When seafarer Mehmet Gulsen stepped on board the Kenan Mete, he thought he was signing up to a pretty standard 7 month contract, and then he'd be home in Ukraine with his young daughter and his dog. But a few months in, things started going wrong, and he ended up abandoned with his crew at a port in the Suez Canal, wit... more
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... more
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 spr... more
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.Support thi... more
Last year, our producer Darah Ghanem stumbled upon an obscure blog on a nearly forgotten corner of the internet. On it were hundreds of historic photographs of a Christian missionary school in Khartoum called Unity High School. But as she looked closer, she started to see something else: the blog's writers were trying ... more
During the Syrian war, a group of archeologists risk their lives to record the damage being done to their country's cultural heritage, just as it was being taken away from them.This episode was written and produced by Zeina Dowidar and Alex Atack, and edited by Dana Ballout with additional support from Nadeen Shaker. F... more
If you have been enjoying this podcast, we want to hear from you! Understanding who you, our dear listeners, are helps us make decisions as we continue to grow at the Kerning Cultures Network. Help us understand you better by filling this short survey linked below, it won’t take more than 5 minutes. We promise you a ... more
We’re thrilled to share another podcast from Kerning Cultures Network with you: al empire.al empire returns for Season 3 with more stories of exceptional Arabs from around the world and their journey to the top, from comedians and entrepreneurs to musicians and media mavericks. This season of al empire, we’re also rele... more
Since our series about 'Aizen' ended, many of you have been in touch asking for an update on his story. When we left you at the end of the last episode, he had arrived in Europe, three years after leaving his home in Kabul and travelling through a labyrinth of smuggler networks. He claimed asylum in the UK, but his cas... more
When Elaine Mokhtefi landed in newly independent Algeria in the early 1960s, she was only planning for a short visit. But she quickly found herself at the centre of a special period in the country’s history, as Algiers played host to liberation groups from across the world – earning a reputation as the “Mecca of revolu... more
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 originally aired in February 2021, and was produced by Zeina Dowidar with editing by Dana Ballout. Additional suppor... more
When Heba was very young, there was a knock at the door at her home in Lebanon. It was another family from the village, claiming that they knew her… from a past life.Now, as an adult, she still wonders: Have I always been Heba? Or was there another life before this one?This episode was produced by Dana Ballout and Alex... more
You might remember Somali bananas from your childhood, lining the shelves at your local supermarket. During the late 80s and early 90s, Somalia made millions of dollars exporting its coveted bananas to Italy and the Middle East. But this thriving export business ground to a halt suddenly in 1991, when the country was t... more
'Yasir?' That's too difficult. I'll just call you Tony.This episode originally aired in October 2017.Kerning Cultures is a Kerning Cultures Network production. Support this podcast on Patreon for as little as $2 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In 2014, the palaeontologist Nizar Ibrahim went public with an astonishing discovery he’d made while studying a set of dinosaur bones from the Moroccan Sahara. But almost immediately, it caused a rift amongst his colleagues – forcing them to question everything they’d ever known about their work.This is the strange and... more
Nagi Daifallah was a young farm worker from Yemen who moved to California in the early 1970s, when he was just 20 years old. He went on to become one of the organisers of the influential 1973 grape strikes in California, led by Cesar Chavez.But one night, after a day of striking, he was beaten to death by a local count... more
After finally reaching Europe, Aizen was back in jail. He had calculated that the journey from Afghanistan to France would take three months. But more than two years later, he was somewhere completely different. Then, finally, his luck started to turn.This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack an... more
Through smugglers, barbed wire fences and forests, Aizen arrives in Europe. But the sense of relief he feels at making it this far is short-lived: the physical and mental toll of travelling so far from home begins to weigh heavy.This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edited by Alex Atack and Dana Ballout, with ed... more
‘A game’ is what smugglers and migrants call attempting to cross illegally from one country to another. As Aizen leaves his childhood behind in Afghanistan, his only way to get to Europe is to play the game, travelling through this dangerous network of human traffickers.This episode was produced by Al Shaibani and edit... more
‘Aizen’ says he’s the most unlucky person in the world. This football-obsessed teenager from Afghanistan grew up in the chaos of Kabul, and at 15, was imprisoned in one of the worst adult prisons in the world. All for a crime he didn’t commit. In this four part series, we’re following Aizen’s journey as he leaves his c... more
When you think of good quality olive oil, which countries first come to mind? This week, we’re travelling to the heart of the world’s largest exporter of organic olive oil to learn all about the liquid gold that graces dinner tables around the globe. And it’s not where you’d expect.This episode was produced by Zeina Do... more
A father and daughter journey to their ancestral homeland, looking to track down the place their family had lived before being forced to flee the Armenian genocide.They’re among hundreds of Armenian families who, over the last three decades, have returned to their ancestors' home on a search for answers, in a country t... more
This is the final week of the first World Cup hosted in the Middle East. And it’s been a tournament like no other: We’ve seen Morocco advance further than any Middle East or African team has before, making the whole region proud. And we’ve seen many joyous moments go viral as fans from across the world descend on Doha.... more
Alex Odeh was well known in the Arab community in Santa Ana, California. He was often on TV or writing into newspapers, talking about discrimination against Arabs in the US or about his beloved homeland, Palestine. But on the morning of October 11th 1985, he stepped through his office door and a pipe bomb exploded. He ... more
Kerning Cultures season 4 launches next week, December 8th. Subscribe wherever you get podcasts so you don't miss an episode.Support this podcast on patreon.com/kerningcultures for as little as $2 a month. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.