The Diverse Bookshelf
The show that connects you with incredible authors from diverse backgrounds, and does a deep-dive into the issues they write about.
Episodes
87 episodes since 2022
Ep87: Jamaica Kincaid on her life, writing & our Earth
On this week's episode, I'm speaking to the incredible Jamaica Kincaid, and I am absolutely thrilled! Jamaica has been writing for decades, and is often considered a classical author of our time, bringing us work that is timeless, impor...
September 16, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 87
•
1:05:45
Ep86: Tasneem Abdur-Rashid on writing romance, female friendships & family dynamics
If you’re looking for a book that’s wholesome, hilarious, real, authentic and based on finding love, this week’s episode is definitely for you. On the show today, I’m joined by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid, author of the newly published Thirty Before T...
September 09, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 86
•
1:04:29
Ep85: Ilan Pappé on the 1948 Nakba, speaking out & the future of Palestine
On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Israeli, anti-zionist historian and academic, Professor Ilan Pappé . Professor Pappé has dedicated dedcades of his life to writing and speaking about the Nakba of 1948, shedding light on what actual...
September 02, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 85
•
56:00
Ep84: Safia Elhillo on poetry, language, friendship & Sudan
This week, my guest on the show is the incredibly talented, Safia Elhillo. Safia’s work always leaves me mesmerised and craving for more. In her beautiful poetry, she explores themes of belonging, identity, home, friendship, love, pain, sufferi...
June 25, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 84
•
1:32:16
Ep83: Taiba Bajar on rewiring the brain and unlocking autism
On the show this week, I'm talking to researcher, brain health trainer and parent coach, Taiba Bajar about her book, Unlock Autism. Taiba has developed a unique seven-step action plan to helping unlock a child's potential within 12 months. Taib...
June 18, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 83
•
55:33
Ep82: Saima Mir on strong women, crime, vengeance & morality
On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Saima Mir, journalist and crime novelist, author of The Khan, and its sequel, Vengeance.In her books, Saima introduces us to Jia Khan. A successful lawyer, her London life is a long way from the gr...
June 11, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 82
•
49:06
Ep81: Susan Muaddi Darraj on loss of home, belonging & Palestinian Christian communities
On this week’s episode, I’m speaking to Susan Muaddi Darraj about her new novel, behind you is the sea, s set in Baltimore and follows the stories of a Palestinian American immigrant community. It is a tender, sweeping novel of a family grappli...
June 04, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 81
•
50:00
Ep80: Vanessa Chan on the Japanese occupation of Malaysia, big families & characters with agency
On this week’s episode, I’m talking to Vanessa Chan about her debut novel, an absolutely mesmerising story set across two timelines: 1930s and 1945 in Malaya – what Malaysia was called before independence. It is a story with four different pers...
May 28, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 80
•
1:00:58
Ep79: Ishi Robinson on Jamaica, colonial legacies, race & class
This week, I'm talking to Ishi Robinson, author of the delightful novel, Sweetness In the Skin. In this book, we meet the absolutely wonderful character of Pumpkin, a teenage girl trying to make her way in the world and be true to who she reall...
May 21, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 79
•
56:27
Ep78: Jassa Ahluwalia on mixed heritage & embracing who you are
This week on the show, I’m talking to Jassa Ahluwalia about his book and memoir, Both Not Half. Both Not Half is a poignant exploration of Jassa’s own heritage – Punjabi and English – and other forms of identity including faith, class, gender a...
May 14, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 78
•
1:13:47
Ep77: Reem Gaafar on Sudan, motherhood & loss
On the show this week, I'm speaking with Reem Gaafar, author of the novel, A Mouthful of Salt. This book is a really stunning, powerful story of a community in the north of Sudan, struck by calamity and loss. The book opens with a devastating s...
May 07, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 77
•
55:43
Ep76: Shaimaa Abulebda on life in Gaza
This episode is a special bonus episode with scholar, writer and translator, Shaimaa Abulebda, from within Rafah, in Gaza.Shaymaa’s family home in east Khan Younis brings together her 8 married siblings, and for her nieces and nephews, i...
