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, Abdu...
Aug 15, 2019•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Jul 16, 2019•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Khour...
Jul 03, 2019•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Cult...
Jun 02, 2019•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
May 01, 2019•5 min•Transcript available on Metacast نور، ترى العالم بصوتها Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 22, 2019•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Ibra...
Apr 02, 2019•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 17, 2019•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Moha...
Mar 02, 2019•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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...
Feb 16, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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,...
Jan 31, 2019•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 comb...
Jan 15, 2019•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 S...
Dec 31, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Th...
Dec 14, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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, e...
Dec 01, 2018•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Support this podcast on Patreon for as lit...
Nov 16, 2018•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Els...
Oct 30, 2018•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 revolutionise...
Sep 30, 2018•42 min•Transcript available on Metacast “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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 17, 2018•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 ...
Aug 31, 2018•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast....
Aug 16, 2018•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 podca...
Jul 30, 2018•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more ...
Jul 11, 2018•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jun 30, 2018•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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....
May 30, 2018•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 30, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Apr 30, 2018•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast (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 mont...
Mar 28, 2018•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 20, 2018•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast "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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 28, 2018•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
