Culture Cult Podcast

SEASON FINALE  July 2019 Music Credit: http://freemusicarchive.org/ Curator: Copyright: Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ Support the show.

Welcome to our first podcast of 2020! With the wonders of remote recording, Becs set up a makeshift studio in her bedroom and spoke with Nadine Lebde. A triple threat - Physiotherapist, academic researcher and creative writer in Sydney, Australia.  Just as Nadine’s skill set is diverse, so was our chat!  Topics include, growing up Arab in Australia, reclaiming being a ‘nerd’ and  balancing academic life with creative projects. About Nadine Lebde (Bio supplied by guest)  "Nadine Lebde is an Australian-Lebanese writer from Western Sydney. She has an Honours degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Sydney, and her research has been published in the British Medical Journal’s Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Nadine was selected to be a reviewer for the StoryCasters Project, an initiative for emerging culturally diverse writers run by Sweatshop in collaboration with Diversity Arts Australia. Her creative non-fiction piece was shortlisted for publication in the anthology "Arab, Australian, Other: Stories on Race and Identity" (2019) edited by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Sara Saleh. In 2008, her student blog was nominated for Edublog’s international award “Best Individual Blog”. Nadine is a member of Sweatshop: Western Sydney Literacy Movement, a WestWords Academian (2020), and has performed at Bankstown Poetry Slam as well as the Surry Hills heat for the Australian Poetry Slam." Show credits: Producer & Editor: Rebecca Maakasa  Guest: Nadine Lebde.  ‘The Margerine Tub’ story & artwork referenced in the episode is from Amaliah_Com via Instagram  The music you heard is ‘International Promenade’ via Free Music Archive. You can keep up with Culture Cult on our facebook page     Support the show.

Extended interview with Becs in conversation with fellow solidarity protester Amir. Amir flew to Lebanon a day after this was recorded and is currently supporting the movement on the ground. You can keep up with him on @ppprnce on instagram. A third solidarity protest will be held this Sunday 3rd of November at Lygon Street Argyle Square 4-7pm. The international energy is needed now more than ever to keep the pressure up and to innvigorate our family and friends in Lebanon as they enter their second consecutive week of action.  Follow our continued coverage @culturecult_syn and @melb2beirut.  culturecultradio@gmail.com Support the show.

Day #9 of the Lebanese Revolution Rebecca Maakasa attended the second solidarity protest in Melbourne, juggling a recorder, camera, and Lebanese flag in her hands to capture your voices, pride and unity.  Follow @melb2beirut on Instagram to see the action in colour! Produced by Rebecca Maakasa for the Culture Cult on SYN.   Thank you to SYN Media Volunteer Declan Jones for his assistance with this coverage.  Support the show.

RebeccaMaakasa stood alongside her fellow Lebanese diaspora on Sunday and recorded their voices.  Under one flag we are united, here your voices are heard!  Tomorrow 6pm Argyle Square, Lygon Street Melbourne Round 2 we gather as a global community under one flag! our people want and need. Peace, stability and security aka basic #HumanRights

"What aspects of the Lebanese Culture do we want to share with the world through cinema?"  Becs speaks with LFFAU (Bank of Melbourne Lebanese Film Festival) Co-Director Jessica Khoury at the screening of 'Wanted' at Melbourne Central Hoyts 11th October 2019.  FULL INTERVIEW HERE  Support the show.

The 2019 Bank of Melbourne Lebanese Film Festival Australia runs throughout the country between August to November. Becs speaks with festival Co-Director Jessica Khoury as the crowd fills in to the screening of 'Wanted' (مطلوبين).  A sharing of culture through the screen can bring diverse audiences together, and who doesn't enjoy the feeling of a crowd united in laughter?  LFFAU brings cinema that shows the multifaceted stories of Lebanon, and last year they premiered Nadine Labaki's Oscar Nominated 'Capharnaum'. The team certainly have a good eye for spotting these stories first!  This is the second time the leg of the festival has been showcased in Melbourne, featuring 'Wanted'  (Dir. Nibal Arakji 2019), 'Good Morning' (Dir. Bahij Hojeij 2018) and 'On The Footsteps Of Christ Dir. Philippe Aractingi 2018).  Interview - Rebecca Maakasa, recorded at Melbourne Central Hoyts Cinemas Friday 11th October 2019 8:45pm Support the show.