April 30, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 76
•
44:26
Ep75: Nigar Alam on Partition, childhood friendships and displacement
On the show this week, I spoke to Nigar Alam about her stunning debut Novel, Under the Tamarind Tree, which I absolutely love. In this episode we talk all about Partition voices an d stories, Pakistan, class, identity, friendships, displacement...
April 23, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 75
•
1:00:51
Ep74: Ela Lee on privilege, children of immigrants & identity
On this week’s show, I’m speaking to Ela Lee, author of the debut novel, Jaded. Now, I absolutely loved Jaded. I cried several times while reading it, and found a sense of commoradory, validation and being seen that I didn’t even know was missi...
April 16, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 74
•
54:43
Ep73: Dana Dajani on poetry, Palestine & storytelling
On this week’s episode, I’m talking to the incredible Dana Dajani, Palestinian spoken word-artist, singer, actress and activist. We’re talking about the incredible power of storytelling and poetry in preserving history, connecting us to our anc...
April 09, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 73
•
57:57
Ep72: Sofia Rehman on translation, dialogue & Aisha (ra)
This week on the podcast, I’m welcoming back my friend, the incredibly insightful and thoughtful, Dr. Sofia Rehman. Sofia now has a second book out in the world, called Gendering the Hadith: Recentering the Authority of Aisha, Mother of the Bel...
April 02, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 72
•
1:21:56
Ep71: Matthew Robinson on storytelling, film-making and the charity sector
On this week’s episode, I’m talking to Matthew Robinson, humanitarian filmmaker about his work and debut book, 104 In the Shade: Travels of a Humanitarian Filmmaker. I speak to Matthew about his experiences, what he’s learnt, and how we can do ...
March 26, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 71
•
1:17:01
Ep70: Sarah Joseph on justice, slowing down & hope
I really hope this week’s episode helps you feel empowered, uplifted and inspired. Today, my guest is the powerhouse, Sarah Joseph, who has been working in media for decades. Sarah Joseph came to Islam at the age of just 16, having moved away f...
March 19, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 70
•
1:08:36
Ep69: Aliyah Umm Raiyaan on the power of du'a
We are now in the sacred month of Ramadan, where millions of Muslims around the world will be fasting – abstaining from food and drink, from dawn to dusk every day for 30 days. It is a time of heightened spirituality and worship, and so I think...
March 12, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 69
•
1:02:39
Ep68: Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan on shedding external gazes and turning to God
On today’s show, I’m talking to Suhaiymah Manzoor Khan about her latest book, Seeing For Ourselves: And even stranger possibilities. Suhaiymah is one of the most thoughtful, intelligent and intro-spective people I know, and I absolutely love al...
March 05, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 68
•
1:25:36
Ep67: Sairish Hussain on grandparents, Partition & understanding the past
This week's episode is a conversation with the wonderful and much loved, Sairish Hussain, about her latest novel, Hidden Fires. Sairish was one of the first guests on the show back in 2022, and so it is so lovely to be in conversation again, th...
February 27, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 67
•
1:13:06
Ep66: Nadeine Asbali on being visibly Muslim in Britain
On the show this week, I’m talking to Nadeine Asabali about her book, Veiled Threat: On being visibly Muslim in Britain. In her book, Nadeine addresses the myriad of experiences of Muslim hijabi women, and the many different facets...
February 20, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 66
•
59:40
Ep65: Rowan Hisayo Buchanan on sleep-watching, family & mixed race identity
For this week's podcast episode, I'm speaking to Rowan Hisayo Buchanan about her latest novel, The Sleep Watcher.We talk about what sleep-watching is, and what we would really discover if we could secretly see the world while asleep. We...
February 13, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 65
•
53:34
Ep64: Aamina Ahmad on Pakistani literature, class & society
In this week's episode, I’m speaking to Aamina Ahmad, about her novel, The Return of Faraz Ali, which I found so moving, multi-layered and immersive, taking us into the heart of the red-light district of Lahore. We follow Faraz Ali, from when h...
February 06, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 64
•
1:01:29
Ep63: Sim Kern on anti-zionsim, anti-semitism, Palestinian literature & climate change
My guest on the show this week, is Sim Kern, an author whose work I came across only recently. Alongside being a published author, Sim is a content creator, using Instagram and Tik Tok as key tools in her activist life, making videos that infor...
January 30, 2024
•
Season 1
•
Episode 63
•
1:04:02