Dignified Resilience With Riada Akyol podcast

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تمت الإضافة منذ قبل five أعوام

المحتوى المقدم من Riada Asimovic Akyol. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرة بواسطة Riada Asimovic Akyol أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.

Species Unite

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Edita Birnkrant and Tracy Winston: The Horse Who Collapsed in the Street 37:03

منذ 15 يومًا37:03

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37:03

“I could be walking in Central Park and come up on one of these horse and buggies. I don't think twice about it because I see it as part of the New York attraction. You know, you have the Statue of Liberty, you have Times Square, and you have these romantic horse and buggy things where people get married in the park and they ride these carriages. And tourists, they take these rides in Central Park. It's romantic, it's something beautiful to see. But I never thought for one second that these horses are abused.” – Tracy Winston, juror from Ryder’s trial New York City has a big, visible animal cruelty issue: horses forced to pull carriages, carrying heavy loads for long hours in all types of weather in the middle of chaotic traffic. Three years ago, a carriage horse named Ryder was a victim of this cruelty. He collapsed on a Manhattan street after being worked for hours in the summer heat. Two months later, he was euthanized. His story sparked global outrage. Ryder’s driver, Ian McKeever, was charged with animal cruelty The trial took place a few weeks ago, but McKeever was ultimately acquitted. This conversation is with Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS and Tracy Winston, one of the jurors from Ryder's trial. New York’s weak and outdated animal protection laws have not changed since Ryder died— and because of this, another avoidable death that occurred just a week after we recorded this interview. On August 5th, a horse named Lady died while pulling a carriage in Manhattan. This conversation is about accountability, about corruption and about what happens when justice fails the most vulnerable. It's too late for Ryder and Lady. But it is not too late to act. If you live in New York, please call your City Council members and tell them it’s time to bring Ryder’s Law, Intro 967, up for a vote and pass this vital bill to protect carriage horses from suffering and death on the city’s streets. To find your council member, go to: https://www.speciesunite.com/ny-horse-carriage-petition NYCLASS: https://nyclass.org/…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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With compelling research, beautiful storytelling and powerful interviews with extraordinary people from different industries and from all around the world, journalist Riada Asimovic Akyol presents a podcast about fresh narratives on confronting despair, alleviating distress, and forging ahead. While innovatively linking two powerful concepts - dignity and resilience - she also aims to grow a global conversation that seeks to better acknowledge different individual and sociocultural perspectives on meaningfully weathering life‘s adversities. Ultimately, this podcast is an invitation for people to engage in a thoughtful introspection, regardless of one‘s geographical location or state of mind. Stronger human relationships and more adequate resources for everyone‘s resilience are the goal. We have different lives, distinct pathways, cultures and contexts, but we can find common ground in supporting dignified resilience anywhere.

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#Society #Riada Asimovic Akyol

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

updated منذ 3 أعوام

منزل السلاسل•Feed

31 حلقات

#Society #Riada Asimovic Akyol

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Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Karina Orlova on Russia’s aggression on Ukraine, censorship, propaganda, ways forward 1:09:40

منذ 3 years1:09:40

1:09:40

This 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 illuminating conversation with Karina, who as per usual self, offered many frank insights on the context of the invasion, her thoughts about why she feels guilty and ashamed at the moment, about the benefits of the sanctions and the consequences for the stability of the regime, her thoughts on Putin’s potential usage of chemical and nuclear weapons in Ukraine, and how to help Russian dissidents and people who most need it today - those in Ukraine.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Catherine Baker, Azra Hromadzic on Politics, Race, Migration, Environment in Balkans 1:32:03

منذ 4 years1:32:03

1:32:03

It 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 for sure know that I will go back to it many more times in the future. Enjoy! Catherine Baker is a lecturer in 20th Century History at the University of Hull, a scholar whose research includes topics related to nationalism, ethnicity and identity, connections with popular culture and the entertainment industry, travel, migration, mobility and other interesting ties in the former Yugoslavia and Southeast Europe. She brought that expertise to our conversation today, including her scholarly and theoretical work that offer a distinctive insight into how the region is configured by, and through, race. Catherine is also an author of numerous academic papers and book “Race in the Yugoslav region.” Azra Hromadzic is a cultural anthropologist based in Syracuse University in the U.S., at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs - and her research interests are in the anthropology of international policy in the context of state-making in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her book ”Citizens of an Empty Nation: Youth and State-making in Postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina” is an ethnographic investigation of the internationally directed postwar intervention policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the response of local people, especially youth, to these policy efforts. Several years ago, Azra initiated a new project that ethnographically researches aging, care and social services in the context of postwar and postsocialist Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is currently working on what she calls “riverine citizenship” in Bihac (focused on the Una river). Photo credit: Azra Hromadzic, American Anthropological Association website, and for Catherine Baker, University of Hull website.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Blerta Basholli, director of ‘Hive,’ film from Kosovo shortlisted for Oscars 2022 nominations 35:47

منذ 4 years35:47

35:47

It 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 process of making the film, Fahrije's resilience, the grief and its portrayal in the film, the importance of storytelling through this medium, the reception of the film in Kosovo, Blerta's plans for the film and her message for the viewers. It is a beautiful movie and I hope this conversation brings to more visibility for it, and that as many people get to see it! The film has achieved a tremendous success already, it won the top three awards at the US Sundance Film Festival in 2021, for “Best Film”, “Best Director” and “Audience Award," and continues its festival route. It will also be available for streaming on some major platforms in the US soon.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Dr. Bruce D. Perry on ”What Happened to You?” - on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing 1:18:17

