6. Interlude (A Conversation Between Co-Writers Noor Tagouri and Zaron Burnett III)

Welcome back to REP. And more specifically – welcome to a guided REP Run. This is a story about what it means to stay in your body, to move through your life experiences, and for the women in this episode, what it really means to be Free. *Our guides for this story are three runners from Afghanistan. It’s been two years since the women in this story have seen each other. Their separation was unexpected as the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, and they were of the lucky few who were able to evacuate. And they have miraculously reunited for the first time in the United States to run the New York City Marathon together. *This chapter of REP is brought to you by Right To Run, the social impact program of the sportswear brand On. Right To Run supports Free to Run, an organization that works to change gender norms in conflict areas by supporting girls and women in leadership and wellness through running. *Transcript + Links:www.ays.media/rep/freetorun*Follow on Instagram:@ays@noor@on@freetorunngo

“Vanished” is how we started the Rep journey, and “Alive” is how we start again.In our final chapter, Rep comes ALIVE in a surprising connection Noor makes during an event at Harvard University.This is the story of how our stories lead to revolutions.*Story Guides include: Barbara Rosewicz, Dr. James Zogby, Jerry Seib, Tagouri family, Elyazgi family, and the ancestors. *Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Politics, Pop Culture, and Public Opinion. We call them the 3Ps; and they are at play in the stories that define our world and shape our beliefs.Featuring an exclusive interview with Bella Hadid, we consider how Public Opinion affects the lives of Palestinian people, as well as the rest of us. To examine how Public Opinion determines what we think and feel, we focus on Palestine, not as an issue, but as a people.*Story Guides include: Bella Hadid, Aymann Ismail, Dr. James Zogby, Nadine Naber, Peter Beinart, and Dalia Mogahed.*Transcripts are available at www.ays.media/rep-transcripts.Follow on Instagram: @noor and @ays or Twitter @ntagouri and @Zaron3 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What do musicians Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam and Yuna, actor May Calamawy, and filmmaker Minhal Baig all have in common?They are proof of what revolutionary representation can look like. These story guides have used their art forms to search for the deepest parts of themselves and connect their stories to the rest of the world. They show us what it can look like when we work to shift culture. Welcome to the next "P" within the relationship between the 3P's: Politics, Pop Culture, and Public Opinion. Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I’d like to introduce you to our framework for REP, The 3Ps: Politics, Pop Culture, and Public Opinion. The 3Ps are a tool we use to track the power dynamics in the stories around us. First Up: Politics. We think we’re talking about Politics, but are we? How do we decode the stories that create the politics we are living in today? In this chapter, we follow a few people and the stories that have led them to engage with politics the way they do today. *Our story guides include: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar; her daughter and activist Isra Hirsi; Huma Abedin, Hillary Clinton’s Chief of Staff; and Yasmin Elhady, a comedian and immigration lawyer at the Department of Justice.*Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is the United States’ *actual* greatest export? We have a theory — Story.In this chapter, we re-examine why the United States began, check in on how Americans are telling and receiving their story, why some veterans fought or refuse to fight for the story, and we hear from people around the world on their relationship with our Greatest Export. *Story Guides include: Nadine Naber, David Eisenbach, Mike Prysner, Jack Saul, and others. *Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode is simply a bridge, a pause, a moment to reflect on where we've been and where we are going. It is an intimate look behind the writers of Rep, Noor Tagouri and Zaron Burnett. These are recorded meeting sessions reflecting on intentions and how they hope to carry us into the second half of Season 1 of REP. Welcome to The Interlude. *Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do we even need representation? What does "telling the truth" actually mean and why do we do it? Does objectivity exist? Can our biases work in our favor? These questions have come up over and over again throughout the journey of REP, and in this chapter, we face them head on.  *Our story guides include comedian and actor Hasan Minhaj, journalist Aymann Ismail, writer Najma Sharif and others.  *Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This chapter is the turning point for REP. In a miraculous turn of events, Noor meets a group of Japanese American elders who were forced to live in US internment camps during WWII. Their stories, some being shared for the first time, are a testament to our interconnectedness.  Transcripts are available at ⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠@noor⁠ and ⁠@ays⁠ or Twitter ⁠@ntagouri⁠ and ⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Conceptualized by Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, the journey of Muslim Cool takes us on an exploration of Knowledge of Self through the lens of hiphop, Islam, and Blackness. The stories we tell through our names, music, and the identities formed around us. Come for the music. Stay for the perspective you never thought you’d hear. *Storytellers include Dr. Su’ad, Maimouna Youssef aka “Mumu Fresh,” Brother Ali, and Ilyasah Shabazz. *Transcripts are available at ⁠⁠www.ays.media/rep-transcripts⁠⁠.Follow on Instagram: ⁠⁠@noor⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@ays⁠⁠ or Twitter ⁠⁠@ntagouri⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠@Zaron3 ⁠See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.