Dr Islam Issa - official website

MEDIA

Documentary Presenter (TV)

• Cleopatra and Me: In Search of a Lost Queen, BBC Four (premiere 6th May 2019; repeat December 2019, June 2020)

Co-Presenter / Super Contributor (TV)

• African Queens: Cleopatra, Netflix docu-drama four-part series, created and produced by Jada Pinkett-Smith (2023)

• Art That Made Us: A History of British Creativity, BBC Two “landmark” series (April 2022; repeat May 2022)

Documentary Presenter (Radio)

• Shakespeare's Brum Ting, BBC Radio 3 (March 2023)

• Forbidden Fruit, BBC Radio 3 (March 2022)

• The Balcony, BBC Radio 3 (February 2021)

• Shakespeare and Terrorism, BBC Radio 3 (November 2018)

Presenter (BBC Radio 3)

• The Essay: "Reading the First Folio" (April 2023)

• Arts & Ideas: "Archiving the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth ties" (July 2022)

• The Shakespeare Sessions: "Othello: What it means to be a Moor" (April 2020)

• Drama on 3: "Othello" (April 2020)

• Free Thinking: "Shakespeare for the People" (April 2020)

• Arts & Ideas: "Everything to Everybody" (February 2020)

• The Essay: "When Shakespeare Travelled With Me" (March 2018)

• Column: "Whoever loved that loved not at first sight?" (June 2017)

Curator (Radio)

• Words and Music: “Milton’s World”, BBC Radio 3 (November 2024)

• Words and Music: "Encounters with Egypt", BBC Radio 3 (November 2022)

Super-contributor (Radio)

• Music Planet: "Music and Politics in Egypt", BBC Radio 3 (November 2020)

• Ideas: "Better to Reign in Hell" CBC Radio, Canada (March 2020)

Podcast Featured Guest

• Noiser/BBC Short History of: “The Lighthouse of Alexandria” (November 2024)

• BBC History Extra: “John Milton: life of the week” (October 2024)

• The Ancients on History Hit: “The Library of Alexandria” (April 2024)

• Dan Snow’s History Hit: “The City of Alexandria” (February 2024)

• BBC History Extra: “Alexandria: the first modern city’ (February 2024)

• History Hack: “Alexandria” (January 2024)

• BBC History Extra: “Shakespeare: Past Master – Julius Caesar” (November 2023)

• BBC History Extra: "How Shakespeare inspired terrorists" (November 2021)

• Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Podcast: "Shakespeare and Terror" (November 2021)

• Shakespeare Alive: "Journeying with Shakespeare with Dr Islam Issa" (March 2021)

• History Hack: "Cleopatra" (July 2020)

• Muftah Magazine: "Milton, Muslims, and the Literary Periphery" (January 2017)

Voice Actor / Reader

• Audiobook narrator: Alexandria: The City that Changed the World (Tantor Media, USA, 2024)

• Audiobook narrator: Alexandria: The City that Changed the World (Hachette Audio, UK, 2023)

• Words and Music: "Encounters with Egypt", BBC Radio 3 (November 2022)

• Words and Music: "Translation", BBC Radio 3 (September 2021)

Event Presenter (Live Host)

• Waterstones Author Evening: Bettany Hughes in Conversation with Islam Issa, Waterstones (January 2024)

• RSC Director Talk: Much Ado About Nothing, Royal Shakespeare Company (February 2022)

• RSC Writer and Director Talk: The Whip, Royal Shakespeare Company (February 2020)

Radio Featured Guest (Highly Selected)

• Landmark: Paradise Lost, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (May 2017)

• Revenge: My Cousin Rachel, Natalie Haynes, Islam Issa (on first impressions), BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (June 2017)

• All about Eve: Stories of the Fall, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (December 2017)

• Shakespeare, Creativity and the Role of the Writer (on the real Cleopatra), BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (April 2018)

• Amitav Ghosh. Layla and Majnun. Islam Issa (on Epstein's Lucifer sculpture), BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (June 2019)

