Episode

From Lebanon to LA

Podcast: Sifter
Published: Jan 7, 2026
Duration seconds: 1677
Processing state: not_requested
Canonical source: https://tvjerry.com/from-lebanon-to-la/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-lebanon-to-la
Audio: https://media.blubrry.com/sifter/content.blubrry.com/sifter/Walid_8.mp3
JSON: /v1/public/podcasts/sifter-5261861/episodes/from-lebanon-to-la
Markdown: /podcast/sifter-5261861/from-lebanon-to-la.md

Actions

POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/sifter-5261861/episodes/from-lebanon-to-la/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/sifter-5261861/from-lebanon-to-la.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

Summary

Walid Chaya is an actor, director, writer and teacher who worked in Richmond before moving to Los Angeles. He’s acted in TV shows and movies, as well as directed shorts and taught acting classes. Our lively discussion includes: – Getting inspired as a child in Lebanon – How he got to Richmond – Moving to LA – Being cast in stereotypical Middle Eastern roles – Working on “Madam Secretary” – Getting burned to death by Neo-Nazis – Working with a dialect coach on “Blacklist: Redemption” – Sitting in a makeup chair for 3 hours – His shorts and upcoming feature LINKS Walid’s website Driving Ms. Saudi Darn It Darla Crazy Rich Arabs Lights, Camera, Conversation podcast My podcast with Constance Wu  