Status/الوضع Audio Journal

Status/الوضع is an evolving, critical, collaborative, and independent Audio Journal combining analysis, reporting, and satire. It features interviews/conversations, programs, on-the-scene reports, reviews, informed commentary, and readings. Interviews from the region and beyond feature activists, journalists, scholars, and citizens. 

Status addresses salient matters in the political, economic, and social spheres, academia and the media. Beyond analyzing events and developments, a distinct flavor of this Journal will be its attention to cultural production and the various processes of knowledge production and information dissemination for public consumption, via social or traditional media.

مجلة صوتية شهرية مستقلة يصدرها مشروع تعاوني جماعي، وتسعى إلى خلق فضاء نقدي وتحليلي. ستتضمن أعدادها مواد تحليلية ونقدية وإخبارية، بالإضافة إلى مراجعات وقراءات وحوارات مع ناشطين وصحفيين وباحثين ومواطنين في العالم العربي وخارجه. ستتابع المجلة أهم القضايا في الحيز السياسي والاقتصادي والاجتماعي وعلى الانتاج المعرفي والثقافي والمعلوماتي وانتشاره في وسائل الإعلام والتواصل الاجتماعي

Issue 1.1•Fall 2014

• Intellectual Journey: Language, Identity, and Dislocation with Ella Shohat

• Syrian Regime Strategy during the Uprising with Kheder Khaddour

• Censorship and Detention in Egypt: A Personal Account with Alaa Abd El Fattah

• Representing Iraq and its Diaspora with Samir

• Academic Freedom in the United States and the Salaita Case with Steven Salaita

• Decentralizing News in Egypt with Fatemah Farag

• The Historical Drivers of Modern Day Developments in Iraq with Juan Cole

• Countercurrent: Bahrain Watch with Reda al-Fardan

• On the Disintegration of the Lebanese State with Charbel Nahas

• Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Racism, Alliances, and Misery with Moe Ali Nayel

• Rap as Activism in Morocco with Mouad Belgouate (El-Haqed)

• What Happened to the January 25 Egyptian Revolution? with Wael Gamal

• Nature of US-Egypt Relations Today with Mohammad El-Agati and Wael Gamal

• R-Shief's 5th Anniversary with Laila Sakr

• The Role of Civil Society in the Tunisian Revolution with Abdelbasset Ben Hassen

• Most Wanted with Mohammed al-Ajmi

• Mediating the Assault on Gaza with Ayman Mohyeldin

Issue 2.1  •  Winter 2015

• Quick Thoughts* with Toby Jones, Omar Dahi, & Laila Sakr

• Reclaiming Academic Freedom* with Nashiha Alam, Judith Tucker, Lisa Rofel, Ilana Feldman, & Nadia Abu El Haj

• Indie and Alternative Music Production in the Arab World* with Kinda Hassan and Khyam Allami

• On Post- and Pre-Revolution with Bilal Fadl

• Dismantling Iraqi Health Care – and its Regional Impacts with Omar Dewachi

• Live Art and its Political Function with Tania El-Khoury

• Wanted 18: On Film, Comedy, and Resistance with Amer Shomali

• A History and Gendered Political Economy of Activism in Morocco with Zakia Salime

• Battling for a Meaningful Civil Society in Egypt with Gasser Abdel Razek

• Migrants in Qatar with Andrew Gardner

• Answering the Call: Popular Islamic Activism in Sadat’s Egypt with Abdullah Al-Arian

• The Senate Select Committee Published an Incriminating Report, Now What? with Lisa Hajjar

• Big Words on Art: The School Playground and the Cloud of Bollocks with Andeel

• Still Singing the Revolution with Ramy Essam

• Beyond Romanticism: Scribbles Then and Now with Wael Attili

• Creating Change through Theater: The Freedom Theater in Jenin with Nabil Al Raee and Alia Al Rosan

Issue 2.3  •  Fall 2015

• Quick Thoughts* with Khalid Medani, Majd Kayyal, Rasha Hilwi, Maya Mikdashi, and Laila Shereen Sakr

• Whose University? Criminalizing Student Organizing on Campus* with Khalil Antonio Valasquez, Mohammad Abou-Ghazala, Omar Zahzah, and Tina Matar

