In the first solo episode of the season, Well Rooted begins with a reckoning.

Host Haneen Jarrar introduces this year's guiding theme, narrative sovereignty, and unpacks the critical difference between being represented and truly owning your story. From Arab influencers who profit while upholding the very systems that oppress our communities, to Watermelon Pictures, the Palestinian production house that powerfully models what it looks like to build alternative systems that actually serve us, this episode interrogates who gets visibility, who gets power, and who gets left behind.

The conversation also turns to Hollywood, specifically Ryan Coogler, and what happens when legacy institutions come face to face with narrative ownership they don't control.

This episode sets the foundation for the season ahead and leads directly into next week's first interview of the year with filmmaker Rolla Selbak, where narrative sovereignty moves from theory into lived practice.

This isn't about optics-it's about power, and we're coming for it.