Barcha cover art

Barcha

Barcha

By: Rania Bennour
Listen for free

LIMITED TIME OFFER

£0.99/mo for the first 3 months. Terms apply.

Welcome to Barcha 🤍


Barcha is a word from the Tunisian dialect. It means a lot.

Because so many stories, memories, and shared experiences from North Africa and the Arab world are still waiting to be told and remembered.


Barcha is a podcast about culture, music, and identity. A space for conversations that resonate deeply, for references you don’t need to explain.


Whether these cultures feel like home to you, or you’re simply curious to discover them, you’re welcome here.


The first season explores the impact of major female artists from the Arab world — such as Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, and Warda — and their lasting influence on the MENA diaspora. Each episode takes the form of intimate conversations with journalists, writers, and biographers.


Two episodes are out follow along to see the nexts ✨

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rania Bennour-Hamza Hygiene & Healthy Living Music Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Writing on Umm Kulthum, with Virginia Danielson

    Writing on Umm Kulthum, with Virginia Danielson
    Jan 16 2026
    For this episode, I had the rare pleasure of speaking with Virginia Danielson, one of the most important voices in the study of Arab music. Best known for her seminal book The Voice of Egypt, dedicated to Umm Kulthum, her work explores how a single voice can carry history, politics, emotion, and collective memory. We talked about her path as a researcher, her long relationship with Umm Kulthum’s music, and why this legacy still feels so alive today. A conversation that felt both generous and deeply inspiring — I hope u find this talk as inspiring as it was for me :)

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • Fangirling over Umm Kulthum

    Fangirling over Umm Kulthum
    Jan 5 2026

    In this episode, I sit down with Donia Ismail — journalist, activist, former host of Je ne suis pas raciste mais… on Slate, and co-founder of Arabengers (events by and for the MENA community of Paris) — to talk about Umm Kulthum, collective memory, and what it means to deeply love an artist who shaped generations across the Arab world. Hope u enjoy the conversation as much as i did :)





    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    47 mins
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
No reviews yet