• Music Production Cycle in Palestine from Akka to Gaza* with Samer Jaradat, Terez Sleiman, Mahmoud Jrere, Shurouq Qawariq, Mohammed Najem, Anas al-Najjar, Ibrahim al-Najjar, Ismael Daoud, Khamis Abushaban

• Poetry Has Its Own Spring* with Alaa’eddin Abdulmawla

• Poetry and Exile* with Golan Haji

• Intellectual Journey with Ahmad Dallal

• Lebanon Protest Movement: Its History and Current Struggles with Joelle Boutros, Sarah Wansa, and Nidal Ayoub

• Syria, ISIS, and Civil War with Maher Esber

• A Closely Guarded Secret: Saving the Most Vulnerable Women in Baghdad with Rania Abouzeid

• Since the “Change Revolution:” From the Perspective of a Young Yemeni with Farea al-Muslimi

• Traditional Arabic Music: An Interview with Irab with Bassel Kassem

• The Significance of Palestinian Arts Festivals and their Challenges with Iman Hammouri

• Civil Society in the Arab Gulf: Reality and Prospects with Anwar al-Rasheed

• Detention in Syria with Hussein Ghrer, Keffah Ali Deeb, and Milah Shehabi

• Archiving Palestine: Building a Digital Platform for Oral History with Hana Sleiman

• Climate of Control: Testimonies from Palestinian Prisoners with Sahar Francis, Ayman Nasser, Ahmad Attoun, Mokhles Borghal, and Mohammad Moghrabi

• Theeb: A Jordanian Bedouin Tale with Naji Abu Nowar

• Then and Now: Art as an Agent of Resistance in Palestine with Hafez Omar

• My Very Own Intifada: Poetry, Music, and Film with Sobhi al-Zobaidi

• Against All Odds: Voices of Popular Struggle in Iraq with Ali Issa 

• Today’s Palestinian Popular Movement with Khalil Shaheen

• Violations Against Palestinian Prisoners with Issam Baker

• We Refuse: More on the Campaign and their First Visit to Lebanon with Maisan Hamdan and Samer Asakli

Issue 3.1 •  Winter 2016

• Quick Thoughts* with Rabie Nasir, Kristina Stockwood, and Laila Shereen Sakr

• Music Production Cycle in Palestine: Spotlight on Samer Jaradat’s “Letters to Palestine”* with Samer Jaradat, Dina Shilleh, Raneem Nablusi, and Dania Jarrar

• From Underground to Arab Street Rap: Shad 3asab* with MC Darwish, El-Rass, Nasser, Watr, Gilgamesh, and Yazan

• The Panoptic Gaze and the Ivory Tower* with Muna Sharif, Arshad Ali, Jared Austin, Danya Zituni

• The Poetic Scene in Libya* with Abdul Basset Abu Bakr Mohammed

• Poetry between the East and West* with Mohamed Oudaimah

• The Poet and the Real World* with Ibrahim al-Masri

• Words of Revolution and Digital Security with Leil Zahra Mortada

• Art as Interruption: On “Homeland,” Revolutionary Utterances, and Surveillance with Heba Y. Amin

• Sectarianism in the Gulf with Toby Matthiesen

• Translating Knowledge Production in the Arab World into Public Awareness and Policy with Sari Hanafi

• Counterrevolution in Egypt: The Role of Fear and Predominance of the Security Forces with Khalid Fahmy 

• Syrian Refugees and the Map of a Dangerous Journey with Alia Malek

• On the Concept of People-Biased Architecture and on Passion for Architecture in Yemen with Salma Samar Damluji

• Area "C": Developmental Discourses and Colonial Looting with Lena Meari

• Covering the Migration Crisis in Greece with Kostas Kallergis

• Drawn to Palestinian Memory: Baddawi, a Graphic Novel with Leila Abdelrazzaq

• Iraqi Underground Music, Part 1: A Universe of Music with Beshar al-Azzawi 

• The Human Right to Dominate with Nicola Periguini 

• ISIS and Women with Rafia Zakaria 

• The Women’s Movement in Morocco with Naima Benwakrim 

• The Students’ Movement in Palestine with Nael Halabi 

• The Trade Union Movement in Palestinian Universities with Eileen Kuttab 

• Education in Syria during War with Saber Darwish, Alia Ahmad, & Sami Abdul-Karim 

