Ahmed Twaij explores an often-overlooked issue in the Arab world; racism towards Black Arabs. In this episode, he looks at racism in his own community, taking us from his Iraqi roots, through to modern day slurs still commonly used in many Arab communities around the world.

This episode was produced by Ahmed Twaij, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack. Fact checking by Shraddha Joshi, sound design by Alex Atack, and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Music in this episode was by Ahmed Moneka and Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Noon Salih and Sara Elhassan. Our marketing director is Bella Ibrahim, and Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.

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

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As 2020 brought us countless examples of injustice and pain, it brought remembrances that we live in a world in need of more - well, work. And that means scrutinising the cities we live in, the homes we rest in, and… the streets we live on. 

Today on Kerning Cultures, we're bringing you 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 was produced by Zeina Dowidar, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Nadeen Shaker, Dana Ballout, Shraddha Joshi and Abde Amr. Editing by Dana Ballout, and fact checking by Shraddha Joshi. Sound design by Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack, and mixing by Mohamed Khreizat. The article Zeina reads throughout this episode is ‘How to Rename a Street' by Malia Wollan from the New York Times.

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After the Armenian Genocide, in which over 1.5 million Christians from the Ottoman Empire were killed by the Ottoman government, the main group of Ottoman leaders behind the atrocities were never made to face justice. They escaped Constantinople in the middle of the night and began new lives undercover in Europe. So, a small group of regular Armenians decided to take justice into their own hands.

This week on Kerning Cultures, the secretive operation to avenge the Armenian Genocide, and how it changed our relationship with the idea of justice in the modern world.

Images courtesy of Marian Mesrobian MacCurdy. Her book is called Sacred Justice: The Voices and Legacy of the Armenian Operation Nemesis. Eric Bogosian's book is Operation Nemesis: The Assassination Plot that Avenged the Armenian Genocide.

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Since 2012, Korean pop culture has captured the imagination of people across the Middle East: from K-pop and K-dramas to Korean language classes and even to Korean fried chicken. It's everywhere!

But how did we become so obsessed with a culture so different from our own? And how much do we actually know about how it spread to our region?

This week on Kerning Cultures, we dive into the highly calculated forces behind the K-pop craze.

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We're excited to announce that season 2 of Kerning Cultures starts next week. Each Thursday, we'll be bringing you new stories from around the Middle East and North Africa. Here's a taste of what's to come...

Episode 1 drops on January 28th. Be sure to subscribe to this feed so that you never miss an episode.

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While we're gearing up for our next season, we wanted to share a behind the scenes look at what goes into making our episodes.

Hear Trancing with the Zars here, and Zabelle here.

This behind the scenes episode was produced by Alex Atack with Zeina Dowidar and Nadeen Shaker. Editing by Dana Ballout, and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.

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For his entire life, Maysam has lived in Dubai. His parents are from Syria, a place he hasn't visited since he was a young child. If you ask him, the UAE is his home. But on paper it isn't, and likely never will be. So what do you do when your home can't be your home forever?

This episode was originally broadcast in March 2018, and last week we called Maysam up to hear what's changed for him since the story aired.

This episode was produced by Hebah Fisher and Alex Atack, with editorial support by Dana Ballout, Percia Verlin, Laura Saab, Razan Alzayani, and Jackie Sofia. Sound design by Alex Atack and Fady Garas. Mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.

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The Palestine Broadcasting Service started airing in 1936, from a brand new transmitter tower in Ramallah. It was a British station in three languages, aimed at promoting the message of the mandate government throughout the region. But over the following decades, as Palestine saw political upheavals, bloody conflicts and power shifts, the radio station found itself in the middle of it all... and became a unique capsule of the events that lead up to the Nakba.

This episode was produced by Shahd Bani-Odeh, Alex Atack and Darah Ghanem, with editorial support from Dana Ballout, Nadeen Shaker, Tamara Rasamny, Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Fact-checking by Zeina Dowidar and Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.

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

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In our day-to-day lives, it's a drink. But for some people, it is not as simple as that. It's a Sufi's spiritual companion, an Emirati's keeper of tradition, and a Yemeni's connection to his homeland. Today, we dive into three stories about coffee, exploring the tradition, culture, and spirituality of this simple bean.

This episode was produced by Noon Salih, with editorial support from Alex Atack, Dana Ballout, Zeina Dowidar, Nadeen Shaker, and Dina Salem. Fact-checking by Dina Salem. Sound design by Alex Atack and mixing by Mohamad Khreizat.

Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production.

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

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