Today
Gershom Gorenberg, "War of Shadows: Codebreakers, Spies, and the Secret Struggle to Drive the Nazis from the Middle East" (Public Affairs, 2021)
As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step ... Show More
1h 2m
Today
Adam Bursi, "Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Adam Bursi’s Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam (Edinburg University Press, 2024) uses writings by early Muslims to map a history of material objects, relics, and tombs of prophetic figures as they were conceptualized in the 8th and 9th centuries. The ... Show More
56m 59s
Today
Donna Stein, "The Empress and I: How an Ancient Empire Collected, Rejected and Rediscovered Modern Art" (Skira, 2020)
In the 1970s, American curator Donna Stein served as an art advisor to Empress Farah Diba Pahlavi, the Shahbanu of Iran. Together, Stein and Pahlavi generated an art market in Iran, as Stein encouraged Pahlavi’s patronage of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Today, the conte ... Show More
46m 37s
Feb 2024
Arabic Music in the Age of Digital Distribution | Ghaliaa
<p>On this episode of Quartertones, up-and-coming musician Ghaliaa discusses her love for music, career to date, and finding inspiration in non-fiction. She talks about her childhood, how she came to be so multi-instrumental, and who her Arabic music inspirations are. Ghaliaa als ... Show More
51m 2s
Jan 2024
Listen Again: Art, Music and Freedom in Iran — with Malu Halasa, Nahid Siamdoust and Danny Postel
<p>Iran was set ablaze last year after Mahsa Amini was taken into custody and beaten to death by the country’s morality police in Tehran for wearing “improper hijab.” The killing of the 22-year-old struck a deep chord among Iranians, inspiring protests in more than 100 cities thr ... Show More
52m 23s
Sep 2023
Producing for Arab Pop Stars: Metrics & Mental Health | Sleiman Damien
<p>With a vast discography featuring both emerging artists and some of the biggest names in Arabic music, Sleiman Damien is completely tapped into the region’s pop genre. We asked him what he thinks of the phrase “Arab pop fusion”, which metrics actually<i> </i>matter to him, and ... Show More
1h 1m
Sep 2023
Art, Music and Freedom in Iran — with Malu Halasa, Nahid Siamdoust and Danny Postel
<p>Iran was set ablaze last year after Mahsa Amini was taken into custody and beaten to death by the country’s morality police in Tehran for wearing “improper hijab.” The killing of the 22-year-old struck a deep chord among Iranians, inspiring protests in more than 100 cities thr ... Show More
51m 40s
Feb 2024
Clarissa Bitar & Sofiane Saidi at Habibi Festival 2023 | Quartertones Live at Joe's Pub
<p>We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.</p><p>Each night we taped live conversations with the arti ... Show More
1h 2m
Feb 2024
Sofiane Saidi & Nesrine at Habibi Festival 2023 | Quartertones Live at Joe's Pub
<p>We partnered with Habibi Festival for a six-night celebration of ancient + contemporary sounds from Lebanon, Tunisia, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, Algeria and more! It all took place from October 1-7 at Joe's Pub in NYC.</p><p>Each night we taped live conversations with the arti ... Show More
24m 52s
May 2022
Arabic Musicology | Youmna Saba
<p>Youmna Saba performed three pieces: Al Sobh (الصبح), Madd W Jazr (مد وجزر) & Hubut (هبوط), followed by a discussion.</p><p><strong>Youmna Saba </strong>(Beirut, 1984) is a musician and musicologist whose current research focuses on the musical dimension(s) of the Arabic langua ... Show More
56m 25s
Farzaneh Hemmasi is the author of Tehrangeles Dreaming: Intimacy and Imagination in Southern California's Iranian Pop Music (Duke UP, 2020). The title obviously refers the song "California Dreamin'," but in this case the "Dreaming" refers to the active imagining, or reimagining, of Iranian and Persian identity by the artistic community that relocated to sout ... Show More