• Night in Gaza with Mads Gilbert

• The Arab Spring from a Philosophical Perspective with Ahmad Barqawi 

• From Homs to Beirut: MC Darwish’s Ard al-Samak with Hani al-Sawah aka MC Darwish

• Before the Credit Crisis with Iyad Riyahi

• Yemen’s Political Economy: An Anthropologist’s Perspective with Martha Mundy 

• Writing on Revolution with Mohammed Rabie

• The African Community in Jerusalem: The Life of a Struggler with Mahmoud Jiddah

• Iraqi Underground Music, Part 2: Breaking Away From Nostalgia to The Reality of War with Nova Emad 

• The Patriarchal System is Lethal: Feminist Activism with Sawt al-Niswa 

• Yemen Quietly Being Killed with Safa Al Ahmad

• Iraq: The Problems of Modernity and Rent with Abdel Amir Al-Rekaby 

Issue 4.1 •  Fall 2017

• Writing as an Act of Liberation with Amira Silmi

• Decolonizing Native America and Palestine with Steven Salaita

• The Referendum in Turkey with Sinan Birdal

• Precarities of Academic Freedom: On Detention In Iran with Homa Hoodfar

• The Course of LGBTQI Activism in Tunis with Bader Baabou

• Longing for Life in Yemen with Afrah Nasser

• A Memoir of Syria with Alia Malek

• Civilians Paying the Price for “War on Terror” in Mosul with Loulouwa Al-Rachid

• Teaching Through Juxtaposition with Munir Fashe

• Antisemitism and the Palestine Solidarity Movement with Tallie Ben Daniel

• On Gender and Homosexuality in the Arab World with Saleem Haddad

• Israel Bars Human Rights Watch Entry, Sets New Precedent with Omar Shakir

• Governing Rojava: Layers of Legitimacy in Syria with Rana Khalaf

• Roots, the Global Citizen, and Poetic Vision with Yahia Lababidi

• The Electricity Crisis in Gaza with Omar Shabaan

• The Neoliberal Politics of the Palestinian Authority with Nasser Abdelkarim

• The Situation of Archaeology in Syria with Mostafa Alskaf

• Municipal Elections in Palestine with Hassan Ladadwah

• The Palestinian Historical Narrative and the Media with Saleh Masharqa

• The Woman Who Read Too Much with Bahiyyih Nakhjavani

• Conversation with a Yemeni Activist with Radhya Almutawakel

Issue 4.2 •  Winter 2017

• Politics of Music in Iran with Nahid Siamdoust

• Acting & Directing for the Stage as a Syrian in Exile with Wisam Talhouk

• Climate Change and Water Rights in Palestine with Muna Dajani

• Intersectionality and Queer Syrian Refugee-ness in Lebanon with Sabiha Allouche

• Syria's Disappearances: Fadwa Mahmoud and the 'Freedom Bus' Campaign with Fadwa Mahmoud

• Beirut's Sexuality Hotline with The A Project

• A Syrian Actress in Exile: Difficulties and Challenges with Hala Omran

• On the Mental Health Situation of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon with Helena Jonsdottir, Jinane Saad

• Projects of a Syrian Musician in Exile with Abu Ghabi

• Non-Formal Education for Syrian Students in Lebanon with Yerevan Hassan

• Al Jazeera Targeted in the Gulf Crisis with Adel Iskandar

• The Current Protests in Morocco with Miriyam Aouragh

Issue 5.1 •  Winter 2018

• Saudi Arabia's War On Yemen & The Diplomatic Crisis in the GCC with Sama'a Al-Hamdani

• Said Nursi & Fethullah Gulen: The Rise and Fall of Post-Nurcu Messianism in Turkey with Mucahit Bilici

• In the Eyes of the Law: Unpacking the U.S. Muslim Bans with Shoba Wadhia

• Waraq: A Home for the Arts on Fountain of Yoghurt Street with David Habchy

• Abdullah Al-Kafri: What is the role of culture in the acceptance of injustice? with Abdullah Al Kafri

• Silenced No More: Activism and Professional Sports with Michael Bennett

• On Scholarship and the Arab Studies Institute with Bassam Haddad

• The Art of Reciting the Qur'an with Hajjah Maria Ulfah and Anne Rasmussen

• The Dis/Appeared: 25 Notes on Colonial Regimes of Perception with Ian Alan Paul

