This Being Human

Humaira Abid gathers ordinary objects from everyday life and transforms them into something extraordinary. Her wood sculpture and paintings — known for their intricate details — depict human relationships and contain strong social messages around topics like motherhood and the plight of refugees. In this episode of This Being Human, Humaira talks to Abdul-Rehman about why she chose the male-dominated craft of wood sculpture to tell stories about women and how she uses her art to encourage conversations about taboo topics. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jamaluddin Aram is a documentary filmmaker, producer, and writer from Kabul, Afghanistan. He is the associate producer of the Academy Award-nominated film Buzkashi Boys, and his debut novel, Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday was published in June, 2023. On this episode of This Being Human, Abdul-Rehman and Jamaluddin discuss how he fell in love with writing, the complexity of war stories, and his experience growing up in Afghanistan. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shahjehan is a voice-over artist, actor, and musician based in Boston. He is the current host of the award-winning King of the World Podcast, where he explores his life as a Pakistani American Muslim. In this episode of This Being Human, Shahjehan Khan reflects on his history with music, addiction and identity in post-9/11 America. He and Abdul-Rehman talk about his time with the seminal Muslim punk band The Kominas, mental health, his attempt to find himself while living in Pakistan, and where he stands today, as an aging punk rocker who’s finding a new path in acting and producing. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zakir Hussain’s name is practically synonymous with the tablas. His work ranges from classical Indian compositions to Hollywood film scores to collaborations with rockstars like George Harrison and Van Morrison. His latest albums are the collaboration As We Speak and Shakti’s This Moment. In this episode, Zakir Hussain talks to Abdul-Rehman about how his craft continues to evolve at the age of 72, his father Alla Rakha who introduced tablas to the West, his mother’s crucial role in his career, and what prevented him from becoming a rock drummer. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Deqo Mohamed spent her teen years coordinating with NGOs, teaching, and arranging breakfast for thousands of displaced people. That’s because her mother, Dr. Hawa Abdi, was the founder of a sanctuary in Somalia called Hope Village. The village provided healthcare, education and more to 90,000 people during its peak. It earned Dr. Habdi a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize. In this episode, Dr. Deqo Mohamed speaks candidly about growing up in Hope Village, sharing her mom with thousands of others, and how she and her sister are carrying on the family legacy. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nazeem Hussain has fast become one of the biggest stars of Australian comedy, and a much-loved television and radio personality. He is the creator and star of two television comedy shows, Legally Brown (2013-14) and Orange Is the New Brown (2018). Nazeem’s Netflix special ‘Nazeem Hussain: Public Frenemy’, filmed in Montreal at the Just for Laughs Festival, started streaming globally in 2019, introducing Nazeem to a legion of new fans, and critical acclaim. He has recently released the children’s book Hy-Larious Hyena! and is currently working on the sequel. Nazeem talks to AR about being an outsider who broke through in Australia’s comedy scene. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Noor is an award-winning journalist and producer, a touring speaker for over 10 years, and has told stories in every medium, from radio and print to documentaries and brand campaigns. In 2019, Noor founded At Your Service Imprint, a consulting and production company telling representative stories as a form of service. In 2022, Noor launched her investigative series Rep, in partnership with iHeartMedia, a story about the stories we tell. She joins AR to talk about why she stopped worrying about representing others – and started creating spaces for people to tell stories on their own terms. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Murad Subay is a street artist from Yemen. His campaigns such as “Faces of War,” “Ruin” and “Color the Walls of Your Street” reflect his experiences living through revolution and war. He talks to AR about what drives him to paint, his mixed feelings about being called the “Yemeni Banksy,” and about collaborating with the public on his work. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The heavy metal band Voice of Baceprot was formed by three middle schoolers in a small town in Indonesia. Over the years, they built an international following that includes rock legends like Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine, Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers and Slash from Guns N’ Roses. They joined AR from a studio in Jakarta, where they were at work on their debut album, to talk about falling in love with rock music, finding their voice, and how they overcame their families’ skepticism about their musical careers. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coleman Barks is an American poet and translator whose translations brought Jalaluddin Rumi, the 13th-Century Persian mystic, to mass contemporary audiences, turning him into one of the most popular poets in the modern English-speaking world. Barks’ free verse interpretations of Rumi have at times been the top-selling poetry books in America. Now 86 years old, Barks joins AR to talk about how he was given a mission to bring Rumi’s words to the masses, which turned into a lifelong pursuit. He also talks about how his interest lately has shifted from Rumi to Rumi’s teacher, Shams Tabrizi. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen West on Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abbas Rattani is an academic, entertainer, and founder of MIPSTERZ. He is a strong advocate for individuality and self-expression in minority communities. Abbas talks about co-founding the MIPSTERZ collective, and their decade-long mission to change the face of young Muslims in America. MIPSTERZ is a non-traditional arts and culture collective for emerging Muslim creatives that enables and amplifies Muslim creative voices by presenting and producing original works for general audiences. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human, and The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human Season 3. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leah V made her name as a Black, Muslim, plus-size model. She has worked on major campaigns for companies like Dove and Fitbit, while also being outspoken around issues she sees in the industry. Now, she’s also a sci-fi author. She recently released her debut novel, The Union, a dystopian thriller that turns contemporary notions around race and body size upside down. She talks to AR about her love of sci-fi, her inspiring career, and about having difficult conversations. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shanaaz Majiet is a disability rights advocate. Struck by a bullet at 17 years of age, she eventually returned to her studies, then went on to become National Advocacy manager for South Africa’s leading disability rights and inclusion organization, Disabled People South Africa. She is now a leading public policy thinker and city government troubleshooter in South Africa and her work is recognized around the world. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mariam Ghani is an artist, writer, and filmmaker. Her work looks at places, spaces and moments where social, political and cultural structures take on visible forms, and spans multiple disciplines. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad are the founders of EAST Architecture Studio, an architectural design and research collective based in Beirut. They have worked on various projects ranging from master planning to interior design with a focus on sustainability, adaptive reuse, and history. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anida Yoeu Ali’s art mixes humour, public confrontation, and science fiction to explore issues of identity. As a Muslim Khmer woman, Anida is a minority whether she’s in her native Cambodia or in the United States, where her family relocated to escape the regime of Pol Pot. She talks about her work across disciplines, from absurdist poetry to public performances such as the Buddhist Bug, where she meets the public, dressed as a large, orange worm-like creature. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Soumik Datta is an award-winning musician, composer and television presenter. He plays the 19 stringed sarod and connects his Indian classical roots with colourful electronica and musical styles from around the world. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Malak Mattar is an artist from the Gaza Strip. She paints expressionist faces, figures and semi-abstract designs. Malak started painting at the age of thirteen. While she was trapped inside during a 51-day day military assault on Gaza, she began painting with supplies from her school to help deal with her emotions. She has since made hundreds of paintings. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yazz Ahmed is a British-Bahraini Trumpet and Flugelhorn player. Through her music, Yazz Ahmed seeks to blur the lines between jazz and electronic sound design, bringing together the sounds of her mixed heritage in what has been described as “psychedelic Arabic jazz, intoxicating and compelling.” The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Born in Wales with Yemeni and Bangladeshi heritage, Karimah Hassan has an expressive, bold aesthetic and is heralded for “taking stories of community gatekeepers full circle, from the canvas to the streets.” Karimah creates live paintings at performance events across London and New York to highlight the importance of communities in the city. The Museum wishes to thank Nadir and Shabin Mohamed for their founding support of This Being Human. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.