Shows / Culture Bites
Culture Bites
Join hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews as they guide you through the arts and culture scene in the UAE, the Middle East and around the world. Culture Bites — a two-time award winner recognised in New York and London — brings you fresh perspectives every Thursday from The National News in Abu Dhabi.
Episodes
- Culture Bites
Episode 66: Why it’s time for Ramy Youssef’s satire based on the Muslim-American experience in post-9/11 America
With Ramadan on its way, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews take inspiration from the cultural happenings in the UAE and the region to reflect on the most important…
- Culture Bites
Episode 65: Can video games change how we understand history?
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews discuss a new video game about the 1948 Palestinian Nakba, talking about how gaming can…
- Culture Bites
Episode 64: Can MrBeast’s Giza Pyramids video promote regional tourism?
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews offer their take on the widely popular MrBeast video showing rarely seen treasures of…
- Culture Bites
Episode 63: How Mo depicts Palestinians as more than the suffering seen on the news
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews unpack the comedy and tearful moments of the second season of the Netflix series…
- Culture Bites
Episode 62: The voice of unity - Remembering Umm Kulthum 50 years after her death
In this episode of Culture Bites, co-hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal look forward to some of the most highly anticipated talks, performances…
- Culture Bites
Episode 61: Quoz Arts Fest and Dave Chappelle’s plea for Palestine
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal look ahead to the 12th Quoz Arts Fest, which starts this weekend. The…
- Culture Bites
Episode 60: Reality check - from The Real World to Dubai Bling
The Culture Bites team is back, kicking off with a preview of anticipated arts and culture events lined up for 2025. Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal…
- Culture Bites
That’s a wrap: end of year special
As 2024 draws to a close the Culture Bites team dedicates their final episode of the year to celebrating the moments that left a significant imprint on them…
- Culture Bites
Episode 58: How will Syria’s cultural landscape transform?
This week’s episode of Culture Bites centres on Syria’s art scene at this delicate moment in the country’s history following the fall of president Bashar Al…
- Culture Bites
Episode 57: Is a Roman coin about to break auction records?
This week on Culture Bites, Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal take a moment to appreciate the Emirati and Arab traditions being considered for Unesco's…
- Culture Bites
Episode 56: How the UAE is making art more and more accessible
In this episode of Culture Bites, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews shine a light on the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, which has turned public spaces in Abu Dhabi…
- Culture Bites
Episode 55: Historic pieces and humble beginnings at Abu Dhabi Art
In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal explore the flourishing art scene across the UAE, starting with Abu Dhabi Art…
- Culture Bites
Episode 54: The rise of the underdog artist at music awards
This week on the show, Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal reflect on the recently announced 2025 Grammy nominations. Beyonce leads with 11, becoming the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 53: Love is Blind Habibi reunites and leaves an impression on the world
In this week’s episode, Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal start the show on a celebratory note after Culture Bites won a bronze prize for best co-hosts…
- Culture Bites
Episode 52: A lens on Arabia’s prehistoric world
This week on Culture Bites, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal step back to a prehistoric era of the UAE’s story. The Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi will recreate…
- Culture Bites
Episode 51: Can child stars escape the pressures of the entertainment world?
On Culture Bites this week, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews round up their favourite Halloween films to binge before October 31. From the classically frightening…
- Culture Bites
Episode 50: Palestinian-Jordanian chef Salam Dakkak gets to the heart of Levantine cuisine
In this episode of Culture Bites, chef Salam Dakkak joins Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews to talk about her award-winning Levantine cuisine and the "nafas", or…
- Culture Bites
Episode 49: Is Love Blind, Habibi?
In this episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal start the show with exciting news: the podcast has been shortlisted for a…
- Culture Bites
Episode 48: The Palestinian storytellers sharing their lives with the world
This week on Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews cover the collective struggle of Coldplay fans who tried to buy tickets for the band’s concerts…
- Culture Bites
Episode 47: Celebrating our podcast's first anniversary
Culture Bites turns one this week! To celebrate the anniversary, hosts Farah Andrews, Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal look back on their favourite moments, and…
- Culture Bites
Episode 46: Are con artists cultural icons and are awards ceremonies still relevant?
This week on Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal break down the appeal of Netflix’s new show, The Perfect Couple. The murder mystery follows the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 45: How language illustrates cultural connections and the great Oasis wait
What can the evolution of languages tell us about a place and time in history? In this week’s Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan…
- Culture Bites
Episode 44: What does fine art smell like?
In this week's episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal imagine what it would be like if art were appreciated not just…
- Culture Bites
Episode 43: Has Blake Lively proved there is such thing as bad movie publicity?
In this week's episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal break down the press tour drama surrounding new film It…
- Culture Bites
Episode 42: What do Banksy's animal artworks really mean?
Enas Refaei is back for this episode of Culture Bites, joining Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal to preview the popular 1990s and 2000s music artists coming to the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 41: Why shawarmas are an unexpected star of Marvel movies
This week on Culture Bites podcast, hosts Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal give a roundup of House of the Dragon as season two ends. With eight episodes, it was…
- Culture Bites
Episode 40: What we’ve watched, read, listened to and enjoyed this year so far
It’s a special summer edition of Culture Bites this week. To mark the halfway point of the year, hosts Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal take the opportunity to…
- Culture Bites
Episode 39: Was Adidas right to axe Bella Hadid from its SL72 campaign?
In this week's episode of Culture Bites, hosts Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal highlight some of their top picks from this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards…
- Culture Bites
Episode 38: A new dawn for Arabic true crime and Dubai’s Editions art fair
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal discuss the up-and-coming true crime genre in the Arab world with the release of the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 37: Arab stories being told through film and Ambani wedding timeline explained
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal share highlights from this year's Amman International Film…
- Culture Bites
Episode 36: Glastonbury from a Palestine cause perspective and Goodbye Julia thoughts
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews talk about all the moments when the Palestinian cause was front and…
Culture BitesEpisode 35: Taylor Swift concert highlights, Elissa and all that jazz
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, host Farah Andrews is back, joining Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal. Farah has a lot to say about Taylor…
- Culture Bites
Episode 34: Heeramandi’s Taha Shah Badussha on UAE life, acting career and aspirations
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal sit down with rising Bollywood star Taha Shah Badussha to discuss his starring role…
- Culture Bites
Episode 33: What do opera houses mean for the cultural heritage of Arab cities?
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal talk about the rise and function of opera houses in Dubai, Sharjah, Riyadh and across…
- Culture Bites
Episode 32: Arab causes and art on international fronts
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal discuss Cate Blanchett’s Jean Paul Gaultier's custom dress at this year's Cannes Film…
- Culture Bites
Episode 31: Is blocking celebrities online the right approach to their silence on Gaza?
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal discuss a digital movement that has taken over the internet, urging…
- Culture Bites
Episode 30: The significance of Macklemore’s Palestine solidarity track
In this week’s episode of Culture Bites, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal talk about global artists showing solidarity with Palestinians through…
- Culture Bites
Episode 29: What we think of Netflix’s Baby Reindeer series
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal start by talking about indoor season kicking off in the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 28: Decoding Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal discuss the impact of the intense rain and floods that hit…
- Culture Bites
Episode 27: The impact of Ramy Youssef’s call for a free Palestine on SNL
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal start with a recap of the prestigious Dubai World Cup, held at Meydan…
- Culture Bites
Episode 26: Why we should all make time to watch Lindsay Lohan's Irish Wish
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews talk about theme parks, Lindsay Lohan's new film Irish Wish, the…
- Culture Bites
Episode 25: Do we really want to unmask Banksy?
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews talk about Mother's Day in the region, which is celebrated on March…
Culture BitesEpisode 24: Oscars take-aways and royal Photoshop controversy
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews delve into the significance of Ramadan for Muslims worldwide…
- Culture Bites
Episode 23: Diving into the star-studded Ambani wedding that took over the internet
In this week’s episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews share some highlights from the Culture Summit, which was held in Abu…
Culture BitesEpisode 22: What to expect at Art Dubai
In this week's episode of the Culture Bites podcast, hosts Enas Refaei and Maan Jalal are at Art Dubai to talk about the biggest art fair in the region and…