• Memories of Algeria's Freedom Struggle with Zohra Drif

• The European Union's Complicity in Refugee Abuse in Libya with Marwa Mohamed and Gabriele Proglio

• Under Siege: Daily Life in Gaza with Rawan Yaghi

• Syrian Art in American Exile and the Quest for Freedom with Etab Hrieb

• The "Little Terrorist" and the Dream of Revolution with Omar Youssef Souleiman

• "The Last Days of the Man of Tomorrow" & 'Chaos Fiction' Cinema with Fadi Baki

• The Rise and Fall of the New Orleans BDS Resolution with Tabitha Mustafa and Max Geller

• Radical Arab Nationalism and Political Islam with Lahouari Addi

• The Study of Manuscripts & Its Importance for Research on Islamic Literature and Culture with Muhammad Isa Waley

• Gaza's "Great March of Return" and The Right of Return

Issue 5.2 •  Fall 2018

• Inside Nadine Labaki's Oscar-Nominated Film "Capernaum" with Nadine Labaki

• Interview with Shahed Amanullah - The Maydan Podcast with Shahed Amanullah

• National Students for Justice in Palestine meet at UCLA with Ben Zinevich

• Israel, Human Rights Watch, and the Nation State Law with Omar Shakir

• Interpreting Islam in China: Pilgrimage, Scripture & Language in the Han Kitab with Kristian Petersen

• Ali Mushaima's Hunger Strike by the Bahraini Embassy with Ali Mushaima

• Reverberations of the Arab Spring with Gilbert Achcar

• Singer Hamsa Mounif Searches for a Future Away from War with Hamsa Mounif

• A Profile of The Asfari Institute for Civil Society & Citizenship

• The Story of a Syrian Opera Singer in Exile with Lubana Al Quntar

• No Turning Back: Life, Loss and Hope in Wartime Syria with Rania Abouzeid

• Competing for Iraq's Future with Loulouwa Al Rachid

• Jihad Abdo & Fadia Affash: The Journey of Two Syrian Artists in Exile with Fadia Affash and Jihad Abdo

• An Actor's Journey After 18 Months in Syrian Detention with Ahmad Kiki

• King Salman and His Son: Winning the U.S., Losing the Rest with Dr. Madawi Al-Rasheed

• On Iran: Between Internal and International Dynamics with Mustafa El-Labbad

• A Director in Exile: The Hopes, Dreams & Determination of Innas Hakki with Inas Hakki

• What's Next for Sudan?: Understanding the Overthrow of al-Bashir with Khalid Medani

Issue 6.1 •  Winter 2019

• The Dhofar Revolution: Cold War Relations & Anti-Colonial Politics in Oman with Marral Shamshiri-Fard

• Seteney Shami on the Arab Council for the Social Sciences

• The Latest in the Protest Movement for Change in Sudan with Khalid Medani

• Nanda Mohammad: Syrian Actress in Exile

• El Haraga Read Through Maghrebi Literary Production with Omar Shanti

• Women & War in Yemen: Actors or Victims? with Mira Nabulsi

• Syrian Filmmaker Talal Derki's "Of Fathers Of Sons" with Talal Derki

• Reform, Resistance, and Refugees: Jordan & the Arab Uprisings with Curtis Ryan

• Decolonizing Tunisia's Decolonization with Max Ajl

• Understanding Anti-Government Sentiment & Protests in Sudan with Khalid Medani

• The Arab World Between Democratization & Rebellion with Shafeeq Ghabra

• Syrian Traditional Music with Hassan Abbas

• We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled: Voices from Syria with Wendy Pearlman

• Three Syrian Actors Collaborate in Exile: Adapting Without Loss of Identity with Yazan al-Qaq, Helen al-Janabi, and Ibraheem Manaem

• Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine with Noura Erakat

• Theatre in progress: An interview with Artist & Actress Hanane Hajj Ali

• Gender in the Muslim Atlantic - The Maydan Podcast with Dr. Khadijah Elshayyal, Dr. Sylvia Chan-Malik