منذ 4 years1:18:17

1:18:17

It‘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 have to go through the lower, not-so- smart part, and what that means for our interactions. You can learn why is it crucial to understand both vulnerability and resilience, and how all of us experience stress as an unavoidable and necessary part of life, but that how we experience stress that matters. Is everything bad that we experience trauma, or why not? Does every bad experience lead to PTSD, and why not? What are the best ways to heal? How can we change generational traumas? This has been a beautiful conversation, and I hope it helps you learn how to help yourself and others by acknowledging and respecting ”what happened to them,” instead of asking ”what is wrong with them?”. Dr. Perry is the Principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy and a Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago and the School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria Australia. Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and the neurosciences holding a variety of academic positions. His work on the impact of abuse, neglect and trauma on the developing brain has impacted clinical practice, programs and policy across the world. Dr. Perry is the author, with Maia Szalavitz, of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, a bestselling book based on his work with maltreated children and Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered. Dr. Perry‘s 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.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada & Jasmin Mujanovic, Harun Buljina on politics, multigenerational legacies of trauma, history, future of Bosnia & H., Western Balkans 1:35:01

منذ 4 years1:35:01

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Wow, 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 paper” (J.M.). Harun and Jasmin shared their thoughts on the latest news (which is not news at all) from the EU that it can no longer agree to give a guarantee of future membership to the six Balkan countries that were for years led to believe they had a place in the EU. We talked a lot about the continuous gaslighting and dehumanization of Bosnian genocide survivors, as well as Bosniaks more broadly, and about the historical aspects and longevity of the anti-Muslim sentiment about the region. At the same time, the research on the denial of the Bosnian genocide shows it has moved into the academic-literary sphere at the international level, so guests shared their views about that, including on repercussions of insulting, hateful and dangerous claims such as that “Bosniak nationalists” have made Srebrenica their “chosen trauma” to avoid reconciliation with the Serbs. We talked about intergenerational legacies, representation, trauma, mutual mentorship, future prospects for Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region, hope, dealing with hate online and so much more. I hope that this conversation helps you learn or deepen your knowledge on these subjects, and that you see it as an invitation for more, maybe better or more thoughtful and meaningful exchanges on these topics in the future. Jasmin Mujanovic is a political scientist and analyst of southeast European and international affairs with a PhD from York University in Toronto. His career background is a unique blend of global academic and professional engagement, as he has worked as a scholar, policy analyst, consultant, researcher, and writer in both North America and Europe. His first book, ”Hunger and Fury: The Crisis of Democracy in the Balkans,” was published in 2018. He was the co-host of the podcast Sarajevo Calling. Harun Buljina is a historian of the late Ottoman and modern Balkans, with a focus on Muslim intellectual and socio-political networks in this region. He received his Ph.D. in History from Columbia University in May 2019, defending a dissertation on the Pan-Islamist reform movement in late 19th and early 20th century Bosnia-Herzegovina. Most recently, he was affiliated with the Center of the Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada and Jay Van Bavel on ”Power of US” - Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve Performance, Increase Cooperation and Promote Social Harmony 1:00:42

منذ 4 years1:00:42

1:00:42

In 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 that people are not blindly obedient to authorities, but that a sense of common identity is crucial to understanding when people help and support one another. Learn why dissent is important even when difficult, and why on social media or offline, people can be led into belief-confirming information bubbles. Finally, learn why would the group cling to the belief system even after watching it get debunked, as well as the importance of leadership and how it influences the group norms, and the behavior of the group of people when they take on an identity. I hope you enjoy this great conversation, and appreciate the tools that you can learn to harness “The Power of Us” for good. Jay Van Bavel is an Associate Professor of Psychology & Neural Science at New York University, an affiliate at the Stern School of Business in Management and Organizations, and Director of the Social Identity & Morality Lab. From neurons to social networks, Jay’s research examines how collective concerns—group identities, moral values, and political beliefs—shape the mind, brain, and behavior. His research team studies these issues using a social neuroscience approach, that incorporates neuroimaging, lesion patients, social cognitive tasks, cross-cultural surveys, and linguistic analysis of social media posts. Jay has published over 100 academic publications and written research essays in The New York Times, BBC, Scientific American, Wall Street Journal, Quartz, and the Washington Post. His work has appeared in academic papers as well as in the US Supreme Court and Senate. He has also given talks at dozens of the Psychology Departments and Business Schools, as well as academic conferences, professional events, and non-academic organizations. His research was also featured in TEDx and TED-Ed videos.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Amra Sabic-El-Rayess on book "The Cat I Never Named," Bosnian genocide, resilience 59:07

