On this episode of Me & My Muslim Friends, we chat with Ronnie Malley, a Chicago-based musician and playwright whose work often focuses on the untold stories of Muslims. We’ll find out how he became a master of a traditional instrument called the oud, how Muslim slaves influenced the blues, and how his Palestinian heritage shapes nearly every part of his storytelling. We’ll also talk about his more recent work on the soundtrack of the Netflix series Mo, which features comedian Mo Amer.

My co-host is friend Aina Khan, who is a journalist with AJ+.