The Simpsons, South Park, Family Guy, American Dad, and more all-American animated adult tv comedies have graced our screens for decades, mercilessly interrogating the all-American life and if it's all it's cracked up to be. But rarely do we get one of these series from an Arab and Muslim perspective, until now with Ramy Youssef and Pam Brady's #1 Happy Family USA, featuring the Egyptian-American Hussein family, including young insecure Rumi (Ramy Youssef), his wildly insecure father Hussein (also Ramy Youssef), his caring and overburdened mother Sharia (Salma Hindy), overachieving and closeted older sister Mona (Alia Shawkat), conservative Grandpa (Azhar Usman), and niqabi and free-spirited Grandma (Randa Jarrar).

Set in the early 2000s in New Jersey, right around an astronomically horrible national event, we watch the Hussein family deal with the outlandish racism, surveillance, and Islamophobia every single day, and their own outlandish efforts to deal with it. All characters and the animation style were designed by Iraqi-British data journalist Mona Chalabi. Joined by our friend Nadia Osman, we discuss the series and why it's a landmark for SWANA and Muslim representation, the great casting news about Lee Cronin's The Mummy, give our recommendations, and much more.

Spoilers for all of #1 Happy Family USA throughout

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Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

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Swara's interview with Nadia and Ali Nasser on Lee Cronin's The Mummy

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In Heiny Srour's 1984 film Leila and the Wolves, Leila and her husband live in London, and are making an exhibit on popular movements in Lebanon and Palestine. However, her husband has conveniently forgotten to include women in these movements. We then follow Leila traversing through history, learning the intricacies of the lives of these various women, and what drove them to resist for their peoples. We discuss and review the film, reflect on the news of today and how we find hope, give our recommendations, and much more.

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Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks

Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

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Mo Season 2 comes three years after its first, and so much has changed for Palestine in the real world. Yet Mo Amer and his team keep Season 2 directly after the first, honing in on Mo Najjar's personal journey that so reflects Mo Amer's own family refugee story in Texas. Our friends Tariq Ra'ouf and Kate Sánchez of But Why Tho? join us to discuss Season 2, how well it does at portraying Texas and the Palestinian experience, why the series is so cathartic right now, and much more.

Follow Tariq on Instagram @tariq_raouf

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Tariq's interview with AJ+

Kate's review of Mo Season 2

Swara's piece for The New Arab on food sovereignty

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Donate to Oxfam’s Lebanon Appeal

Donate to Baitulmaal’s Lebanon aid

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

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As the genocide in Gaza tragically continues, so does Palestinian resilience and resistance, including and especially in artistry and cinema. Now set to release nationwide in theaters January 3rd, via Watermelon Pictures, with legendary director Michael Moore as its executive producer, From Ground Zero, a compilation of 22 documentaries from Gaza and directed by Rashid Masharawi, is making more and more waves. Palestinian activist and writer Andrew Kadi joins us to review the documentary, give reflections on the state of Palestinian activism and filmmaking in 2024 and beyond, and much more in our wide-ranging discussion.

Follow Andrew on Bluesky @imak48.bsky.social and Twitter @imAK48

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Swara's piece for The New Arab: Key moments and themes from the 2024 DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival

Donate to Anera to help Lebanon

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Decolonize Palestine

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Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks

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Jaylee Hamidi (they/she) has made significant history in their supporting role on Nathasha Rothwell's Hulu series How to Die Alone as "Allie." A queer, Kurdish-Iranian-Chinese actor, Hamidi has made history as one of the first major Kurdish actors in a major network show, getting to showcase some of her culture and providing groundbreaking representation for Kurds and Iranians who rarely see themselves. We discuss Hamidi's role on the show, working with Natasha Rothwell, their unique cultural standing in the entertainment industry, and much more.

Follow Jaylee on Instagram @JayleeHamidi.

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks, @MaeAbdu

Follow Swara on Bluesky @spiderswarz.bsky.social

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The Rings of Power Season 2 has concluded, and we have back on our friend Arezou to go through all the details of the riveting sophomore outing of this take on J.R.R. Tolkien's Legendarium. But on that note, just how canonically faithful is the series, or does it take too many deviations from the source material? Either way, we discuss and praise the performances, particularly Black Iranian icon Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa, and analyze how the overall storytelling still stays true to its literary sources. We also discuss the terrible news coming out of Lebanon, highlight where you can help, give our recommendations, and much more.