منذ 4 years59:07

59:07

Wow, 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 Library Collection, Foreword Reviews, it was announced as 2020 Best Book - Kirkus Reviews, 2021 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award, Finalist, 2020 Junior Library Guild Gold Standard, and it continues getting more awards as we speak! In this wonderful conversation, we talked about Amra's inspiration for writing and the very process of writing this book, the reliving of traumas while retelling the story, but the reward and empowerment that such brave decision brings as well. She told us about some very difficult moments from her life during that period (many are described in the book), about why school mattered to her even in those very difficult circumstances, and the importance of education - as her parents taught her. We also talked about solidarity – which I felt was described so lovingly, between friends at school often, between her and her brother, family. We learned how important it was to keep a sense of humor in those tough times as well. Considering the pervasive culture of the Bosnian genocide denial in the region, and current lack of leadership willing to take steps necessary for facing some tough facts of the past, Amra shared her thoughts about the future of the region. Additionally, she she shared her thoughts on the perpetuated narratives of othering beyond Bosnian context as well. There is much to learn and so many inspiring exchanges packed in this one hour that I truly hope you enjoy listening or watching, as much I as enjoyed recording it! Besides this must-read book and extraordinary achievement, Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is Associate Professor of Practice-Project Director, Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (Teachers College, Columbia University), affiliated Faculty, Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies (Columbia University), an interdisciplinary scholar who leverages fields of economics, sociology, and political science to address the questions of radicalization, discrimination, Islamophobia, social mobility, corruption, social transformations, and exclusion of women. She works on concrete ways to facilitate women’s social mobility through better financial inclusion and access to financial services. Her work also examines the role of informal educational practices and formal institutions in creating new societal dynamics, norms, and behaviors.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Dr. Brian Hare about his book "Survival of the Friendliest" 1:04:16

منذ 5 years1:04:16

1:04:16

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 friendliness drove human “self-domestication,” as well as what’s behind it. How and why it is not just a result of artificial selection accomplished by humans choosing which animals to breed, but also the result of natural selection as well? Dr. Hare also explains us the dark side of our friendliness, and helps us understand how do we reconcile our unique friendliness with our capacity for cruelty? How did we come to this idea of social category that we call “intragroup stranger,” and how does it enable us to dehumanize other individuals and then harm those dehumanized social groups? “We are both the most tolerant and the most merciless species on the planet,” the authors of the book write, yet fortunately they also offer some ways forward. From the book and our conversation, learn also about Albert Bandura’s important experiment on dehumanization, why as Dr. Hare asserts, “We did not evolve to be despots,” and about transition from how and when the seeds of despotism were sown, leadings us all the way to explaining the benefits of constitutional and liberal democracies. The authors of the book assert that “In order to survive and even to flourish, we need to explain our definition of who belongs.” So, learn about it all and much more in this thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Hare. Enjoy! Dr. Brian Hare is a core member of the Center of Cognitive Neuroscience, a Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology, and Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University. He received his PhD from Harvard University in 2004, and in 2005, following his work at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, was awarded the Sofia Kovalevskaja Award, Germany’s most prestigious award for scientist under 40. In 2007, Smithsonian Magazine named Hare one of the top 35 scientists under 36. Hare has published over 100 scientific papers and his research has received consistent national and international attention. In 2019, Hare and his research were featured in Steven Speilberg’s documentary series Why We Hate. Hare’s first book with co-author Vanessa Woods, "The Genius of Dogs" is a New York Times Bestseller. "Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity" came out in July 2020.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada 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" 54:47

منذ 5 years54:47

54:47

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 some different approaches which they used to instill those beliefs in their sons. Anna Malaika explains her emphasis on the diversity and nuance of the Black womanhood experience in the United States, and she graciously unpacks the resilience that these three extraordinary women showed in the face of unspeakable losses. We do address the factor of joy and its importance in these women's lives as well. In her book, Anna Malaika also acknowledges these women's vulnerability, and as she mentions, they were willing to express it themselves. We talked about the importance of both talking about vulnerability and community, particularly considering the context of “strong Black woman stereotype” and the baggage that also comes along with it. We talked about the place of faith for these three women from her book too. Towards the end Anna Malaika tried to summarize at least some of the many goals that she wanted to accomplish by writing this book - referring both to the lives of these three extraordinary women, how these descriptions offer a new understanding of that century of American history, as well as their significance for where United States is today as a country... You'll also be able to learn how and why this work has also been personal for Anna Malaika, as she graciously and kindly shares some thoughts for her vision of the path forward. I hope you will enjoy watching this conversation as much as we did while recording it. I also wholeheartedly recommend that you purchase this book and read it. Author, advocate, educator, and scholar Anna Malaika Tubbs is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Anna grew up abroad in Dubai, Mexico, Sweden, Estonia, and Azerbaijan. Influenced by her exposure to all kinds of cultures and beliefs, Anna is inspired to bring people together through the celebration of difference. Motivated by her mother’s work advocating for women’s and children’s rights around the world, Anna uses an intersectional lens in her work to advocate for women of color and educate others. Anna holds a Masters in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge and a Bachelors in Medical Anthropology from Stanford University. Her academic focus is on addressing gender and race issues in the US, especially the pervasive erasure of Black women. She has published articles on issues ranging from mass incarceration to the forced sterilization of Black women, as well as the importance of feminism, intersectionality, and inclusivity. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, For Harriet, Darling Magazine, and Blavity. Her first book, titled The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, is being published by Flatiron Books and hit the stands on February 2, this year.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Elmira Bayrasli on U.S. politics, women's leadership, mental health, entrepreneurship & more! 1:16:36

