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Off-Beat

Off-Beat

By: The Michigan Daily
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About this listen

 Off-Beat is a reported audio series hosted by Emma Spring and Barrett Dolata out of The Michigan Daily exploring the hidden, unexpected and often overlooked sides of Ann Arbor. Each episode dives into a different story — from niche subcultures to quiet social shifts, Off-Beat is about the places, people and ideas you don’t notice until you stop and listen.The Michigan Daily Social Sciences
Episodes
  • A Third Space

    A Third Space
    Feb 3 2026

    Yemeni coffee shops are popping up all over Ann Arbor — open late and packed full of students and locals. Notes of cardamom and cinnamon accompany their cosmopolitan yet cozy interiors, where patrons aren’t sipping on hot toddies or cocktails, but Adeni chais and pistachio matcha lattes. In our first episode, we ask why?

    Through café soundscapes, student voices and experts on coffee history, Off-Beat traces Yemeni coffee from its 15th-century roots to its role today as a modern “third place”: not home, not work, just somewhere you’re allowed to stay.


    Further reading & resources:

    Read Dr. Nancy Um’s book on Yemeni coffee history: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvn0hs

    Explore a map of Muslim and Arab cafés across North America compiled by Dr. Nancy Khalil: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8643188,-85.2154144,7.3z/data=!4m2!11m1!2sCGVF_5iHSJat9HzL7_jGng?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDEyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

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    25 mins
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