Urvashi Butalia comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss why it is important to tell feminist histories, challenging his story, and the current state of publishing. On this deep dive episode, we get into a discussion around the fluidity of identity, stories of partition survivors, and having empathy of the other. Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminist writer, publisher and activist. She is known for her work in the women's movement of India, as well as for authoring books such as The Other Sid...
Jul 20, 2021•2 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Sarah Belal comes on the podcast to discuss the Death Penalty, criminalizing torture and the Criminal Justice System. Sarah Belal is the Founder and Executive Director of Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a legal action non-profit organization that provides pro bono representation to the most vulnerable Pakistani prisoners facing harsh punishments in the courts of law and the court of public opinion. Ms. Belal won the prestigious Echoing Green Global Fellowship in 2013 – making JPP the first Pakis...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Mariam Shafqat Goraya, Amna Shafqat Goraya, Preh Memon, Sajeer Shaikh, Ekta Shaikh and Laiba Zainab join us to discuss their lived experiences and the experience of living as a woman in Pakistan.
Jul 10, 2021•3 hr 28 min•Season 4Ep. 4
1947 and 1971 are the two most pivotal moments in Pakistan's history yet they remain largely unknown. What we know about them depends on what the state wants us to know; your perception of events will be clouded by what side of the border you were born in. The most important aspect of the story is often left untold by the state narratives: the people, the lived experiences of millions. The recording of oral histories sheds light on those experiences. Through a peoples history you can piece toget...
Jul 07, 2021•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 117
Faheem Azam is a writer, director, comedian, actor and content creator. Faheem Azam was the original head of Content at 'Teeli' and has worked on films like 'Paray Hut Love'. On this week's episode, we get into a discussion on the Taliban, changing narratives, motay jism, Nikkahnamas, actors being cast based on looks, performing, making films, Teeli, relationships and the colonial mind. Why are good films not being made in Pakistan? Do Pakistan like size zero models? Did legends do below the bel...
Jun 27, 2021•2 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Dr. Taimur Rahman is a PhD and a Professor at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is also the General Secretary of the Mazdoor Kissan Party and a political activist. Dr. Shahram Azhar is a PhD and a Professor at Bucknell University. He is also a classically trained musician and singer. Taimur and Shahram join us for in depth discussion on Marxism, Identity Politics and the state of the Left in Pakistan. We get into a debate about the efficacy of Identity Politics, New Marxism vs Old...
Jun 23, 2021•3 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Stand-up comedian Ali Abdullah comes on the podcast to discuss nangay budhay, his stand up comedy journey, political correctness and memories of MQM! The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation. We do deep dive long form podcasts to show you the many shades that encapsulate The Pakistan Experience. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience An...
Jun 18, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Ammar Rashid, the President of Punjab of the Awami Workers Party, comes on the podcast to discuss the 'populous' nature of Imran Khan's politics and the left's response to Pakistan's economic crisis. Ammar Rashid is an academic, researcher and activist, whose work focuses on development, housing, informal settlements, health, gender and education. On this episode, we get into a deep dive discussion on the Budget, how Imran Khan's politics have evolved, how Pakistan can stop being a rentier state...
Jun 14, 2021•2 hr 35 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Khurram Hussain is a Business and Economy Journalist at DAWN, Pakistan's leading Newspaper. Khurram Hussain comes on the podcast to unmask the provisional economic growth rate of 3.9% given by the Government. On this deep dive discussion, we get into the question of if the GDP growth actually help uplift the impoverished in Pakistan, the myth of trickle down economics, and what Pakistan can do to make economic growth sustainable. Are we headed towards another IMF program? Does the current accoun...
Jun 07, 2021•2 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 112
The families of the victims of the PIA plane crash, PK8303 in Karachi, come on the podcast to discuss their fight for justice over the past year. From the absolute callousness of the officials to the inhumanity showed by PIA, the families discuss all the hardships they have faced to make air travel safe in Pakistan. The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation. We do deep dive long form p...
Jun 01, 2021•2 hr 42 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Afia Salam comes on to discuss the recent attack on Asad Ali Toor, and the history of Journalists being threatened in Pakistan, from self-censorship to disappearances, we discuss what more can be done to push back against these tactics against journalists. We also do a deep dive discussion on human development, climate change and activism. Is Individual responsibility or corporate culture more to blame for climate change? Should the global south halt development to reduce carbon omissions? Is th...