منذ 5 years1:16:36

1:16:36

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 wonderful conversation, we candidly talked about so many topics that Elmira is just so knowledgeable about - and that I very much also care about too. From talking about the U.S. politics - past, current and future - to global political trends, we also talked about the great initiative which she founded, entitled "Foreign Policy Interrupted," then about women and leadership in the news media and in general, the importance of having different perspectives from people - especially women who should have more power at the table, the bad consequences of lack of the same, on the importance of mental health and of course, on the future of entrepreneurship considering the book that Elmira wrote on the subject. At the end, we also talked about New Year's resolutions, creating new habits and had fun while chatting about those "five sweet questions" that I ask each guest at the end of our conversation. It was truly an honor to have an expert like Elmira as my first guest in 2021, and I hope you also get to learn and enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Elmira Bayrasli is the director of the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program (BGIA) in New York City. She is the co-founder of "Foreign Policy Interrupted" and the host of Project Syndicate's podcast, "Opinion Has It." She is the author of "From the Other Side of the World: Extraordinary Entrepreneurs, Unlikely Places," a book that looks at the rise of entrepreneurship globally. Bayrasli has lived in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina where she was the Chief Spokesperson for the OSCE Mission. From 1994-2000 she was presidential appointee at the U.S. State Department, working for Madeleine Albright and Richard Holbrooke, respectively. Elmira is a regular contributor on global entrepreneurship for Techcrunch. She also provides analysis on foreign policy, particularly on Turkey. Her work has appeared in Reuters, Foreign Affairs, Washington Post, Quartz, Fortune, Forbes, CNN, NPR, BBC, Al Jazeera, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Bayrasli sits on several boards, including Invest2Innovate, Turkish Women's International Network, and Our Secure Future.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Shadi Hamid & Mustafa Akyol on French secularism, whether Islam faces crisis and implications for the future, liberalism and much more 1:42:31

منذ 5 years1:42:31

1:42:31

This 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, we always listen to each other with attention, curiosity and care. In this episode, we talked about the implications of recent actions and statements by the French government and its officials regarding Islam, and Shadi and Mustafa pretty much agree on that topic. After that, I kept expanding the conversation towards necessary discussion on a broader picture and situation regarding religious pluralism and human rights in many Muslim majority countries. This was a fascinating exchange of opinions on the idea of crisis that Islam faces, what is or can something be done regarding improvement of the human rights situation in many Muslim majority countries, is there an order in which those changes should be done, what is the future of liberalism and much more! I hope you learn a lot and enjoy this meaningful conversation as much as I did. Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow in the Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World at Brookings Institution and the author of "Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping The World," "Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East," among other books. Hamid is also a contributing writer at The Atlantic and vice-chair of the Project on Middle East Democracy's board of directors. Mustafa Akyol is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, where he focuses on the intersection of public policy, Islam, and modernity. Akyol is the author of "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty," "The Islamic Jesus: How the King of the Jews Became a Prophet of the Muslims," and of six books in Turkish, including "Rethinking the Kurdish Question." His TED talk on “Faith versus Tradition in Islam” has been watched by more than 1.2 million viewers.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Marina Khan, British-Afghan entrepreneur and founder of "Avizeh" on her jewelry brand, Afghanistan, media representation, charity work, mental health 1:09:55

منذ 5 years1:09:55

1:09:55

It 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 charities, beautifully thought out artistic campaigns that address domestic violence, refugees, diversity within her country, but we also addressed online bullying and what motivates her to keep going. Towards the end, Marina also graciously shared some of her expertise on mental health, with a particular focus on the current global pandemic. At the end, we finished our conversation laughing a lot, but you'll have to hear for yourself why! People like Marina always remind me of why I started this podcast in the first place, and it is dignified resilience that they represent in their own context - that inspires me to keep learning from them, connecting with them and sharing their stories and messages with you. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and make sure to check Avizeh website and Avizeh's presence on various social media platforms! Thanks for listening and sharing.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Sayo Ayodele on purposeful business, climate change, racism, ethical travel and more! 1:29:14

منذ 5 years1:29:14

1:29:14

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 accelerator that delivers strategic advice and execution for a community of entrepreneurial philanthropists. She is also on the advisory board of Drivers for Change, which inspires young leaders to lead positive change in their neighbourhoods. She previously ran Cooking with Mama, a social enterprise that trained migrant women to lead cookery classes for the local community. She is the founder of ethical travel company JourneyKind, a platform that makes it easy for anyone to discover, curate and book fantastic holidays that have a positive impact on local communities (and less of an impact on our environment). Considering Sayo's expertise with some of the most important leading companies in the world, we spoke about purposeful business, who and what drives the business change, and then we focused a bit more on climate change crisis. In fact, as part of the Countdown initiative, Leaders' Quest is collaborating with TED and our Future Stewards partners, Global Optimism and We Mean Business, to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis. We then started our conversation about Sayo's commendable efforts on ethical travel through her own company, while she also graciously offered some truly important, intimate and essential observations on her personal experiences with racism, and shared some insights on how we should all reflect upon racism within our own communities, regardless of geographic location and with starting from most practical level in our immediate environments. Towards the end, we also talked about the ideas of home and exile, honored our families' brave (im)migration stories, and shared our appreciation for good friendships and listening to great world music, among many other things! This was an incredibly inspiring, beautiful conversation with one extraordinary, successful, talented woman who is inspiring me in so many ways. I am thankful she found the time for "Dignified Resilience" podcast and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Note: Source for Sayo's bio is the Leaders' Quest official website.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada Talks to Madinah Javed on Female Reciters of the Qur'an - Part 2 52:54

