This week I’m speaking to the wonderful Wharton, who is of Chinese and white European heritage. Wiz’s debut nove, Ghost Girl, Banana follows Sook-Yin in 1960s England, exiled from Kowloon, and her daughter Lily in 1990s, embarking on a secret pilgrimage to Hong Kong to discover the lost side of her identity, following a mysterious letter telling her she has inherited a LOT of money from a stranger. It’s no surprise that this sweeping story is being adapted for TV, and it is such a brill...

On the show this week, I’m joined by Mahvish Ahmed, talking about her beautiful and poignant memoir, On My Way, which has been one of my favourite recent reads. Mahvish has had a super interesting life so far, full of love, empowerment, change, new adventures, unlearning and re-learning, establishing new boundaries, and challenging those things that no longer serve her. Mahvish was born and grew up in Pakistan, and later lived in the UK for her studies. Her memoir offers us a deep and reflect...

Today marks one year since the most recent escalation of violence and aggression against Gaza, and the genocide that has unfolded before us. This episode was recorded prior to recent bombardments of Lebanon. On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Mahmoud Muna, who's taking part in this conversation from his bookshop in Jerusalem. Mahmoud Muna, along with co-editor Matthew Teller and with Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia have worked on a stunning and heartbreaking book called Daybreak ...

On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Dr. Pragya Agarwal all about motherhood, gender-based stereotypes and biases, infertility and so much more. In her book, Motherhood – on the choices of being a woman – Pragya shares her own journey of becoming a mother at a young age, and then facing years of secondary infertility until her two beautiful twin daughters were born through surrogacy. It’s a pheonomenal book, focusing on intersectionality, offering us a perspective that merges race, class a...

This week on the show, I’m speaking to activist and all-round incredible human being, Payzee Mahmod. I learned of the amazing work Payzee is doing, and her story after learning about the devastating brutal killing of Payzee’s older sister, Banaz Mahmod in a so-called “honour-killing” in 2006. Banaz was a young woman with a huge appetite for life, laughter and kindness, and her death had far-reaching and long-lasting impacts for all those who knew and loved her, and also for the world at...

On this week's episode, I'm speaking to the incredible Jamaica Kincaid, and I am absolutely thrilled! Jamaica has been writing for decades, and is often considered a classical author of our time, bringing us work that is timeless, important and emotive. Born in Antigua, Jamaica Kincaid is a Caribbean American writer whose essays, stories, and novels are evocative portrayals of family relationships and her native Antigua.Kincaid settled in New York City when she left Antigua at age 16. She fir...

If you’re looking for a book that’s wholesome, hilarious, real, authentic and based on finding love, this week’s episode is definitely for you. On the show today, I’m joined by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, author of the newly published Thirty Before Thirty List, and her debut, Finding Mr. Perfectly Fine. Tasneem is dedicated to tell authentic stories of British Bengali, Muslim characters as they navigate life and love, presenting the complexities, beauties and challenges that life throws at 20-somet...

On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Israeli, anti-zionist historian and academic, Professor Ilan Pappé . Professor Pappé has dedicated dedcades of his life to writing and speaking about the Nakba of 1948, shedding light on what actually happened and what a grave catastrophe it was and continues to be. He calls for a one-state solution and for the right of return of all Palestinians. His books have sought to tackle the myths around Israel and Zionism, providing much needed insight, i...

This week, my guest on the show is the incredibly talented, Safia Elhillo. Safia’s work always leaves me mesmerised and craving for more. In her beautiful poetry, she explores themes of belonging, identity, home, friendship, love, pain, suffering, and so much more. Safia Elhillo is the author of The January Children (University of Nebraska Press, 2017), which received the the Sillerman First Book Prize for African Poets and an Arab American Book Award, Girls That Never Die (One World/Ra...

On the show this week, I'm talking to researcher, brain health trainer and parent coach, Taiba Bajar about her book, Unlock Autism. Taiba has developed a unique seven-step action plan to helping unlock a child's potential within 12 months. Taiba's son is autistic, and upon receiving his diagnosis, she went on a mission to do everything in her power to help her son, manage his autism and help him to thrive. In this episode, we talk about the treatment of autism in the NHS, rewiring the brain, ...

On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Saima Mir, journalist and crime novelist, author of The Khan, and its sequel, Vengeance.In her books, Saima introduces us to Jia Khan. A successful lawyer, her London life is a long way from the grubby Northern streets she knew as a child, where her father headed up the Pakistani community and ran the local organised crime syndicate. Often his Jirga rule - the old way - was violent and bloody, but it was always justice of a kind.In her books, Saima expl...

On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Susan Muaddi Darraj about her new novel, behind you is the sea, s set in Baltimore and follows the stories of a Palestinian American immigrant community. It is a tender, sweeping novel of a family grappling with so much – loss of identity, struggling to exist in a country that is so hostile towards them, strained family dynamics, love, difficult marriages, parent-child relationships and so much more. Behind you is the sea is a story of a Palestinian Chr...

