5 Podcasts by Arab Women You Need to Hear

Podcasts have become all the rave, and it seems as though everyone is either listening to a podcast or making one. With an almost endless choice of auditory content, choosing which voice to let seep into your ear for a solid 45 minutes to an hour can be a daunting task. Of course, you’d want to make sure that whatever you’re listening to provides some value and aligns with your interests.

There’s an increasing thirst for content that goes beyond being funny or relatable. In an oversaturated world of superficial, mindless material, many are now on the hunt for something more meaningful. Something that will make us feel seen, and heard. That happens to sound different for different people.

For Arab women, a good podcast is many things. It’s reflective of our unique identities. It tells the stories we’ve been forbidden from sharing. And it delves into experiences in ways that make us feel less alone. There’s a plethora of powerful podcasts by Arab women worthy of mentioning, that invoke this very same feeling.

To save you the trouble of having to sift through an endless sea of podcasts by Arab women, we’ve rounded up five of our favourites.

UNSWTND+UNFLTRD PODCAST

Unlike what their name suggests, this podcast is in fact very sweet in what it represents. It’s a safe space curated by Muslim women for Muslim women to “spill” the truth about spirituality, mental health, relationships, and more. Already on their fourth season, the channel invites a number of guests to discuss their experiences with God, spirituality, and how to reconcile their faith with modern day society. Whatever your story is as a Muslim woman, you’re sure to hear it echoed as raw and real as you feel it in one of the many episodes UNSWTND+UNFLTRD.

The Dukkan Show

The Dukkan Show has been on the scene for a while and though its hosts have changed over time, the essence has remained the same. Named after the word ‘dukkan’, meaning ‘shop’, the podcast represents the community that is created out of shared cultural pleasures and common memories. In this case, the childhood feeling of finding friendship and safety around your corner-shop.

The Dukkan Show is definitely one of the best that finds and champions female Arab voices. Their latest episode guest-stars Dina Marto, a Palestinian-Jordanian who moved to America at a young age and eventually worked her way to the top of the music industry. Having worked with stars like LA Reid, Rick Ross, and TI, Dina shares the inspiring story of her come up contextualized within the experience of her Arab-female identity.

B’Hob

Produced by podcast network Kerning Cultures, B’Hob achieves the incredible feat of discussing the concept of love, and love after 30, in Arabic. Though Arabic is one of the most beautiful languages to profess love in, the topic of love isn’t often taken seriously in Arab culture – especially for those who have passed the “prime age” of love and marriage.

B’Hob explores love in all its forms through stories from across the region, taking listeners on a journey through the pain, happiness, inspiration, and sometimes ambiguity of love stories in all their intricacies and complexities.

Women Power Podcast

It’s right there, in the name. Women Power Podcast, a subsidiary platform to Women Power Network, is a podcast created specifically for ambitious women based in MENA. Its content is honest, inspiring, authentic – and definitely empowering. Aside from sharing conversations and content on everything from stepping into your light to building financial freedom, the podcast is both a spiritual and practical guide to navigating your future as a woman in the Middle East.

Radical Contemporary

Hosted by Nour Hassan, Radical Contemporary is a podcast tailored more for Arab women who happen to be creatively inclined. Nour describes the show as ‘redefining creativity through conversation’, and she certainly appears to live up to her promise based on the kinds of episodes she produces. One of her last episodes is a beautiful conversation with Egyptian-British Lara Maysa, Nude and Women's Empowerment photographer, Portrait Photographer, Documentary Filmmaker, Storyteller, and Consciousness Explorer.

Radical Contemporary is the perfect place to start for Arab women looking to explore their magically complex identities and potential through art.