🇵🇰 Pakistan Episodes

Arafat Mazhar is an academic, a musician and an animator. He is the founder and director of Engage, ShehriPakistan and Puffball Studio, the studio behind the brilliant dystopian short film, Shehr e Tabassum, directed by Arafat Mazhar himself.   From his early days of being in Jamaat-e-Islami to his seminal research on the Blasphemy law, Arafat Mazhar comes on the podcast to discuss the history of the Blasphemy Law in Pakistan and the legacy of extremism. Arafat talks about how the law came to be  and the history of Islamic jurisdiction on the topic.    We discuss the role of religion in Pakistan, the madrassas, if vilifying Mumtaz Qadri is enough, how do we protect the future of our children and provide a counter narrative that is able to communicate effectively to them.  Visit www.engagepakistan.com for all the report which has resources that people can read to verify Arafat Mazhar's claims.    The trailer at the end of the podcast is of Swipe, Arafat Mazhar's latest film, check out more on the Shehr-e-Tabassum Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_15dKzkIMY   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Ahmad Shabbar is the CEO of Garbage Can, a company focused on comprehensive waste management. Ahmad has been on the streets of Karachi pumping out water and protesting against DHA/CBC.  Ahmad comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the protests, we talk about what we think did not work and why there was a low turn out on Thursday. We also discuss what it will talk for actual change to happen in Karachi, and subsequently in Pakistan.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

In part 2 of the TPE Content Creators Roundtable, we discuss whether there is a content creators community in Pakistan.    1. What should one do when a content creator is accused of harassment?  2. Is there support for new content creators?  3. Is there jealousy?   4. Should we allow content creators to make mistakes and learn?  5. Cancel culture  6. Is it just about numbers?   7. Do brands care about their 'image'?  8. Kya log chootiye hotay hay?   On the panel we have Ali Aftab Saeed (Journalist/Musician/Vlogger), Raza Samo (Khujlee Family/Awesamo Speaks), Sajeer Shaikh(Mangobaaz), Shahjehan Saleem(Diva) and Tamkenat Mansoor (No Filters).   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Part 1 of the Content Creators Roundtable, we discuss why people create content, what responsibility do they feel as content creators and what do you they think of the current state of content creation of Pakistan.  We also discuss if content creators should speak on social issues or not, whether they need to lend their voices to causes, how it affects their careers and how audiences might react to them being vocal.   For Part 1 of the Content Creators Roundtable, we have been joined by Raza Samo (Khujlee Family), Ali Aftab Saeed (Musician/Journalist), Muhammad Moiz (Content Creator/Comedian), Sajeer Shaikh (Mangobaaz), Shahjehan Saleem (Diva) and Abdul Rehman Malik (Mosiqi).

In the first of a new subset of The Pakistan Experience, it is our honour to present the TPE Roundtable on Films with directors Sarmad Khoosat, Iram Parveen Bilal, Jami and Saim Sadiq.   We discuss the current state of our film industry, the idea of a film fraternity, censorship and what it takes to make a film in Pakistan.   Sarmad Khoosat is the legendary director behind hits like Humsafar, and he starred in and director the artistic masterpiece, 'Manto''.  Jami is one of the most foremost directors in Pakistan, with his movie, 'Moor', widely being regarded as one of the finest Pakistani films ever made.  Iram Parveen Bilal is an independent film maker, whose film Josh received critical acclaim in Pakistan. Iram runs a script writing mentor program in South Asia called Qalambaaz.  Saim Sadiq has a MFA in film from Columbia University. His first short film, Darling, won the coveted Best Short Film award at the Venice Film Festival.    TPE Roundtables looks to bring industry leaders to discuss the current state of any field.   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Asim Abbasi, the director of Cake, and the writer/director of the web-series Churails, comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss how Churails came to be - from writing it, to directing it across locations in Pakistan, the future of content, and the media industry.   We also discuss the backlash Churails is getting for the apparent fahashi.   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Muhammad Moiz on the first episode of The Pakistan Experience a year ago, we are celebrating the anniversary by bringing Muhammad Moiz back on the podcast and getting all of you to come on as well.  In the anniversary special, we look back at The Pakistan Experience journey, sex education in Pakistan, racism against Afghans in Pakistan and how Hyderabadi boys are the hottest.

A new subset of The Pakistan Experience where some of the funniest people I know come on the podcast and all we do is talk shit. In Part 2 of Bachodiyan, Moiz tells us his weirdest sex story.   Watch Bachodiyan Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4t_wswloL0  The third and final part goes up next Sunday on August 9th.

A new subset of The Pakistan Experience where some of the funniest people I know come on the podcast and all we do is talk shit.

