Andrew Ali Aghapour is a scholar, storyteller, writer, and artistic producer living in Durham, NC. Andrew was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina by a Muslim, Iranian father and a Christian, British mother. Andrew’s search to understand his own identity led him to study religion and science. He fell in love with big ideas, and what they tell us about ourselves and our communities.
Andrew received Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Religious Studies from the College of Charleston, then an M.Phil in the History and Philosophy of Science at Cambridge University, followed by a Masters and a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from UNC-Chapel Hill. He went on to work as the Consulting Scholar of Religion and Science for the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where he helped develop the “Discovery and Revelation,” exhibition and co-author the exhibit book.
As a freelance writer and editor, Andrew has covered stories about religion and science for outlets including Slate, On Being, Religion Dispatches, and the Revealer. He was the co-founder, with Michael Schulson, of The Cubit, the managing editor of Harvard Divinity School’s Cosmologics magazine, and a consulting producer for the Ministry of Ideas podcast’s Illuminations series.
Andrew is an award-winning storyteller who has performed for the Monti, the RISK! podcast with Kevin Allison, and in venues across the East coast. His one-person show, Zara (directed by Ashley Melzer), is about growing up as an anxious, asthmatic Muslim kid in the American South. Andrew is also an active (overeager) member of the North Carolina comedy scene. He has performed, taught, and directed both stand up and improv comedy, and he currently performs with Mettlesome theater in downtown Durham.