Culture Bites

What role will Arab talent play in renovating British Museum galleries?

This week, Culture Bites hosts Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews discuss Lebanese architect Lina Ghotmeh’s selection to renovate the British Museum’s Western Range galleries, and how this is a major recognition of and a moment of pride for Arab architects. Farah also highlights how picking Ghotmeh might signal a shift in how the British Museum is positioning itself, as it has been under pressure to return looted artefacts, particularly from the Middle East.
They also discuss Lady Gaga, who is back with a new album, Mayhem, marking her return to high-energy and electropop. Enas and Farah discuss how this compares to her past work, the nostalgia factor and what it signals for her career. Plus, our hosts share their recommendations for what to watch this week.
As we're now almost halfway through Ramadan, the hosts also take a look at some of the cultural events and experiences not to miss across the UAE, from creative workshops at Sharjah Art Foundation to late-night programming at Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Why can't we watch Palestine's first Oscar-winning film?

On Culture Bites this week, Enas Refaei and Farah Andrews celebrate Palestine’s first win at the Oscars.
Co-directed by Palestinian journalist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, No Other Land won Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards. It highlights the daily struggles of Palestinians enduring settler violence in the West Bank area of Masafer Yatta.
Enas and Farah describe the uphill battle for Palestinian representation and advocacy at the Oscars through the decades. They highlight the significance of the film’s win but also talk about the controversy it has stirred up, and discuss the struggles the film has faced to find distributors in a number of countries.
In the Netflix universe, another debate unfolds over Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s new show, With Love, Meghan. The hosts discuss the merits and shortcomings of the show, which was released on Tuesday, and its role in Meghan's image rebranding after being attacked for so long in the media.

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 traditions of the holy month.
They give a preview of Alserkal Avenue’s coming Interrupting Patterns programme, which features poetry, theatre and film as platforms for community building and contemplation. They also discuss the role of Ramadan TV entertainment in bringing people together. The hosts pay tribute to the power of community in the UAE and the charitable initiatives it brings out in people.
A new animation coming to Amazon Prime Video this April has already stirred up a buzz. #1 Happy Family USA, created by Egyptian-American actor and director Ramy Youssef, is an animated satire that centres on a Muslim family in the early 2000s trying to adapt toa post-9/11 America. Enas and Farah comment on the power of comedy and animation in particular to portray the struggles of Arabs and Muslims in the diaspora and to engage diverse audiences who otherwise may not have been exposed to their stories.

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 be used to tell historical stories. The upcoming Dreams on a Pillow follows a Palestinian mother called Omm who, in the chaos of being forcibly removed from her home, mistakenly grabs a pillow instead of her child.
Meanwhile, the Bafta TV awards delivered some big surprises this year, with Mikey Madison taking Best Actress and Conclave winning both Best Film and Best British Film. The hosts picked their highlights from the awards ceremony, while looking at the global influence of it.
Listing their weekly recommendations, Farah picked Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, which hit UAE cinemas a few days ago, and Enas picked Bashy's Being Poor is Expensive album, which was announced as Best Album at the Mobo Awards after recording the episode.

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 the Egyptian pyramids in Giza.
 
In the video, the famous YouTuber and his vlogger friends are joined by Egyptologists as they explore hidden chambers and archaeological sites that are otherwise closed to the public. The hosts discuss the merits and challenges of content creators engaging younger audiences to take an interest in the region’s rich history and culture.
 
After a delayed release, Captain America: Brave New World has been released after reportedly being reworked extensively. One of the controversies surrounding the film since its announcement in 2022 revolved around the screen appearance of a Marvel character from the 1980s. Sabra, as she is named in comic books, is an Israeli Mossad agent and was supposed to initially appear in the film as her alter-ego Ruth Bat-Seraph.
 
After prompting backlash from pro-Palestinian fans, the producers made changes to the character’s film adaptation, although it’s unclear if they were made in response to the criticism. Ruth still retains her Israeli nationality but her spy agent backstory has now been scrapped. Enas and Farah talk about the importance of cultural sensitivity and character representation in blockbuster films.

