Ahmed quit his job! Yasmine finished the Tour de Appalachia. We then discuss the election, who we're voting for, and a really important Thomas Friedman op-ed.

Director, producer, all around Very Good Boy Corey Reid stops by while Yasmine is away.

We have a fun conversation about the Prager U Infidel video warning about the ever-present threat of radical Islam.

Help hurricane Helene survivors:

World Central Kitchen

Here is a post that links to mutual aid orgs in Western NC

We talk about the all-out war happening after Israel's persistent attempts to escalate through its attacks on Lebanon.

We then shift to a story about a man in North Carolina who loves trains so much it got him in trouble!

Our first installment of what will be a series of episodes in which we analyze Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing and its deleterious effect on the American liberal psyche.

More of an updates episode we recorded after a long day of traveling. We talk about the NYU definition of "Zionist," Israel's siege on the West Bank and its refusal to advance ceasefire negotiations, as well as Kamala Harris's unwillingness to change her policy on supporting a genocide. We end up going back and forth about the Green Party for a bit before we close out.

We have some great guests we're trying to get for future episodes. It would help us out a ton if you could share/rate the podcast, as well as help us increase our reach by following on Instagram @the_field_between_pod

Much like a roundtable of Islamic scholars at Azhar University, we ponder whether sex toys and Islam are compatible.

Despite some minor audio issues, this is a fun one! We'll try to be back mid-week for a bonus episode.

Professor of Arabic Studies Suja Sawafta joins us for a broad-ranging conversation about her work which includes editing the 47th volume of the International Poetry Review (focused on the Arab Spring), her incredible piece in The Baffler titled 'Two Shores, One Sea', and an upcoming project about Abdulrahman Munif, an exiled Saudi-Iraqi novelist.

Here is a link to the IRP's 47 volume: UNC Press

Music at the end was produced by Ahmed (thatkalb).

Description:

A beat sampling the El-Fanoun Palestine Popular Dance Troupe’s version of “Tarweedeh Shmaali,” sometimes translated to “Northern Song." 

The beginning sample, which repeats throughout the entirety of the beat is explained well by @sbeih.jpg. According to historians, these songs were sung by women passing their husband’s prison cells in British Occupied Palestine, and they would encrypt messages about how to escape from their cells.

Here is a translation of the song provided by @middleeasteye:

"Northern is the wind of home, northern
to the north, their doors open
Tonight, I will send [a message] with the northern wind


It will look for the loved ones and reach them, yaba [oh father]


Our exile has lasted too long and we miss them
 oh bird, go to the loved ones and tell them


Tell them and look for those related to them


And greet my beloved when you visit them"

Women played, and still play a large role in oral storytelling and the maintenance of folklore/cultural memories, and this history is crucial for sustaining a movement. Throughout the rest of the track, I sample women leading chants at various national protests.