By Aaraf Adam
When we at Hazine released our first podcast list in 2020, the goal was both to boost high-quality podcasts and also, to give our audience something to listen to in the early days of the pandemic. While this new list fulfills some of those same goals, it is meant to add to the 2020 list, not to replace it, as it documents some of the growth in the field over the last few years: Both independent podcasters and more formal institutions, like university centers or museums, have launched different projects over the last few years. Audiences are clearly asking for more content, particularly on the Arabic-speaking world and in Arabic specifically. Like our 2020 list, most of the podcast series are interview-based, allowing communities to document their own narratives and discourses in real-time. Many podcasts are also scripted, like Rumooz, which tells the story of a different historical figure from a first-person perspective each episode. Others are conversations between hosts and occasional guests, like The Middle Geeks. For now, we’re just excited for what podcasts the next few years will bring us.
Politics and History
- Al-Shabaka, an independent policy organization, produces Rethinking Palestine, a podcast lasting 30-40 minutes that delves into topics ranging from surveillance and military aid to the political use of religious tourism in Palestine.
- The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy’s digital platform Rābet created Dardashe, which celebrates Palestinian identity, society, culture, food, art, and politics while criticizing the oppressive systems and injustices that the Palestinian people face collectively.
- The New Arab Voice, a podcast covering everything from hostage diplomacy and the Sudanese coup to climate change in the Middle East, releases an episode every two weeks on the New Arab news site and features a variety of guest experts from journalism, academia, and activism.
- Regional analysts and experts sit down and share their perspectives on Al-Monitor’s podcast, “On the Middle East with Andrew Parasiliti and Amberin Zaman.” The podcast covers broad topics regionally, from the underreported crisis on Iraqi Kurdistan’s Syrian border and regional security and diplomacy in Yemen.
- Jadaliyya’s podcast Status focuses on race and conflict, geopolitics, and current affairs across the Middle East and beyond, from gender activism to climate change.
- Being in touch with one’s roots and upholding culture is vital to affirming a country to the rest of the world. Stories from Palestine interviews community members about the history and cultural heritage of Palestine.
- Based on their lecture series and community workshops, the Afikra Podcast features a myriad of stories and conversations about the rich cultures and history of the Arab world. People working in different fields, from academia to literature to activism, sit down for an interview in front of a live audience, which is later uploaded as podcast episodes.
- Al Jazeera produces an Arabic-language podcast called Rumooz, which re-enacts the lives some of history’s notable figures, from sailor Aḥmad ibn Mājid to Umm Kulthum, walking listeners through their lives.
- The Maydan Podcast is produced by the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at George Mason University. Each series under the Maydan umbrella focuses on a different theme, intending to explore the themes surrounding Islamic Studies and related fields through expert analysis through interviews.*
*Hazine editor N.A. Mansour produces one of the Maydan’s 4 podcast streams.
Identity, Society, and Culture
- The Digital Sisterhood is a seasonal podcast founded by Black Muslim woman Cadar Mohamud and produced with the help of eight other Muslim women. They unite women of color through shared and unknown experiences, addressing what it means to be a Muslim woman.
- Sudanese-American sisters Anfal and Abrar Adam unite with their chosen sister Sana Ginawai to produce TeaTime, and Wanasa, a podcast discussing narratives and nuances within the Sudanese diaspora in addition to love, culture, and identity overall.
- Three developers, Fawzi Mesmar, Osama Dorias, and Rami Ismail, gather to discuss games, media, and life as a bunch of Arabs living all over the big world through their podcast, The Habibis.
- Yalla Ne7ki with Amal is an Arabic-language weekly podcast in which adults and youth from all over the Arab world are interviewed in order to share their experiences, with the goal of improving parenting and understanding of children in the Arab world.
- Mae Abulbaki and Swara Ahmed review the latest popular releases on TV and geek out on the The Middle Geeks, highlighting positive depictions of the peoples of the Middle East and North African in popular media.
- Quick and light, Instant Coffee, produced by the LSE Middle East Centre, features 20-minute conversations with activists, artists, journalists, and more from the MENA region.
- Seen Jeem highlights Arab-American writers’ latest books, passions, and journeys. It is produced by the Arab-American National Museum (AANM).
- Sara Elhassan, a Sudani Twitter favorite, has launched a podcast Gultu Lay Shinu? A scripted podcast, where Elhassan seamlessly switches between Arabic and English, each episode explores a different theme.
Aaraf Adam is a 21-year-old Sudanese- American, Muslim writer, creator and filmmaker. She produces narrative art with intention and heart, with a focus on collaborating with Black artists and storytellers with the aim of uplifting continental and diasporic Black women with emblematic experiences, particularly those in underrepresented communities such as Black Muslim women.