Twaij, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Shraddha Joshi, sound design by Alex Atack, and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Music in this episode was by Ahmed Moneka and Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Noon Salih and Sara Elhassan. Our marketing director is Bella Ibrahim, and Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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As 2020 brought us countless examples of injustice and pain, it brought remembrances that we live in a world in need of more - well, work. And that means scrutinising the cities we live in, the homes we rest in, and… the streets we live on.
Today on Kerning Cultures, we're bringing you two stories about two streets - and the justices and injustices hidden in their names. Follow us to Tehran and Khartoum as we uncover two histories brought together by one common denominator.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Dana Ballout, Shraddha Joshi and Abde Amr. Editing by Dana Ballout, and fact checking by Shraddha Joshi. Sound design by Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack, and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. The article Zeina reads throughout this episode is ‘How to Rename a Street' by Malia Wollan from the New York Times.
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After the Armenian Genocide, in which over 1.5 million Christians from the Ottoman Empire were killed by the Ottoman government, the main group of Ottoman leaders behind the atrocities were never made to face justice. They escaped Constantinople in the middle of the night and began new lives undercover in Europe. So, a small group of regular Armenians decided to take justice into their own hands.
This week on Kerning Cultures, the secretive operation to avenge the Armenian Genocide, and how it changed our relationship with the idea of justice in the modern world.
Images courtesy of Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy. Her book is called Sacred Justice: The Voices and Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis. Eric Bogosian's book is Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the Armenian Genocide.
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Since 2012, Korean pop culture has captured the imagination of people across the Middle East: from K-pop and K-dramas to Korean language classes and even to Korean fried chicken. It's everywhere!
But how did we become so obsessed with a culture so different from our own? And how much do we actually know about how it spread to our region?
This week on Kerning Cultures, we dive into the highly calculated forces behind the K-pop craze.
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We're excited to announce that season 2 of Kerning Cultures starts next week. Each Thursday, we'll be bringing you new stories from around the Middle East and North Africa. Here's a taste of what's to come...
Episode 1 drops on January 28th. Be sure to subscribe to this feed so that you never miss an episode.
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While we're gearing up for our next season, we wanted to share a behind the scenes look at what goes into making our episodes.
Hear Trancing with the Zars here, and Zabelle here.
This behind the scenes episode was produced by Alex Atack with Zeina Dowidar and Nadeen Shaker. Editing by Dana Ballout, and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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For his entire life, Maysam has lived in Dubai. His parents are from Syria, a place he hasn't visited since he was a young child. If you ask him, the UAE is his home. But on paper it isn't, and likely never will be. So what do you do when your home can't be your home forever?
This episode was originally broadcast in March 2018, and last week we called Maysam up to hear what's changed for him since the story aired.
This episode was produced by Hebah Fisher and Alex Atack, with editorial support by Dana Ballout, Percia Verlin, Laura Saab, Razan Alzayani, and Jackie Sofia. Sound design by Alex Atack and Fady Garas. Mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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The Palestine Broadcasting Service started airing in 1936, from a brand new transmitter tower in Ramallah. It was a British station in three languages, aimed at promoting the message of the mandate government throughout the region. But over the following decades, as Palestine saw political upheavals, bloody conflicts and power shifts, the radio station found itself in the middle of it all... and became a unique capsule of the events that lead up to the Nakba.
This episode was produced by Shahd Bani-Odeh, Alex Atack and Darah Ghanem, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny, Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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In our day-to-day lives, it's a drink. But for some people, it is not as simple as that. It's a Sufi's spiritual companion, an Emirati's keeper of tradition, and a Yemeni's connection to his homeland. Today, we dive into three stories about coffee, exploring the tradition, culture, and spirituality of this simple bean.
This episode was produced by Noon Salih, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker, and Dina Salem. Fact-checking by Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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The lower west side of Manhattan used to be home to the biggest population of Arab immigrants in the US. In the early 20th century, streets were full of people speaking Arabic, with street vendors selling ka'ak, storefront baklava displays; this was New York's “Little Syria”. Today though, it's all gone.