May 28, 2021•2 hr 38 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Babar Khan Javed is an investigative journalist that covers the $2B advertising & media industry in Pakistan. Currently reporting via Profit, he is credited with helping the marketing community understand the value of data-driven influencer marketing, the path to repositioning media as an investment, creating a platform for female executives to share POVs that deviate from the status quo, and more. He can be reached at babar.khan@pakistantoday.com.pk for pitches while whistleblowers can reac...
May 24, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Ali Aftab Saeed is a singer, journalist and digital content creator. Adeel Afzal is an actor, writer and digital content creator. The two juggernauts come together on this very special episode of The Pakistan Experience. On this episode we discuss the 'Dehhari' philosophy, dealing with trolls online, Waqar Zaka, virgin murghiyan, kohta karhai, garmi aur Nat Geo kee batameeziyan! The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, t...
May 20, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 108
Tabish Hashmi, Stand-up Comedian and host of the hit show, To Be Honest, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss his career, the show, and the industry. On this deep dive podcast we discuss 'Problematic jokes', Political correctness, Marriage, Children, Activism, To Be Honest, The Media Industry, and Cleaning Bathrooms. Tabish also remembers his father and talks about his life growing up. The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and...
May 13, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 107
Arif Hasan comes back on the podcast to discuss why Pakistan has struggled in the past 74 years, the systematic destruction of our institutions, Zia's legacy, the land mafia, Bahria Town, forced evictions, Katchi Abadis and Thar. On this deep dive podcast, Arif Hasan discusses talks about the corruption in International projects, why development needs to be human-centric, how people are evicted from their homes by land mafia, why he feels Defence might flood again this year and the Gujjarnala ev...
May 10, 2021•1 hr 51 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Syed Muzammil Shah is a news anchor, political analyst and vlogger. Muzammil comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the culture of irrationality, how religious extremism was promoted in Pakistan, the damage PTI is causing to the ideology of the youth and debate what is keeping us ignorant. On this podcast we discuss the News Media Industry, Hasan Nisar, Nietzsche, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Imran Khan, Usman Buzdar, how dangerous TLP can be, our favourite philosopher, what is keeping Pakistan bac...
May 07, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Danish Husain is an actor, poet, Dastango, and a theatre director. He lives in Mumbai, India & runs a theatre company called The Hoshruba Repertory. He was instrumental in reviving the lost art form of Urdu storytelling, Dastangoi. Later he initiated a multi-lingual storytelling project called Qissebaazi. Lately his screen works like Bombay Begums & Taj Mahal 1989 on Netflix & Mee Raqsam on Zee5 OTT platforms have attracted attention. Danish Hussain joins us on The Pakistan Experienc...
Apr 23, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 104
None of us realizing the toll this pandemic has taken on our mental health. We are all feeling burnout, done with this and looking to put the pandemic behind us. Sharmeen Khan, Clinical Psychologist and a Therapist, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how to protect your mental health through this. How to recognize a burn out? What to do when you feel one? We get into a deep dive discussion about trolling, suicide ideation, mental health, personal relationships, toxic behaviour and share...
Apr 19, 2021•2 hr•Season 1Ep. 103
The podcast ends at 2:04:33 but there is ten minutes of dead space after that, sorry about that, I put the outro at 2:13 but I forgot about it and when it rendered it rendered till then. Natasha Humera Ejaz is an indie musician who shot to fame with "The Right Way to Fall", and she has continued to soar over the past decade with her music, acting and comedy. She recently launched her alter ego, Stupid Happiness Theory, an ambient/chill wave electronica music act. Natasha has also been a permanen...
Apr 16, 2021•2 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Starting our second hundred episodes with a bang, and a very special episode with Physicist, Intellectual, Academic, and Professor, Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy. On this episode of The Pakistan Experience, Pervez Hoodbhoy exposes the corruption of HEC, the involvement of the Government in it, Ata-ur-Rehman, and we go deep into a discussion on the ideology of Pakistan. Do we need a national ideology? Will a Pakistani identity ever emerge? How damaging has it been for us to The two nation theory The podcas...
Apr 13, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Imaan Zainab-Mazari Hazir, an activist and a lawyer, comes on the podcast to discuss why the comments of Prime Minister Imran Khan about 'Fahashi' are problematic, what women face when they go to the courts after facing harassment, the disinformation around the Meesha Shafi-Ali Zafar case and living as Shireen Mazari's daughter. From facing backlash online to being in the public eye since she was a teenager, from family debates to learning and growing in public spaces, on this podcast we get int...
