Assyrian Podcast

Episode 179 - For Assyrians, volunteering is not just something optional but necessary to keep our communities tight knit and allow us to grow closely within our heritage. In this episode, we hear from different perspectives on the how and the whys of contributing and volunteering in the Assyrian community.  Guests: Rami Noori, Melissa Farhad, Sargon Younadim, Marna Khamis, Shemeram Khoshaba, and Rochelle Yousefian. 

Episode 178 - Martin Yousif Zebari was born in Iraq and immigrated to the US in 2002. While attending Niles North High School in Skokie, IL, he began studying theater and acting, which led him to pursue acting in college, both in Illinois and abroad in England. In this episode, we talk about his upbringing, pursuit-of acting, and broader topics like intersectionality, storytelling, queerness, and his play Laylina, which opens at the Goodman in Chicago in March 2023.  martinyousifzebari.com https://www.instagram.com/martinyousifzebari  https://www.facebook.com/people/Martin-Yousif-Zebari/1435143504/ 

Episode 177 - Babylonia Bhugwansing is an Assyrian intercultural coach and speaker for women from the Middle East and beyond. She was born and raised in Germany and now lives in Rotterdam, Netherlands with her husband and two kids. They are a mixed family of multicultural backgrounds, Assyrian and Surinamese. During the Covid Pandemic, she quit her corporate job in order to do what she felt she was always meant to do: to work with women, helping them overcome their fears and trauma that stand in their way of feeling confident in expressing their most authentic selves.  You can contact her via Instagram: @iambabylonia_b or through her website: www.babylonia-b.world

Episode 176 - Ken Ibrahim has worked for over two decades at the emerging intersection of technology and art spanning a career in film, games, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and robotics. His career includes being a Visual FX Technical Director at numerous studios on some of the highest grossing movie franchises to date including Star Wars, Star Trek, The Matrix, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers and Shrek as well as being a software tool developer for games teams at SEGA on breakout hits such as SEGA Rally Championship for which he also provided the voice. Ken has a computer engineering degree and began his career in Japan where he worked as a programmer and application engineer. In his free time he has joined archaeological teams around the world performing digital scanning of ancient structures for cultural preservation, developed Assyrian-themed Snapchat and Instagram AR filters with over half a million views, created a Japanese word of the day Twitter app with 25K followers and makes electronic music in his home studio.   Twitter: @twittiamo Instagram: @awdemo Web: https://imdb.me/kenibrahim Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kenneth-ibrahim/sets/shuri-ken-tracks   Snapchat Assyrian Face Flag Filter: https://lens.snapchat.com/3586de377b734161a5577240180e6dfe?sender_web_id=6d3829f7-3f4f-43af-9ad3-4333f5ce47df&device_type=desktop&is_copy_url=true   Instagram Assyrian Face Flag Filter:https: //www.instagram.com/ar/1498809973876772/

Episode - 175 Barseen Oshana was born in Sydney, Australia and heads the Assyrian Students Association of Australia. The ASAA is an independent student-led organisation that facilitates the presence of Assyrians at universities in Australia, as well as coordinating external events to bring Assyrian students together. He also serves as a board member of the Assyrian Australian Association and has been involved in the Assyrian Football community in Australia. Barseen works in the construction sector and enjoys watching his beloved Fairfield Bulls. Socials: FB: @AustraliaASA IG: @asaaustralia   Home | Assyrian Students' Association of Australia (square.site)    

Episode 174 - “O.D.”, more simply known as Oditte, is a Certified Personal Trainer in Canada. Prior to becoming a personal trainer, O.D. attended Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on a NCAA Division I Basketball scholarship where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. From the combined experiences of her athletic life and academic life comes her personal philosophy: to help ourselves, we must work from the inside out - in order to achieve our goals, we must train our mind first and our body second. It’s that same mentality that she brings to personal training, helping her clients combine physical and mental training to achieve their highest potential.  Before establishing her fitness brand @bodybyod, Oditte Odisho played at the highest level of College Basketball despite the obstacles in her way. Learn more about how her journey from Tel Tamer to Ontario and all over the US shaped who she is today.

Episode 173 - Dr. Emil Anton is a theologian and author living just outside Helsinki, Finland. He has published four books in Finnish with the last diving into the cultural and religious history of ancient Mesopotamia and modern day Iraq. Through his book “Kahden virran maa” (The Land Between Two Streams) and his many published articles, Emil is unearthing his own past in real time. In this episode we talk about his spiritual awakening in Poland and the many steps that led him on a path of theology and later converged with him discovering his own ancient roots.  Website: https://emilanton.com/ Instagram: @emilchristiananton Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emil.anton Twitter: @EmilAnton5 This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 173 - Ramina Odicho is a content creator and comedian born and raised in Chicago IL. She writes, acts, and produces comedy sketches on social media and many of her videos are inspired by Assyrian culture, traditions, and taboos. Many RaminaRated videos are either in Assyrian or a mixture of Assyrian and English. She has recently started performing stand-up comedy and has been traveling to different cities with significant Assyrian populations.  Website: RaminaRated.com TikTok: Ramina_Rated Instagram: Ramina_Rated Facebook: Ramina Rated This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 171 - Maria Nissan is an Assyrian Environmental Artist. Residing in Jordan, Maria’s passions in art and the environment merge as she turns Jordan’s plastic waste into art. In this episode we discuss Maria’s life and what led her to become an artist and then soon after an environmental artist.  Instagram: @marianissanart and @microplasticsjo  Facebook: @MariaNissanArt  Website:  https://www.marianissanart.com/  This episode is sponsored by @theoushanapartners -- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com

Episode 170 - Dalia Ashurina is the current resident director of The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. She was born in Turlock, CA, and found her love for theater early in life. In this episode, we discuss her Assyrian upbringing, her experiences in theater, and how she hopes to write a musical that showcases the joys of her community.  https://www.instagram.com/YOUR_GAL_DAL/  https://www.daliaashurina.com/ https://twitter.com/your_gal_dal  This episode is sponsored by The Oushana Partners-- a husband and wife real estate team. Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Arizona or California? John and Reata are available to help make your next real estate decision into a seamless transaction. Contact the Oushana’s at 209-968-9519. Get to know them a bit more by checking out their website TheOushanaPartners.com