This week on Kerning Cultures, America's first Arab neighbourhood, and the final attempts to save it.
This episode was produced by Hager Eldaas, with editorial support from Tamara Rasamny, Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Alex Atack and Nadeen Shaker. Fact-checking by Dina Salem and Zeina Dowidar. Sound design and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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In 1979, Iftah Ya Simsim - the Arabic version of Sesame Street - aired for the first time. Over the next ten years, the show was loved by children across the Arab world, until 1990, when the show was pulled off the air as a result of the Gulf War. But Ammar Al Sabban, a young boy growing up watching the show in Jeddah, never forgot the impact his favourite characters had on him.
This week, a little boy's dream to become his favourite Muppet, and the making of a show that revolutionised children's television.
This episode originally aired in September 2018.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Faysal Bibi and his team of palaeontologists have been captivated by this one particular moment that took place in the Abu Dhabi desert seven million years ago. This week, a journey back to a time before the desert was the desert... when elephants, crocodiles and monkeys reigned supreme in the UAE.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny and Zeina Dowidar. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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In 1968, a trio of Palestinian filmmakers began making films about life under Israeli occupation. Almost 15 years and over 90 films later, their film unit became a dominant force in the Arab film industry. But in 1982, their film reels disappeared. Overnight, decades of footage and thousands of hours of archives were gone. Today on Kerning Cultures, the search for the Palestinian Film Unit's lost archives.
For the list of films and other resources mentioned in this episode, visit our blog: https://kerningcultures.com/kerned-and-cultured/palestinian-film-unit
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny, Dana Ballout, and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Sound design and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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This week, a special collaboration with one of our all time favourite podcasts: Radiolab. We produced the episode - Lebanon USA - last year, and Radiolab have taken that original story and elevated it to a whole new level.
This is a story of a road trip. After a particularly traumatic Valentine's Day, Fadi Boukaram was surfing google maps and noticed that there was a town called Lebanon... in Oregon. Being Lebanese himself, he wondered, how many Lebanons exist in the US? The answer: 47. Thus began his journey to visit them all and find an America he'd never expected, and the homeland he'd been searching for all along.
The original "Lebanon USA" story was produced by Alex Atack with editorial support from Bella Ibrahim, Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
The new update of the story was produced and produced by Shima Oliaee and Jad Abumrad, with original music by Thomas Koner and Jad Atoui.
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We're heartbroken by what happened in Beirut on Tuesday, August 4. Many of us at the Kerning Cultures team are Lebanese, or have close ties to Beirut. So we're taking a break from publishing our episode this week. Instead, we'd like to use this platform to ask you to consider donating what you can to relief efforts like the Lebanese Red Cross. You can find a more thorough list of resources on our blog by clicking here.
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In the 1960s, a college professor and his group of students were determined to build and launch rockets into space. And so, they did. This week, on Kerning Cultures, a story about the first-ever rocket launched from the Arab world into space.
This episode was produced by Tamara Rasamny with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Bella Ibrahim is our marketing manager. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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In 1917, a musical prodigy called Zabelle Panosian recorded a song that captured the heartbreak of a generation of Armenian Americans in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide. She toured the world, selling thousands of records. And then, she was almost completely forgotten. This is her story.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar, and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamed Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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For centuries in Egypt, Zar was a music and dance ritual believed to heal women from unwanted spirits that possessed their bodies. But as time went on and ideologies changed, the practice became controversial and deeply feared. And now, it's mostly gone. Today on Kerning Cultures, join producer Zeina Dowidar on a journey of music, spirits, and trance.
This episode was produced by Zeina Dowidar with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, Nadeen Shaker, Alex Atack, and Hebah Fisher.
Sound design by Tamara Rasamny and Mohamed Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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This is the ugly truth: racism and anti-Blackness in the Arab world is a common practice and a subject so taboo that many have convinced themselves that it doesn't even exist. But for those of us who live in these societies, and who are caught at the intersection of Black and Arab identities, it is undeniable. Today on Kerning Cultures, producer Sara Elhassan on racism in the Arab world.
