Assyrian Podcast

Episode 174 - “O.D.”, more simply known as Oditte, is a Certified Personal Trainer in Canada. Prior to becoming a personal trainer, O.D. attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a NCAA Division I Basketball scholarship where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. From the combined experiences of her athletic life and academic life comes her personal philosophy: to help ourselves, we must work from the inside out - in order to achieve our goals, we must train our mind first and our body second. It’s that same mentality that she brings to personal training, helping her clients combine physical and mental training to achieve their highest potential. 

Before establishing her fitness brand @bodybyod, Oditte Odisho played at the highest level of College Basketball despite the obstacles in her way. Learn more about how her journey from Tel Tamer to Ontario and all over the US shaped who she is today.

Episode 173 - Dr. Emil Anton is a theologian and author living just outside Helsinki, Finland. He has published four books in Finnish with the last diving into the cultural and religious history of ancient Mesopotamia and modern day Iraq. Through his book “Kahden virran maa” (The Land Between Two Streams) and his many published articles, Emil is unearthing his own past in real time. In this episode we talk about his spiritual awakening in Poland and the many steps that led him on a path of theology and later converged with him discovering his own ancient roots. 

Website: https://emilanton.com/

Instagram: @emilchristiananton

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emil.anton

Twitter: @EmilAnton5

This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 173 - Ramina Odicho is a content creator and comedian born and raised in Chicago IL. She writes, acts, and produces comedy sketches on social media and many of her videos are inspired by Assyrian culture, traditions, and taboos. Many RaminaRated videos are either in Assyrian or a mixture of Assyrian and English. She has recently started performing stand-up comedy and has been traveling to different cities with significant Assyrian populations. 

Website: RaminaRated.com

TikTok: Ramina_Rated

Instagram: Ramina_Rated

Facebook: Ramina Rated

This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 171 - Maria Nissan is an Assyrian Environmental Artist. Residing in Jordan, Maria’s passions in art and the environment merge as she turns Jordan’s plastic waste into art. In this episode we discuss Maria’s life and what led her to become an artist and then soon after an environmental artist. 

Instagram: @marianissanart and @microplasticsjo 

Facebook: @MariaNissanArt 

Website:  https://www.marianissanart.com/ 

This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 170 - Dalia Ashurina is the current resident director of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She was born in Turlock, CA, and found her love for theater early in life. In this episode, we discuss her Assyrian upbringing, her experiences in theater, and how she hopes to write a musical that showcases the joys of her community. 

https://www.instagram.com/YOUR_GAL_DAL/ 

https://www.daliaashurina.com/

https://twitter.com/your_gal_dal 

This episode is sponsored by The Oushana Partners-- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 169 - Henry Wooster is the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan; he also happens to be an Assyrian! In this episode, you’ll hear about his life and upbringing, his work as a diplomat, and how he and and his family have honored his mother and her legacy through the “Rita's First-Gen Scholarship”; a scholarship that is intended to change the life of a student who will be the first in their family to attend and graduate university.

https://jo.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/ambassador/ 

https://bold.org/scholarships/rita-scholarship/ 

This episode is sponsored by The Oushana Partners-- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 168 - Poulyana Pazand-Srouji is a Partner for a Healthcare Organization, Children’s Book Author and Adoption/Fertility Coach. She is a mother to a sweet little boy that she and her husband adopted when he was just a few hours old. Her struggles with fertility over the years encouraged her to be an advocate for couples who are struggling with fertility and to raise awareness around a topic so many shy away from especially within the Assyrian community.

In 2020, she returned to school to work towards becoming a Psychotherapist to help support couples and women who are struggling with fertility. She is also the author of the following books; I prayed, GOD ANSWERED which is a children’s story centered around faith, hope and love and My First Assyrian Color Translation Book which offers individuals and families an opportunity to read in Assyrian with an English translation. The book will encourage the younger generation who may not have an opportunity to learn the Assyrian language instantaneously.

Website: www.poulyana.com

IG: poulyanapazandsrouji 

Episode 167 - This week's guests all recently went on a remarkable journey :  a journey to the Assyrian homeland in Iraq. Esther, Dylan, Roxanne, Alan, Stephanie, and Sargon share their feelings and experiences traveling through their ancestral homeland and describe how this journey has changed their Assyrian identity. 

This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 166 - Aril Brikha was born in Tehran, Iran, before migrating to Jönköping, Sweden as a child. He grew up in Sweden and inspired by his parents, Depeche Mode and a keyboard, found himself making electronic music.

He got signed onto the famous Detroit techno label Fragile, associated with Detroit legend Derrick May. He found himself regularly touring in front of thousands, with a long list of future releases, remixes and productions.

Despite his success in the world of electronic music, Aril remains a passionate Assyrian – and we talk about his family history, his career, and his thoughts on what his Assyrian identity means to him.

Aril Brikha - Wikipedia

Aril Brikha (@arilbrikha) • Instagram photos and videos

Aril Brikha live @ Fuse-In Detroit - YouTube

SECRET WEAPONS with ARIL BRIKHA (EB.TV) - YouTube

ARIL BRIKHA ▪ FULL LIVE SET at 909 FESTIVAL 2018 | remastered audio - YouTube

Episode 165 - Evelyn Anoya was born in Baghdad, Iraq. Her parents immigrated to the United States in early 1980. She graduated from DePaul College of Law in 2001 with a Juris Doctor and Certificate in International Law. Since graduating from law school, Evelyn spent 20 years as an international civil servant employed with international tribunals in The Hague, Netherlands. She is specialized in international justice with a focus on judicial administration, capacity strengthening and governance of international organizations. 

From 2017 to 2021, she led the Division of Judicial Services at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (“STL”). Ms. Anoya initially joined the STL in 2009 to serve as the Registry’s Senior Legal Adviser. Ms. Anoya worked at the United Nation’s International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (“ICTY”) since September 2001, holding various positions within the Registry. She was the Registry Court Officer at the ICTY on the Prosecutor v. Slobodan Milošević case and during the defense phase of the case was assigned as the Registry Pro se Legal Liaison Officer, acting as a conduit between the Court and the self-represented Accused.

She is currently an international consultant with Axiom International Limited supporting a counter-terrorism justice project in Iraq.

Due to the nature of Evelyn’s work and sensitive information, you may notice some fade outs and fade ins between her recollections. Thank you for your patience. 

This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com