منذ 5 years52:54

52:54

Welcome 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 experiences and varying reactions from the audiences in different settings and countries around the world. We do focus on Bosnia and Herzegovina in this podcast episode a bit more, considering that is the country of my origin and Madinah's beautiful experiences of being welcomed to recite the Qur'an, and join numerous local groups at many occasions during her few stays there. She eagerly shares her stories that are very fun to listen! These impressions and experiences matter, not only because they are a lived reality - in which Muslim women are not berated or criticized for their public recitations of the Holy Book, but also because they can serve as an inspiration for others who listen and hear about it, to do or try the same in their own home environments. Thanks to people like Madinah who tenaciously work towards their commendable mission, and the technology that allows easier and faster sharing around the globe, the networking and connecting becomes more reachable and can feel more rewarding across long distances. Madinah and I also talk about the support of her father, and the importance of working together with supportive Muslim men towards ensuring more just, spiritual fulfillment for Muslim women. We didn't want to end recording at all because we had much fun too, and felt like there was much more to say on topics of representation and also marginalization of Muslim women. But, we tried our best to honor at least some of many scholars and activists who bravely advocate for more necessary, dignified inclusion of Muslim women in their communities around the world. I hope you enjoy this second part of my conversation with a guest who became a friend and then through myriad emails we exchanged and the conversation we shared - into a new sister. Thank you for your time and interest in watching!…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada Talks to Madinah Javed on Female Reciters of the Qur'an - Part 1 55:55

منذ 5 years55:55

55:55

It 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 July – but with scheduling, prep, research and some obligations we both had, we just got together now. In the meantime, we deepened our connection, friendship and sisterhood in this bonding process around something we both care about. I so much admire the resilience with which Madinah promotes the dignity of fellow Muslim women – towards greater – and more just - spiritual fulfillment that women deserve and which actually belongs to them. We started the conversation with Madinah's short but beautiful recitation of the Qur'an, and then dived into such a candid conversation on her personal background and how the campaign started, followed by an enriching conversation on theology and similar obstacles that women of other religion often face as well. We addressed many issues related to culture, spiritual fulfillment, even healing and health, as well as different reactions of Muslim and non-Muslim people to Madinah's efforts from around the world. I hope you enjoy both this first and then the second part of the conversation I had with Madinah. This podcast episode, like all else, was envisaged as a space in which valuable knowledge and beneficial information is shared, in an environment that is intimate, genuine and authentic. I think that you'll feel all of it yourself while listening, and don't forget to check out the part two of this conversation as well!…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Chic Dambach on his prolific peacebuilding career, life's challenges & his memoir "Exhaust the Limits" 1:11:28

منذ 5 years1:11:28

1:11:28

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. The Institute for Economics and Peace presented him the Leadership and Service for Peace Award in 2016. The Dambach Award for Service to the Literary Arts was created in his honor by the CityLit Project in Baltimore. The National Peace Corps Association has granted him the honorary title President Emeritus. Moreover, he was a national champion kayak racer and served as Chair of the US Canoe and Kayak Team and as President of the Pan American Canoe Council, and he was on the rules committee of the International Canoe Federation. He was an official for canoe and kayak competition in the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games. We spoke about role of sports in Chic's life and so much more: about numerous fascinating life stories from professional life that he so candidly describes in his memoir - including the explanation of his book title, then also about the the tumultuous ’60s, the numerous sobering instances about racist practices around him that he worked on changing, about personal struggles and challenges with his third son Kai, to whom he donated a kidney to save his life (after which his wife and Kai's elementary school teacher did the same!), while he also faced financial ruin and a few other unanticipated challenges. But, with tenacity, commitment and resilience, Chic and his family pushed through those tough times. Then later on, he helped end two major wars in Africa, and created the first Global Symposium of Peaceful Nations. He got sick in the meantime too, but continues to work as much as he can while radiating such a warm energy to everyone whom he meets. Hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Book Cover art by Matt Wuerker. Website for more info and book purchase: https://exhaustthelimits.org/bio/…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Asma Barlas on "Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an" 1:22:42

منذ 5 years1:22:42

1:22:42

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 exclusive right to interpret Islam’s holy scripture? The answer is no! You'd have to hear the whole episode and read her book to learn more on how she argues the radically egalitarian and antipatriarchal nature of Qur'an's teachings. Additionally, we talked about many kinds of feminism(s), touched upon identity politics, and criticized some unfortunate past and present patterns among many Muslims. Asma Abla (meaning "older sister" in Turkish, as as she tells me to call her endearingly) shared both authoritatively and graciously her observations on necessity of "double critique" of injustices - when committed against or by Muslims, respectively, and offered messages of hope for some brighter future visions. Many of us feel indebted to her and other similar scholars of her generation for their work, so this opportunity to thank her for that, and honor her publicly so it remains in the digital history, truly meant the world to me. This was an incredibly powerful conversation that I will never forget. I hope that, regardless of whether you are Muslim or non-Muslim, you shall also enjoy or appreciate the wealth of intellectual information offered here as just a start of your own further exploration. I hope you also manage to witness a beautiful human connection between two Muslim women who care about many same things. Buy her book too! Asma Barlas joined the Politics department of Ithaca College in 1991 and retired in August 2020. For a long time, she served as the founding director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity (1999- 2002; 2006-15). Her career path began in 1976 in Pakistan's Foreign Service, from which she was later fired at the behest of the country's military ruler, Gen. Zia ul Haq, for criticizing him. She left for the U.S., where she received political asylum. She is a very prolific poet, writer and academic. Her bestselling book "Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an" contests interpretations of Islam’s scripture that sanction violence and discrimination against women in addition to proposing a liberatory hermeneutics.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Wajahat Ali - on complex identities, pushing through parenting challenges, spirituality and much more! 1:03:40

