S2 Ep1: Spoken Word and the Politics of Awareness

S2 Ep5: The Complexities of “Statelessness”

In this episode, Awa sits down with Lavin Ousi, a returning guest from Season 1,  to explore what it means to navigate Kurdish identity without a state formally recognised under international law, and how culture, language, and community hold that identity together beyond borders. The episode reflects on the complexities of “statelessness,” and the ways Kurdish identities are continuously shaped through everyday acts of self-determination, self-validation, and self-legitimisation. JINGLE “Niamey Nights”, Bamako Bae, Shutterstock, ⁠⁠https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights⁠ [https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights] CONTRIBUTORS Host: Awa Sow Guest: Lavin Ousi Editor: Awa Sow

S2 Ep4: The Things That Drive Us

In this episode, Awa returns to conversations with guests from the first three episodes of season 2, weaving together their reflections to explore what drives us in life, and how that can take different forms across our work, our lives, and the ways we make sense of the world. JINGLE “Niamey Nights”, Bamako Bae, Shutterstock, ⁠⁠https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights⁠ [https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights] CONTRIBUTORS Host: Awa Sow Guest: Luke de Noronha, Tariq Brown, Fuad Busoir Editor: Awa Sow

S2 Ep3: All About Love

In this episode, Awa is in conversation with Fuad Busoir about love – what it means, how it is recognised, and whether it’s something felt or practised. Moving between romantic relationships, friendship and family, they reflect on the ways love shapes how people relate to one another, to space, and to themselves. Along the way, they sit with questions of accountability, intention, and whether love can ever be separate from politics – or if it is always quietly structuring the worlds being built. REFERENCES Davies Jr., Akinola, dir. My Father’s Shadow. 2025. Drama film. Hooks, Bell. All About Love: new visions: Bell Hooks. William Morrow, 2000. Jenkins, Barry, dir. If Beale Street Could Talk. 2018. Film. Nash, Jennifer C. "Practicing Love: Black Feminism, Love-Politics, and Post-Intersectionality."Meridians 19, no. S1 (2020): 439-462. Prince-Bythewood, Gina, dir. Love & Basketball. 2000. Film. JINGLE “Niamey Nights”, Bamako Bae, Shutterstock, ⁠⁠https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights⁠ [https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights] CONTRIBUTORS Host: Awa Sow Guest: Fuad Busoir Edited by: Awa Sow

S2 Ep2: Rethinking Borders: Race and the Politics of Belonging

In this episode, Awa sits down with scholar Luke de Noronha to question what borders really do in our everyday lives. From citizenship and belonging to the politics behind “migration crises,” they explore how borders shape who belongs, who is welcomed, and who is framed as a threat.  JINGLE “Niamey Nights”, Bamako Bae, Shutterstock, ⁠⁠https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights⁠ [https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights] REFERENCES Bradley, Gracie Mae, and Luke De Noronha. Against borders: The case for abolition. Verso Books, 2022. Robinson, Cedric J. Forgeries of memory and meaning: Blacks and the regimes of race in American theater and film before World War II. UNC Press Books, 2012. CONTRIBUTORS Host: Awa Sow Guest: Luke de Noronha Edited by: Awa Sow

S2 Ep1: Spoken Word and the Politics of Awareness

In this episode, Awa speaks with spoken word artist Tariq Brown about using poetry to make power visible. They explore how he transforms complex, often academic ideas – from capitalism to systemic oppression – into poetic, thought-provoking verse. It’s a conversation about heritage, awareness, and the poet’s role in illuminating systems of oppression. JINGLE “Niamey Nights”, Bamako Bae, Shutterstock, ⁠⁠https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights⁠ [https://www.shutterstock.com/music/track-1221135-niamey-nights] REFERENCES el-Kurd, Mohammed. 2025. Spoken remarks at the Closing Plenary of 25 Years of Human Rights at LSE Conference: Subverting Human Rights: Left, Right, and Centre, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, May 16, 2025.  Poetic Unity. https://www.poeticunity.org.uk/ [https://www.poeticunity.org.uk/]  CONTRIBUTORS Host: Awa Sow Guest: Tariq Brown Editor: Awa Sow