We discuss the SWANA films that received Oscar nominations and make an exciting announcement about this year’s Awesome Con!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 76: SWANA Oscar Noms and Awesome Con 2026”
I personally was never quite into the romance genre. But having read Iranian Canadian author Arezou Amin’s magnificent debut novel, The Aroosi Arrangment, coming out October 14, I realized just how badly I, and many other SWANA people, need to have this sort of representation.
Continue reading “Author Arezou Amin on Writing Iranian Canadian Love in ‘The Aroosi Arrangement’”
The West Coast premiere of Sanaz Toossi‘s Wish You Were Here at South Coast Repertory is a resounding play with its stunning writing, its beautiful simplicity & grace from director Mina Morita, and the incredible ensemble cast who have such endearing chemistry with each other.
Continue reading “A Los Angeles Theatre Review: ‘Wish You Were Here’”
We interview Jaylee Hamidi on their role in Natasha Rothwell’s How to Die Alone!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 69: Jaylee Hamidi on their Career and ‘How to Die Alone’”
We review the latest in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise, discuss the natural disasters in Morocco and Libya that have killed, injured, and displaced thousands, the genocide by starvation in Artsakh, and the one year anniversary of the start of the current Iran protests.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 56: ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 ‘Review”
Like us, you know her, you love her as Zari Tarazi on Legends of Tomorrow, it’s Tala Ashe herself 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!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 48: Tala Ashe on Her Career and the Situation in Iran”
We welcome Iranian American actress Kathreen Khavari on the podcast!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 46: Kathreen Khavari on Her Career and the Iran Protests”
“The hierarchy of power in the DC Universe is about to change,” we’ve heard for weeks on end from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Did it really change that much with the release of Black Adam? Honestly? Yeah, kind of!
Continue reading “‘Black Adam’ is Less Than the Sum of its Parts but Still a Fun Time”
What goes into learning a foreign language for your livelihood? How does one prepare to become a foreigner in an unfamiliar country? Encapsulating the migrant experience through the microcosm of a TOEFL class in 2008 Karaj, Iran, Sanaz Toossi’s searingly beautiful play English, directed by Knud Adams, answers all of this and much more, running at The Atlantic Theater in New York City to critical acclaim.
Continue reading “The Gift of Sanaz Toossi’s ‘English’”