The Middle Geeks

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!

Roxana Hadadi joins us once again to review the Dune franchise, now with Dune: Part Two in theaters. In a franchise that appropriates so much from SWANA and Muslim cultures, does the second installment improve on that regard, or does it continue to appropriate and Orientalize? But even beyond that, does Denis Villeneuve effectively convey the meaning of Frank Herbert's original text, and its warning against hero worship? Or have audiences taken the wrong message with this latest installment? We discuss all of those aspects, talk about what you can do to help Palestine, give our recommendations, and much more.   Rocky's analysis of Dune 2 for Vulture. Come join us at our panel at Awesome Con in Washington, DC, 'The State of SWANA Representation in Pop Culture,' March 9, 2:30-3:15 at the Walter E. Convention Center!   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 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.

We welcome back our friends Jasmin and Isa to discuss Assassin's Creed Mirage, a sprawling action-adventure game from Ubisoft set in 9th Century Abbasid Baghdad, that tells the story of Basim Ibn Ishaq (Lee Majdoub) and his mentor Roshan (Shohreh Aghdashloo). We go into detail on why this game is the the best Iraqi, Arab, Persian, Muslim, and SWANA representation we've ever seen in gaming, and why the story and setting resonated with us so much. Beware of spoilers later the conversation. We also discuss the tragic news of the unfolding Israeli genocide in Gaza, and what we can keep doing to support Palestinians and work towards a Free Palestine.   Full Spoilers for the ending of Assassin's Creed Mirage from 1:01:00-1:17:31 Come join us at our panel at Awesome Con in Washington, DC, 'The State of SWANA Representation in Pop Culture,' March 9th, 2:30-3:15 at the Walter E. Convention Center!   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 Masha Gessen's piece in The New Yorker: 'In the Shadow of the Holocaust'   Swara's piece on Assassin's Creed Mirage for But Why Tho? Swara's interview with Shohreh Aghdashloo for But Why Tho? Swara's interview with Lee Majdoub and Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu for But Why Tho?   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 online @TheMiddleGeeks Follow Jasmin online @jasminjoestar Follow Isa online @evilcleverdog Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

On the eve of Yalda, the Iranian Winter-Solstice, we review writer-director Maryam Keshavarz's The Persian Version with our friends Arezou and Samira. How well does Keshavarz do at portraying a unique yet universal experience through Leila (Layla Mohammadi) and her mother Shireen (Niousha Noor)? How does intergenerational trauma shape our familial relationships, and what can we do for healing? We also discuss Yalda as a holiday and why we celebrate it, discuss the ongoing genocide in Gaza, give our recommendations, and much more.   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 Arezou on Twitter @ArezouAmin   Follow Samira on Twitter @samira_says   Follow Swara on Twitter @spiderswarz   Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks   Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media   Please support us on Patreon!

We welcome back Palestinian-American Harvey award winning comic and video games writer, Nadia Shammas, to discuss their critically acclaimed graphic novel Squire, which takes place in an a SWANA/MENA fantasy setting, through the lens of Palestine in the midst of the IDF's ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. We discuss Nadia's upbringing in both Palestine and the US, how the current crisis has unpacked her and her family's generational and personal traumas, and how she incorporated those experiences into Squire. Nadia gives her take on the current crisis, and we also discuss being a Palestinian writer in the superhero comics space, and how certain corporations may be missing the mark on what BIPOC audiences want from them. We also give our recommendations, and much more. Note that this discussion has some story spoilers for Squire.   Follow Nadia on Instagram @NadiaShammas and on Twitter @NadiaShammas_, and buy their graphic novels Squire, Where Black Stars Rise, and Confetti Realms, and buy the game Thirsty Suitors on whatever game system you own. 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

The Marvels is here, bringing our favorite superhero Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), AKA Ms. Marvel, into the cinematic spotlight! But how well does it do her journey as a character, and how do the other leads of Carol (Brie Larson) and Monica (Teyonah Parris) fare? Our friends Isa and Maryam join us once again on the podcast to review the film, analyzing what how it did and didn't do things well and where we expect Kamala to go from here. We dive into a larger conversation on the MCU overall, give our recommendations, and much more. Spoilers for The Marvels throughout Read Swara's review of The Marvels for The New Arab Read Maryam's review of The Marvels for Nerdist Follow Isa on social media @EvilCleverDog Follow Maryam on social media @curious_maryam Follow Swara on social media @spiderswarz USCPR: Find a Protest: Stop the Gaza Genocide 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

In the midst of Israel's ongoing bombardment and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, with currently over 9,000 dead and over 30,000 more more injured, under the pretense of taking out Hamas leadership since their attack on Israel on October 7th, we have on Palestinian-American kidlit author and activist Hannah Moushabeck to discuss the ongoing crisis and her career. Hannah is the author of Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine, a groundbreaking children's book that showcases Palestinian culture in Jerusalem through her father's regaling to her and her sisters. In the midst of so much tragedy, it is even more crucial to discuss Palestinian and other marginalized culture to keep it alive and strong. We also discuss how she and other Palestinians have been protesting for a ceasefire and an end to the occupation and Apartheid Israel imposes on Palestine, other Palestinian and Palestinian-adjacent art we enjoy, and much more.   Follow Hannah on Instagram @hannahmoushabeck Decolonize Palestine Support the Palestinian-American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza 6 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

