Whether you’re commuting to work or heading on a road trip to your favorite vacation spot, you can’t help but turn that round knob on your car’s sound system, trying to evade the annoying static until you finally land on your favorite radio station and hear that crisp, clear sound booming out of the radio.
To this day, radio entertainment has stood the test of time even with the recent spurt in podcast culture and audiobooks. The true lovers of the radio are holding onto this tradition as they listen to their adored radio host while they are stuck in traffic or cruising on the highway. As today is Egypt’s radio host Gihan Abdallah’s birthday, the Scoop team created a list of the region’s top radio hosts as a way to celebrate and revive radio culture.
Gihan Abdallah
Starting with the birthday girl herself, since 2003, Gihan Abdallah’s voice would boom out of the radio every day, at 7 pm as she would give a rundown of the top music performers of Egypt and the Arab World during her program aptly called Ajmad 7 at 7 (the top 7 at 7 pm). Interestingly enough, her radio career all started by accident when her friend told her to try it out, and ever since then, she developed a mass following. Radio was not her only forte, however. She used her unique vocal abilities in other ways, from voicing the famously known monotonous interactive voice response for Etisalat to taking on the role of a robot called Zoomba in the Egyptian show “Fi Betna Robot” (In our House is a Robot). You can actually watch her hilariously doing the famous automated caller message during her interview with Mona el-Shazly in this video.
Sonitta Nader
With a master’s degree in journalism, Nader quenched her innate sense of curiosity by taking a dip in the journalistic field, working with various media organizations including ART and OTV. She then entered the world of radio. Known as a health guru, the Lebanese radio host invites doctors and specialists on her program “Sustainable Health” under the French radio station “Monte Carlo Doualiya” to answer some of the most common questions revolving around health. For example, in one episode, she explores with Doctor Maged Alkhatib, a nutritionist, if eating eggs every day is healthy or problematic. Through her program, listeners can avoid entering a deep Google search wormhole and instead, get answers to their questions through the expertise of her guests.
Mohamed Ali Khair
Known as a prolific Egyptian journalist who worked with prominent news publications ranging from Masry El Youm to Al Balad and published more than a hundred articles on every topic imaginable from sports to science to politics, Ali Khair exemplifies the epitome of a journalist in love with their craft. Yet, that is not the only thing he is known for. He also entered into the world of radio when he hosted the show “Egypt in an hour”, five days a week on the radio show, Mahtit Masr.
Tarek Hamdan
Living in Paris, the Palestinian poet, musician and journalist is making a name for himself as a radio host for the “Monte Carlo Doualiya”. Every day, at 11 am (Paris time), you can hear him as he takes a dive into the complexities of society and people through his radio show dubbed “Now Tomorrow”. In it, he explores controversial questions and topics like “Why do men care for domestic duties?” or the phenomena of child marriage in countries like Morocco. His love and passion for the Arab world and Palestine is also expressed is expressed through his powerful poetry which was translated into many languages ranging from English and French to Korean and Spanish.
Sherif Nour El Din
Since 2014, the young Egyptian has been part of the radio scene, hosting his program “Tomorrow is better with Coca-Cola” on Mega FM. His charismatic and lively personality can also be seen on Egypt’s On Screen, a program where Sherif El Din would cover the most important events in the entertainment world while he interviews some of the most famous celebrities including Luis Fonsi. Acting was also part of his rich portfolio as he joined the cast of the Egyptian TV show, “Watch Out For Zizi,” starring Amina Khalil and Shahid’s “Miss Farah.”
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