Issue 6.2 •  Fall 2019

• 1979 Generation: Homa Hoodfar on Feminism and Revolution with Homa Hoodfar

• Reflections on Islamic Liberation Movements - The Maydan Podcast with Farid Esack

• Artist Roy Dib in Conversation about Censorship in Lebanon with Roy Dib

• The Protests in Algeria: Background, Dynamics, and Prospects with Muriam Haleh Davis and Thomas Serres

• Mapping the Conflict in Yemen with Sheila Carapico

• Syrian Musalsalat During the Ongoing Conflict with Christa Salamandra

• Reading the Arabesque with Kamal Boullata

• Humanitarian Predicaments: Protracted Displacement and Palestinian Refugee Politics with Ilana Feldman

• Jadaliyya Talks: Arash Davari and Sina Rahmani on "Divorce: Iran-America Style" with Arash Davari and Sina Rahmani

• The Political Landscape in Tunisia and the Upcoming Presidential Elections with Mohamed-Dhia Hammami

• Continuing Protests in Algeria with Hamza Hamouchene

• On the Removal of the "MENA" Category from the U.S. Census with Loubna Qutami

• The Battle for Tripoli: the Latest Chapter in the Libyan Civil War with Ali Ahmida

• Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel & the Arab World with Dr. Maha Nassar

• Dispatches from Medina Postcoloniale with Rachid Taha

• The Impacts of Renewed Sanctions on Iran: A Conversation with Farnaz Fassihi

• Noura Erakat in Conversation with Duncan Kennedy at Harvard Law on Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine

• Dutch-Palestinian Sues Benny Gantz in the Netherlands: Interview With Attorney Liesbeth Zegfeld

• The Popular Mass Revolt in Iraq with Sinan Antoon

• "MESPI Talks": A Conversation with Katy Whiting of the Sijal Institute on Arabic Education in Amman with Katy Whiting

• The November Protests in Iran with Peyman Jafari

• Real Football Podcast: Episode 2, On Racism in (European) Football with Thomas Serres

• The Assassination of Qasem Soleimani and Escalating Tensions between the U.S. and Iran with Mohammad Ali Kadivar and Mansour Farhang

• Urban Transformation and Resistance in Tarlabaşı: The Politics of a Delayed Construction Project in Istanbul with Alize Arıcan

• The Global Wave of Mass Protests: A Panel Discussion with Loubna El Amine, Daniel Borzutzky, Kaveh Ehsani, William Hurst, and Shailja Sharma

• Tadween Talks: "The Dawn of the Arab Uprisings" with Ziad Abu-Rish

Issue 7.1 •  Winter 2020

• A Conversation with Mezna Qato and Ala’a Shehabi on MERIP’s 'Paper Trail' Issue

• Egyptian Leftists Innovate with Savvy Digital Content with Tarek Shalaby

• Texture, Language, and Diaspora with Artist Zeinab Saab

• From Despair Comes Hope: Dima Yassin on the Iraqi Revolution with Dima Yassine

• Gender and the Politics of Islamic Studies with Kecia Ali

• Surpassing Statehood, Approximating Hope: Book Launch for "Justice for Some" with Noura Erakat

• Degrees of Dignity: Reforming Arab Higher Education for the Global Era with Dr. Elizabeth Buckner

• Transgressive Imaginaries: Nation and Identity through Raï

• Jadaliyya Talks: Negar Razavi on The Systemic Problem of “Iran Expertise” in Washington

• Gender, Protest, and the Politics of Film: A Discussion with Julia Bacha on "Naila and the Uprising"

• Understanding the Lebanese Economic Crisis: An Interview with Ziad Abu-Rish

• Lebanon's Protests - Op-Eds, Infographics, Featured Articles, and More

• Decentering Technology for Liberation: Ramesh Srinivasan on Digital Empowerment from the Arab Uprisings to Bernie Sanders with Ramesh Srinivasan

STATUS TEAM

Paola Cossermelli Messina, Associate Producer
Noah Black, Associate Producer
Katty Alhayek, Social Media and Arabic Content Coordinator
Malihe Razazan, VOMENA Partner/Host
Osama Esber, Arabic Content Transcriber
Alicia Rodriguez, Video Editor
John Kallas, English Content Transcriber
Huda Asfour, Regional Associate Producer
Michael Haddad, iTunes Editor