Documentary Presenter (TV)

• Lost Treasures of Egypt, National Geographic (forthcoming)

• The Race for Ancient Egypt in Colour, Channel 4 (2026)

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

Super Contributor (TV)

• The UnXplained with William Shatner , The History Channel (2026)

• Civilisations: Rise and Fall , BBC Two “landmark” series (2025)

• History’s Burning Questions, The History Channel (2024)

• 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 (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)

• 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)

• Th e 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 (Selected)

• Dan Snow’s History Hit on the BBC: “ The City of Alexandria ” (October 2025)

• You're Dead to Me: “ Alexandria: city of knowledge and culture “ (August 2025) 

• History Rage: “Q&A with Islam Issa” (September 2025)

• ROST Architects: “ Interview with Islam Issa: History of Ancient Alexandria “ (August 2025) 

• BBC History Extra: “ Drink, dance, death: Wine in Ancient Egypt ” (June 2025)

• 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 , Radio New Zealand's Nine to Noon (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)

• Alexandria: The City , BBC Radio 4's Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (July 2025)

• Alexandria: The Library , BBC Radio 4's Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics (July 2025)

• Alexandria: city of knowledge and culture , BBC Radio 4's You're Dead to Me (August 2025) 

• What are the humanities for? , BBC Radio 4's Front Row (October 2025)

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 Four, UK

• 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 (A Good Read, Free Thinking, Front Row, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics, PM Show, You're Dead to Me)

• 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 (Art That Made Us, 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 Channel, USA 

• History Hack, UK (2 times) 

• History Rage, UK

• 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 (Seven Columns, Kemet) 

• Nile Life, 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)

• Youth and Sport Radio, Egypt