This episode was produced by Sara Elhassan, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, Zeina Dowidar, Alex Atack, and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Episode artwork is illustrated by Enas Satir. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Our producer Nadeen Shaker takes us on her own personal journey in trying to discover why she felt excluded because of her hijab. In Egypt, things are more complex than they seem; history, politics, class, and money all played a hand in changing how people perceive veiled women. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story about what it's like to feel like an outcast in your own country.
This episode was produced by Nadeen Shaker, with editorial support from Dana Ballout. Tamara Rasamny, Zeina Dowidar, Alex Atack, and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Last year, our producer Darah Ghanem stumbled upon an obscure blog on a nearly forgotten corner of the internet. On it were hundreds of historic photographs of a Christian missionary school in Khartoum called Unity High School. But as she looked closer, she started to see something else: the blog's writers were trying to tell the world about an alleged corruption scandal that they thought had taken place at the school nearly a decade ago. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story of loose ends, conflicting sources, and half-truths. Part 2 of 2.
This episode was produced by Darah Ghanem and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar, sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Last year, our producer Darah Ghanem stumbled upon an obscure blog on a nearly forgotten corner of the internet. On it were hundreds of historic photographs of a Christian missionary school in Khartoum called Unity High School. But as she looked closer, she started to see something else: the blog's writers were trying to tell the world about an alleged corruption scandal that they thought had taken place at the school nearly a decade ago. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story of loose ends, conflicting sources, and half-truths. Part 1 of 2.
This episode was produced by Darah Ghanem and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar, sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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We're back! We'll be here with a new episode of Kerning Cultures every Friday this summer. Here's a quick taste of what's to come.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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All of our lives have changed. In this unprecedented time, we wanted to make something to reflect this moment. So today, our Kerning Cultures quarantine special: stories of staying at home, lockdowns from history, creative ways of escaping boredom... and for everybody's sanity, a few things that have nothing to do with the coronavirus.
You can hear Majd's radio show, Radio Al Hay, at yamakan.place/beirut.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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While we're working on our summer season, we're going to be dropping some bonus episodes into your feed over the next few months. Starting with this one: a special conversation featuring producer Alex Atack, who you've heard telling you all these stories, but you probably don't know much about him. So this his backstory, and a sneak peek into what's coming up in Kerning Cultures' summer season. It comes to us from our friends at the Da Miri Podcast, which is a show hosted by Tariq Elmeri where he has these deep, honest conversations with what he calls “unique individuals."
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This year, we'll be switching to a seasonal release schedule, rather than one episode every two weeks. Hebah explains why.
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Today, an update on a story from the Kerning Cultures vault.
The little-known, intertwining of history between Yemen and Vietnam, told through the lens of a single family. Then, a story of modern Arab migration.
This story originally aired in December 2018.
Thank you to Faraj and his family for being so open and warm with us despite us poking around in their family history. To Adam Sjoberg who directed the film Shake The Dust that features Faraj and other amazing breakdancers from around the world. And to all the Yemeni scholars and researchers who helped us unpack some of the complex history, especially Najwa Adra, Hasan Al Ansi, and Jon Swanson.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 1942, Lebanon's National Museum opened in Beirut, celebrating the country's golden age and inside, it housed some of the region's most important artifacts. So when the Lebanese war started in 1975, the museum staff came up with a risky and elaborate scheme to save everything inside the museum. This week on Kerning Cultures, the story of how a small team of museum employees protected thousands of years' worth of history.
Thank you to Suzy Hakimian, Anne-Marie Afeiche and Dr. Reinhard G. Lehmann for speaking to us for this episode.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, and Hebah Fisher, with fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Today, an update on a story from the Kerning Cultures vault.
Elie was a journalist looking for her next story when she met Ziad at a party in Istanbul. Ziad was a Syrian refugee hoping to travel to Europe and apply for asylum. Elie asked Ziad if she could follow him to Norway, his final destination, and document the journey. He said yes. So commences their odyssey together... and the beginning of a journey neither could have anticipated.