منذ 5 years1:03:40

1:03:40

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 overcome, as his little daughter Nusayba got diagnosed with cancer and now healed of it. Waj also graciously shared some tips on the resilience that his family built and how those now help them now push through this global pandemic. Waj took off spontaneously with a chat on politics, which led to him sharing observations and experiences from Bosnia and Herzegovina, when he visited Sarajevo a few years ago, how he "connects the dots" and urges others to do so too, and then to me opening up and vulnerably sharing some nuances of the layers of my identity. All of it was therapeutic and triggering - in a good way! Later on, we talked about Nusayba healing of cancer, the importance of a community in that process, of kindness, of necessity of accepting help etc... Finally, we delved into a wonderful chat on (Islamic) spirituality, and benefits of thankfulness and patience. Then I also made Waj agree that he'll have to write a cooking book at some point! We talked about optimism, pessimism, my "Balkan paranoia" and all the right dance moves. Listen more for an hour of a wonderful bonding and an easy-going, organic conversation that started with trust and developed more through vulnerable sharing. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did, and be on the lookout for Wajahat's new forthcoming book! Wajahat Ali is a New York Times Contributing op-ed writer, a TED speaker, an award-winning playwright, a recovering attorney as he says, and a former consultant for the US State Department.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks about refugees, their old vulnerabilities & new challenges brought by the pandemic and experiences from Latin America, with Martha Guerrero Ble & Rachel Schmidtke 1:18:38

منذ 5 years1:18:38

1:18:38

This 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 confirmed that fewer and fewer of those who flee are able to return home. Five countries account for two-thirds of people displaced across borders: Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar. So, in this episode, I am joined by two experts - Martha Guerrero Ble and Rachel Schmidtke from "Refugees International" organization. We spoke of different and specific vulnerabilities that refugees have faced in general, and then addressed why the pandemic response must be inclusive of refugees, asylum-seekers and IDPs. Martha leads the ¨Let Them Work¨ Initiative at Refugees International, a joint project with the Center for Global Development (CGD) that seeks to expand labor market access for refugees worldwide, so she talked about that from both the government and private sector perspective. Then, Martha told us about the freshly published report, “Locked Down and Left Behind,” about the economic effects of COVID-19 on refugees’ economic inclusion. Refugees are 60% more likely to be financially impacted by COVID-19. Rachel informed us about the latest situation in general in terms of the global pandemic in Latin America. She told us more about the Venezuelan crisis - by the end of 2019, some 4.5 million Venezuelans had left their country, traveling mainly to other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. She wrote a report on how “the COVID-19 pandemic is decimating the Colombian economy and exacerbating what was already a challenging humanitarian situation,” and explained the disproportionate effects on displaced Venezuelans. We also talked why the pandemic situation changed so quickly in Peru and Chile, considering that at the beginning political leaders initially touted success in managing the pandemic. Our guests also addressed the pandemic disaster in Mexico. Rachel authored a piece on why "The Coronavirus Has Become Terrorists’ Combat Weapon of Choice," and how it impacts civilians in El Salvador. We also spoke of the specific effects of the pandemic on displaced women and children: even before this global health crisis, women and girls were already struggling to access the most basic services. Rachel explained how Covid-19 is aggravating the dangers of human trafficking and exploitation for Venezuelan migrants, and Martha contributed her insights on gender based violence as well. But, a huge emphasis on (unsustainability of) inequality was present all throughout our conversation. Martha Guerrero Ble focuses on expanding labor market access to refugees. Martha is a graduate from Georgetown’s Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS), where she focused on the intersection of development and humanitarian issues. Rachel Schmidtke is the advocate for Latin America at Refugees International. Rachel received her M.A. in International Development Policy from Duke University, focusing on migration, Latin American foreign policy, and gender.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks about advancing peace, justice & security with special focus on women's mobilization with sociologist Marie Berry 1:04:50

منذ 5 years1:04:50

1:04:50

Note: 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 part of the Women’s Rights After War (WRAW) Project, she is compiling a dataset and series of case studies aimed at evaluating whether, and under what conditions, women’s empowerment interventions can differentially benefit women from different backgrounds. Hear more on Marie's thoughts on what should be priorities for moving forward resiliently, while aiming for providing and preserving dignity to women in the post-covid age. You'll also hear about importance of solidarity across communities and then about Marie's love for dancing, persistence to manage the yoga head stands and great love for her dog. Marie is a political sociologist with a focus on mass violence, gender, politics, and development. Her research examines the political, economic, and social consequences of armed conflict. She is Assistant Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, where she is affiliated with the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy. She is also the Director of the Inclusive Global Leadership Initiative (IGLI), an effort to catalyze research, education, and programming aimed at elevating and amplifying the work that women-identified activists are doing at the grassroots to advance peace, justice, and security across the world.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks with Hikmet Karcic about Dervis Korkut, Bosniak scholar who saved Sarajevo Haggadah in WW2 - PART 2 56:28

