Welcome to 'The Kurdistan in America' podcast, the official podcast of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in the United States.In this fourth episode of season five, host Delovan Barwari welcomes Mr. Stephen Fox, a PhD student at the University of Kentucky's Department of Anthropology, where he also serves as a Graduate Teaching Instructor. Stephen's primary focus is on Cultural Anthropology with a particular interest in Kurdish culture and history. This episode cente...

Welcome to 'The Kurdistan in America' podcast, the official podcast of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in the United States. In this episode, host Delovan Barwari welcomes Professor David Romano, the Thomas G. Strong Chair in Middle East Politics at Missouri State University. Dr. Romano is the author of "The Kurdish Nationalist Movement" and the co-editor of "Conflict, Democratization, and the Kurdish Issue in the Middle East" and "The Kurds in the Middle East:...

Welcome to 'The Kurdistan in America' podcast, the official podcast of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation in the United States. In this second episode of season five, hosted by Delovan Barwari, we are honored to have a very special guest, Mr. Falah Mustafa. Mr. Falah Mustafa, Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs to the President of Kurdistan Region, His Excellency Nechirvan Barzani, delves into the recent visit of the Kurdistan Region Presidency delegation to Washington...

Welcome to 'The Kurdistan in America' podcast, the official podcast of the KRG Representation in Washington DC, hosted by Delovan Barwari. In the Season Five kickoff episode, we are honored to welcome Dr. Yerevan Saeed, the Mustafa Barzani Scholar in Residence at American University and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute. In this episode, Dr. Saeed shares his academic journey, including his impressive accomplishment of earning a PhD in Peace and Conflict Resolution from...

Welcome to a new episode of the 'Kurdistan in America' podcast, marking our twelfth and final episode of Season Four. We are honored to feature Ms. Bonnie Carroll, the president and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting families affected by military losses. As we approach the new year, we'd like to take a moment to extend our warm wishes to our audience for a joyous holiday season and a New Year filled with...

Welcome to a new episode of the 'Kurdistan in America' podcast, marking our eleventh episode of Season Four. We are honored to feature retired Brigadier General Ernest C. Audino, a renowned strategic military leader and a seasoned expert in national security and foreign policy. General Audino serves as the District Director for U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz and as a Senior Military Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy. He is the only U.S. general officer to have served a...

Welcome to another insightful episode of the "Kurdistan in America" podcast, our tenth episode of Season Four. We are privileged to have Dr. Michael Knights, a renowned Middle East expert from The Washington Institute, join us. Dr. Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Fellow at The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Gulf states. He also co-founded the Militia Spotlight platform, offering in-depth analysis of the Iranian-backed...

Welcome to another engaging episode of the Kurdistan in America podcast: our ninth episode of Season Four. We're honored to host a seasoned guest, Myles B. Caggins III. Myles, a retired U.S. Army colonel, has transitioned into a crucial role as the spokesperson for The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan, known as APIKUR. His shift from a military realm to a pivotal voice in Kurdistan's oil sector is truly remarkable. In this episode, we discuss the impactful halt in...

Welcome to the eighth episode of Season Four of the Kurdistan in America podcast. We are delighted to have Dr. Nahro Zagros, the Editor-in-Chief of Kurdistan Chronicle, as our distinguished guest. Dr. Zagros, previously the Vice President of Soran University, currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy in Washington, D.C. Beyond his academic achievements, he shares his insights on politics and culture through various local and international media...

Welcome to the seventh episode of Season Four of the Kurdistan in America podcast. We are honored to have Minister Safeen Muhsin Dizayee, Kurdistan Region's top diplomat and head of the Department of Foreign Relations, as our special guest. With an impressive track record, Minister Dizayee previously served as the Chief of Staff to the former KRG Prime Minister, as well as the Spokesperson and Head of the Department of Media and Information, and the Minister of Education. He also held...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the United States, as its guest in episode 6 of season three. Ms Abdul Rahman was appointed the KRG envoy to the United States in 2015 and is about to embark on a new chapter of her career in public service by taking on the role of advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani for foreign affairs and climate change. In this interview, Ms Abdul Rahman recounts her...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is proud to present an interview with two special and distinguished guests in the fifth episode of Season Four. We are honored to have Ariel Sabar, an acclaimed author, and Professor Yona Sabar, Ariel's father and the central figure of his book, "My Father's Paradise." In this episode, we embark on a journey to deepen our understanding of the history of the Jews of Kurdistan and explore the vibrant diversity and culture of Kurdistan, with its various ethnic...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is proud to present an interview with  two distinguished guests in the fourth episode of Season Four. We are honored to have on our show Minister Mohammad Shukri, Chairman of the Kurdistan Board of Investment, and Ms. Carez Dargallay, Head of the Board’s Foreign Direct Investment Unit.  Through our discussion, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of Kurdistan’s economic potential and the efforts being made to attract investment to the region, including from...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Lieutenant Colonel Eric Howard as our guest in the third episode of Season Four.  In this special episode, we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Iraq. March 20th, 2003 marked the beginning of the Second Gulf War. For the Kurdish people and the vast majority of Iraqis, it was a moment of hope as they looked to the future with optimism.  As the former commander of Advanced Operations Base 040 in the Erbil sector, Lt. Col....