This story originally aired in May 2017.
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Asmaa al-Ghoul was an ambitious young journalist when she started reporting on Gaza – her hometown – for the newspaper she'd dreamed of working for in high school. But through the trauma of uprisings, wars, and a failed marriage, she began to question how much journalism really matters.
This week on Kerning Cultures, a special collaboration with Zahra Hankir as she reads Asmaa's essay from her book Our Women on the Ground. You can buy Our Women on the Ground on Amazon here.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack, with editorial support by Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Thank you to Zahra Hankir for reading this essay, to Asmaa al-Ghoul, who wrote it, and to Mariam Antar, who translated it from Arabic. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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On October 17, people in Lebanon hit the streets to call for a new government. The revolution's slogan, “all of them means all of them”, spares no political party that has been a part of the sectarian-based government. This week on Kerning Cultures: how the revolution is changing people's relationship with their country.
This episode was produced by Tamara Rasamny and Alex Atack, with editorial support by Dana Ballout, Hannah Myrick and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat, and fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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His whole life, Walid Waked had been told that his great grandfather invented the Arabic typewriter. And then, one day, he learned that another family - the Haddads - believed they invented it. This week on Kerning Cultures: the contested history of the Arabic typewriter.
Thank you to everybody we spoke to for this story: Ahmed Ellaithy - for everything, and taking us down the rabbit hole with you - Walid Waked, Anis Waked, Alexandre Cordahi, Nagla Badran, Pascal Zoghbi and Titus Nemeth.
This episode was produced by Ahmed Ellaithy, Hebah Fisher, Nadeen Shaker, and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Tamara Rasamny, and Zeina Dowidar. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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What happens when somebody dies in a country that's not their home? This week on Kerning Cultures, stories about the group of volunteers who help repatriate the bodies of foreigners after they've died in the UAE.
Special thanks to Zaki, Max, Ashraf Thamaraserry, Vidhyadharan, Amal Mathew, Ambika and Renji. The people at the Indian Association; CM Bashir, Sajad Saheer, Mohamed Mohideen and Baiju G. Sunil at the Hindu Crematorium and Mr. Johnson at Holy Trinity Church.
This episode was produced by Noha Fayed and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Hebah Fisher, Shahd Bani Odeh and Tamara Rasamny. Translation by Ashfana Hameed. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and the spaces in between.
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How do you preserve a language when your government is actively trying to erase it?
Abduweli Ayup is a Uyghur linguist who was trying to stop the Chinese government from replacing Uyghur with Mandarin. He had been studying the language's history, teaching Uyghur to younger students and writing books in Uyghur. But recently, when the Chinese government began forcibly detaining Uyghurs in Xinjiang, his work got much riskier. Then, they came for Abduweli himself. This week on Kerning Cultures, Abduweli's fight to preserve his mother tongue.
Special thanks to Abduweli Ayup and his family for sharing their story, and to Arienne Dwyer and Timothy Grose.
This episode was produced by Durrie Bouscaren and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Ramchandra Tendel arrived to Abu Dhabi from India in 1989, when he was 20. Since, he's been captain of a fishing boat. Last May, the nets he uses to fish were banned in the UAE; they were causing too much harm to fish stocks. But the ban also means Ramchandra and his crew can't fish anymore. This week on Kerning Cultures, Ramchandra and his crew's last week in the UAE.
Special thanks to Vipruta Vagadiya, Ramchandra Tendel and his crew, and Fatma Al Sayegh.
This episode was produced by Noon Salih, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Dana Ballout, and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Fact checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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٣ شخصيات تروي كيف تأثرت من انفصال جنوب السودان عن الشمال، وتحدثنا عن المعاناة التي خلقت تساؤلات عن معنى الوطن والانتماء.
Three characters share the struggles of living in post-secession Sudan, and how the 2011 split influenced their understandings of identity, nationality, and home.