Apr 09, 2021•1 hr 50 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Tariq Ali is a British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is the author of many books, including Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power (1970), Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1983), Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002). Tariq Ali comes back on the podcast to discuss dynastic politics, the PPP that was, if there is any reason to be hopeful in PDM, 1971, Fatima Jinnah, and the Pakistani left. Does the...
Apr 03, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Uzair Younus is a senior fellow at The Atlantic Council looking at the region of South Asia. Uzair Younus comes back on the podcast to discuss why Bangladesh is surging ahead of Pakistan, the geoeconomics of South Asia, what impact Biden's presidency may have on Indo-Pak relations and if the recent comments by Pakistan suggest a strategic policy shift. We also discuss the new State Bank provisions, whether Pakistan should have gone to the IMF, food inflation, the eroding purchasing power, the pe...
Mar 28, 2021•3 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 97
A lot is said about Partition, Pakistan and the role of Quaid-e-Azam; we had the pre-eminent scholar on Partition, Ayesha Jalal, come on the podcast to set the record straight. On this deep dive podcast, Ayesha Jalal discusses writing history, 1947, 1971, the role of Bhutto, Fatima Jinnah, the legacy of colonialism, whether writing Peoples History is actually writing History, The Sole Spokesman, what Pakistan did Quaid-e-Azam want and the division of provinces during Partition. Ayesha Jalal also...
Mar 26, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Kanwal Ahmed is the founder of the Facebook group, Soul Sisters, and the creator of the show, 'Conversations with Kanwal, aimed towards breaking stigma around certain issues and openly talking about them. Soul Sisters was created as a community and a safe space for women to discuss their lives. Kanwal Ahmed comes on the podcast to discuss her entire journey - from being misunderstood, bullied, labelled and the burn out that comes from managing all of that. In this deep dive podcast, we discuss t...
Mar 25, 2021•1 hr 53 min•Season 1Ep. 92
Ali Usman Qasmi, Professor (History) at LUMS comes on the podcast to unpack the history of Pakistan, starting from discussing the varied perspectives of Muslims pre-1947. On this podcast we discuss the Pakistan Resolution, the Punjabi Identity, whether Muslim League was a movement of the elites, how Pakistan came to be, the anti-Ahmadi riots, election rigging, Fatima Jinnah, Ayub Khan and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Qasmi sahab also goes into detail of the Ahmadi issue as we unpack the history of Pakis...
Mar 21, 2021•2 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Sami Shah is a Pakistani Stand-up comedian who has now moved to Australia to become one of the top performing comedians in the country. Sami is also an author, after winning numerous awards for his autobiographical work, "I Migrant", Sami ventured into fantasy fiction with 'Earth Boy' and 'Boy of Fire and Earth'. Sami Shah comes on the podcast to discuss how he found his voice performing Stand up comedy - Sami discusses being on the scene of the Karsaz bomb blast reporting live then going to per...
Mar 19, 2021•2 hr 34 min•Season 1Ep. 93
Junaid Fazal runs a cosmetics distribution business and an investment company that funds SMEs, Junaid found religion after graduating and has been on a spiritual path ever since. Junaid also happens to be an old friend of mine, I invited him on the podcast to discuss misconceptions about the Aurat March that ended up being a much wider conversation about how religion is misused in our society. The social media echo chambers make it seem like there are two Pakistans: A liberal one and a conservat...
Mar 13, 2021•2 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 91
Lilith and Mariam Shafqat Goraya join us to co-host the special podcast on the Aurat March. We are also joined by Amna Shafqat, Sajeer Shaikh, Ekta Shaikh and Usman Rana with other special guests dropping by. Maleeha Mengal from Shirkat Gah comes to talk about marginalized communities organizing together. Qurrat Mirza, organizer Aurat March Karachi, comes on to discuss the labour of organizing the Aurat March. Moiz also drops by here. Maria Malik, organizer Aurat March Islamabad, joins to talk a...
Mar 11, 2021•2 hr 32 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Lilith and Mariam Shafqat Goraya join us to co-host the special podcast on the Aurat March. We are also joined by Amna Shafqat, Sajeer Shaikh, Ekta Shaikh and Usman Rana with other special guests dropping by. Maleeha Mengal from Shirkat Gah comes to talk about marginalized communities organizing together. Qurrat Mirza, organizer Aurat March Karachi, comes on to discuss the labour of organizing the Aurat March. Moiz also drops by here. Maria Malik, organizer Aurat March Islamabad, joins to talk a...
Mar 10, 2021•3 hr 8 min•Season 5Ep. 1