منذ 5 years56:28

56:28

In 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 risked his life many times and stayed true to anti-fascist principles. We also talked about the history of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region during WW2 and beyond, we examined different versions of stories on how Korkut actually saved the Haggadah from the Nazis, and then of course how did it survive during the war between 1992- 1995. We addressed the long history of Jewish presence in Sarajevo starting from the time of the Ottoman rule on. It was fascinating to listen Dr Karcic powerfully argue why it is so important to celebrate people like Dervis Korkut in today's day and age, and thus offer a crucial counter-narrative to the extremist nationalist forces that aim to suppress the existing historical facts of peace, harmony and caring about neighbors regardless of ethnicity or religion. Many Bosnians, including myself, but also so many people who are not Bosnians but who appreciate Sarajevo and its history and people, truly value the Hagaddah as one of the symbols of the city we all love. This episode is my humble contribution to digital history - towards preservation of the story and the celebration of the universal values, of dignity and the resilience of the book itself, the city of Sarajevo and all the people who have preserved the Sarajevo Hagaddah throughout history. Hikmet Karcic is a Researcher at the Institute for Islamic Tradition of Bosniaks (IITB) and a Senior Fellow with the Center for Global Policy. His research is focused on genocide and Holocaust studies, Islamophobia, memory studies and extremism.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks about the magnificent Sarajevo Haggadah with David Stern - PART 1 1:01:43

منذ 5 years1:01:43

1:01:43

The 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 north of Italy. Then it was brought to Sarajevo, in Bosnia. In 1894, Jozef Kohen's family sold it to the National Museum, and it was sent off to Vienna to be restored. Later on, yet again, the book survived not one but two World Wars, and also the brutal siege of Sarajevo between 1992- 1995. We’ll hear more about it all throughout this and the next episode. In this first part, we are joined by a world renowned academic expert on Hagaddah - Professor David Stern, and then in the second part, with Dr. Hikmet Karcic who is a Bosnian genocide researcher and the author of a recently published biography of Dervis Korkut, the Bosniak - Bosnian Muslim scholar who risked his life to save the Sarajevo Hagaddah in WW2 - and who is today celebrated as the epitome of goodness and dignified resilience. Many have also interpreted the Sarajevo Haggadah as a symbol of coexistence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, given how the Haggadah's story involves so many different cultures, touching Jews, Christians and Muslims alike. With Professor Stern, we talk about how we can contextualize the Sarajevo Haggadah within the framework of the Iberian Jewish book culture, on the structure of the manuscript, the history around it, and the sheer magnificence of it. Hope you enjoy this fascinating conversation and check out part 2 as well! David Stern is a Harry Starr Professor of Classical and Modern Jewish and Hebrew Literature and Professor of Comparative Literature, and Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University and the author, most recently, of The Jewish Bible: A Material History published in 2017.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks about mental health, art and well-being with Aida Murad, entrepreneur coach, artist and passionate connector 50:55

منذ 5 years50:55

50:55

This 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, fashion, food, health and technology industries. Her involvement with creative industries is also geared towards creating social change; in the past she also organized the first festival in the US to celebrate refugees talents in the creative industries. Previously, Aida co-founded a sustainable fashion company, managed over $300m in philanthropic and development funds for the public and private sectors as well as designed youth and entrepreneurship programs globally. She is also a writer for Thrive Global, and the Co-Director of Nexus MENA & Arab Diasporas and Mental Health Council, bringing impact investors, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs together. I hope you also enjoy this meaningful exchange of uplifting thoughts and soothing advices by a thinker of moving emotional intelligence and animating spirit. Aida creates truly gorgeous art (which you should definitely check out on her personal website!) and is a wonderful human who's experienced many adversities in her life, and reinvented herself each time graciously and excitingly. During the time of uncertainty filled global pandemic, it was a true joy for me to talk to Aida and hear her share many ideas, including on contentment as resilience, forgiveness to self and surrender to things we cannot really control. Enjoy!…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks "On Inhumanity: Dehumanization and How to Resist It" with an award-winning author and philosopher David L. Smith 1:22:52

منذ 5 years1:22:52

1:22:52

This 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 genocide, the Holocaust, the lynching of African Americans, the colonial slave trade: these are horrific episodes of mass violence spawned from racism and hatred. We like to think that we could never see such evils again—that we would stand up and fight. But something deep in the human psyche—deeper than prejudice itself—leads people to persecute the other: dehumanization, or the human propensity to think of others as less than human. An award-winning author and philosopher, Smith takes an unflinching look at the mechanisms of the mind that encourage us to see someone as less than human. There is something peculiar and horrifying in human psychology that makes us vulnerable to thinking of whole groups of people as subhuman creatures. When governments or other groups stand to gain by exploiting this innate propensity, and know just how to manipulate words and images to trigger it, there is no limit to the violence and hatred that can result. Drawing on numerous historical and contemporary cases and recent psychological research, On Inhumanity is the first accessible guide to the phenomenon of dehumanization. Smith walks readers through the psychology of dehumanization, revealing its underlying role in both notorious and lesser-known episodes of violence from history and current events. In particular, he considers the uncomfortable kinship between racism and dehumanization, where beliefs involving race are so often precursors to dehumanization and the horrors that flow from it. On Inhumanity is bracing and vital reading in a world lurching towards authoritarian political regimes, resurgent white nationalism, refugee crises that breed nativist hostility, and fast-spreading racist rhetoric. The book will open your eyes to the pervasive dangers of dehumanization and the prejudices that can too easily take root within us, and resist them before they spread into the wider world."…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Wai Wai Nu, a prominent Rohingya activist, former political prisoner, and founder of the Women Peace Network in Myanmar 59:50