Thanks to Salah Eldeen ElNour, Ahmed Mahjoub Hassan, Alaa Bint Hashim, Moez, Abdel azim, Noon Salih, Mohammad ElMeshad, Husam Abu Hilal, Mohammad Anas, Mrs Norma Maolouf, Mr Goerge, Sarah El Hasan, Ghaith Khouri, Alaa Shamaa, Lumumba Di-Aping, Zeina Dowidar, and Larissa Nour for making this episode possible.
This episode was produced by Shahd Bani Odeh and Darah Ghanem, with editorial support from Dana Ballout. Music by Sammany Hajo and Musab MR. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Lynn left behind her hometown village in the Philippines for a housekeeping job in Lebanon at the age of 23. It was only meant to be temporary… until she met Butros, her employer's nephew, and they fell in love. But for Lynn, marrying Butros has meant choosing to settle down in a country where she's treated as an outsider.
This episode was produced by Dana Ballout, with Nathalie Rosa Bucher and Alex Atack. Editorial support from Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Kerning Cultures is now the first venture-funded podcast company in the Middle East. Which means we've got more shows coming, in both English and Arabic. Here, Hebah explains some of our future plans, plus a sneak peek of our next podcast show, al empire, which will be out this summer.
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نور، ترى العالم بصوتها
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Two bite-sized stories from the Kerning Cultures vault. First, is there really Halal Cart drama in New York? And, we explore an ancient farming practice, modernised in Cairo.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack, with reporting for the Halal Food Cart story by Jahd Khalil and production support from Nadine Tadros and Claire Tighe. Editorial by Dana Ballout, Bella Ibrahim, and Hebah Fisher. The aquaponics story was produced by Alex Atack and Hebah Fisher, with editorial support from Bella Ibrahim, Dana Ballout, and Zeina Dowidar. Overall sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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We asked women to tell us about their first periods and how it set a tone for how they view their bodies today. A tribute to International Women's Day.
Produced by Shahd Bani Odeh and Darah Ghanem. With editorial support by Dana Ballout, Hebah Fisher, Bella Ibrahim, and Alex Atack. Sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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In the 1930s, the architect Nasri Khattar tried to completely overhaul the Arabic script – singlehandedly. For the next 47 years, he worked day and night to implement his writing system, Unified Arabic. Ultimately, he failed. This is his story.
Special Thanks to Camille Khattar, Yara Khoury, Kristyan Sarkis, and Samar Mikati at the AUB archives.
Produced by Jahd Khalil. With editorial support by Alex Atack, Hebah Fisher, Dana Ballout, and Bella Ibrahim. Sound design by Alex Atack and Mohamad Khreizat. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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In 2016, Fadi Boukaram planned to visit 47 American towns named Lebanon by road. Then, in Lebanon South Dakota, he discovered that all these other Lebanons have more in common with the country than anybody realised. This week on Kerning Cultures, a story about the surprising history that connects Lebanon, with a string of small towns in the USA.
Special Thanks to Fadi Boukaram, Bass Samaan from Trees of Joy, Linda, and Hazel McRoberts from the Long Branch, and Robert Auld for reading Mayor Jared Carr's proclamation.
Produced by Alex Atack. With editorial support by Bella Ibrahim, Hebah Fisher, and Dana Ballout. Sound design by Alex Atack. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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لينا خطاب وعهد التميمي ٬أسيرتان محررتان٬ ترويان لنا ظروف التحقيق والاعتقال القاسية٬ كما تحكيان لنا عن معاناة تجاوزت حدود السجن
Lina Khattab and Ahed Tamimi were arrested as teenagers. Their stories are years apart, but at the time of their imprisonment, people around the world stood either in support of their freedom, or in favor of their confinement. As teenagers, they rose to fame – at the expense of their childhood.
Special Thanks to Ahed Tamimi and her family, Lina Khattab, Tala Halawa, Hassan Abdelhalim, Ramz Bsharat, Mahmoud Khawaja, Lema Nazeeh, and Tiba Hameed.