Before anything else, we would like listeners to know we have an episode on Palestine coming soon. In the meantime we're sharing donation links as we have done before. As writer-director Maryam Keshavarz's The Persian Version has finally made its way to wide release in US theaters, we sit down with Keshavarz to discuss her semi-autobiographical dramedy film. Indeed it is the "Persian Version" of recounted family events, but just like our main protagonist Leila (Layla Mohammadi) in the film, we don't know everything! Stay tuned for our upcoming review of the film, as you enjoy our conversation with Keshavarz, and watch The Persian Version in theaters! Decolonize Palestine Donate to help families in Gaza 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

It's a week of heavy and tragic news across the SWANA region, from a 6.8 earthquake in Morocco, devastating floods in Libya, another Armenian genocide underway in Artsakh, and the commemoration of Jina Amini's murder and its sparking of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement in Iran and Kurdistan and the diasporas. We discuss all of these topics and what you can do to help, and follow it up with a relatively lighthearted review of My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, give our recommendations, and much more. This podcast was recorded during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist. To support the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, donate to the Entertainment Community Fund. Read Mae's review of the film for ScreenRant Read Swara's review of the film for But Why Tho? Donate to the Moroccan Red Crescent Donate to the Libyan Red Crescent Donate to Islamic Relief USA Donate to CARE Thread of donation links by Yasmine Jibril Send money via Western Union Kim Kardashian: My Plea to Joe Biden to Stop Another Armenian Genocide CNN Report on Dire State of Artsakh 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 Instagram/Threads: @TheMiddleGeeks, @writerblocked20, @spiderswarz Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

With Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny's release, and taking place in Morocco, we simply have to review it. Our friends Nadia Osman and Zaina Ujayli join us once again to discuss Dial of Destiny, and whether it does better by North African peoples than it did in the past (spoiler alert: not so much.) Why does this keep happening, and why did director James Mangold dive into Orientalism and whitewashing once again? Also, why is there so much GGI? We also discuss the news of the Dune Part Two trailer and how its own appropriation and Orientalism of SWANA and Muslim cultural aspects is part of an ongoing narrative in Hollywood, give our recommendations, and much more!   Read Swara's Feature for The New Arab, 'Can Indiana Jones overcome its Orientalist Past?   Decolonize 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 Zaina on Twitter @zainaujayli and Nadia @msnadiaosman and on BlueSky @msnadiaosman.   Follow us on Twitter: @TheMiddleGeeks, @MaeAbdu, @spiderswarz, and follow Swara on BlueSky @spiderswarz.   Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media   Please support us on Patreon!

Nadia Shammas is a Palestinian-American Harvey award winning comic writer for their incredible groundbreaking graphic novel Squire, created with Jordanian-American artist Sara Alfageeh, and the co-creator of Where Black Stars Rise with artist Marie Enger. In Squire, Nadia wrote a story inherent to the lived experiences of SWANA peoples across the region, beautifully weaving in our cultures and civilizations with Alfageeh's similarly extraordinary dedicated art. Nadia has also worked on DC and Marvel titles, writing Arab fan favorite Talia Al-Ghul and Ms. Marvel, the latter in her and Nabi H. Ali's Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin. On the podcast today, we are so honored to finally have Nadia on to discuss her career, thier foray into comics and fandom, and her consistent advocacy for Palestine and where they see the public conversation on Palestine going. Follow Nadia on Instagram @NadiaShammas and on Twitter @NadiaShammas_, and buy Squire and Where Black Stars Rise. Decolonize Palestine Support the Palestinian-American Medical Association (PAMA) and families in Gaza 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

Rocky joins us once again to discuss Nida Manzoor's debut feature film, Polite Society. What did we love about this film and Nida's creative vision? How did Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya do so well at conveying this vision and the Khan sisters' love for one another? How did the action and dance sequences propel the plot? Just how outright hilarious was Polite Society? We discuss all that and more about the film, which you should go see in theaters now! We also discuss the harrowing news out of Sudan, a new African animation anthology that includes Egypt and Egyptian creators, give our recommendations for the week, and much more!   SPOILERS for Polite Society from 27:20-1:00:37 Follow Rocky on Twitter @roxana_hadadi. Listen to Rocky's review of Polite Society on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour Read Mae's review of Polite Society for Screenrant Read Swara's review of Polite Society for The Nerds of Color, and check out his interviews with Nida Manzoor, and Priya Kansara and Ritu Arya Donate to help Sudanese people feeling geopolitical violence 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 Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

Senzel Ahmady has made history as the first actress of SWANA/MENA descent to play Princess Jasmine in a major Aladdin production in North America, starring in the tour of the acclaimed musical. In our wide ranging conversation, we discuss Senzel's upbringing and Afghan and Filipina background, her foray into musical theater, why she finds Jasmine so enduring as a role model for SWANASA people, the experience of fasting and breaking fast for Ramadan and while on tour and performing, and much more. We have royalty with us on the podcast! Follow Senzel on Instagram @senzelahmady. 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 Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

With Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny coming out soon, we discuss the long and torrid history of the franchise's use of Orientalism and racism against Southwest Asian, North African, and South Asian (SWANASA) peoples, and whether we think the new film will continue that trend. Why is Orientalism and white saviorism so foundational to this popular franchise? How did this affect modern day storytelling in film and tv? We delve into all our honest thoughts on this, give our recommendations, and much more. Read Swara's Feature for The New Arab, 'Can Indiana Jones overcome its Orientalist Past?" Where you can donate to help Earthquake Victims: Heyva Sor (Kurdish Red Moon) Mercy Corps Doctors Without Borders Syrian Emergency Task Force CARE International Syrian American Medical Society Islamic Relief USA Decolonize 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

In our 50th (!) episode, we review Moroccan director Maryam Touzani's beautiful film Cannes-award winning film"Blue Caftan," which is a nuanced and heartfelt display of Moroccan life, culture, and queer identity. What are married couples willing to sacrifice? Why is it so refreshing to watch a nuanced and quiet story like this from North Africa? We also discuss the horrific news of the earthquake in Syria, Kurdistan, and Türkiye that has claimed over 50,000 lives, what you can do to help, and the latest horrible news out of Palestine. Where you can donate to help Earthquake Victims: Heyva Sor (Kurdish Red Moon) Mercy Corps Doctors Without Borders Syrian Emergency Task Force CARE International Syrian American Medical Society Islamic Relief USA Decolonize 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media  

In our first episode of 2023, we finally review Palestinian and Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam's visceral masterpiece Farha, now streaming on Netflix, which details the first events of the Nakba in 1948, which saw the expulsion and killing of over 700,000 Palestinians. With such an unflinching and brutal eye in showcasing these events, Sallam and her team have created a crucial film that audiences everywhere should see, if they feel able. We'd like to give a Trigger Warning and Content Warning for discussion of child and infant death. Please take care while watching. Mae also shares some of her experiences at the Sundance Film Festival, we give our recommendations, and much more.   Read Tariq Raouf's piece Farha in The New Arab   Decolonize Palestine   Donate to help families in Gaza   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   Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media   Please support us on Patreon!  

Like us, you know her, you love her as Zari Tarazi on Legends of Tomorrow, it's Tala Ashe on the podcast! Mae has a riveting conversation with Tala on her life and career, her time as Zari on Legends, what she learned about herself playing the role, her theater roles in the SWANA plays English and The Vagrant Trilogy, and much more! We also discuss the situation in Iran and how Tala aims to and implores others to support the Iranian people. Follow Tala on Twitter @TalaAshe and on Instagram @TalaAshe. 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 Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

We welcome Zaina onto the podcast for us to review The Swimmers! Yusra and Sara Mardini are two real-life Syrian refugee sisters whose riveting and raw story has now been put to the screen in Sally El Hosaini's The Swimmers, streaming now on Netflix. How well does the story do at conveying the visceral experience of refugees? What do we think of the characters as they're translated from real life? What do we hope non-Arab and non-SWANA audiences take from this film? We also discuss Zaina's career as a screenwriter, give our recommendations, and much more.   Swara's interview with Director Sally El Hosaini for Nerds of Color Read Hanna Flint's "The Swimmers" review on Time Out Pre-order Strong Female Character in the U.S. Follow Zaina on Twitter @zainaujayli. 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 Follow us on Instagram @TheMiddleGeeks Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media Please support us on Patreon!

We welcome Iranian-American actress Kathreen Khavari on the podcast! Kathreen is an esteemed actress and voice actress whose roles include Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan in various Marvel animated series, Badyah in Netflix's hit series Dead End: Paranormal Park, and the upcoming Nickelodeon series Transformers: AllSpark. Kathreen discusses her career with us and what she hopes that the roles she and other SWANASA actors bring to brown kids today. We also discuss the ongoing Iran Protests, what it's been like for the Iranian diaspora to view them from abroad, and what you can do to help amplify the messages of the protests.   Sign Amnesty International's letter calling for an independent UN Investigation into the Iranian Government's crimes against its people.   Follow Kathreen on Twitter @KathreenKhavari and on Instagram @kathreenkhavari.   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   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media   Please support us on Patreon!

We welcome Hanna back on the podcast for us to review Black Adam together! The Rock has finally arrived as Black Adam in the DCU. But does he really "change the hierarchy" of the universe that much? How well did the film do at portraying the fictionalized SWANA/MENA country of Kahndaq, and was this film good SWANA/MENA representation? Were the JSA necessary at all in this movie, or did they just convolute it further? We discuss all of that, along with the news that James Gunn and Peter Safran are the co-chairs of DC Studios, give our recommendations, and much more!   Read Hanna's Black Adam Review for The New Arab   Read Swara's Black Adam Review for Nerds of Color   Read Mae's Black Adam Piece for Screenrant   Pre-order Strong Female Character in the U.S.   Follow Hanna on Twitter @HannaFlint.   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   Subscribe to The Middle Geeks on Hard NOC Media   Please support us on Patreon!