FULL SPOILERS for The Rings of Power Season 2 throughout

Follow Arezou on social media @ArezouAmin

Tariq's piece for The New Arab: How Bisan Owda's Emmy win triumphs over Hollywood’s attempts to dehumanise Palestinians

Donate to Anera to help Lebanon

Donate to Oxfam's Lebanon Appeal

Donate to Baitulmaal's Lebanon aid

Decolonize Palestine

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Social Media: @TheMiddleGeeks, @spiderswarz

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Leslye Headland's The Acolyte, streaming on Disney+, is unique in more ways than one. As one of the most diverse Star Wars series, in front of and behind the scenes, with writers like the SWANA and Turkish Kor Adana, it presents a bold story in the era of The High Republic, showcasing the mistakes made by those in power and the reverberations for our main characters. Namely, twins Osha and Mae (Amandla Stenberg), Jedi Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae), Qimir (Manny Jacinto), as well as many others. To dive into this series and what it's trying to say, we have back on Arezou and welcome Noor. As both are High Republic fans, they bring invaluable insight into the discussion, as the series sets the backdrop for The Acolyte. What stood out to us? Does the series do a good job of portraying the Jedi Order? What does it have to say about how we view this universe and good and evil? We dive into all of that, give our recommendations, and much more.

SPOILERS for The Acolyte throughout

Follow Arezou on social media @ArezouAmin and follow Noor @nimblenoor

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Decolonize Palestine

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Six ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Social Media: @TheMiddleGeeks, @spiderswarz

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Our favorite costume designer Isa joins us once again to review one of our all-time favorite series, Nida Manzoor's We Are Lady Parts, starring a British Muslim women punk band comprising of frontwoman Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), lead guitarist Amina (Anjana Vasan), bassist Bisma (Faith Omole), drummer Ayesha (Juliette Motamed), and band manager Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse). After finding mainstream success in Season 1, how does the band move up in Season 2?

How will they remain true to themselves in the music industry that wants to control them? How will they contend with new Muslim bands on the scene like "Second Wife"? What were some of our favorite songs from this season? Why is Malala Yousafzai here? How was Nida Manzoor and her team able to masterfully incorporate so many rich stories in just six half-hour episodes? We need more of this amazing series and more like it!

We also discuss the latest news about the genocide in Gaza. Namely, we discuss the potential for a ceasefire and how the political dynamics have changed positively for Palestine in the midst of the relentless murders of its citizens. Free Palestine.

SPOILERS for We Are Lady Parts Season 2 from 14:34-1:05:50

Follow Isa on social media @evilcleverdog.

Read Swara's review of We Are Lady Parts Season 2 for The Nerds of Color, and check out his interview with Anjana Vasan and Sarah Kameela Impey.

Read Mae's review of We Are Lady Parts Season 2 for ScreenRant.

Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence

Decolonize Palestine

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Six ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Social Media: @TheMiddleGeeks, @spiderswarz

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In her debut novel, The Jinn Daughter, Syrian-American author Rania Hanna weaves together a family tale based in stories of oral tradition across the Arab world. In telling stories with the Jinn, she seeks to tell a fundamentally human story. We discuss Rania's foray into the book world, how she aimed to tell stories on her own terms, and what she hopes to achieve with her novels. We also discuss the continuing tragic events in Palestine, and pinpoint where we can find hope.

Buy The Jinn Daughter from your local bookstore!

Decolonize Palestine

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Six ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks, @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz

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Joined by our friends Darya Bajestani, Roxana Hadadi, Ali Nasser, and Zaina Ujayli (while sadly missing Mae!), we're live at D.C.'s premier comic-con, Awesome Con! In this panel of SWANA writers, scholars, artists, and actors, we will discuss how we grew up feeling or not feeling represented, how Hollywood has constantly Orientalized our peoples, excluded us, and appropriated our cultures, where we see signs of improvement, our favorite examples of SWANA representation and SWANA creators in pop culture today, and what Hollywood needs to do to have our peoples represented more broadly and positively across pop culture. 

Check out the panel on The Nerds of Color YouTube channel

Rocky's analysis of Dune 2 for Vulture

Decolonize Palestine

Support UNRWA

Support the Palestinian American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza

Six ways you can support Palestinians in Gaza

Islamic Relief USA: Support Families in Palestine

Follow Rocky on Twitter @roxana_hadadi

Follow Ali on social media @TheAliNasser

Follow Darya on social media @rorvkk

Follow Zaina on social media @zainaujayli

Follow us on social media: @TheMiddleGeeks

Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media

Our music is composed by Ashley Hefnawy. You can find more of her music here.

We are a proud member of the Hard NOC podcast family.

Please support us on Patreon!