I forgot to mention the name of the translator in the episode, so here it is: Flora Drew (who is also Ma Jian's wife).
Note: this book is more than just a timeline of modern Chinese history and Ma Jian is clearly using metaphor and other creative devices to convey his ideas. I haven't commented on these because this is a brief episode, but you can find more about that in some of the resources below.

On this journey, I'm joined by Safiya as we discuss

• how the theme of motherhood appears in literature;
• the motherhood vs career dichotomy;
• motherhood as a role within a social support system;
• expectations of worship from and for mothers.

Theme: motherhood in literature

Safiya on Instagram: @safiyareads
Safiya's blog: www.safiyareads.wordpress.com
Find out more about Safiya in her guest profile here.

Safiya's choices

• With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
• Brick Lane by Monica Ali
• The Beauty of your Face by Sahar Mustafah

Amina's choices

• Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• La grande maison by Mohammed Dib
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Other books mentioned

• Black Milk by Elif Shafak
• Minaret by Leila Aboulela

Episodes mentioned

• Ep. 35: Nigeria: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Ep. 23: Algeria: Au Café by Mohammed Dib (and ep. 24: Part 2)

Related reading/listening (not endorsements)

• Interview with Elif Shafak about her book Black Milk - A Well-Lighted Place
• "I just don't think Muslim women should be working" - The Qarawiyyin Project
• What it Means to Write about Motherhood, Part One - LitHub
• Is Motherhood a Genre? by Sarah Blackwood - LA Review of Books​

Click below for the transcript with time markers.

On this journey, I’m joined by Safiya as we discuss

• What we can learn when we consider the impact of events across generations;
• Taking an intimate look at history;
• Popularity and book descriptions.

Theme: multigenerational sagas.
 
Safiya on Instagram: @safiyareads
Safiya's blog: www.safiyareads.wordpress.com

To listen​

• on Spotify, click here.

Safiya's choices

• Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
• Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela
• The Family Tree by Sairish Hussain

What Safiya would like to read next: Roots by Alex Haley

Amina's choices

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

What Amina would like to read next: The Blue Between Sky and Water by Susan Abulhawa

Other books mentioned

• The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich

Episodes mentioned

• Ep. 13. India: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Ep. 18. Sweden: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Blog posts mentioned

• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

On this journey, I’m joined by Leïla, Noor and Assia as we discuss

• What effect does reading upsetting content have on us?
• Should books have content warnings?
• Why do we read such books or scenes? Is it beneficial?

Theme: Upsetting and Difficult Reads

Guests on Instagram
Leïla: @lailaleebooks
Noor: @noor_reads
Assia: @shereadsox

To listen

• on iTunes, click here,
• on Spotify, click here.

Books mentioned
Assia

• Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

Noor

• Not That Bad by Roxane Gay
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• وداع مع الأصيل（Farewell in the Twilight) by Fathiya Mahmoud al-Bati'

Leila

• My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
• Good Women of China by Xinran
• Native by Sayed Kashua

Amina

• Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

Episodes mentioned

• Are You What They Say You Are? (Algeria/France)

On this journey, I’m joined by Alia and Safiya as we discuss

• Reading iconic poems in translation
• Literature as second-hand experience of traumatic and painful events
• Memory and connection in Palestinian writing and experience
• Establishing justice as a fundamental purpose in Palestine and the world

Book in focus: A Map of Absence: An Anthology of Palestinian Writing on the Nakba, ed. by Atef Alshaer (Palestine)

Find Safiya on Instagram @safiyareads
Contact Alia by email at elbak002 [at] gmail.com 
​
Special thanks to Saqi Books for providing a digital copy of this book.

To listen

• on iTunes, click here,
• on Spotify, click here.

Palestinian book suggestions

• Velvet (original title: مخمل) by Huzama Habayeb - Maya, @mayaabualhayy
• Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa - Yazeed, @yazeeds.reads
• The Woman from Tantoura (original title: الطنطورية) by Radwa Ashour - Yara, @yara_reads
• Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa (Arabic trans. title: بينما ينام العالم) - Zenah, @mattarx

Other episodes mentioned

• Are You What They Say You Are? (Algeria/France)

Other books mentioned

• Victims of a Map: A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry ed. by Abdullah Al-Udhari
• Mornings in Jenin, by Susan Abulhawa
• Sharon and my Mother-in-Law: Ramallah Diaries by Suad Amiry

Related resources (not endorsements) 

• Al-Nakba Special Series - Al-Jazeera English (video series, also available in Arabic here)
• هل سألت نفسك: كيف بدأت قضية فلسطين (video - in Arabic)
• حرب النكبة فلسطين 1948 War (video - in Arabic)
• ما هي اتفاقية أوسلو وعملية السلام 1993 ؟ (video - in Arabic)​
• كل ما تحتاج أن تعرفه عن اتفاقية أوسلو 1993 وعملية السلام في فلسطين (video - in Arabic)
• Balfour Declaration (article)
• Christian Zionism in the United Kingdom (Wikipedia page)

This mini episode is a bit different in tone from the usual. I take my experience listening to the audiobook of The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty as a launchpad to think about where and how we, as Muslims in creative industries, need to really up our game.

To listen,

• on iTunes, click here;
• on Spotify, click here.

Other episodes mentioned

• The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley
• Ayesha at Last

Other books mentioned

• إنتاج المستشرقين و أثره على الفكر الإسلامي الحديث لمالك بن نبي (The Writing of Orientalists and their Impact on Modern Muslim Thought by Malek Bennabi)

On this journey, I'm joined by Nour and Assia as we discuss

• What is our responsibility towards our (unborn) children?
• What does it mean to be called “Muslim”?
• Discovering Algerian literature via the US.
• How does the language we speak affect our identity?
• (In) denial: France and the harkis.

