Essential Middle East Al Jazeera English

Slavery was prevalent in many parts of the world and it left scars to this very day. The Middle East had its own share of enslavement that was fueled by superiority, greed and power.

In this episode: 


Eve Trout Powell, Professor of History and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

Episode credits:

This episode was co-produced by Khaled Soltan and Salem Al Yafiei. Sound design was by George Al Wer. Our engagement producer is Aya Elmileik and our assistant engagement producer is Munera AlDosari. Our recording engineer is Hamdi Aoun. Our executive producer is Omar Al Saleh and head of audio is Ney Alvarez. Our host is Sami Zeidan. 

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The World Health Organization is warning that obesity is on the rise, not just in the Middle East but around the world. The WHO says obesity in children and adults is a public health concern in almost all regions of the world. An estimated 38.9 million children under five years old are moderately or severely overweight. 

In this episode: 


Joyce Moawad, teaching assistant of human nutrition at Qatar University

Episode credits:

This episode was co-produced by Khaled Soltan and by our interns Nada Shakir and Reyan Al Jaafri. Sound design was by George Al Wer. Our engagement producer is Aya Elmileik and our assistant engagement producer is Munera AlDosari. Our recording engineer is Hamdi Aoun. Our executive producer is Omar Al Saleh and head of audio is Ney Alvarez. Our host is Sami Zeidan. 

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From the earliest days of silent film to today's biggest Hollywood blockbusters, vilifying depictions of Arabs and Muslims have persisted in Western cinema, unchallenged. Yet, with the rise of streaming services, filmmakers of different ethnicities are now being afforded a chance to represent their own stories.

In this episode: 


Anne Sobel (@slicepassion), screenwriter, writer for Netflix's The Exchange

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Khaled Soltan. The sound design was by George Al Wer. Our engagement producer is Aya Elmileik and our assistant engagement producer is Munera Al Dosari. Our Executive producer is Omar Al Saleh and Ney Alvarez is the head of audio. The show is hosted by Sami Zeidan.

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@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

As deadly tremors continue to shake Turkey and Syria, international aid has been slow to reach Syria, where decades of civil war have hindered efforts to reach survivors. According to the United Nations, close to nine million people have been affected by the earthquake, and humanitarian needs are at their highest levels. The head of the UN emergency relief operations, Martin Griffiths, said the international community has failed the people of northwest Syria.

In this episode: 


Dr. Ubeyd Sakin (@ubeydsakin), Country Director of Human Appeal in Turkey

Episode credits:

This episode was co-produced by Khaled Soltan and our intern Nada Shakir. The sound design was by George Al Wer and our recording engineer is Michel Bou Dagher. Our engagement producer is Aya Elmileik and our assistant engagement producer is Munera Al Dosari. Our Executive producer is Omar Al Saleh and Ney Alvarez is the head of audio. The show is hosted by Sami Zeidan. 

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A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Turkey nearly two weeks after two deadly earthquakes rocked the country and left a trail of destruction. The death toll is already staggering, while the desperate hunt for more survivors continues in freezing temperatures. Thousands of buildings have collapsed and millions of people have been displaced. Despite receiving humanitarian assistance from countries around the globe, Turkey faces enormous recovery challenges ahead. 

In this episode: 


Didem Demircan, Deputy Executive Director of Oxfam Turkey

Episode credits:

This episode was co-produced by Khaled Soltan and our intern Nada Shakir. The sound design was by George Al Wer. Our engagement producer is Aya Elmileik and our assistant engagement producer is Munera Al Dosari. Our Executive producer is Omar Al Saleh and Ney Alvarez is the head of audio. The show is hosted by Sami Zeidan. 

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook