Webby Honoree in Diversity & Inclusion ’20

We’ve been called “‘This American Life’ of the Middle East” by The Guardian. We’ve also been featured on Radiolab (still wrapping our heads around that one). We’ve been awarded a Webby Honoree for Diversity & Inclusion. The Bello Collective named us among “100 Outstanding Podcasts” in 2019 and 2020. Oh, and Sarah Jessica Parker is a big fan. 

Latest Episodes

Aizen – Epilogue
April 26, 2023

Since our series about ‘Aizen’ ended, many of you have been in touch asking for...

The Black Panthers in Algeria
April 6, 2023

When Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s, she was only...

A Past Life
March 23, 2023

When Heba was very young, there was a knock at the door at her home...

Somalia’s Banana Battles
March 16, 2023

You might remember Somali bananas from your childhood, lining the shelves at your local supermarket....

Whats in a Name?
March 9, 2023

‘Yasir?’ That’s too difficult. I’ll just call you Tony. This episode originally aired in October...

Bone of Contention
February 23, 2023

In 2014, the palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim went public with an astonishing discovery he’d made while...

Aizen – Part 4: Do Good & Throw it in the Sea
February 9, 2023

After finally reaching Europe, Aizen was back in jail. He had calculated that the journey...

Aizen – Part 3: King of Serbia
February 2, 2023

Through smugglers, barbed wire fences and forests, Aizen arrives in Europe. But the sense of...

Aizen – Part 2: The Game
January 26, 2023

‘A game’ is what smugglers and migrants call attempting to cross illegally from one country...

Aizen – Part 1: I Hate Wednesdays
January 19, 2023

‘Aizen’ says he’s the most unlucky person in the world. This football-obsessed teenager from Afghanistan...

Episode Library

Presenting al empire: Jad Abumrad, Radio Host
April 23, 2020

While we’re working on the upcoming season of Kerning Cultures, we wanted to share with...

Lockdown Diaries
April 8, 2020

All of our lives have changed. In this unprecedented time, we wanted to make something...

Introducing: B’Hob | بِحُبْ
March 13, 2020

The Kerning Cultures Network has a new Arabic show we’re excited to share with you....

In Depth: Alex on the Da Miri Podcast
February 14, 2020

While we’re working on our summer season, we’re going to be dropping some bonus episodes...

We’re going seasonal
January 23, 2020

This year, we’ll be switching to a seasonal release schedule, rather than one episode every...

Update: Faraj
December 31, 2019

Today, an update on a story from the Kerning Cultures vault. The little-known, intertwining of...

Collateral Damage
December 18, 2019

In 1942, Lebanon’s National Museum opened in Beirut, celebrating the country’s golden age and inside,...

Update: To Oslo With Love
December 4, 2019

Today, an update on a story from the Kerning Cultures vault. Elie was a journalist...

Our Women on the Ground
November 24, 2019

Asmaa al-Ghoul was an ambitious young journalist when she started reporting on Gaza – her...

All of Them Means All of Them
November 9, 2019

On October 17, people in Lebanon hit the streets to call for a new government....

Presenting al empire: Bassem Youssef, Comedian
October 15, 2019

A special feature of Kerning Cultures Network’s newest podcast, al empire. Episode 4 features comedian...

A Tale of Two Inventors
October 6, 2019

His whole life, Walid Waked had been told that his great grandfather invented the Arabic...

Presenting al empire: Hamed Sinno, Mashrou’ Leila Singer/Songwriter
September 15, 2019

A special feature of Kerning Cultures Network’s newest podcast, al empire. The season kicks off...

In Case of Death
September 3, 2019

What happens when somebody dies in a country that’s not their home? This week on...

Trailer
August 19, 2019

Stories from the Middle East, North Africa, and the spaces in between. Support this podcast...

Mother Tongue
August 15, 2019

How do you preserve a language when your government is actively trying to erase it?...

Bonus: Our new show
July 31, 2019

Stay tuned for our new show, al empire, which features exceptional Arabs, and their journeys...

The Fishermen
July 16, 2019

Ramchandra Tendel arrived to Abu Dhabi from India in 1989, when he was 20. Since,...

The Baklava Challenge
June 15, 2019

We asked you, our listeners what you wanted to hear next, and you said, “Baklava!”....

Loving Lynn
June 2, 2019

Lynn left behind her hometown village in the Philippines for a housekeeping job in Lebanon...

We’ve got news!
May 1, 2019

Kerning Cultures is now the first venture-funded podcast company in the Middle East. Which means...

Misfits, Volume I
April 2, 2019

Two bite-sized stories from the Kerning Cultures vault. First, is there really Halal Cart drama...

KC Short: Break the Cycle
March 17, 2019

We asked women to tell us about their first periods and how it set a...

