Identified with Nabil Ayers

Bedouine on Growing Up Between Cultures

“Family to me is the feeling of safety without even understanding the concept.” In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Bedouine for a conversation about family, heritage, migration, and belonging. As they begin tracing her family’s history, Bedouine uncovers new details about her Armenian roots, including stories she had only learned days before the interview. They discuss generations of displacement, from the Armenian genocide and the death marches through Syria to the communities her family rebuilt in Aleppo, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and eventually the United States.  Along the way, she reflects on growing up between cultures, speaking English at school and Armenian at home, and navigating the complexities of identity within the Armenian diaspora. She discusses the challenge of preserving family stories when previous generations prefer not to revisit the past, and the importance of documenting those histories before they disappear.  Bedouine's latest record, Neon Summer Skin, is out now. Guest: Bedouine Host: Nabil Ayers Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji Produced by: Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Show Me the Body’s Julian Pratt on Becoming a Father.

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with Show Me the Body's Julian Pratt to explore the people, communities, and experiences that shaped his identity. Growing up on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Julian was surrounded by family. With twin mothers, a sprawling network of cousins, and a household full of music, conversation, and chaos, belonging was never in short supply. But despite that foundation, he often felt different. Struggling in school, dealing with behavioural challenges, and feeling increasingly isolated as a child, he began searching for connection elsewhere.  That search led him into New York’s punk, graffiti, and DIY communities, where he found what would become a second family. Through friendship, creativity, and collective care, Julian helped build the community that would eventually become Corpus and Show Me The Body.  Nabil and Julian explores Jewish identity, immigration, generational history, and the stories passed down through family. Julian reflects on his grandfather’s journey from Eastern Europe to New York, what it means to be a “wandering Jew,” and how those ideas continue to shape his worldview today.  At the center of the episode is fatherhood. Julian shares how becoming a parent transformed his understanding of strength, shifting him away from fear, aggression, and anger toward something rooted in love, care, and responsibility.   Guest: Julian Pratt (Show Me The Body) Host: Nabil Ayers Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji Produced by Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Betsy Lerner on Writing Your Truth and The Tension Between Honesty and Fear

In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with bestselling author and literary agent Betsy Lerner to explore identity, family history, and the complicated path to becoming a writer. Betsy reflects on her upbringing, the influence of her family, and how personal experiences eventually shaped both her writing and her career in publishing. Known for her work as a literary agent as well as her acclaimed memoirs and books on writing, Betsy has spent decades helping writers uncover the stories only they can tell. The conversation explores how identity, family dynamics, and cultural background can influence the stories we carry and the stories we are willing to share. Betsy also reflects on the emotional challenge of writing personal material, the tension between honesty and vulnerability, and why the most powerful writing often comes from confronting the truths we try hardest to avoid. This is a thoughtful discussion about storytelling, memory, and the role writing plays in helping us understand where we come from. Guest: Betsy Lerner Host: Nabil Ayers Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji Produced by Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Ryan Kattner on growing up between cultures and finding community through music

Have you ever found community through your art? In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with musician Ryan Kattner to talk about growing up in an Air Force family, moving every three years, and never quite feeling rooted in one place. Ryan reflects on being mixed race, with a Filipino mother and a white father, and how navigating different cultural spaces shaped his sense of identity. He shares what it was like to feel caught between worlds, passing in some environments while feeling out of place in others. The conversation explores how constant movement shaped his understanding of family, where friends often became family, and how music eventually became a space where he felt understood and connected. Ryan also talks about the realities of life on the road, the bond that forms between musicians, and how creativity can help process loss and major life moments.   Guest: Ryan Kattner Host: Nabil Ayers Executive Producer: Kieron Banerji Produced and Distributed by: Palm Tree Island See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.

Musician Damon McMahon on Processing Family History Through Music

How much of who we are is shaped before we ever have a say? In this episode of Identified, Nabil Ayers sits down with musician Damon McMahon, formally Amen Dunes, to explore how family history, inherited trauma, and cultural identity shape who we become. Damon reflects on growing up between two very different worlds: his mother’s side of European Jewish Holocaust survival and his father’s working-class Irish American roots. He shares stories of how these legacies lived quietly in his family — sometimes spoken, often unspoken — and how they influenced his sense of self from an early age. The conversation moves through complicated family dynamics, childhood instability, and the ways creativity can act as a private space for processing what’s difficult to articulate. Damon talks candidly about how his music has long been a way of exploring identity, releasing emotion, and trying to understand the forces that shaped him. They also discuss how becoming a parent reshaped his understanding of family — not as something inherited, but something actively created. See omnystudio.com/listener [https://omnystudio.com/listener] for privacy information.