Hosted by Arab American media enthusiast Sabal Almadi, the podcast features change-makers from the region DUBAI: “I’m not Arab enough for the Arabs, and not American enough for the Americans,” said Sabal Almadi, founder and host of podcast show Bedouin’s Coffee Corner, as she sat down with Arab News to talk about the origin of her show. Much like Almadi, the show is a reflection of what it means to be a change-maker in the Middle East. With an academic background in media and communications, Almadi entered the corporate world of media and PR but soon realized that she craved more. “It taught me a lot, but this wasn’t my calling,” she said. Wanting to invest in her passion for words, she decided to pursue a degree in journalism, and chanced upon the New York University’s online Master of Arts in American Journalism program. The program included a podcast class, which required students to pitch ideas for a podcast show. The best ideas were selected and students had to create the first episode as their final project for the semester. An avid podcast listener herself, Almadi had always wanted to create her own podcast, but the fear of failure and judgment held her back. “I took this as an opportunity to do what I wanted to without the fear of failure, because even if it doesn’t succeed, it’s fine — it’s just a project for my university and I don’t even have to publish it,” she said. The concept for the show was born over an early morning coffee with her mum. As the only Arab in her class, she was complaining to her mum about the articles she was presented with during her program, and how so many of them misrepresented the Arab world. “This (the podcast) is an opportunity to show people the opposite — the Middle East through Sabal’s eyes,” her mum told her. And so, inspired by her mum, her Bedouin roots and the coffee corner in her house, Almadi started Bedouin’s Coffee Corner in May 2021. Every episode features a guest who’s a change-maker in their field. The first guest was Mohammed Joudeh, the first men’s fashion blogger in Jordan and the face of brands such as Massimo Dutti and Adidas in the Middle East. Other guests include Saudi-based adventure guide Haya Alsamari, fashion photographer Osamah and fashion blogger Ola Gishta. So far, Almadi has published episodes sporadically — sometimes posting multiple episodes in a month and at other times posting one in a couple of months. In the future, she aims to develop a regular schedule and is working on organizing and content creation for the podcast, as well as social media. The listenership of every episode varies according the guest and how it’s tailored, said Almadi, but downloads number between 150 and 160. She hasn’t monetized any content yet, considering the show to be still in its nascent stages, or “toddler years,” but is open to that in the future. Eventually, Almadi’s goal is to turn the podcast into a broadcast show, whether on TV or streaming platforms. “My hope is to turn it into a TV show — that would be a dream come true.” “My goal is to have our voices heard on a global platform,” she said. “And so the platform itself isn’t as critical to me as getting the message out and show the world what we’re doing.” Season 2 of Bedouin’s Coffee Corner is out now on Apple Podcasts.