Eid cash, Saudi.AI?, and guest contributor Ghada AlMuhanna talks Saudi storytelling and culture identity

The show opens with The TWENTY30 co-hosts, Hanaa and Lucien, catching up and discussing the recently-concluded Eid holiday and traditions around it in Saudi Arabia, including a surprising one surrounding cash gifts that stirs Hanaa’s memories of being a child in Saudi Arabia and piques Lucien’s interest. 

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Then the hosts jump into the show’s DEEPDIVE segment, highlighting a top storyline or topic that people are talking about. Lucien and Hanaa will use the DEEPDIVE segment each episode to allow for an exploration and discussion of the topic, sharing thoughts and research to paint a fuller picture for listeners and viewers. This week the hosts discuss a recent report in the New York Times discussing Saudi Arabia’s ambitions for AI, including for the Kingdom to become one of the largest AI investors in the world through a newly reported $40 billion through the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund, which reportedly has discussed a potential partnership with Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms. The move would potentially thrust Saudi Arabia into a leading position globally in AI but also comes with risks. 

After that discussion, The TWENTY30 welcomes onto its MAINSTAGE segment Ghada AlMuhanna, a Saudi media and visual anthropologist and cultural and media advisor who many will recognize through her work on social media through popular accounts discussing Saudi history and historical photographs and images. Ghada joins Hanaa from The TWENTY30 to introduce her monthly segment on Saudi Arabia’s history and culture, which will be called The 1727, and why she focuses on visual history of the Arabian peninsula. 

The hosts round out the episode first with a discussion of some of the latest NEWS on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region and lastly with Hanaa teaching Lucien an Arabic word for the day. 

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