DUBAI: Doha Debates, a US-based organization focused on live debates, town halls, podcasts and films, has partnered with Jordanian podcast company Sowt to produce the former’s first Arabic-language podcast, “Lana.”
Based in Washington, Doha Debates regularly holds debates and town halls to discuss global issues such as climate change, socialism, gender equality and the future of genetics. Its other podcasts include “The Long Game,” which discusses achievements in sports, and “The Negotiators,” which features stories of people tackling world problems.
“Like our other offerings and podcasts at Doha Debates, the ‘Lana’ podcast focuses on important issues like cancel culture, online discourse, beauty standards, the future of the Arabic language, among others, and offers our audiences a spectrum of opinions,” Japhet Weeks, podcast producer at Doha Debates, told Arab News.
“It’s about challenging your own viewpoints by listening to other intelligent, young voices.”
Hosted by former France 24 Arabic presenter and Al Jazeera journalist Rawaa Auge, the show’s first two episodes focus on the Internet as a space for debate and setting beauty standards.
Auge hosted and executive-produced 70 episodes of the award-winning show “Bekasretaa” (“Women’s Voices”) for Al Jazeera Arabic TV between 2019 and 2021.
She received a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for mental health journalism from the Carter Center in 2021, and the Best Female Producer award at the Toronto Women Film Festival for “For Stricken Beirut.”
“I’ve been following Doha Debates’ English content, and hosting the Arabic edition has been a dream,” Auge said.
“Lana” was launched at the TEDinArabic Summit held by TED and the Qatar Foundation last month with new episodes being released biweekly.
It is available on DohaDebates.com/podcasts and on podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