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Nashville Mayor John Cooper as our guest in the second episode of Season Four.  Nashville is often referred to as Little Kurdistan for its large and vibrant Kurdish community.  Mr. Cooper was elected Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in 2019, having previously served as an At-Large Member of Metro Council from 2015. He holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a master's degree in business from...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Ms. Jennifer Gavito as our guest in the first episode of Season Four. Ms. Gavito is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iran, Iraq, and Public Diplomacy at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. She previously served as the Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in London. She has spent most of her Foreign Service career working in and on the Middle East. The discussion is centered on her role at the Department of State,...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Mr. Martin Manna as our guest in the twelfth episode of Season Three. Mr. Martin Manna is the President of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce and Chaldean Community Foundation. The Chaldean Chamber of Commerce represents the estimated 25,000 Chaldean-owned businesses in Michigan. The Chaldean Community Foundation provides social services to more than 40,000 New Americans annually.  Mr. Manna shares his personal story and family's...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Mr. Jonathan Lord as its guest in the eleventh episode of Season Three.   Mr. Lord is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security.  He previously served as the Iraq country director in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as well as a political-military analyst in the Department of Defense. He holds an M.A. in security studies from Georgetown University and a...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Dr. Marianna Charountaki as its guest in the tenth episode of Season Three.   Dr. Charountaki is an expert on U.S. Foreign Policy toward Kurds. She is currently a Research Fellow at Soran University in the Kurdistan Region and a Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Lincoln. She is also a trustee and convenor of the BISA Foreign Policy Working Group. She was the Director of the Kurdistan International Studies Unit...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Dr. Lori Mason as its guest in the ninth episode of Season Three. Dr. Lori Mason is a Senior Technical Expert for IREX, a global development and education organization. She has over twenty years of experience leading a wide range of education programming, with nearly a decade in the Kurdistan Region.  Dr. Mason has designed programs to improve the overall relevance of higher education, institutionalizing changes within the current system...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Ms. Xeyal Qertel as its guest in the eighth episode of Season Three. Ms. Qertel is the President and Founder of the New York Kurdish Cultural Center. She founded the organization in 2017 to provide a safe space for diaspora Kurds in New York to reclaim and celebrate their cinema, poetry, literature, and music—and to introduce non-Kurds to Kurdish culture and art. She directs the annual New York Kurdish Film and Cultural Festival and is also...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Mr. Hadi Pir as its guest in the seventh episode of Season Three. This special episode comes just one week before the 8th anniversary of the genocide committed by ISIS, or Daesh, against the Yazidis in 2014.   On August 3, 2014, members of the terrorist organization Daesh, also known as ISIS, unleashed a savage attack against Yazidis in the Sinjar district, massacring 5,000 Yazidi men and abducting about 7,000 Yazidi women and girls; close...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Brigadier General Hazhar Ismail as our guest in the sixth episode of Season Three. General Hazhar Ismael is a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs. He followed in his father's footsteps by joining the peshmerga forces three decades ago. He helped establish the Freedom Battalion, the first Iraqi battalion created after the liberation of Iraq in 2003. He is also a co-founder and member of the Management Board of the Peshmerga...

The Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Dr. Adhid Miri as our guest in the fifth episode of Season Three. Dr. Miri is the Director of Projects at the Chaldean Community Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce in Michigan. He has had leadership roles across various programs, including the resettlement and integration of refugees.  Dr. Miri shares his experience living in Iraq and migrating to the United States and sheds light on the situation...