Stories 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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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. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
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. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast...
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 b...
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 B...
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. Soun...
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 Ra...
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'...
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 ...
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...
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 be...
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
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. K...
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 ...
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 He...
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 D...
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...
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, con...
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, con...
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
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...
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...
This year, we'll be switching to a seasonal release schedule, rather than one episode every two weeks. Hebah explains why. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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 th...
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. Lehman...
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. Support this podc...
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. Thi...
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,...
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. T...
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...
Stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and the spaces in between. Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
