The Artistic Foodies

We sat down with Abbas Rattani (Mipsterz, Minara) to dive deep into themes of belonging, art, and being "too Muslim and not Muslim enough" at the same time. Also: a Paris café, a peanut butter jam session, and one very memorable anthrax joke.This episode is sponsored by Deccan Morsels in Fremont, CA.

Join us as we continue season 3, an exploration of the food industry. We got the opportunity to interview the legend, Ike of Ike's sandwiches. On the first day of operation in 2007, Ike Shehadeh did not sell a single sandwich in his small, hole-in-the-wall Ike's Place in San Francisco's Castro District. Now 15 years later, the man behind the goateed cartoon logo has built over a 90-unit empire and expansive menu catering to every diet preference. We talk about his life, his business, and more...including how YOU can get a sandwich named after you on the menu too!

Rabia Chaudry is well known for her work as an attorney and in advocating for the freedom of Adnan Syed, but what you may not know is that she is also 100% a bonafide foodie. Tune in for our full interview with Rabia about her new memoir "Fatty Fatty Boom Boom". Not only do we talk about food, family, and her lifelong relationship with her weight, but we also get to the meat of matters including a family recipe for Shaami Kababs, and a passionate debate on whether Sarson da Saag (Punjabi Saag) is literal heaven on a plate, or actually just a bitter stew of plants!

In our season 2 finale, we dive deeper into the topic we have been exploring this season: Muslims on stage and on the screen. Previously, we covered the topic of representation and its importance, and now we explore what comes after and beyond that, with cultural producer Asad Ali Jafri. Join us as we explore his philosophies of support and service as we unearth an ideal world to work towards, one in which our artists can be supported, nourish, and enabled to put their truth in their art, and their art in the world.

We sat with producer and community organizer Guled Muse to talk about his background and artistic journey leading up to the unveiling of The Khamsa Project. Khamsa, the Arabic word for five, is a multimedia art exhibition showcasing 20 Black, Muslim, Immigrant, and Refugee visual artists and musicians expressing the five stages of grief. Khamsa aims to address the different forms and contexts of grief, weaving both personal and universal experiences of loss.  This is a project to find harmony in our shared stories, bridging differences in cultures, beliefs, and history.⁠

It was a LOT of fun interviewing Zarqa Nawaz to discuss storytelling, narratives, and speaking honesty through popular media. We talked about her groundbreaking TV series from 2007, Little Mosque on the Prairie, and how she developed into a Producer and Actor for her new series, ZARQA, which premiered on Canadian TV in May of 2022. Full episode up on Spotify or wherever else you get your podcasts!

We start our second season off with a deep dive into the groundbreaking play about a Pakistani-American Muslim family, "The Domestic Crusaders" written by Wajahat Ali. We get a chance to not only hear from Wajahat, but also from the New York debut cast members about their experience of the stage production nearly two decades ago. Don't forget to tune in to Part 2 of this episode coming out soon, which features a special Keema recipe from Wajahat himself!

We start off season 2 of The Artistic Foodies podcast with an in-depth discussion with Wajahat Ali, and original cast members, about the ground-breaking play “The Domestic Crusaders”. We also chatted about his new book, “Go Back to where you came from and other recommendations on How to Be an American” coming out on Jan 25th. Check out the episode trailer right here