منذ 5 years59:50

59:50

Wow! 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, which of course the government staunchly denies. Wai Wai has been incredibly vocal about her tough experiences: she spent seven years as a political prisoner in Burma because of her father’s pro-democracy political activism. Ever since she was released, she dedicated herself towards her own education, and also towards women's empowerment, peace building and reduction of discrimination in her country. In this episode, we talked about Wai Wai's own tough experiences in prison, what she learned observing women prisoners, and why she refers to that period as "University of Life." We also discussed the present situation on the ground in terms of the multifaceted challenges that keep her people very vulnerable to bigger tragedies, the impact of the global pandemic on the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and in Myanmar, as well as her personal and professional efforts in struggle for preserving Rohingya's basic human rights. Wai Wai is a determined and compassionate leader, and she shared candidly and powerfully her expectations on ending this "men made disaster," the suffering of her people, and visions for restoring Rohingya's dignity. Towards the end, we also had a beautiful exchange about the importance of feeling the support and care, as she's been receiving it from a Burmese family that she is staying with right now while in the U.S., why she would like to learn how to cook better and the inspiring words that her dad shared with her about his own activism. This was such a meaningful conversation for me, and Wai Wai is truly a role model of dignified resilience in my opinion. I hope that you also appreciate listening this conversation. I want to add that Wai Wai was selected as a World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader (2018), she has been named as a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine (2017), recognized as one of the “100 World Thinkers,” Foreign Policy (2015), listed as one of the “100 Top Women,” BBC (2014). The list goes on and on.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks about "This Brilliant Darkness" with Jeff Sharlet, award-winning literary journalist and bestselling author 1:04:03

منذ 5 years1:04:03

1:04:03

This 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 44, had a heart attack of his own. This book of photo-journalistic essays is about those two years in between, much of which he spent on the road meeting strangers on different continents. “This is a book of other people’s lives,” he writes, “lives that became for a moment — the duration of a snapshot — my life, too.” We talked about the importance of human connections, how they take work and why it is worth it. We also focused on the darkness and why Jeff says there is also luminescence to it. Hear what he means when he writes "this brilliant darkness with which I am coming to terms," and how we discuss it both in terms of his book and the current global pandemic. Throughout this beautiful conversation, we touched upon the relativity of time, the looming mental illness crisis, the current uncertainty but also the certainty of mortality and how to find solidarity in darkness. Hope you enjoy as much as I did, and make sure to check out his new book!…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Nury Turkel and Samira Imin about the Uyghur humanitarian crisis 1:23:05

منذ 5 years1:23:05

1:23:05

Riada 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 camps - the Chinese government’s heavily fortified detention centers. They are being forced to renounce their faith and culture. So, in this episode, we talk about the heartbreaking pain and about the incredible, outstanding, exceptional courage and resilience of Uyguhrs who are facing widely documented persecution, surveillance, pervasive control, intimidation, forced labor. By raising awareness about the injustice they are experiencing, we recognize what the grand majority of all of them had always wanted anyway - for their dignity to be preserved and respected, to exist freely in China and practice their religion accordingly. Nury and Samira explain the human cost of this tragedy, and also how their own lives were upended with this crisis. At the end, we also chat about Samira's interest in singing and cooking Uyghur food and Nury's old and new hobbies - playing basketball with his son and learning how to do video-editing. Mr. Turkel serves as Chair of the Board for the Uyghur Human Rights Project, a documentation-based advocacy organization that he co-founded in 2004 and for which he served as Executive Director until 2006. Mr. Turkel also served as president of the Uyghur American Association from 2004 to 2006. Samira Imin works as a research assistant at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. She is a daughter of Iminjan Seydin, a prominent Uyghur historian and a publisher who owns Xinjiang Imin Book Publishing Company.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Victor Ochen - Founder and Executive Director for African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET) 1:02:10

منذ 5 years1:02:10

1:02:10

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 the youngest ever African nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2015. Here is an illuminating conversation filled with important and frank insights by one of Africa's leading peace builders. Victor explains the current situation and looming threats on the continent related to the global pandemic, emphasizing the new "corona violence" that has been emerging together with insecurities related to the corona virus. With sensitivity and local understanding of the situation on the ground, Victor also explains his professional endeavors for preventing potential humanitarian catastrophe, while shedding light on efforts for keeping the communities hopeful and informed, as many face numerous challenges in their daily lives already. At the end, Victor shares his genuine and inspiring vision that "From the darkness of Corona Virus crisis, will emerge the brightest light of rejuvenated human spirit." Check out his website to learn more: https://africanyouthinitiative.org…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Riada talks to Dr. Emir Suljagic, a survivor of Bosnian genocide and director of Srebrenica Memorial Center 1:05:08

منذ 5 years1:05:08

1:05:08

In 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 moment. He did warn me about the potential sound issues, but we decided to still record the conversation and then publish it as it is. We wanted to remain authentic and committed to producing meaningful content in circumstances that we found ourselves in that day. So, I also apologize for certain sound issues, though I hope you benefit from this unique opportunity to hear a man who unreservedly offers his views about politics and life. A transcribed version is also available on my YouTube channel.…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Introducing: Dignified Resilience 14:16

منذ 5 years14:16

14:16

The 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 grow - together! In this episode, I talk a bit about the name of the podcast, how and why it came about and my intentions with this project. I hope you will join along and enjoy learning about and from others- on struggle, hope, inspiration and dignified resilience!…

Dignified Resilience with Riada Akyol

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Official Trailer 1:19

منذ 5 years1:19

1:19

Hi 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.…

مرحبًا بك في مشغل أف ام!

يقوم برنامج مشغل أف أم بمسح الويب للحصول على بودكاست عالية الجودة لتستمتع بها الآن. إنه أفضل تطبيق بودكاست ويعمل على أجهزة اندرويد والأيفون والويب. قم بالتسجيل لمزامنة الاشتراكات عبر الأجهزة.