Professor Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed is the Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Stockholm University, he has taught at LUMS and Government College, Lahore, as well. He is the author of "The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed" and "Pakistan: The Garrison State", he is about to release his third book on Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.    Dr. Ishtiaq Ahmed comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss why he believes Pakistan was created as a buffer state between the Soviet Union and India by the British and the role of Quaid-e-Azam in the creation of Pakistan.    Was Jinnah working with the British?  Did the Radcliffe Award favour India or Pakistan? Who started the massacres in Punjab?  Why did the Sikhs not join Pakistan?   Find out on this week's episode of the Pakistan Experience. Probably the most important conversation on partition that you will ever hear. The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Maria Farooq, LLM from LSE and a partner at a law firm, and Dina Arham Pasha, LLM from University of Michigan and legal counsel, come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the recent sexual harassment cases in educational institutions and debate whether the law provides adequate support for the survivors.   The discussion goes from the law to body positivty and fat shaming to trolling to friendship. Maria and Dina also happen to be my two best friends so we end up discussing our own lives and our friendship for the last half an hour. Hope you enjoy listening to it all!  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Pervez Hoodbhoy has a PhD in Nuclear Physics from MIT. He was recently removed from FC college because he was told he did not meet their academic standards.  Dr. Hoodbhoy comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss why he was removed, how our education system is rotting at the core and his thoughts about mixing religion and education. Dr. Hoodbhoy ends the podcast by remembering Dr. Abdus Salam.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Hassan Javid has a PhD in Sociology from the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also spent some time as an LSE Fellow in Political Sociology. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.   Hassan comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Military Budget, the economic response to Covid19, the threat of India, the legacy of colonialism and  the recent BLA terrorist attack.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Farhan Virk, the most well known social media troll in Pakistan, is a self-labelled online activist. Virk gained notoriety after making Dr. Abdul Qadeer's fake Twitter account.   For the past 5 years Farhan Virk is running social media groups in favour of Imran Khan and PTI working closely with party leaders. After being suspended by Twitter for his activities, Farhan has now been forsaken by PTI and the official PTI Twitter has disowned him.   Farhan Virk comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss social media trolling, political trending and the performance of PTI in the past two years. Farhan reflects on what he has done and why he thinks middle-class individuals will never succeed in the current political climate.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Norbert Almeida is a security advisor with 22 years in the field, he runs an update group on Twitter and Whatsapp to provide security updates for free.   Norbert has been reporting on the Corona virus over the past few months. He comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the experience of reporting on Corona virus cases/deaths, his thoughts on the mortality rate and what the future holds.   The second hour of the podcast has Norbert tell us his expert advice on what to do during a mugging, when to stay vigilant and what precautions to take to stay safe, particularly in Karachi.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Radio plays gained popularity a century ago. With all of us quarantined we are trying to revive the tradition by producing audio plays.   The first of the series is Chirya Ghar, an urdu adaptation of the classic Edward Albee play, The Zoo Story. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication, social disparity and dehumanization in a materialistic world.  In the adaptation, Pervaiz, a middle-aged affluent man, is sitting on a bench at a secluded area of Sea View, Karachi. Anjum, a man in his 20s, approaches him for a conversation.   The audio play is a reading of the play. The play has been adapted from the original by Shehzad Ghias. With this new initiative we are trying to open up the world of Theatre to a much bigger audience, especially the urdu listening audience.   Warning: The play has 5-6 swear words  Original play written by Edward Albee. Urdu adaptation by Shehzad Ghias.  Pervaiz played by Naveed Kamal Anjum played by Shehzad Ghias

Abdul Ahad Ayub and Hashim Kaleem have Masters in Education Policy from the Harvard School of Education.   Both of them come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the issues with the education system in Pakistan.   What is the solution? Privatizing education or uniform public education?  What is the future of online education?  Can schools survive the Corona virus outbreak? When should they open up?    The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Atia Naqvi is a Clinical Psychologist and a Therapist. She comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss Suicide, Depression and How to Deal with Grief.   All of us were shaken by the sudden demise of Sushant Singh Rajput last week. Suicide is stigmatized in our society; Atia Naqvi is doing everything she can to fight that stigma because if we do not even talk about it then people will continue to suffer in silence.   In this episode we discuss suicidal thoughts, changing perspectives, not being avoidant to negativity and having a positive outlook on life, along with the power of faith and hope.    The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Dr. Furrukh Khan is an Associate Professor at LUMS. He has a PhD in Postcolonial Studies from University of Kent at Canterbury, where he taught for two years prior to coming to LUMS.  Dr. Furrukh Khan comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss culture, literature and language and how they intersect to create identity and history. Dr. Khan talks about how colonialism, and neocolonialism, is leading to the commodification of culture and the erasure of local languages.   Are Lahoris Jahil? is Punjabi Culture inferior? Is Dr. Nauman the worst thing to happen to PTV?  Listen and find out on this episode of The Pakistan Experience.   The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.

Hajra Khan is the captain of the National Womens Football Team and holds 3 Guiness World Records. She is Pakistan's highest goal scorer.  Zufli is a poet and a musician.   A meme went viral on Eid using their pictures, Zulfi and Hajra Khan come on The Pakistan Experience to discuss gender norms, casual sexism and the state of Womens Football in Pakistan.  Zufli expands into the Gender Jihad theory and explains why the laundas are so afraid of a changing world order and Hajra Khan discusses how she is treated as a Footballer and how the Womens National Team is severly under resourced, from being given Rs 300 a day to not having a single tour in the last 4 years.  The Pakistan Experience is a podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan, and Pakistanis, through the lost art of conversation.