The Perfect Renaissance Man
March 2, 2019

In the 1930s, the architect Nasri Khattar tried to completely overhaul the Arabic script –...

Lebanon, USA
February 16, 2019

In 2016, Fadi Boukaram planned to visit 47 American towns named Lebanon by road. Then,...

Reviving Hamra Street
January 15, 2019

In the heart of Lebanon’s capital city, Beirut, Hamra Street once stood as one of...

Not Just My Hijab
December 31, 2018

Often the hijab is perceived as this static, monolithic thing. But of course, it’s not...

Faraj, Part II: The USA
December 14, 2018

In part one, we told the story of Faraj Al Baadani’s family, which unveiled a...

Faraj, Part I: Saigon to Sana’a
December 1, 2018

The little-known, intertwining of history between Yemen and Vietnam, told through the lens of a...

78 Degrees North
November 16, 2018

Short stories about passports, visas, and making “home”. And, the KC team challenge themselves to...

A Cinema, Demolished
October 30, 2018

When demolition began on the Plaza Cinema in 2015, something unusual happened; Dubai residents began...

Featuring Eib: إعتناق ديانة أخرى من أجل الحب
October 16, 2018

From Arabic podcast Eib, the story of a boy who falls in love with a...

Open Sesame
September 30, 2018

In 1979, Iftah Ya Simsim – the Arabic version of Sesame Street – aired for...

The Descent
September 17, 2018

“I still believe this is the scariest moment of my entire life. My face is...

The Things That Can’t Speak
August 31, 2018

Ronnie Chatah started giving his walking tours of Beirut in 2008, during a period of...

Update: Love in 56KB
August 16, 2018

It’s been two years since our story about Rami and Marinka, the Dutch-Lebanese couple who...

Her Side of the Story
July 30, 2018

Ghada and Ranyah don’t know each other, but their stories have a lot in common....

The Curse of the Pharaohs
July 11, 2018

This year, the Egyptian national football team ended a 28-year streak of bad luck when...

None of the Above
June 30, 2018

Every 10 years, the United States Census counts and categorises every person living in America....

To Oslo, With Love
May 30, 2018

Elie was a journalist looking for her next story when she met Ziad at a...

Resettled
April 30, 2018

From Iraq to Texas: a doctor’s chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as...

Resettled (English)
April 30, 2018

From Iraq to Texas: a doctor’s chronicle of rebuilding life from the ground up as...

Where the Heart Is
March 28, 2018

(Censored) A story of where we’re from – when it’s not straightforward. For his entire...

KC Listener Mashup: What’s in Your Name?
March 20, 2018

A mashup from our listening community exploring the literal meanings and experiences of your Arabic,...

The Mountain
February 28, 2018

“Without the female building block, there will be no security.” Ch 2 in our mini-series...

At the Feet of the Mother
December 30, 2017

“How would you like to remember your son?” Ch 1 in a mini-series on women...

Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
November 27, 2017

Ask a Palestinian, ask an Israeli. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support...

What’s in a Name?
October 19, 2017

‘Yasir?’That’s too difficult. I’ll just call you Tony. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network...

Startup Series: Tunis
September 5, 2017

6 years after a revolution, what is it like starting a business in the new...

These Two Lanes Could Take Us Anywhere
July 28, 2017

4,000 miles, a bike trip, an Armenian, a Turk, and a history that doesn’t match...

Not Just My Hijab (Ch 2)
June 7, 2017

4 women, and their hijabs. Chapter 2 of a 2-part series. Kerning Cultures is a...

Not Just My Hijab (Ch 1)
June 1, 2017

4 women. And their hijabs. Chapter 1 in a 2-part series, Not Just My Hijab....

KC Soundboard: We’re Listening to You
May 1, 2017

Behind the scenes of ourstartup Kerning Cultures. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production....

Serious Jolt
March 29, 2017

One man’s mission to revive Yemeni coffee for global markets. Kerning Cultures is a Kerning...

Where Do We Go From Here?
February 8, 2017

A look at (the first) Trump travel ban and its effects. Kerning Cultures is a...

Fight or Flight
January 23, 2017

When you’re forced to leave your home,what traditions do you take with you? A journey...

Birthplace of the UAE
December 3, 2016

The year is 1959, and 1 in every 2 babiesare dying in childbirth in the...

KC Short: Mid East for Trump
October 10, 2016

A US election special: meet the Americans of Middle Eastern descent supporting Trump. Produced by...

Reconciliation, a Tale of Two Seas
August 27, 2016

It’s 2011, and Bahrain is a divided society. Can they reconcile? Correction: The episode erroneously...

Border(less)
July 21, 2016

How do you lose a family member in Europe’s elusive borders? And as a refugee...

Love in 56KB
May 31, 2016

An epic modern love story. He was in Beirut during the Lebanon-Israel war; she was...

