Children’s picture books are some of the most transparently ideological materials available to parents and educators, and as cultural objects they are an expression of the zeitgeist of a particular era. They reveal much about the hopes, values, and aspirations of the society that produces them, as well as that society’s vision of its place in the wider world ... Show More
Today
Omid Safi, “Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition” (Yale UP, 2018)
It's often touted that Rumi is one of the best-selling poets in the United States. That may be the case but popular renderings of the writings of this 13th-century Muslim have largely detached him from the Islamic tradition, and specifically Sufi mysticism. In Radical Love: Teach ... Show More
1h 17m
Yesterday
Lucia Sorbera, "Biography of a Revolution: The Feminist Roots of Human Rights in Egypt" (U of California Press, 2025)
It is not Egypt's 2011 revolution that opened a space for women's and feminist activism, but—as Biography of a Revolution: The Feminist Roots of Human Rights in Egypt (U of California Press, 2025) shows—the long history of women's activism that created the intellectual and politi ... Show More
43m 18s
Aug 20
David Commins, "Saudi Arabia: A Modern History" (Yale UP, 2025)
A major new history of Saudi Arabia, from its eighteenth-century origins to the present day Saudi Arabia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, a major player on the international stage and the site of Islam’s two holiest cities. It is also one of the world’s only absol ... Show More
29m 8s
May 2024
Hala Auji et al., "The Arab Nahda as Popular Entertainment: Mass Culture and Modernity in the Middle East" (I. B. Tauris, 2023)
What was popular entertainment like for everyday Arab societies in Middle Eastern cities during the long nineteenth century? In what ways did café culture, theatre, illustrated periodicals, cinema, cabarets, and festivals serve as key forms of popular entertainment for Arabic-spe ... Show More
41m 24s
Apr 2024
Shiamin Kwa, "Perfect Copies: Reproduction and the Contemporary Comic" (Rutgers UP, 2023)
Analyzing the way that recent works of graphic narrative use the comics form to engage with the “problem” of reproduction, Shiamin Kwa’s Perfect Copies: Reproduction and the Contemporary Comic (Rutgers UP, 2023) reminds us that the mode of production and the manner in which we pe ... Show More
49m 11s
Aug 11
How Do You Decolonize Care? | Sundus Abdul Hadi & Maktaba Bookshop
We explore the Arab community's evolution in Montreal, the intent behind Maktaba Bookshop as a space for Arab representation and cultural exchange, and the concept of decolonizing care. The founder of Maktaba in Montreal, Iraqi artist and author Sundus Abdul Hadi shares her immig ... Show More
54m 51s
Jun 9
Samer Abboud | Syria's Political History From 1946
Professor Samer Abboud from Villanova University is an expert on Syrian politics. He joins us to discuss the intricacies of Syria's political history from 1946 to the present, including the impact of French colonial rule, frequent coups, the United Arab Republic, the rise and gov ... Show More
1h 4m
May 26
Data-Driven Storytelling & Anti-Authoritarian Journalism | Mona Chalabi
In this episode of The afikra Podcast, we're joined by renowned journalist Mona Chalabi who discusses her latest animated series "#1 Happy Family USA" with comedian Ramy Youssef, her unique data-driven and illustrated approach to journalism, and the use of humor as an effective c ... Show More
45m 27s
Aug 2019
Jennifer C. Lena, "Entitled: Discriminating Tastes and the Expansion of the Arts" (Princeton UP, 2019)
How did American elites change the meaning of Art? In Entitled: Discriminating Tastes and the Expansion of the Arts (Princeton University Press, 2019), Jennifer C. Lena, associate professor of arts administration at Colombia University, charts the history of American arts and cul ... Show More
36m 12s
Jul 2024
Jessie Abrahams, "Schooling Inequality: Aspirations, Opportunities and the Reproduction of Social Class" (Bristol UP, 2024)
Despite a mass expansion of the higher education sector in the UK since the 1960s, young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds remain less likely to enter university than their advantaged counterparts.Drawing on unique new research gathered from three contrasti ... Show More
55m 36s