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Kerning Cultures Network


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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Kerning Cultures

If you have been enjoying this podcast, we want to hear from you! ⁠

⁠Understanding who you, our dear listeners, are helps us make decisions as we continue to grow at the Kerning Cultures Network. 

Help us understand you better by filling this short survey linked below, it won’t take more than 5 minutes. We promise you a cookie next we see you. Thank you! 

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So…what are we thinking?

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mo Amer: Stand-Up Comedian and Actor

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Aizen – Epilogue

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

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Black Panthers in Algeria

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Word on the Street

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Past Life

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.

Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Somalia's Banana Battles

'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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's in a Name?

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bone of Contention

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.

Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $1 a month.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viva Brother Nagi

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.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Faraj, Part I: Saigon to Sana'a

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