• Milton: Samson Agonistes, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (April 2021)

• Shakespeare and Terrorism, ABC Radio National's The Stage Show (February 2022)

• Alexander the Great, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (November 2022)

• Islam Issa on the ancient wonders of Alexandria, ABC Radio National's Late Night Live (November 2023)

• Alexandria: a city that shaped the modern world, Nine to Noon, Radio New Zealand (November 2023)

• Libraries, Free Thinking, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking (November 2023)

• The Library of Alexandria, Newstalk Radio's Talking History (May 2024)

• Milton and our modern world, BBC Radio 4's Free Thinking (November 2024);

Selected TV, Radio, Podcasts

• ABC Radio National, Australia (Late Night Live, The Stage Show)

• Al-Arabiya, Saudi Arabia

• Algérie 3, Algeria

• Al-Hadath Al-Youm, Egypt

• Al-Hayat TV, Egypt

• Aljazeera English, Qatar (News)

• Anadolu Agency, Turkey

• Ancients by History Hit, UK

• BBC Arabic TV, UK (News, numerous times)

• BBC Asian Network, UK (numerous times, including Asian Network Reports, The Big Debate)

• BBC One, UK (Midlands Today)

• BBC History Extra, UK (numerous times)

• BBC Radio 3, UK (numerous times, including Arts & Ideas, Breaking Free, Drama on 3, Free Thinking, Music Planet, New Thinking, The Essay, The Radio 3 Documentary, The Shakespeare Sessions, Sunday Feature, Words and Music)

• BBC Radio 4, UK (Free Thinking, Front Row, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, PM Show)

• BBC Radio 5 Live, UK (5 Live Drive 2 times, Up All Night)

• BBC Radio Arabic, UK (News, numerous times)

• BBC Radio Bristol (Manny Masih)

• BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire (Midlands Masala)

• BBC Radio Gloucestershire (Manny Masih)

• BBC Radio Lancashire, UK (Indus, numerous times)

• BBC Radio Manchester, UK (Indus, numerous times)

• BBC Radio Somerset (Manny Masih)

• BBC Radio WM (Midlands Masala numerous times, Paul Franks Show)

• BBC Radio Wiltshire (Manny Masih)

• BBC Two, UK (Newsnight)

• BBC World Radio, UK (numerous times, including World Have Your Say and Newsday)

• BBC World TV, UK (Bulletin numerous times, News numerous times, Have Your Say, The Hub)

• British Muslim TV, UK (Behind the Headlines, numerous times)

• Canal Algérie, Algeria

• CBC, Egypt

• CBC Radio, Canada (Ideas)

• Dan Snow's History Hit, UK

• Dzair News, Algeria

• Echourouk News, Algeria (2 times)

• El-Djazairia, Algeria

• Egyptian Channel 2, Egypt

• Egyptian Satellite Channel, Egypt

• Ennahar, Algeria

• Heritage Radio, UK (numerous times)

• History Hack, UK (2 times)

• Hya, Egypt

• Iqraa International, Saudi Arabia

• Islam Channel, UK (Living the Life)

• ITV1, UK (Central News, 3 times)

• Leicester Radio Broadcasting, UK (DriveTime)

• Modern Sport, Egypt

• Muftah, UK (podcast feature)

• Netflix, USA

• Newstalk Radio, Ireland

• Nile Cinema, Egypt

• Nile Culture, Egypt

• Nile Sports, Egypt

• Noiser/BBC Short History of, UK

• Radio Algérienne, Algeria (numerous times)

• Radio France International, France (News Bulletin)

• Radio Islam International, South Africa

• Radio NZ, New Zealand (Nine to Noon)

• Shakespeare Alive, UK

• Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Podcast, UK

• SiriusXM, US

• TRT World, Turkey

• UK44, UK

• Unity FM, UK (numerous times, including Drive Time, Fundraising)

• Viral History, UK

• Voice of Cape FM, South Africa (Drivetime, numerous times)