The Middle Geeks Episode 77: LIVE at Awesome Con 2026 in Washington D.C.!
We’re live once again at Awesome Con in Washington D.C. discussing SWANA representation in Fantasy & Sci-Fi!
Orientalism
At First Glance, Universal’s ‘Mummy’ Sequel is Orientalist Regression
Swara explains why the announcement of Universal doing a “Mummy” Sequel may not be so exciting, and in fact may be regressive.
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The Middle Geeks Episode 64: Live at Awesome Con in Washington D.C.
The Middle Geeks are LIVE at Awesome Con with our friends discussing all things SWANA representation!
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The Middle Geeks Episode 63: ‘Dune: Part Two’ Review
The Middle Geeks review Dune: Part Two with our friend and verified Dune scholar Roxana Hadadi.
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The Middle Geeks Episode 61: ‘The Persian Version’ Review on the Eve of Yalda
Arezou and Samira join us to discuss Maryam Keshavarz’s “The Persian Version”.
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The Middle Geeks Episode 57: Maryam Keshavarz on Telling ‘The Persian Version’
Before anything else, we would like listeners to know we have an episode on Palestine coming soon. In the meantime
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The Middle Geeks Episode 55: ‘Indiana Jones’ Dials Up the CGI and Orientalism
Joined by our friends Nadia Osman and Zaina Ujayli, The Middle Geeks review “Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny.”
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The Middle Geeks Episode 51: Indiana Jones and The Nexus of Orientalism
The Middle Geeks discuss the Indiana Jones franchise’s long and torrid history of Orientalism and racism against SWANASA peoples.
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NOC Review: ‘Moon Knight’ Raises the Bar for What the MCU Can Be
‘Moon Knight’, starring Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawked, truly is a series unlike anything the MCU has done before. Read our review.
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The Middle Geeks Episode 32: The Promise of ‘Star Wars: Visions’
The Middle Geeks welcome on Meg Humphrey to discuss all things Star Wars: Visions
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The Middle Geeks Episode 31: ‘Dune’ Review
The Middle Geeks review “Dune” with fellow MENA critics Hanna Flint and Roxana Hadadi!
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‘Kate’ Shoots Up Tokyo in New Trailer for the Netflix Film
I really had high hopes for this one. The premise was pretty cool: an assassin has to take out the
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The Middle Geeks Episode 28: Palestine in Pop Culture and ‘Loki’
Palestinian historian and scholar N.A. Mansour joins us to discuss the situation in Palestine and Loki!
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The Middle Geeks Interview: Amin El Gamal of ‘Breaking Fast’
We’re joined by Amin El Gamal of “Breaking Fast” for this special interview for Pride Month!
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The Middle Geeks Episode 23: ‘I Still Hide to Smoke’ and a Plethora of MENA News
We’re joined by Mae’s sister Sonia to discuss the inaugural film of Algerian director Rayhana Obermeyer, “I Still Hide to Smoke.”
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The Middle Geeks Episode 22: ‘Breaking Fast’ Review
We are joined by our friend Tariq Raouf to discuss the upcoming film Breaking Fast, which features a gay Arab-American Muslim as its protagonist!
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The Middle Geeks Episode 21: ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ and its MENA Issues
We are joined by the wonderful Hanna Flint to discuss Wonder Woman 1984 in this special bonus episode!
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The Middle Geeks Episode 4: ‘Capernaum’ and Facing Hard Truths
In the latest installment of The Middle Geeks, we review Nadine Labaki’s 2018 heartbreaking masterpiece, Capernaum. Mae and Swara reflect
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The Middle Geeks Episode 3: ‘Ramy’ and Navigating Identity
In the third episode of The Middle Geeks, we review Hulu’s Ramy, an incisive and groundbreaking new series on the
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The Middle Geeks Episode 2: ‘Jinn’ and Teenagers Kissing, Oh My!
In the second-ever episode of The Middle Geeks, we cover Netflix’s new original series Jinn, their first ever Arabic language
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Welcome to The Middle Geeks!
Welcome to The Middle Geeks! In our very first episode, Mae and Swara introduce the podcast and discuss our feelings
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The Live Action ‘Aladdin’ Doubles Down on Orientalist and Colorist Trends
Aladdin is one of my favorite films of all time. It gave me, as a brown Middle Eastern kid, heroic
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Iron Fist Abridged: The Adventures of Iron Goldendoodle & The Bargain Bin Lannisters!
by Andrea Tang This weekend, between bouts of story-editing, I meandered my way through the first four episodes of Netflix’s
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