Sawt by Shahd

Shahd Alasaly and Dima Abuoleim sit down with Zachary Foster, a Princeton-trained historian, founder of Palestine Nexus, and self-described unfiltered voice on one of the most contested histories on the planet, who once burned his own PhD diploma. Zachary walks through his own journey from a Zionist upbringing to becoming one of the field's sharpest critics, and lays out the history of Palestine as a name, a place, and a people, tracing how it was systematically erased from maps, textbooks, and Western consciousness starting in the 1920s and 30s.

He connects the demographic transformation of Palestine before and after 1948 to decades of displacement, resistance movements born in exile, and cycles of conflict that he argues stretch in a direct line from the late Ottoman period to Gaza today.

The conversation also turns personal, touching on what it means to hold these views inside a Jewish family and community still largely shaped by Zionism, and the distinction Zachary draws between Judaism as a religious tradition and Zionism as a political movement.

A wide-ranging conversation on history, identity, memory, and how nations and peoples become real to us through the stories we tell.

Host: Shahd Alasaly & Dima Abuoleim Guest: Zachary Foster

#SAWTPodcast #Palestine #History #Zionism #MiddleEast #PalestinianHistory

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly and Dima Abuolim sit down with anthropologist David Price, author of The American Surveillance State, to unpack decades of previously unseen FBI files and what they reveal about who America's surveillance machine was really built to watch.

Together they trace how the surveillance state was normalized after 9/11, why the FBI targeted civil rights activists, Muslim groups, union organizers, and peace activists instead of criminals, and how the Patriot Act dismantled protections that Congress had put in place after Watergate. David breaks down why Americans have quietly accepted a level of surveillance that would have caused outrage a generation ago, how surveillance capitalism and government tracking grew side by side, and why "I have nothing to hide" is one of the most dangerous ideas in modern privacy.

A deeply revealing conversation about power, privacy, government overreach, and what it will take for Americans to reclaim the right to simply be left alone.

Host: Shahd Alasaly & Dima Abuolim

Guest: David Price

#SAWTPodcast #SurveillanceState #Privacy #FBI #PatriotAct #CivilLiberties #Democracy

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Clara Reynolds, President of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, to talk about what crisis and trauma really look like behind the scenes.

Together they explore the hidden pressures that can push people to a breaking point, why high-achieving students and adults can be struggling without anyone realizing it, and how trauma can ripple through families and entire communities. Clara shares what decades of crisis work have taught her about listening without judgment, recognizing when someone is asking for help, and why asking someone directly about suicide does not put the idea in their head.

A deeply honest conversation about trauma, mental health, suicide prevention, community, and the simple act of being there when someone needs it most.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Clara Reynolds

#SAWTPodcast #MentalHealth #TraumaAwareness #SuicidePrevention #CrisisSupport #MentalHealthAwareness

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Abdulwali, a Uyghur writer, educator, and documenter whose family's story stretches across generations of resistance. From his grandfather serving in the First East Turkestan Republic of 1933, to his father imprisoned for ten years for owning Russian books, to his own arrest and 15 months of interrogation in 2013, Abdulweli shares a testimony that spans nearly a century of the same erasure repeating itself. Along the way, they talk about the family bookstore in Kashgar that led to his siblings' imprisonment, the leaked Xinjiang Police Files that named him as a "terrorist," the Uyghur language kindergartens he built to save a disappearing language, and the newest wave of state control, banned songs that carry Uyghur history, culture, and grief. A powerful conversation about memory, resistance, and refusing to let a people be written out of their own story.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Abdulweli

#SAWTPodcast #EastTurkestan #Uyghur #UyghurVoices #FreeEastTurkestan #MuslimVoices #HumanRights

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Nasrullah Mehman, president of the People of East Turkestan Youth Group and a born-and-raised Australian Uyghur who has never set foot in his own homeland. Together they talk about what it means to love a country you've only known through your parents' stories, the open doors of Eid back home, the survivor's guilt that hits in the smallest moments, and why he believes those living safely in the West carry a duty they never asked for. A raw, honest, and deeply human conversation about identity, diaspora, mental health, and the quiet strength of a community refusing to let its story disappear.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Nasrullah Mehman

#SAWTPodcast #Uyghur #EastTurkestan #UyghurVoices #Diaspora #MuslimVoices #HumanRights

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Fatima Abdulghafoor Seyyeh, a Uyghur exile from Kashgar, for a raw conversation about her homeland, her family, and the story the world keeps getting wrong. Fatima reclaims the truth: Uyghurs are the indigenous people of an occupied land, not a "Muslim minority in China." She shares the loss of her father in a death camp and the courage it takes to keep telling the story anyway.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Fatima Seyyeh

#SAWTPodcast #EastTurkestan #Uyghur #UyghurVoices #FreeEastTurkestan #MuslimVoices #HumanRights

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Jackson McDaniel, a 19-year-old from Tampa, to share his quiet but powerful journey to Islam. From rewiring RC cars as a kid to taking his Shahada the day before turning 18, during Ramadan, on a Friday, Jackson shares how curiosity, a Muslim friend, and a mother who raised him with no religion at all opened the door to faith on his own terms. A warm, grounded, and honest conversation about doing the research, asking the right questions, and finding faith without pressure or noise.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Jackson McDaniel

#SAWTPodcast #ConvertStories #RevertStories #FaithJourney #MuslimVoices #IslamicPerspective

n this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Ustadh Ubaydullah Evans, resident scholar at ALIM, for a rich and deeply personal conversation about a 27-year journey into Islam. From a Malcolm X film that sparked his curiosity at age twelve, to a single line in a school textbook that changed everything, to studying in Yemen and graduating in Sharia from Al-Azhar, Ubaydullah shares the moments that shaped him, including the loss that tested his faith in the heaviest way imaginable. This isn't a lecture. It's one man's honest, sometimes funny, often moving account of how a teenager looking for meaning found a tradition that became his whole life.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Ubaydullah Evans

#SAWTPodcast #ConvertStories #RevertStories #Islam #FaithJourney #MuslimVoices #IdentityAndMeaning

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly speaks with Pat Cruise about a journey from questioning faith to finding clarity in Islam. From early doubts to deep study and personal reflection, Pat shares how Islam became a source of peace, purpose, and lifelong growth. A conversation about identity, sincerity, and building a real connection with your Creator.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Pat Cruise

#SAWTPodcast #FaithJourney #RevertStories #PersonalGrowth #IslamicPerspective

In this episode, Shahd Alasaly sits down with Anna to explore a journey that began with curiosity and led to complete transformation. From searching for structure and meaning in her early 20s to finding peace in Islam, Anna shares how her perspective shifted through real experiences, deep reflection, and moments she couldn’t ignore. From navigating identity as a revert in the West to embracing hijab and redefining purpose, Anna opens up about the realities, challenges, and beauty of her path. A conversation about growth, sincerity, and finding truth in a world full of noise.

Host: Shahd Alasaly

Guest: Anna

#SAWTPodcast #RevertJourney #FaithAndGrowth #IslamicPerspective #PersonalStory