Bidon Waraq: How a Kuwaiti media start-up recreates the ‘diwaniya’ for the digital age

Bidon Waraq: How a Kuwaiti media start-up recreates the ‘diwaniya’ for the digital age Yousef H. Alshammari on Tue, 06/02/2026 - 13:03 In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, Faisal al-Agel and Munera al-Shiraifi have established one of the region’s most popular media companies Munera al-Shiraifi and Faisal al-Agel at work at the Sard Group's headquarters (Sard Group) Off Most media companies have a fast-paced office area and a vibrant studio; a space for operations and the other for production. Nestled in Kuwait City's old Qibla neighbourhood, Sard Group's headquarters, the company behind Bidon Waraq (Unscripted), one of the Gulf Arab region's leading podcasts, similarly hosts offices and a dedicated studio, with one extra distinction: the diwaniya. Historically, the Kuwaiti diwaniya is a social saloon where people discuss the ins and outs of life around them. As it gradually developed post-independence, the institution and cultural feature has taken on aspects of modernity, while maintaining its traditional basis. For Sard Group co-founders Faisal al-Agel and Munera al-Shiraifi, the diwaniya is an emblem of tradition and a place to gather. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); However, as the team behind a podcast with almost two million followers on YouTube alone, which covers a wide range of topics and features prominent guests from the region, maintaining the diwaniya's core principles precedes the podcast. Earlier versions of the diwaniya depended on the context of who was hosted and who was welcomed as a guest. Across the Gulf, seafarers like pearl divers and travelling merchants congregated to discuss their voyages, business and commerce. For bedouins, the diwaniya was held in tents to similarly discuss joint affairs among converging members of society. As social interests and economic conditions changed, the diwaniya’s conversations evolved to match people’s concerns. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); From family gatherings and friendly meet-ups to officiating tribal affairs and organising political camps, the diwaniya remains a fluid forum, a cosy parlour offering a space to openly talk about the mundane, the crucial and everything in between. Bidon Waraq represents a new manifestation; a diwaniya for the digital age. Getting started Both Agel and Shiraifi’s interest in developing their media outlet was born out of a personal love of the creative arts. "For me, it was the theatre," said Agel. "After the Iraqi invasion, [theatre] aimed to remedy the war's effects on children. I particularly remember [the play] King Kong and the Ninja Turtles." In 1994, Abdulrahmanal al-Agel, Faisal's father and the iconic Kuwaiti actor, co-wrote and starred in the play, King Kong and the Ninja Turtles. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As is customary in modern Kuwaiti theatre, western characters are adapted and localised with an independent story. Arabic press review: Omani and Kuwaiti firms pull out of Bahrain air show over Israeli presence Read More » In the play, the mischievous Uncle Dahdal kidnapped and fed local villagers to King Kong only to be then confronted by the Ninja Turtles, led by Abdulrahman as the orange-masked Michaelangelo, who ultimately saved the day. "It was my first confrontation as a child with the idea of presenting art that merges entertainment and values," the younger Agel said. "Watching the story play out, King Kong terrified me. Yet there I was, coming to understand for the first time this idea of a fight between good and evil, and I thought, 'I want to be on the good side'." With Bidon Waraq, Agel and Shiraifi translate that childhood lesson into a shared mission. Agel notes that their work is "fighting disinformation and false narratives" while aiming to be a "voice for truth”. Like her co-founder, Shiraifi also grew up with storytelling central to her household. Unlike Agel's direct exposure to theatre and televised productions, she grew up closer to news production and the literary arts. Visiting book fairs and newsrooms were childhood staples for Shiraifi, as both her parents worked in journalism - her father Jaber al-Shiraifi was a veteran sports journalist and broadcaster, and her mother Mona al-Shammari was a journalist before becoming a celebrated author. "When my mother would return from work with a stack of Kuwaiti and Khaleeji newspapers, I was tasked with spreading them on the floor and reading them aloud to her," Shiraifi said. "This was a daily exercise at our house, and I'd ask her what these words and headlines meant even if I was too young to understand any of it." Establishing the diwaniya Even with these early brushes with the media, the pair took a circuitous route to establishing the project that would make their name. Agel pursued multiple degrees in pharmacy and Shiraifi focused on accounting and initially set out for a business career. Pivoting into the media meant entering a competitive field with great commercial risks, especially when running a podcast was a new idea to the region. Their idea persisted as a dream until 2019, when Agel, tired of the routine pharmacist life, contacted Mona al-Shammari, by then an award-winning novelist longlisted for the International Booker Prize, with an early draft of a TV series to her name. Faisal al-Agel's interest in the media was sparked as a child watching local Kuwaiti productions (Sard Group) She saw his passion and told him he had to meet her daughter, who had a more exciting idea: a forum, a digital diwaniya that brought together the voices shaping the Arab world today. At first, it was an experiment of trial and error. Agel recalls with humour: "I set up a small office on top of our family house and after waking up, I'd go to work on the roof." He then established the pair’s first official studio. Shiraifi joked, "we ended up with three acrylic barriers. One built to protect me, another for the host Faisal and the third