the femmedamentalists: Recent Episodes
the femmedamentalists
🚨SEASON 4 FINALE ALERT🚨 this season has been the best one by far - from the guests to the topics to the range of conversations we’ve had, we are so so proud of all of it! and what better way to top off the season than to bring back another AMA-style totally irreverent season finale with your (sporadically) charming hosts 🤓👯‍♀️🎉
as always, you guys sent in a great mix of questions and we had so much fun answering. tune in now to hear how the femmedamentalists littttterally changed faiza’s life, all about mehak’s historic home renovations, and our favorite episodes from the season!
EID MUBARAK, FEMME FAM! For our final guest episode of the season, we are closing out with a bang. Listen in for the last episode in the Pride Series, with none other than Usman Khalid. A Lahore native, Usman now resides in DC where he writes prolifically about his experience as a Pakistani queer man. Mehak and Faiza delve deep with Usman into his journey through both culture and religion, his heart wrenching coming out story (which coincidentally happened on Eid), and the empathy he has for elders in the community who struggle to understand, accept and support queerness. All super heavy tings, we adore Usman and this conversation was such a delight.
Continuing our series on being queer and desi, the Femmedamentalists are joined by Kittu Pannu, a storyteller and educator living in New York City. Growing up in New Orleans, Kittu talks to Mehak and Faiza about what it was like exploring his sexuality and coming out as gay to his parents who are prominent members of their Sikh community. Also, brownie (pun intended) points if anyone can guess the movie reference in the title of this episode! Hint: we mention it in during our convo!
Hi y'all! We're so excited to bring you this new series of episodes on queerness in the desi community! We're kicking it off with a fascinating conversation with Gina Ali, a queer Muslim therapist striving to create room for queer Muslims to challenge the status quo. Mehak and Faiza talk to Gina about what decolonizing queerness means, how she approaches her Islamic practice as a queer person, and challenging capitalist colonial nature of psychology (and you know, we stan an anti-capitalist qweeeeeen!). You can follow her journey on tiktok @gigistherapyworld.
Our next couple of episodes will explore the desi lgbtqia+ community so stay tuned for some more amazing and eye-opening episodes!
Join Mehak and Faiza as we continue our conversation about women's reproductive health and do we what we do best: break down taboos and stigmas across desi culture. We sit down with the always amazing and inspiring Sayeda Abbas, founder of Brown Girl Infertility, about how her own IVF journey compelled her to create a space to diversify and build community.
This week, the Femmedamentalists sit down with Suraj Patel, attorney, activist, business leader, and lecturer on business ethics at New York University (shout out to the Violets!) who worked for President Obama. We discuss why he decided to run for US Congress in New York City TWICE and lessons learned from having the closest primary election in the 2020 cycle. Faiza also gets a quick education on what the whole GameStop controversy was about. Does she actually understand it now? She'll say yes but don't ask her any questions about it.
The Femmedamentalists are back again with a deeper dive into one of our most popular episode topics: egg freezing! We're joined by Hina Ahmed, VP of Clinical Operations & Physician Assistant at Kindbody, a clinic that offers comprehensive fertility, gynecology, and wellness services across the country. Hina holds our hands as she walks us through what to expect when you're expecting . . . to freeze your eggs. We'll be sharing more info and tips over the next few days so stay tuned!
Listen, comment, and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Soundcloud!
Continuing our deep dive into law and politics, the Femmendamentalists sit down with City Council candidate Jaslin Kaur, who is running to be the first woman of color to represent District 23 in Queens on NY City Council. What's it like running a grassroots campaign? Why do organizers make the best politicians? And what's in the water in Queens that's churning our progressive candidates? Find out the answers to these and more on Jaslin's background, her decision to run, and what she hopes to accomplish as the first woman of color to represent her district.
For our second installment of this season, we're continuing our civics lesson with Assistant Attorney General Sania Khan in the Civil Rights Bureau at the Office of the New York State Attorney General. We get into how the Civil Rights Bureau protects the state's citizens, suing the federal government, and what's next for the Muslim Bar Association of New York. (Also, if you ever have a secret, Sania Khan's your girl - we tried and failed to get her to spill the tea but she was a steel trap.)
The Femmedamentalists are back y'aaaaallll. This week, we sit down with Zohran Mamdani, Assemblyman for Assembly District 36 in Astoria, Queens (shoutout to Faiza's hometown). We discuss what it's like running for office for the first time, what being a progressive really means, and how you can get involved in your community.