Produced by Shahd Bani Odeh and Dana Ballout, with editorial support by Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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In the heart of Lebanon's capital city, Beirut, Hamra Street once stood as one of the preeminent cultural, economic, and intellectual center of Arab world. Hamra Street housed journalists, politicians, and leaders who were exiled from other nations, and was the site of inception for opposition movements. But after the Lebanese Civil War, the district never quite recovered.
Yazan Halwani works to preserve the fading history of Hamra Street in his wall-sized street murals. His signature style combines Arabic calligraphy with portraits of Lebanese and other Arab figures – from world-famous recording artists to resident street urchins. While reflecting the storied histories of Beirut's streets onto themselves, Halwani hopes that he can bring back the spirit that once inhabited neighborhoods like Hamra Street.
This episode was originally aired in 2015.
Produced by Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher, sound design by Ramzi Bashour. Special thanks to Yazan Halwani, Maria Abunasr, music by Khaled el Habr شارع الحمرا and Sabah جيب المجوز يا عبود. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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Often the hijab is perceived as this static, monolithic thing. But of course, it's not that simple – every Muslim woman who chooses to wear, or not to wear the hijab has a different understanding and experience of it, and in these stories we're going to dig into some of that grey area. In this episode, we hear two women from different parts of the world share their relationships with their hijab.
This story was originally broadcast in 2017.
Special thanks to Dana Ballout and Hakaya Storytelling for the inspiration for this episode.
This episode was produced by Razan Alzayani, Lilly Crown, and Hebah Fisher. Sound design and original composition by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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In part one, we told the story of Faraj Al Baadani's family, which unveiled a little-known history between Yemen and Vietnam. Nearly 40 years later, Faraj continues his family's migration, this time farther West as he moves from Yemen to the USA. In Part Two, a story of modern Arab migration that is different from our parents.
Thank you to Faraj and his family for being so open and warm with us despite us poking around in their family history. To Adam Sjoberg who directed the film Shake The Dust that features Faraj and other amazing breakdancers from around the world. And to all the Yemeni scholars and researchers who helped us unpack some of the complex history, especially Najwa Adra, Hasan Al Ansi, and Jon Swanson.
This epiosde was produced by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack with editorial support from Hebah Fisher. With thanks to Faraj Al Baadani, Fatimah Ahmad Mohammed, Linh Smith, Frank Smith, Najwa Adra, Jon Swanson, Hasan al Ansi, and Adam Sjoberg. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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The little-known, intertwining of history between Yemen and Vietnam, told through the lens of a single family. Part one of a story told in two parts.
Thank you to Faraj and his family for being so open and warm with us despite us poking around in their family history. To Adam Sjoberg who directed the film Shake The Dust that features Faraj and other amazing breakdancers from around the world. And to all the Yemeni scholars and researchers who helped us unpack some of the complex history, especially Najwa Adra, Hasan Al Ansi, and Jon Swanson.
Part I was produced by Dana Ballout and Alex Atack, with editorial support from Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Short stories about passports, visas, and making “home”. And, the KC team challenge themselves to find a place in the world where visas don't matter.
Thank you to Mohamed Somji, Liz Eschauzier, Anna Zacarias and Dylan Fitzgerald for sharing their short stories of living in the UAE.
This episode was produced by Alex Atack with Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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When demolition began on the Plaza Cinema in 2015, something unusual happened; Dubai residents began visiting the site to collect mementos from the building's rubble. The cinema was almost as old as the UAE itself – a place which many people held an emotional connection to. In this episode, a story about a cinema that was much more than just a cinema.
Find out more about the Plaza Cinema here.
Thank you to everybody who spoke to us for this story; Lachman Bhatia, Ausaf Ali Raja, Yasser Elsheshtawy, Butheina Kazim, Hind Mezaina, Ammar Al Attar and Hassan Kamal.