On this week’s episode, I’m talking to Vanessa Chan about her debut novel, an absolutely mesmerising story set across two timelines: 1930s and 1945 in Malaya – what Malaysia was called before independence. It is a story with four different perspectives, following the decision made by one woman to become a spy for Japan, and the dreadful consequences that befall her family and country, afterwards. Vanessa Chan is the Malaysian author of The Storm We Made, a national bestseller, Good...

This week, I'm talking to Ishi Robinson, author of the delightful novel, Sweetness In the Skin. In this book, we meet the absolutely wonderful character of Pumpkin, a teenage girl trying to make her way in the world and be true to who she really is. The story is moving and wholesome, while tackling some darker issues including colourism, classism, abusive and absent parents, strained family relationships and so much more. Ishi Robinson is a Jamaican writer living in Berlin. Her fi...

This week on the show, I’m talking to Jassa Ahluwalia about his book and memoir, Both Not Half. Both Not Half is a poignant exploration of Jassa’s own heritage – Punjabi and English – and other forms of identity including faith, class, gender and sexuality. Jassa reminds us that we are never fractions of an identity, but always whole, in a myriad of beautiful, overlapping, confusing but empowering ways. Jassa Ahluwalia is a British actor, writer, filmmaker, and trade unionist. Born in Coventr...

On the show this week, I'm speaking with Reem Gaafar, author of the novel, A Mouthful of Salt. This book is a really stunning, powerful story of a community in the north of Sudan, struck by calamity and loss. The book opens with a devastating scene of a boy gone missing and presumed to have drown, and the panic and grief in the wake of his search. Reem explores so much in this novel, including motherhood, the power of education, othering, community structures, tribalism and so much...

This episode is a special bonus episode with scholar, writer and translator, Shaimaa Abulebda, from within Rafah, in Gaza.Shaymaa’s family home in east Khan Younis brings together her 8 married siblings, and for her nieces and nephews, it is their grandparents’ house.Shaimaa has lived through the second intifada, and all the aggressions on Gaza since 2008 until this curren ongoing genocide.With dreams of getting a PhD in literature, Shaimaa looked forwad to a bright future. She was lecturing ...

On the show this week, I spoke to Nigar Alam about her stunning debut Novel, Under the Tamarind Tree, which I absolutely love. In this episode we talk all about Partition voices an d stories, Pakistan, class, identity, friendships, displacement and so much more.Author Nigar Alam was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and spent her childhood in Turkey, Nigeria, Italy, Kenya, Indonesia and the United States. She currently lives in Minnesota and teaches at Anoka-Ramsey Community College.“Under the Tamar...

On this week’s show, I’m speaking to Ela Lee, author of the debut novel, Jaded. Now, I absolutely loved Jaded. I cried several times while reading it, and found a sense of commoradory, validation and being seen that I didn’t even know was missing. Ela writes a multi-layered story of her character, Jade, who is British-Korean-Turkish. Having gone to a prestigious University, Jade is now a 20-something professional lawyer working in a law firm in London. One night, a devastating incident takes...

On this week’s episode, I’m talking to the incredible Dana Dajani, Palestinian spoken word-artist, singer, actress and activist. We’re talking about the incredible power of storytelling and poetry in preserving history, connecting us to our ancestors, resistance and activism. I ask Dana about her Palestinian heritage, the life of her beloved grandmother and so much more.   Dana Dajani is an award-winning Palestinian writer, performer, and advocate. She lives and works between the Middle East,...

This week on the podcast, I’m welcoming back my friend, the incredibly insightful and thoughtful, Dr. Sofia Rehman. Sofia now has a second book out in the world, called Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Believers, which is her Phd thesis published as a book. On the show this week, we dig deep into understanding translations and interpretations, understanding Aisha bint Abu Bakr even better, what we can learn from Aisha and the Prophet (saw) about justice,...

On this week’s episode, I’m talking to Matthew Robinson, humanitarian filmmaker about his work and debut book, 104 In the Shade: Travels of a Humanitarian Filmmaker. I speak to Matthew about his experiences, what he’s learnt, and how we can do more to protect dignity and empowerment when it comes to marketing and social media in the humanitarian sector.   Founder of Migration Films, artist and film maker Matthew Robinson (Muhammad Abdul Mateen) has worked in the media industry for 25 years,...

I really hope this week’s episode helps you feel empowered, uplifted and inspired. Today, my guest is the powerhouse, Sarah Joseph, who has been working in media for decades. Sarah Joseph came to Islam at the age of just 16, having moved away from the Catholic church. She has been on a phenomenal journey with her faith, sharing with us all her experiences, insights and reflections about faith, loving God, doing good and about justice. Sarah has been someone I have looked up to for a very long...

We are now in the sacred month of Ramadan, where millions of Muslims around the world will be fasting – abstaining from food and drink, from dawn to dusk every day for 30 days. It is a time of heightened spirituality and worship, and so I think today’s guest is most fitting for the month ahead of us.  On today's episode, I’m speaking to Aliyah Umm Raiyaan about her new book, the Power of Duaa. This book is a beautiful, poignant reminder about turning to God in all times – good and bad, ease...