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”
Joined by our friends Nadia Osman and Zaina Ujayli, The Middle Geeks review the latest Indiana Jones film and how it continues the franchise’s trend of racism and Orientalism against North African peoples.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 55: ‘Indiana Jones’ Dials Up the CGI and Orientalism”
We finally interview Palestinian comic writer Nadia Shammas on their incredible career!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 54: The Palestinian Ingenuity of Nadia Shammas”
We welcome Rocky back on the podcast to review Nida Manzoor’s Desi martial arts-comedy-epic, Polite Society! 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!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 53: ‘Polite Society’ Review with Roxana Hadadi”
We welcome Afghan-Filipina-American actress Senzel Ahmady on the podcast, and discuss her taking on the iconic role of Princess Jasmine in the touring Aladdin musical!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 52: Senzel Ahmady on Playing Princess Jasmine in ‘Aladdin’”
With Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny coming out soon, The Middle Geeks discuss the franchise’s long and torrid history of Orientalism and racism.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 51: Indiana Jones and The Nexus of Orientalism”
We review Maryam Touzani’s beautiful film Cannes-award winning film Blue Caftan, coming to theaters soon in the U.S.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 50: ‘Blue Caftan,’ the Earthquake, and an Update on Palestine”
We review Darin J. Sallam’s searing and visceral film, Farha, which details the first horrific events of the Nakba.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 49: ‘Farha’ Review and the Resistance of Palestine”
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 Zaina onto the podcast for us to review The Swimmers!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 47: ‘The Swimmers’ Review with Zaina Ujayli”
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”
We welcome Hanna back on the podcast for us to review Black Adam together!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 45: ‘Black Adam’ Review with Hanna Flint”
We welcome Hanna back on the podcast to discuss her new debut book Strong Female Character!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 44: ‘Strong Female Character’ with Author Hanna Flint”
Tariq Raouf joins us once again to review the third season of Ramy, out on Hulu now!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 43: ‘Ramy’ Season 3 Review”
We discuss episodes 1-2 of the new MCU Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, joined by Nerdist contributor Maryam Ahmad!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 40: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Episodes 3-4 Review”
We are delighted to welcome on Kuwaiti American author Chelsea Abdullah who has just made her debut with the mesmerizing Arab fantasy novel The Stardust Thief!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Interview: Chelsea Abdullah, Author of ‘The Stardust Thief’”
We discuss episodes 1-2 of the new MCU Disney+ series Moon Knight starring Oscar Isaac, May Calamawy, and Ethan Hawke.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 36: ‘Moon Knight’ Episodes 1-2”
We are delighted to speak with Legends of Tomorrow cast member Shayan Sobhian and his writing partner and director Max Mooney on their new film Does Bigfoot Dream of Flowers?. What inspired them to do this project? How is this depiction of Bigfoot similar and different from those we’ve seen before? We also hear from Shayan on his role as Behrad on Legends of Tomorrow, and where the show might go from their recent Season 7 finale.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks: Shayan Sobhian and Max Mooney on ‘Does Bigfoot Dream of Flowers?’”
We discuss Netflix’s new horror series Archive 81, which headlines two SWANA stars with Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi! What did we enjoy about this creepy series? Would it have been better if Mamoudou and Dina’s characters were SWANA coded? What do we want from a Season 2?
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 35: ‘Archive 81’ Review”
Even though there’s not a lot to be merry about, we count our blessings and make it merry! We also discuss the wonderful 2020 film Gaza Mon Amour by director brothers Tarzan and Arab Nasser, which shows old love in the middle of Gaza, starring our fave Hiam Abbass. We also discuss the exciting news of We Are Lady Parts Season 2 renewal, Mena Massoud’s new Netflix rom-com coming out soon, and much more!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 33: ‘Gaza Mon Amour’ Review and Holiday Edition”
We’re excited to have Meg Humphrey of Rogue Podron on to discuss Star Wars: Visions, the new anime anthology on Disney+ that breathes fresh life into this franchise with Japanese creators, crafting stories in a universe that was *heavily* inspired by their own culture.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 32: The Promise of ‘Star Wars: Visions’”
We are delighted to welcome Abubakr Ali on the podcast, who will be playing the titular role in Netflix’s Grendel, making him the FIRST Arab and Muslim actor to headline a comic adaptation in TV/Film! We discuss what got him into acting, his career so far, what his favorite superhero and other media are, and much more. Enjoy the conversation!
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Interview: Abubakr Ali of Netflix’s ‘Grendel’”
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation, based on a book that was explicitly and heavily influenced by Middle East and North African (MENA) and Islamic cultures, is out, and we are joined by our friends and fellow MENA critics Hanna Flint and Roxana Hadadi to review it.
Continue reading “The Middle Geeks Episode 31: ‘Dune’ Review”