My Mother’s Country, Mother Of The World (Ch 2)
March 23, 2016

“No one believed I was moving back to Cairo; it’s a jungle there.”Chapter 2 finalises...

My Mother’s Country, Mother Of The World (Ch 1)
March 17, 2016

What do we owe the places that raised us? Egypt has the highest rate of...

Poetry, Deconstructed.
December 17, 2015

The creative process, deconstructed. This episode we take you behind the scenes to capture raw...

Finding Center
December 1, 2015

Finding center: physical, spiritual, mentally. Story I: [0:00-6:57] Finding Yourself in the Reflection of a...

Startup Series: UAE
October 12, 2015

Is Dubai the next Silicon Valley of the Middle East? Startup stories from the United...

Startup Series: Egypt
October 11, 2015

Egyptian startups: a different kind of revolution. This episode features Mahmoud Abdelfattah, founder of bkam.com,...

Startup Series: Lebanon
September 23, 2015

Our first episode of Kerning Cultures! Water and electricity cut daily, and yet $400M for...

Hebah on the Da Miri Podcast
January 18, 2021

Our winter season is coming very soon, but while you’re waiting just a little bit...

Behind the Scenes: Zar and Zabelle
November 26, 2020

While we’re gearing up for our next season, we wanted to share a behind the...

Update: Where the Heart Is
November 5, 2020

For his entire life, Maysam has lived in Dubai. His parents are from Syria, a...

Jerusalem Calling
October 1, 2020

The Palestine Broadcasting Service started airing in 1936, from a brand new transmitter tower in...

More Than A Buzz
September 24, 2020

In our day-to-day lives, it’s a drink. But for some people, it is not as...

Little Syria
September 18, 2020

The lower west side of Manhattan used to be home to the biggest population of...

Open Sesame Redux
September 10, 2020

In 1979, Iftah Ya Simsim – the Arabic version of Sesame Street – aired for...

Elephants in the Desert
September 3, 2020

Faysal Bibi and his team of palaeontologists have been captivated by this one particular moment...

The Missing Archives
August 26, 2020

In 1968, a trio of Palestinian filmmakers began making films about life under Israeli occupation....

Lebanon, USA 2.0
August 21, 2020

This week, a special collaboration with one of our all time favourite podcasts: Radiolab. We...

Misfits: Icebergs & Squash
August 13, 2020

This week on Kerning Cultures, two short stories. Producers Alex and Zeina uncover why Egyptians...

How to Help Beirut
August 7, 2020

We’re heartbroken by what happened in Beirut on Tuesday, August 4. Many of us at...

Rocket Man
July 30, 2020

In the 1960s, a college professor and his group of students were determined to build...

Zabelle
July 23, 2020

In 1917, a musical prodigy called Zabelle Panosian recorded a song that captured the heartbreak...

Trancing with the Zars
July 17, 2020

For centuries in Egypt, Zar was a music and dance ritual believed to heal women...

Ugly Truth
July 10, 2020

This is the ugly truth: racism and anti-Blackness in the Arab world is a common...

Outcast
July 3, 2020

Our producer Nadeen Shaker takes us on her own personal journey in trying to discover...

Unity High: Part 2
June 26, 2020

Last year, our producer Darah Ghanem stumbled upon an obscure blog on a nearly forgotten...

Unity High: Part 1
June 20, 2020

Last year, our producer Darah Ghanem stumbled upon an obscure blog on a nearly forgotten...

Summer Season Trailer
June 12, 2020

We’re back! We’ll be here with a new episode of Kerning Cultures every Friday this...

Escape to Cairo
May 27, 2021

In October 1960, the walls were closing in for Patrice Lumumba. Months earlier, he had...

Abandoned Ships: Part 2
May 20, 2021

After their employer abandoned the vessel they was working on, Vikash Mishra and his crew...

Jerusalem Calling
May 13, 2021

Because of what’s happening in Palestine this week, we’re holding off airing our usual programming....

Abandoned Ships: Part 1
May 6, 2021

When seafarer Mehmet Gulsen stepped on board the Kenan Mete, he thought he was signing...

Exodus
April 29, 2021

Loving Lebanon is one thing; living there is another. Generation after generation, surviving in the...

Found Sound
April 23, 2021

Two stories of music getting lost… and then found again. A record producer unearths a...

Collateral Damage
April 9, 2021

In 1942, Lebanon’s National Museum opened in Beirut, celebrating the country’s golden age, and inside,...

Viva Brother Nagi
April 2, 2021

Nagi Daifallah was a young farm worker from Yemen who moved to California in the...

Flagged and Stamped
March 25, 2021

Over the last half century, as many nations around our region have gained independence or...

No Victor But God
March 18, 2021

The graceful courtyards of Mexico and Puerto Rico aren’t the first places you’d go looking...

