Kalam Edgar Mannheimer

Why are Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims so often portrayed as violent and stupid savages in American film, and how can we change that?
Munir Atalla is the head of production and acquisition at Watermelon Pictures, the newly founded film production and distribution company rooted in Palestinian culture and creativity.
An old friend of Edgar's, Munir speaks about the limits of representation in cinema and the need to produce films that empower and mobilise the Palestinian community.
For continuous updates and posts about Middle Eastern history, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast. If you want to support us, you can do so by joining the Kalam Community at patreon.com/kalampodcast

Zionism, the political movement to create a Jewish state in Palestine, has had an immense impact on the modern history of the Middle East. But what were its theoretical foundations, and in what political context did it take shape?
In this new episode of Kalam Shorts, Sam and Edgar discuss the roots of Zionism, starting from Theodor Herzl’s (1860-1904) The Jewish State (Der Judenstaat) from 1896 — the book which launched Zionism as a political movement. This episode will be the first of several exploring the different forms of Zionism which have appeared over the last 130 years.
To gain access to the full episode, join the Kalam Community at patreon.com/kalampodcast for just $3 a month.
For continuous updates on the podcast and historic perspectives on the Middle East, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast

What is Settler Colonialism, and can it be applied to Israel? In this instalment of Kalam Shorts, Sam and Edgar explore this terminology and talk about the French Jewish scholar, Maxime Rodinson, and his seminal 1967 work, "Israel: A Settler Colonial State?"
To gain access to the full episode, join the Kalam Community at patreon.com/kalampodcast for just $3 a month.
For continuous updates on the podcast and historic perspectives on the Middle East, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast

The death and destruction, wrought by Israel's bloody war in Gaza has been highly publicised and discussed, rightly so. But what about the day to day lives of those who survive?
How do women manage menstrual cycles when fleeing bombardment and living in refugee camps with tens of thousands of strangers?
In today's episode, Edgar speaks with 23 year old Donia Ashour, a translator from Gaza who had recently graduated with a degree in English Literature when the war began on October 7.
Back in October, Edgar interviewed Donia for Swedish Radio when she was still living in a refugee camp in Khan Younis. Today, she and her family managed to escape to Cairo.
For continuous updates and posts about Middle Eastern history, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast. If you want to support us, you can do so by joining the Kalam Community at patreon.com/kalampodcast

The Eurovision finals were held in Malmö on May 11 2024, and because of Israel's participation huge demonstrations were organised. Tens of thousands are estimated to have marched in Malmö on the days preceding the finals.
An alternative song contest was also organised, Falastinvision: "The genocide free song contest". Edgar travelled to Malmö and attended Falastinvision, where the Palestinian pop artist Bashar Murad performed.
This is a KALAM 5ASA instalment, a feature episode of the Kalam podcast. The regularly scheduled episodes released on Thursdays will not be affected.
For continuous updates and posts about Middle Eastern history, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast. If you want to support us, you can do so by joining the Kalam Community at patreon.com/kalampodcast

A democratic Egypt is impossible without a liberated Palestine and vice versa. This is the argument put forth by the Egyptian writer, researcher and DJ, Nihal El Aasar. Nihal is a member of the London branch of the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), where she lives.
In today's episode, Nihal speaks to Edgar about why the West has a vested interest in keeping Egypt's government authoritarian and anti-Democratic, as well as the ecumenical nature of the term Arab - before the creation of the state of Israel.
For continuous updates on Kalam, as well as biographical introductions to historical figures in the Middle East, follow us on Instagram @kalampodcast
If you'd like to support Kalam you can do so by joining our Patreon community at patreon.com/kalampodcast for just 3 USD a month. There, you'll gain access to full length interviews with all our guests and our new series, Kalam Shorts - 10 to 15 minute explainers of important terminology like Orientalism, Zionism and Settler Colonialism.