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, Mo.
The National's Arts and Culture Editor, William Mullally, shares insights from his conversation with Mo Amer, the creator and lead actor of the show. He talks to the hosts about some of the most powerful moments in the hit series about the life of a Palestinian family living as refugees in Texas waiting for their asylum case to be resolved. They discuss some of the most powerful scenes from the new season, and the show’s mission to realistically portray the bittersweet experience of Palestinians in the diaspora and at home.
Enas and Farah spotlight two major biennials currently taking place in the Gulf. The Sharjah Biennial 16 kicked off this week, under the theme 'To Carry', exploring what people treasure most and what cultural traditions they preserve in new environments. In Jeddah, the Islamic Arts Biennial features a selection of striking historical pieces alongside contemporary works to offer a fresh perspective of what constitutes Islamic art.
After Beyonce finally won her long-awaited Best Album award at the Grammys, the hosts look back at all the times she was snubbed for this particular accolade. They talk about the criticism the Grammys had faced for not honouring Beyonce’s extensive and diverse catalogue until now, and why this turning point in the artist’s 25-year career is so significant.

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 and experiences at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature taking place this week.
From Laaleen Sukhera’s celebration of 250 years of Jane Austen and The Bethlehem Banquet, hosted by chef and author Fadi Kattan, to a family-friendly event with Daniel Handler, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events, there is something for everyone to explore.
Before the Reel Palestine film festival in Dubai comes to a close, Maan sits down with filmmakers Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi to discuss their documentary A State of Passion, which follows British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu Sittah in the emergency rooms of Gaza during the most recent war. The film documents his experience working under bombardment and his motivation for risking his life despite the toll it takes on his family.
This February marks the 50th anniversary of Umm Kulthum’s passing, and the hosts honour this anniversary by reflecting on the artist’s work and legacy. They highlight her one-of-a-kind singing style, rooted in Arabic tradition and blended with western orchestral instruments. They reminisce about her ever-present sound in Arabic homes and trace her influence on artists across the region, where she became a symbol of pan-Arab unity.

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 cultural festival celebrates a variety of art, music, food and more, all coming together at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai’s Al Quoz district. Running alongside the event will be Reel Palestine, a Palestinian film festival. Movies being shown include Passing Dreams, about a young boy on a mission to find his missing bird, and A State of Passion, which follows the experience of Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah in emergency rooms during the war in Gaza. The hosts also reflect on how the festival has flourished over the years.
In the US, comedian Dave Chappelle's Saturday Night Live monologue has been widely shared across social media. Speaking on Saturday, he made a plea to US President Donald Trump to have empathy for displaced people, whether they're in “in the Palisades or Palestine”. The hosts take this moment to contemplate the effect of Chappelle’s message, his past controversies and the evolution of SNL as an influential platform over the past 50 years.
The first Sotheby’s auction is coming to Saudi Arabia on February 8, when works by the likes of Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol will be featured alongside local and regional artists. Farah, Enas and Maan discuss some of the items expected to fetch the highest sales such as Rene Magritte’s L'Etat de veille and Man on Horse, a bronze sculpture by Fernando Botero.

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 share some of the most exciting concerts, art fairs and book releases that they’re adding to their calendars this year. From Sting on stage and Sharjah Biennial 16 to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's new book, this cultural season sets off with a promising start across the region and beyond.
With season three of Dubai Bling now streaming, the hosts dissect the show’s anatomy and discuss the evolution of reality TV as an entertainment genre. As it gains popularity in the Arab world, they debate the merits of shows that blur the lines between real life and staged drama.
Maan visits Jameel Arts Centre where the exhibition Three Tired Tigers is showcasing works that envision cities and landscapes from the perspective of animals and the geographies that humans share with them. He speaks with the curator about the themes that artists explored in their pieces, including the inspiration for the exhibition itself: Dubai’s street cats.

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.
Enas Refaei, Farah Andrews and Maan Jalal look back at some of their favourite cultural experiences within the UAE and around the world. From NYU Abu Dhabi’s Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial exhibition to the Andy Warhol exhibition in Dubai, they reflect on the diverse platforms that helped make art more accessible in the region.
The hosts share the books, series and films that won their hearts this year. They also highlight their most memorable music experiences, from concerts to DJs and even a TikTok karaoke channel.