Produced by Alex Atack and Vinita Bharadwaj, with editorial support from Dana Ballout and Hebah Fisher. Sound design by Alex Atack. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
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In 1979, Iftah Ya Simsim - the Arabic version of Sesame Street - aired for the first time. Over the next ten years, the show was loved by children across the Arab world, until 1990, when the show was pulled off the air as a result of the Gulf War.
But Ammar Al Sabban, a young boy growing up watching the show in Jeddah, never forgot the impact his favourite characters had on him.
In this episode, a little boy's dream to become his favourite Muppet, and the making of a show that revolutionised children's television.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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“I still believe this is the scariest moment of my entire life. My face is white, I'm shaking and I'm terrified. I'm frozen––I can't do anything.”
In July 2016, Toufic Abou Nader set off on a journey to the bottom of the Krubera cave––the deepest cave in the world.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Ronnie Chatah started giving his walking tours of Beirut in 2008, during a period of stability for the city. He would guide tourists through the city, telling stories of Phoenician ruins, French architecture and Ottoman houses. He'd also talk about Lebanon's civil war, and the political unrest that came to follow it. But these were stories about other people, other eras and other lives. Until December of 2013, when Ronnie's personal life was sucked into the tapestry of Beirut's history.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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It's been two years since our story about Rami and Marinka, the Dutch-Lebanese couple who fell in love over MSN Messenger during the Lebanon-Israel war. Not once, but twice, chance brought them together online, sparking an epic modern love story. Since we last spoke, a lot has changed for them. In this episode, we check back in to see where their lives are now.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Ghada and Ranyah don't know each other, but their stories have a lot in common. When they each married their husbands, everybody around them assumed they'd live happily ever after. But it didn't turn out that way, for either of them. They were both left to rebuild new identities as single women in the Middle East as they raised their families alone. In this episode, we hear their stories of divorce, and what came next.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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This year, the Egyptian national football team ended a 28-year streak of bad luck when they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. But their road to the tournament wasn't an easy one. It's a story of heroism, revolution and disappointment. This week on Kerning Cultures, how the Pharaohs ended their curse.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Every 10 years, the United States Census counts and categorises every person living in America. But for Middle Easterners in America, there has never been a category option. And now, for the first time, there might be.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.
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Elie was a journalist looking for her next story when she met Ziad at a party in Istanbul. Ziad was a Syrian refugee hoping to travel to Europe and apply for asylum. Elie asked Ziad if she could follow him to Norway, his final destination, and document the journey. He said yes. So commences their odyssey together... and the beginning of a journey neither could have anticipated.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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From Iraq to Texas: a doctor's chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as a refugee. (English, dubbed version)
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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From Iraq to Texas: a doctor's chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as a refugee. (Original, Arabic).
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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(Censored) A story of where we're from - when it's not straightforward.
For his entire life, Maysam has lived in Dubai. His parents are from Syria, a place he hasn't visited since he was a young child. If you ask him, the UAE is his home. But on paper it isn't, and likely never will be. So what happens when the only place you know as home in your heart can't be your home forever?
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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A mashup from our listening community exploring the literal meanings and experiences of your Arabic, Farsi, and Hebrew names.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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"Without the female building block, there will be no security." Ch 2 in our mini-series on women and deradicalisation efforts, in partnership with Women's Advancement Deeply.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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"How would you like to remember your son?" Ch 1 in a mini-series on women and deradicalisation.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Ask a Palestinian, ask an Israeli.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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'Yasir?' That's too difficult. I'll just call you Tony.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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6 years after a revolution, what is it like starting a business in the new Tunisia?
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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4,000 miles, a bike trip, an Armenian, a Turk, and a history that doesn't match up.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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4 women, and their hijabs. Chapter 2 of a 2-part series.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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4 women. And their hijabs. Chapter 1 in a 2-part series, Not Just My Hijab.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Behind the scenes of our startup Kerning Cultures.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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One man's mission to revive Yemeni coffee for global markets.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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A look at (the first) Trump travel ban and its effects.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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When you're forced to leave your home, what traditions do you take with you? A journey with an Afghani kite fighting master.
