Shows
Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Karina Orlova on Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, censorship, propaganda, ways forwardThis was a special episode. I interviewed a dear friend, someone whom I enjoy having conversations on many topics offline, and today we decided to move our conversation about Russia’s conversation of Ukraine, about propaganda and misinformation, censorship, something that Karina Orlova, my today’s guest is very knowledgeable about herself.She was the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Russia’s liberal radio station, Echo of Moscow, before it was shut a few days after the invasion began. She left Russia in 2015, and has for years been very vocal about her opposition to Vladimir Putin and his regime.This was a very...2022-03-171h 09Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Catherine Baker, Azra Hromadzic on Politics, Race, Migration, Environment in BalkansIt was an incredible privilege for me to host two experts like Catherine Baker and Azra Hromadzic for such an intellectually stimulating exchange! We had a great conversation that addressed topics like race, racism, migration, nationalism, environment, positionality, identification in research, and connected them in a way that I hope would be interesting beyond the geographical context of Southeast Europe as well. Azra and Catherine’s scholarship have inspired me to think about these topics and many other important issues in new ways, so maybe you too will decide to explore more of the same after listening to this conversation. I...2022-02-231h 32
The LedeFood Fights and Hummus Wars — with Suna Çağaptay, Riada Asimovic Akyol and Kareem ShaheenFew topics evoke as much passion as food; recipes have become political battlegrounds. In this podcast, New Lines Magazine's editor and hummus-opinion-haver Kareem Shaheen is joined by Dr. Suna Çağaptay of Bahçeşehir University and contributing editor Riada Asimovic Akyol to talk about what food means to them. They discuss what we mean when we call food “authentic,” the problem with pesto hummus and why you should never ask for a Turkish coffee in Greece. (Produced by Joshua Martin)
2022-02-1853 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Blerta Basholli, director of ‘Hive,’ film from Kosovo shortlisted for Oscars 2022 nominationsIt was a pleasure to host Blerta Basholli, the director of the Kosovar film "Hive," currently shortlisted among 15 international feature films for Oscars 2022. The film is inspired by the true story of Fahrije Hoti from Krusha village, whose husband was missing from the war in Kosovo. In order to help the survival of her family and ensure kids' livelihood, she comes up with an idea to establish a cooperative, to start an agricultural business. On the way, she faces numerous challenges in a traditional, patriarchal environment.I spoke with Blerta about the background of the story, the...2022-01-2435 min
The LedeThe New Lines Christmas Show - with Ola Salem, Riada Asimovic Akyol and Kareem ShaheenIn this festive special, New Lines Magazine's Ola Salem is joined by colleagues Riada Asimovic Akyol and Kareem Shaheen for a wide-ranging conversation about all things Christmas. They discuss what the holiday means for Muslims, share Christmas traditions—and try their luck playing Ola’s Christmas quiz.
2021-12-2353 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Dr. Bruce D. Perry on ”What Happened to You?” - on Trauma, Resilience, and HealingIt‘s been a great pleasure to host Dr. Bruce D. Perry in this episode, for a fascinating conversation on his work and his most recent book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing (2021), co-authored with Oprah Winfrey, is a #1 New York Times Bestseller.We discussed the meaning behind the title and the shift to asking “What happened to you?” rather than “What’s wrong with you?”. You will learn about the impact of our pasts on our lives, how all experience is processed from the bottom up, meaning, to get to the top, “smart” part of our brain, we ha...2021-12-161h 18Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada & Jasmin Mujanovic, Harun Buljina on politics, multigenerational legacies of trauma, history, future of Bosnia & H., Western BalkansWow, what a truly candid and powerful conversation - on politics, history, future of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Western Balkans and so much more!Learn why Jasmin believes that the biggest threat in the Western Balkans region is the renewed Serbian ultra-nationalism as the stated government policy of the regime in Belgrade.Guests also addressed the “Open Balkan” regional market initiative and the absence of Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and why ”in the Western Balkans, the Serbian World is a fact on the ground and a threat to be confronted; concepts like the Open Balkan initiative are just fine ideas on pap...2021-09-301h 35Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada and Jay Van Bavel on ”Power of US” - Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation and Promote Social HarmonyIn today’s fascinating conversation, Riada talks to Dr. Jay Van Bavel about the dynamics of shared identities, what causes people to develop a social identity, and what happens to people when they define themselves in terms of group memberships. Identities are not a stable or a static thing, but Jay also explained what does conformity to norm accomplish for a group. We also addressed toxic patterns of standard group and identity dynamics, and you might be surprised to learn why we go along with others. Jay told us about studies that reveal some critical lessons about human nature, including th...2021-09-231h 00Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Amra Sabic-El-Rayess on book "The Cat I Never Named," Bosnian genocide, resilienceWow, this was such a treat! I am excited to share my conversation with Amra Sabic-El-Rayess, the author of the highly acclaimed book titled "The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival" published by Bloomsbury in 2020. Our conversation was recorded in late February 2021. Amra's stunning memoir – which was the basis of our