Maria heads to Live At The Greek in Melbourne and speaks to John Kostarakis and Antonia Tsamis.  Becs reflects on lessons learned in building empathy at Digi Engage 2019, including her encounter with Arno Michaelis a former white supremacist who now serves to spread messages of forgiveness and inclusivity.  Becs and Maria discuss an impressionable quote by Nadir Nahdi "If you don't define yourself someone else will..." (Nadir is a social-change maker and creator of BENI.) Say ciao/yassou/marhaba/salut at culturecultradio@gmail.com    Support the show.

In episode 9 we transformed the Culture Cult into a cafe! ☕️

Full extended interview with Rachelle and Gizelle from Al Kamal Dabkeh Group in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs. The two star pupils have been learning Arabic at the community school since prep and are now in VCE (Year 11 and Year 12). They spoke with Becs on the weekend about preserving tradition and culture through language and dance.  Many thanks to Principal Mr. Nizar Ashkar and the Al Kamal Arabic School for welcoming us to their school!  Music Credit: Zikrayat ‘Baeed Anak’ & ‘Il Wandi Ganeel’ Listen to Culture Cult on SYN Tuesdays 9am AEST on SYN 90.7fm in Melbourne, DAB+ Digital Radio in Australia or stream online at syn.org.au all around the world! Support the show.

Our extended, full interview with @SultanSketches.  For our 'Transience' episode, Sultan reflects on his experiences in childhood through to high school and how he documents these stories in detailed, anime style sketches on Youtube. We talk about the need to reflect and pause so we process our growth and achievements, especially as young creatives are hard on themselves! 0:00 - 5:00 Reflecting on high school with perspective. Why he started a channel,  5:00 - 11:20  Creatives that inspired Sultan, what is ‘story time telling’ in Youtube? and reflecting on being persistent in creative practice when we fear rejection.   11:30 - 16:20  Staying true to yourself when you gain a large following in the online world. Do followers mark success?  16:20 - 21:00  The online community, interacting with fans in real life, and how to take feedback. 21:00 - 23:00 The online identity, the ‘face reveal’ video,  23:30 - 27:00  Practicing your art, reflecting on your process.  27:00 - 30:00  Why youtube to share yourself and your art?  You can keep up with Sultan via instagram and youtube. Support the show.

In our 'Transience' episode, Maria and Becs chat to students of RMIT University in Melbourne after evening prayer and Iftar dinner. This is a holy month, and a special time for billions of people around the world, so we asked "what does Ramadan mean to you?"

'Culture Cult' Episode #4 - Love, dating, romance and cultural expectations: the good, the bad AND the cringe, nothing is off the table! Becs and Maria interview Cypriot-Australian author of 'Love & F Poems'  Koraly Dimitriades about expressing love and the painful experiences through art. Listener stories are shared and a playlist of beautiful love songs, old and new from Europe and the Middle East. Unfortunately, due to copyright restrictions these have been omitted from the podcast but a link to the playlist can be found here: Culture Cult 'Love' Playlist 

EUROVISION 2019 SUPER SPECIAL

Episode #3 A lot of the globe was represented on this week's show with special guests Evrim Sen

Episode #2 - 'Pop & Party Culture' It's a Culture Cult party!  An interview with Zabelle of 'Belly Dance with Zabelle' a seasoned professional belly dance teacher, Zabelle chats to the girls about the history of the traditional dance form in modern culture.  Maria quizzes Becs and special guest Vasiliki on cultural traditions from Iraq, Iceland and Italy!  By Rebecca Maakasa and Maria Konidaris  Say yassou/ciao/marhaba/hola/salut at culturecultradio@gmail.com Join us 9am on SYN next Tuesday 14th of May where we 'go back to our cultural roots' of Greece, Lebanon & Turkey!  Originally aired Tuesday 7th May 2019 on SYN 9am - 10am. Support the show.

Episode #1 - Luck & Prosperity ORTHODOX EASTER  CULTURAL QUIRKS OF LUCK AND SUPERSTITION  THE 'EVIL EYE' MYTH  Say yassou/ciao/marhaba/hola/salut at culturecultradio@gmail.com   Support the show.