Credit to The Kite Runner film, a 2007 production by Dreamworks Pictures and Paramount Classics, for some of the audio we used.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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The year is 1959, and 1 in every 2 babies are dying in childbirth in the United Arab Emirates.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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A US election special: meet the Americans of Middle Eastern descent supporting Trump.
Produced by Hebah Fisher, Razan Alzayani, Fact-checking by Lilly Crown, with sound design by Mohamed Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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It's 2011, and Bahrain is a divided society. Can they reconcile?
Correction: The episode erroneously claims Yacoub is a current member of the Bahrain Foundation for Reconciliation and Civil Discourse; he is only a supporter of their efforts.
Produced by Hebah Fisher, Razan Alzayani, and Lilly Crown, with sound design by Ramzi Bashour. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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How do you lose a family member in Europe's elusive borders? And as a refugee how do you navigate the world of smugglers when crossing the English Channel? At a time when nations are sealing off their borders, we explore the nuances of migration, border ambiguity and smuggling in this episode of Kerning Cultures.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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An epic modern love story. He was in Beirut during the Lebanon-Israel war; she was in a small village outside of Rotterdam. They met on MSN Messenger.
Produced by Alex Atack, Razan Alzayani, and Hebah Fisher, with sound design by Ramzi Bashour. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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"No one believed I was moving back to Cairo; it's a jungle there."
Chapter 2 finalises our exploration into Egyptian brain drain.
Featuring guests Sylvia, Alaa Shaker, and Tarek Hosny. Produced by Razan Alzayani and Hebah Fisher, with editorial support and sound design by Ramzi Bashour. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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What do we owe the places that raised us? Egypt has the highest rate of voluntary emigration in MENA, and we wanted to know why. Chapter 1 in a two-part series on emigration from Egypt.
Featuring guests Ahmed Yossef, Abdelrahman Erlebach, and Iman Dawood. Produced by Hebah Fisher, Razan Alzayani, and Lilly Crown, with editorial support and sound design by Ramzi Bashour. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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The creative process, deconstructed. This episode we take you behind the scenes to capture raw human talent: the intimate brainstorming, trials, and experimentation of 3 musicians and a poet preparing for a spoken word performance. What's more, is this is the first time the group has ever come together to play. Listen as they find their groove and harmonise in a beautiful ascension you never typically are privy to.
Featuring Maruan Betawi, Farah Chamma, Ahmad Molham Makki, and Eleftheria Togia. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Finding center: physical, spiritual, mentally.
Story I: [0:00-6:57] Finding Yourself in the Reflection of a Horse
Story II: [6:58-13:36] Finding Peace in a Hula Hoop
Story III: [13:37-26:37] Reconciling Islam and Astronomy
Featuring Kelly Eide, Teeba Alkhudairi, and Nidhal Guessum
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Painting Beirut's diaries on its walls.
Featuring Yazan Halwani and Maria Abunnasr. Produced by Dana Ballout with editorial support by Hebah Fisher. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Is Dubai the next Silicon Valley of the Middle East? Startup stories from the United Arab Emirates. Featuring Alborz Toofani of Snappcard, Elissa Freiha of WOMENA, and Baher Alhakim of Cloudappers.
Produced by Hebah Fisher. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Egyptian startups: a different kind of revolution.
This episode features Mahmoud Abdelfattah, founder of bkam.com, Con O'Donnell, co-founder and BizDev Lead at Rise Up Summit, Gamal Sadek, co-founder of Bey2ollak, and Dina Sherif, co-founder of Ahead of the Curve. Produced by Hebah Fisher. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.
Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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Our first episode of Kerning Cultures! Water and electricity cut daily, and yet $400M for startups. Sstarting a company in Lebanon, through the lens of a startup that graduated from Lebanon's first accelerator and was the first to receive funding from the Central Bank Circular 331 funds.
Featuring: Walid Singer, founder of Presella.com, Samer Karam, founder of Seeqnce and Startup Megaphone, and Marianne Hoayek, Executive Director of the Executive Office the Central Bank of Lebanon.
Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month.
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