conversation – talks about a Muslim teen struggling to survive in the midst of the Bosnian genocide. It has received starred reviews from – be ready the list is long but I think it should be heard: Publishers Weekly, Booklist, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, School...2021-04-0559 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Dr. Brian Hare about his book "Survival of the Friendliest"I was so excited to read and then host one of two authors of a book about friendliness and how it came to be an advantageous evolutionary strategy. In it, advancing what they call the “self-domestication theory," Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods put forward “a powerful new theory of human nature” which suggests that our secret to success as a species is our unique friendliness.So, in this exciting episode, learn how cooperative communication allowed us to thrive while other humans went extinct. Learn also what led some species to be more cognitively sophisticated than others, and what type of friend...2021-02-261h 04Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Anna Malaika Tubbs on her book "The 3 Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King JR., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation"It was my honor and privilege to have Anna Malaika Tubbs as my guest in this episode, and talk about her important, beautiful debut book "The Three Mothers, How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, JR., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation."In this inspiring conversation, Anna Malaika shares what made her write this particular book - with these three women as the main focus, and how difficult it was to find information about them. We get a glimpse of what Alberta, Louise and Berdis taught their sons; there were some obvious shared beliefs and yet they had...2021-02-1254 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Elmira Bayrasli on U.S. politics, women's leadership, mental health, entrepreneurship & more!Hello everyone! So, here we are, the first episode of "Dignified Resilience" podcast in 2021 is here and phew, has it not already been so eventful – surely for us who are based here in the USA. I hope you are all well wherever you listen from, and I wish you health, a new year of ease and peace. Elmira Bayrasli - my guest in this episode, is someone whom I admired for quite a while online and we’ve had this idea of getting together for a few months now. I am so grateful that we made it happen finally! In this...2021-01-141h 16Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Shadi Hamid & Mustafa Akyol on French secularism, whether Islam faces crisis and implications for the future, liberalism and much moreThis podcast episode is truly a great treat for all those who are interested in conversations on religion and politics! It was my honor and pleasure to host two guests who are both very prolific writers and thinkers in their field. They are also my good friends (one of two guests, Mustafa, happens to be my husband as well) and it was great to get reunited over Zoom this time, because I miss the intellectually stimulating conversations that three of us have when we get together. As you will witness in this episode too, even when we disagree on something...2020-12-161h 42Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Marina Khan, British-Afghan entrepreneur and founder of "Avizeh" on her jewelry brand, Afghanistan, media representation, charity work, mental healthIt was such a pleasure to speak with an incredible British-Afghan entrepreneur, Marina Khan – who has been managing her business Avizeh – known for beautiful ethnic Afghan jewellery collections as well as traditional Afghan dresses, while also advancing her career as a professional psychologist in London. We talked about Marina's entrepreneurial road and vision, her efforts to share a positive image of Afghanistan in the media and off screen through Afghan-led conversations, as she focuses on shedding light the talents of Afghan men and women through her designs and different elements of Afghan history. We also talked about her work with char...2020-11-111h 09Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Sayo Ayodele on purposeful business, climate change, racism, ethical travel and more!Here is yet another conversation that flew by so fast while we were recording it, because it flowed beautifully and developed organically in ways that allowed us to carefully address so many important topics that many of us care about dearly.Sayo is a Partner at Leaders’ Quest (LQ), responsible for designing client programs, which she has delivered in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. Sayo is passionate about strengthening the links between business and society, and cares deeply about sustainability and equality. In addition to her role at LQ, she sits on the advisory board of Greenwood Place, an...2020-10-141h 29Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada Talks to Madinah Javed on Female Reciters of the Qur'an - Part 2Welcome to the second part of my conversation with Madinah Javed on the female reciters the Qur'an. Just a reminder, Madinah Javed is a law graduate, writer and peace activist living in Glasgow, Scotland, with a particular interest in human rights. She is also a qariah – reciter of the Quran – and is working towards reviving the sacred tradition of female Qur’an recitation. She set up the #femalereciters campaign on the social media – raising awareness of Muslim women’s voices – in this tradition of recitation but also more broadly. In this second part of the conversation, we continue talking about Madinah's ex...2020-10-0252 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada Talks to Madinah Javed on Female Reciters of the Qur'an - Part 1It was such a great pleasure to welcome Madinah Javed in this episode! Madinah Javed is a law graduate, writer and peace activist living in Glasgow, Scotland, with a particular interest in human rights. She is also a qariah – reciter of the Quran – and is working towards reviving the sacred tradition of female Qur’an recitation. She set up the #femalereciters campaign on the social media – raising awareness of Muslim women’s voices – in this tradition of recitation but also more broadly. I was truly excited to have her on the podcast, and we have been planning this since the month of Jul...2020-10-0255 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Chic Dambach on his prolific peacebuilding career, life's challenges & his memoir "Exhaust the Limits"Chic Dambach is one of the kindest, most optimistic people I've ever known. I met him serendipitously on an airport in NYC almost fifteen years ago, and we've been friends ever since. His incredibly diverse, rich career includes President of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, President of the National Peace Corps Association, and Chief of Staff for Congressman John Garamendi. Additionally, he led the Operation Respect program together with the activist icon Peter Yarrow, to transform schools, camps, and other youth organizations into safer, more respectful, and bully-free environments. He also gave classes at at Johns Hopkins University and American University...2020-09-091h 11Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Asma Barlas on "Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an"I can not describe to you how meaningful this conversation was for me! Professor Asma Barlas is an intellectual giant in her field, and someone who has, during six years since I've met her, always offered continuous encouragement and teaching in the most supportive ways! In this podcast episode, we talked about many topics that she addresses in her bestselling book "Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an." For example, we talked about women’s inequality and if it is supported by the Qur’an - holy book for Muslims. We talked about whether men have the ex...2020-08-131h 22Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Wajahat Ali - on complex identities, pushing through parenting challenges, spirituality and much more!This was an incredibly enriching, fun and powerful conversation!! I felt like I was truly heard and seen by Waj who carefully listened to all the stuff I shared with him, ranging from pain due to the increasing Bosnian genocide denial to fulfillment I gain from some of my spiritual practices (and some that we share in common!). I also carefully and genuinely paid attention and appreciated Waj's candid insights and openness about numerous topics - from the present political moment in the USA to the stories of the unexpected parenting challenges that fortunately he and his family have successfully...2020-08-061h 03Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks about refugees, their old vulnerabilities & new challenges brought by the pandemic and experiences from Latin America, with Martha Guerrero Ble & Rachel SchmidtkeThis was such an important, illuminating conversation!Did you know that by the end of 2019, the number of people forcibly displaced - for various reasons - war, conflict, persecution, human rights violations - had grown to 79.5 million, which is the highest number on record according to available data? Well, that’s the reality that what we are going to be talking about in this episode.On June 18, two days before World Refugee Day, UNHCR published a Global Trends report - which showed that forced displacement is now affecting more than one per cent of humanity – meaning 1 in every 97 people – and confir...2020-07-141h 18Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks about advancing peace, justice & security with special focus on women's mobilization with sociologist Marie BerryNote: this episode was recoded on May 15th, yet the conversation seems as valid as ever. Considering Marie's expertise, we talked about both the erosion of women's rights globally but also the signs of resilience and resistance, in terms of social movements demanding social change. We addressed the effects of the global pandemic on protests and mobilization while discussing Marie's piece "Imagining a distanced future: centering a politics of love in resistance and mobilisation.” She explained more “How should we think about building intimacy and solidarity across social and economic fissures when our very bodies are potential vectors for disease?" As p...2020-07-031h 04Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks with Hikmet Karcic about Dervis Korkut, Bosniak scholar who saved Sarajevo Haggadah in WW2 - PART 2In the second part of the conversation on the magnificent Sarajevo Haggadah, Riada talks to Dr. Hikmet Karčić, a genocide scholar based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is the author of the most recent biography of Dervis Korkut, a Bosnian Muslim scholar who saved the Sarajevo Hagaddah in WW2 while he worked for the National Museum in Sarajevo. We spoke about Dervis Korkut's family background, his consistent legacy of advocacy for the protection of all minorities and everyone's religious freedom, and how he stayed faithful to those principles even when the consequences were dangerous and circumstances difficult. He ri...2020-06-2656 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks about the magnificent Sarajevo Haggadah with David Stern - PART 1The Sarajevo Haggadah is the most celebrated Passover haggadah in the world—probably the most famous medieval illustrated Hebrew manuscript. In 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaimed it a movable national monument. Years later, in 2017, it was registered by UNESCO as documentary heritage to the Memory of the World Register, providing recognition to its importance worldwide. Scholars believe that when the Jews were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition, the book left Spain at the end of 15th century. It is unknown how this haggadah got to Sarajevo, though we know that in the 16th and 17th centuries, the book was in the no...2020-06-261h 01Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks about mental health, art and well-being with Aida Murad, entrepreneur coach, artist and passionate connectorThis beautiful conversation - published now but recorded a few weeks ago at the end of May - feels like an instant evergreen! It was an absolute pleasure to talk to Aida Murad, a champion for mental health philanthropy and a visual artist. Raised in Jordan and currently residing in Los Angeles, she is an Arab-American entrepreneur who is working on systems change within mental health. She is also an entrepreneur coach focused on founder well-being, an artist and passionate connector. She has worked for over a decade building social enterprises in the U.S. and MENA region in education...2020-06-1850 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks "On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It" with an award-winning author and philosopher David L. SmithThis was a tough topic and incredibly powerful conversation. I learned a lot and I think you might too. Today's guest David Livingstone Smith is an award-winning author and a renowned philosopher who has written widely on moral psychology. He is professor of philosophy at the University of New England and author of the award-winning book "Less Than Human: Why We Demean, Enslave and Exterminate Others." He joins me for a discussion of his latest book, "On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It." The book is written in accessible manner for wide readership. About "On Inhumanity" book: "The Rwandan gen...2020-06-141h 22Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Wai Wai Nu, a prominent Rohingya activist, former political prisoner, and founder of the Women Peace Network in MyanmarWow! It was truly a special privilege to have Wai Wai Nu as my guest. She is a former political prisoner and the co-founder of Justice for Women. She is also the founder and director of the Women Peace Network Arakan. Wai Wai and her family belong to the Rohingya minority, a severely oppressed and marginalized people in Rakhine state in Myanmar. In fact, the United Nations has described the Rohingya “as the most persecuted minority in the world.” Additionally, in November 2019, Gambia brought official case at the International Court of Justice, alleging that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya, whic...2020-05-2759 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks about "This Brilliant Darkness" with Jeff Sharlet, award-winning literary journalist and bestselling authorThis certainly was one of those great conversations that I wish did not have to end! It was so great to talk to Jeff Sharlet, an award-winning literary journalist, the nationally bestselling author of The Family, Sweet Heaven When I Die, and Director of Creative writing at Darthmouth. His work has earned numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award and the Outspoken Award. In this episode of the podcast, we discuss Jeff’s new book, "This Brilliant Darkness: A Book of Strangers.” Jeff started the work on it when his father had a heart attack. Two years later, Jeff, at age...2020-05-181h 04Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Nury Turkel and Samira Imin about the Uyghur humanitarian crisisRiada talks to Nury Turkel and Samira Imin about the ongoing horrific persecution of their people - the Uyghurs, and the admirable resilience with which so many of them around the world advocate for the justice and freedom of their loved ones. Uyghurs are mostly Muslim ethnically Turkic minority concentrated in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. Over the last few years, they have faced immense pressures and campaigns with the aim of destroying their cultural and religious identity. Under pretext of religious extremism and separatism, at least a million people disappeared, as they are interned in the so called re-education ca...2020-05-131h 23Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Victor Ochen - Founder and Executive Director for African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET)Wow, what an incredible experience and privilege for me to talk to Victor Ochen! He is such a powerful and graceful speaker, an inspiring human, a true leader - as you will notice yourself. Victor Ochen is one of the most important figures in Africa in the struggle for human rights and justice. Born in northern Uganda, Victor spent 21 years as a refugee and transformed his experiences into leading the anti-child soldiers' recruitment campaign amidst the war in northern Uganda. Forbes Magazines named Ochen in 2015 as one of the 10 most powerful men in Africa. He is the first Ugandan and...2020-04-301h 02Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolRiada talks to Dr. Emir Suljagic, a survivor of Bosnian genocide and director of Srebrenica Memorial CenterIn this episode, I talk to Dr. Emir Suljagic, who is currently at the forefront of the official efforts for memorializing and preserving the truth about Bosnian genocide. In a candid conversation, he opens up about his past personal experiences that shaped him, about present challenges and future visions as well. He also shares how important his mother was to him, and why he doesn't get attached to material things in his life.I have to add a caveat for this particular episode: my guest joined me from his beloved, remote village in Eastern Bosnia where he was at that...2020-04-281h 05Dignified Resilience with Riada AkyolIntroducing: Dignified ResilienceThe first "Dignified Resilience" podcast is here! I had an idea about making this podcast for a few months, but I thought I would start it in different circumstances. I confess that the current global pandemic with all its uncertainties relieved some pressure from my own expectations. I am now (more) ok with being vulnerable and still moving forward with trusting my intuition and dedication to something. This is my first self-produced project of this kind, and I am very excited though surely a bit anxious. Yet, I am sure of my mission and enthusiasm, and I am ready to...2020-04-1814 minDignified Resilience with Riada AkyolOfficial TrailerHi everyone and welcome! You can subscribe now and invite your friends! Stay connected on Twitter: @riadaaa, Instagram: @riadaa, through my website: https://riadaasimovicakyol.com, my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw0Fk2SdHShKA3W8-OQz7BQ Get in touch: dignified.resilience@gmail.com Thank you and I can’t wait to connect and have these conversations with you.2020-04-1601 min