Books in focus: a trilogy by Zahia Rahmani (France/Algeria):

• Moze
• “Musulman” roman (“Muslim” a novel)
• France, récit d’une enfance (France, story of a childhood)

Find Nour on Instagram @nourstuckinabookstore. 
Find Assia on Instagram/Twitter @shereadsox and her website whatassiareads.wordpress.com

Special thanks to Sabine Wespieser Editions and Deep Vellum Publishing for providing copies of these books.

To listen
- on iTunes, click here;
​- on Spotify,click here.

Algerian book suggestions

• L’âne mort by Chawki Amari (no English translation) - Nour, @nourstuckinabookstore
• Bleu, blanc, vert by Maïssa Bey (no English translation) - Assia, @shereadsox
• Portrait du colonisateur and Portrait du colonisé (Eng. title: The Colonizer and the Colonised) by Albert Memmi - Houda, @loublsmn
• La grande maison by Mohammed Dib (no English translation; available in Italian: “La casa grande") - Noor, @noor_reads
• La colline oubliée by Mouloud Mammeri (no English translation) - Dyhia, @dyhia_medjouti
• La question (Eng. title: The Question) by Henri Alleg - Farah, @recitsdalgerie
• Ce que le jour doit à la nuit (Eng. title: What the Day Owes the Night) by Yasmina Khadra - Hakim, @hakim_books

For a list of Algerian literature that has been translated into English, have a look at Nadia's (@_madcha_) list on the Arabic Literature in Translation website.

Other episodes mentioned

• Au Café (Part 1 and Part 2)
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Other books mentioned

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
• Le blanc de l’Algérie (Eng. title: Algerian White) by Assia Djebar
• A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
• The Mothers by Brit Bennett

Qur’anic verse mentioned: Surat al-Kahf, 18:82.

Related resources (not endorsements) 

• ​Fille de harki: relating to the father, country and religion in the writing of Zahia Rahmani by Alison Rice in Polygraphies: Francophone Women Writing Algeria (chapter)
• Archive Rare du Camp de St Ardoise (video - in French)
• Building Islam as a Race in French Colonial Law by Mouhamadou Ndiaye (article)
• Unrequited Loyalty: The Harkis in Postcolonial France by Michael Lejman (academic paper)
• France Recognises Debt to Algerian Troops by Jon Henley (article)
• Emmanuel Macron Tries - Slowly - to Reckon with France's Past by Yasmeen Serhan (article)
• Veterans: The French in Algeria on Al Jazeera English (documentary - focus on European soldiers)
• Algerian Harkis Appeal for Full Recognition on France 24 (news report)
• On Translating Zahia Rahmani's Invisible Tongues by Lara Vernaud (article by the translator of France, récit d'une enfance)
• Translating Zahia Rahmani: An Interview with Matt Reeck by Erik Noonan (article - interview with the translator of "Musulman" roman)

Categorisation of population in colonial Algeria

On this journey, I’m joined by Fousia from Naptime is Sacred podcast as we explore

• How a lack of stability can affect a person’s physical, mental and emotional state;
• When is an insider an outsider? Or is it the other way round?
• The effects of war on women.

Book in focus: Links by Nuruddin Farah (Somalia).

Find Fousia on Instagram @naptimeissacred and her website naptimeissacred.com.
To listen to her podcast, search "Naptime is Sacred" on your podcast app.

To listen

• on iTunes, click here;
• on Spotify, click here.

Book suggestions

• The Orchard of Lost Souls by Nadifa Mohamed - Fousia of Naptime is Sacred podcast;
• Links by Nuruddin Farah - Abdullahi of Unleashed Potential podcast;
• Amilah by Halima Hagi - Anisa Hagi.

My other Somali fiction reads

• Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
• The Story of Us by Hanna Ali

My background research resources (not endorsements)

• Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War and Hope in a Shattered State by Mary Harper (book)
• Somalia: The Forgotten Story - Al Jazeera World (documentary)
• Gender, State Collapse, Conflict and State Building: Recent Research from the Somali Context by Judith Gardner (podcast/lecture)
• Encyclopedia Britannica: Somalia (encyclopedia entry)
• TEDxHargeisa: The Transition from Oral to Written Culture by Dr Jama Musse Jama (TED talk) - in English from 3 mins.
• A Post-mortem on the Postmodern? Conflict and Corporeality in Nuruddin Farah’s Links by JE Masterson (journal article)

​Transcript with time markers below.

On this journey, I explore freedom in a post-colonial context.
- "Studied in the UK?" Ok, and what?
- How does the coloniser hold onto power?
- I want to break free!
​
Book in focus: Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih (Sudan).

To listen

• on iTunes, click here,
  
• on Spotify, click here.

In this very relaxed, thoroughly unofficial (non-book-related) episode, Houda and I explore our experiences of the South Korean film, Parasite.

One point that didn't come up in the episode but that I wanted to mention is how conscious I am of my lack of understanding of how this film has been received and is perceived inside South Korea (not just by the Korean diaspora). I'm finding it hard to get a clear idea. If you have come across any sources for this, please share them with me in the comments!

Correction: Bong Joon-Ho has directed seven full-length films, not four as I mentioned.

• Previous episode with Houda: Ep. 12. Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan: The Dead Lake by Hamid Ismailov.