for our guests - we had no clue what was about to happen in the world." Munera al-Shiraifi initially planned to pursue a career in business before pivoting to the media (Sard Group) He was referring to the spread of the coronavirus. By 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the spread of Covid-19 a global pandemic. Two days later, Bidon Waraq, its title refers to a raw and scriptless conversation, published its first episode. "We had to find our own independent path," Agel said, explaining that initially he was meant to be a producer not a host. Shiraifi clarified that their early goal was simply having "thoughtful conversations with [intellectually] heavy individuals". They did not anticipate that their "work would have this much of a cultural echo", she told MEE. Catering to a local audience Since its launch during the pandemic, Bidon Waraq's roster grew to include a colourful medley of guests. They adopted an Arabic-first approach and adopted a relaxed conversational register, typical of podcasts. Their discussion style is simple yet explorative, often using colloquial language in order to make topics approachable for audiences. Guests have been as diverse as the Palestinian physician Ghassan Abu Sitta and Kuwaiti former minister Hind al-Sabeeh. The topics it has addressed include regional media culture with guests like Kuwaiti journalist Ammar Taqi and famed Saudi TV presenter Daoud al-Sherian. The team now has more than two million followers on YouTube alone (Sard Group) Financial management, relationship counselling and Islamic history are some other popular subjects. The range and resonance of guests isn't limited to the Arab world either. Over the past year alone, Bidon Waraq hosted the likes of ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou, journalist Mehdi Hassan and US-based imam Omar Suleiman. It was Bidon Waraq's 100th episode that was the "game changer", Shiraifi said, when Agel interviewed Kuwaiti political juggernaut Professor Abdullah Al-Nafisi, a former member of parliament and academic of political science. "In my parents' day, a reader has to call the newsroom or mail a letter just to voice their feedback or opinion," Shiraifi explained. "For us, people send a direct message or an email. They suggest guests, they spark a discussion directly with you and we have to consider what's our next conversation for their benefit." Bidon Waraq's responsibility became glaring at the start of the US-Iran war. "We took a pledge when we first started with the corona pandemic, that we realise how invested we are in western narratives and how much influence they have on our lives," Agel told MEE. Hamad Al-Majidi, Emirati financial analyst, and Abdullah Al-Shayji, Kuwait University’s chairman of political science, are some recent guests who discussed the war’s effects on the region’s economy and political trajectory. Unlike its flagship predecessor, Bidon Waraq Plus, an offshoot of the original show, aims to garner a more global conversation with English subtitles for Arabic-speaking guests and vice versa. Former CIA director John Brennan and US journalist Chris Hedges - who represent two very different strands of opinion on US policy in the region - were recent guests. The future Beyond the Arab Gulf states and the greater Arab world, Agel and Shiraifi have their eyes set on a more global stage. In June, the team attended South by Southwest London, a music, film and technology festival where, as Agel explained, there is "an international table that we're pulling up a chair to and represent our region." The pair have also made in-roads with regional media behemoths. On Al Jazeera 360, Sard Group hosts their show Esteghrab - “occidentalism” in English - a play on orientalism that deconstructs western ideas through the prism of Arab thought. Active narration of the region's realities with an Arabic-first approach is a Sard staple, as their Instagram-based Yafta is also a growing local outlet focused on independent explanatory journalism. In pictures: Kuwait's Failaka Island, treasures, and ghosts of history Read More » The company is also making its first forays into cinema. Partnering with Media City Qatar’s Film Committee and independent film production companies Neon, Department M and Katara Studios, the team aims to produce a feature movie about Fareed Al-Madhan, a Syrian whistleblower - codenamed Caesar. Madhan smuggled thousands of violent graphic photos documenting Bashar Al-Assad's brutal regime. The whistleblower was a previous Bidon Waraq guest and developed a trusted relationship with the team, leading to both an upcoming documentary and a feature film on his experiences. "We don't just have our own stories, we have our own heroes," Agel said. "And how we tell our own stories isn't divorced from our own identity and our own language. So it's more than a project informed by justice against a dictator, it's a project that we hope to do justice to an entire people with." When asked if the region's media landscape lacks proper critique or competition among independent media houses, Agel said "we need the haters to keep hating, the supporters to keep supporting, the critics to keep criticising and our competition to keep competing, that's how ecosystems are built". Shiraifi shares these hopes for a growing modern media culture, too. But on matters of legacy, her hopes hinge on whether they remain relevant. In December 2025, Unesco added the diwaniya to its list of intangible cultural heritage. Around the same time, YouTube released an end-of-year report on media defining the region's content map. Bidon Waraq received a letter of recognition as one of the top Middle Eastern podcasts of last year. "I don't imagine what we'll be doing in 10 years or one, this whole journey has been about meeting the moment as truthfully as we can," she said. "As long as these moments come, we'll keep meeting them and how we do that will prove whether our story continues or ends." Inside Kuwait Discover Kuwait City Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0