In Case of Death
March 11, 2021

What happens when somebody dies in a country that’s not their home? In the UAE,...

Whose Genizah?
March 4, 2021

In 2015, our producer Nadeen Shaker visited the Cairo Genizah in one of Egypt’s oldest...

Evacuate Kuwait
February 25, 2021

On August 2nd 1990, the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait City overnight, and its residents woke...

The A-Word
February 18, 2021

Ahmed Twaij explores an often-overlooked issue in the Arab world; racism towards Black Arabs. In...

Word on the Street
February 11, 2021

As 2020 brought us countless examples of injustice and pain, it brought remembrances that we...

Operation Nemesis
February 4, 2021

After the Armenian Genocide, in which over 1.5 million Christians from the Ottoman Empire were...

The K-Pop Wave
January 28, 2021

Since 2012, Korean pop culture has captured the imagination of people across the Middle East:...

This season on Kerning Cultures…
January 21, 2021

We’re excited to announce that season 2 of Kerning Cultures starts next week. Each Thursday,...

The Secret Somali Tapes
July 7, 2022

It’s 1988, and Somalis are fleeing the city of Hargeisa. People are trying to get...

Sheikh Imam: Voice of Dissent
May 27, 2022

A blind oud player from humble beginnings, Sheikh Imam’s destiny changed drastically when he met...

The Intifada Tapes
May 13, 2022

Stuck in his Palestinian hometown of Jenin during lockdown, Mo’min Swaitat walked into an old...

Saving Mesopotamia’s Marshes
April 22, 2022

Azzam Alwash remembers the marshlands of southern Iraq as a magical place, where he would...

The Sleeping Children
April 8, 2022

In 2012, a Yazidi family fled to Sweden in the hope of a better...

The Rise and Fall of #MeToo in Egypt: Part 2
April 1, 2022

A warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence and assault. As Egyptian women celebrated...

The Rise and Fall of #MeToo in Egypt: Part 1
March 25, 2022

A warning: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence and assault. In the summer of...

The Burning Library
March 10, 2022

In 1962 the library at the University of Algiers was burned to the ground, turning...

A note to listeners
March 4, 2022

We’re holding off on releasing this week’s Kerning Cultures episode. Instead, we’re sharing resources on...

Hi Jolly
February 24, 2022

This week, we’re following the trail of an elusive camel herder called Hadj Ali (or,...

The Freemason
February 10, 2022

A family secret, hidden for decades by a grandfather in Iraq, gets uncovered by his...

Syria’s Stolen Memories
February 3, 2022

During the Syrian war, a group of archeologists risk their lives to record the damage...

Operation Boulder
January 27, 2022

Since 9/11, US governmental agencies have poured millions of dollars into spying on Arabs, Muslims...

A conversation with the team
January 14, 2022

Ahead of the latest season (which launches at the end of this month!), our team...

Aizen – Epilogue
April 26, 2023

Since our series about ‘Aizen’ ended, many of you have been in touch asking for...

The Black Panthers in Algeria
April 6, 2023

When Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s, she was only...

A Past Life
March 23, 2023

When Heba was very young, there was a knock at the door at her home...

Somalia’s Banana Battles
March 16, 2023

You might remember Somali bananas from your childhood, lining the shelves at your local supermarket....

Whats in a Name?
March 9, 2023

‘Yasir?’ That’s too difficult. I’ll just call you Tony. This episode originally aired in October...

Bone of Contention
February 23, 2023

In 2014, the palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim went public with an astonishing discovery he’d made while...

Aizen – Part 4: Do Good & Throw it in the Sea
February 9, 2023

After finally reaching Europe, Aizen was back in jail. He had calculated that the journey...

Aizen – Part 3: King of Serbia
February 2, 2023

Through smugglers, barbed wire fences and forests, Aizen arrives in Europe. But the sense of...

Aizen – Part 2: The Game
January 26, 2023

‘A game’ is what smugglers and migrants call attempting to cross illegally from one country...

Aizen – Part 1: I Hate Wednesdays
January 19, 2023

‘Aizen’ says he’s the most unlucky person in the world. This football-obsessed teenager from Afghanistan...

Tunisia’s Liquid Gold
January 12, 2023

When you think of good quality olive oil, which countries first come to mind? This...

Armenian Pilgrimages: A Journey to the Homeland
December 22, 2022

A father and daughter journey to their ancestral homeland, looking to track down the place...

Scoring the World Cup
December 15, 2022

This is the final week of the first World Cup hosted in the Middle East....

The Assassination of Alex Odeh
December 8, 2022

Alex Odeh was well known in the Arab community in Santa Ana, California. He...

Coming up on season 4 of Kerning Cultures…
December 1, 2022

Kerning Cultures season 4 launches next week, December 8th. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts so...

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