For our season finale, the Femmedamentalists return to their roots and answer questions from you all. Listen in as Mehak and Faiza cover everything from their favorite stylists to what it's like to be a woman in today's society to what's next for the pod! Thank you to everyone who sent us questions!
In this wide-ranging interview, the Femmedamentalists sit down with amazingly talented actor and filmmaker, Kiran Rai aka kayray, to talk about everything from social media to mental health to defunding the police and building better communities. Throughout the past five years, this multi-hyphenate has used her platform to primarily focus on addressing taboos within the South Asian community through short films, documentaries and digital series. Her work has been featured in the likes of Toronto Star, NBC News, CBC, BBC and Cosmo India and you can see her on her talk show Cha Da Cup With KayRay now airing on Brit Asia TV. Oh and we're officially endorsing her for prez! Take a listen and you will too!
This week on the Femmedamentalists podcast, we talk with Hira about her fertility journey and why it was important to her to freeze her eggs. We get into all the important questions like the whys, hows, and how much.
With reproductive rights hanging on by a thread, it's important to know what your options are while you still have them!
This week, the Femmedamentalists sit down with CEO and founder, Tasneem Shahidullah of Tasneem Cosmetics about her inspiration behind creating her own beauty brand with ideas like diversity and inclusivity in mind. We dive into what it's like to be a south asian woman in the beautyscape and how beauty companies can do better....like so much better.
Shyema, aka @beautyndfeast, aka beauty editor for Branded of Bustle Digital Group, aka host of the weekly IG live series QuaranTEN, is back (after four years!) to dish on her experience as a beauty reporter and microinfluencer during COVID and the impact of #blacklivesmatter on the beauty community with the Femmdamentalists. Tune in as we talk about what inspired her to start her interview series QuaranTEN, diversity in beauty, and what authenticity looks like in an artificial landscape. Find us on iTunes or click on the link in our bio.
Hi all! This week, we continue our discussion from our Mic Check Your Racism episode and check-in with our friend Marwa on how she reconciles her support of the #blacklivesmatter movement while being married to someone in law enforcement. We discuss the role of law enforcement in minority neighborhoods, what it means to defund or divest from police departments, and what it's like to have a family member on the other side of the debate. Check out the link in our bio for the episode, follow us on IG to stay up-to-date on episodes, and comment below on what you think!
Look it us! Still going strong just like this virus! Wear a gotdamn mask!
For episode 6, we are joined by our pal and return guest, Screenwriter and Playwright, Hamza Khan (@heyhamzakhan). We talk with Hamza about his coronavirus diagnosis and recovery, capitalism, whether or not people are selfish or just straight up evil, and what we're watching right now!
You can see his latest short film, “Day Zero” at heyhamzakhan.com. The film will be widely released this September.
Follow him on: Twitter: @heyhamzakhan IG: @heyhamzakhan
This week, the Femmedamentalists have a chat with the calm, cool, and collected Humai Mustafa, co-founder of Happy Monday, a content production studio, on how COVID-19 has impacted business and how they've adapted their strategies to deal with the fallout. And by this week, we mean this was recorded several weeks ago (it's explained in the intro). Listen in as we deep dive into Humai's decision to make a huge career change, how COVID has changed the social media landscape, and most importantly, what Deepika Paduokne smells like. Enjoy!
(Photo: 1978 Brick Lane protests in London after the murder of Bengali immigrant Altab Ali by neo-nazis) We're back after taking a little breather to process all the black lives matter protests happening across the country. This week, Mehak and I are joined by Sayeda Abbas, a housing attorney in NYC. Listen in as we discuss anti-black racism in the South Asian community, why we need to center the conversation around blackness right now, how you can educate yourself on why black lives matter, and what actions you should take to be an ally and anti-racist. Tune in, comment, and enjoy!
The femmedamentalists are back at it again after the long weekend with another episode to add to our quarantine series! This week, we catch up Sana Ghori, a recent transplant to Shanghai from New York. We dig into what the pandemic looks like on the other side of the world, explore what it's like being at the epicenter of a global event during your honeymoon, and confirm that we're just a bunch of greedy Americans. Listen in and enjoy!
Aaaaaand we're back with a new episode on life during COVID. This week, we talk to Fariah Amin, an immigration and family law attorney, who specializes in child abuse and domestic violence cases, on how she's juggling working from home with kids. We touch on topics like guilt, self-care, guilt, setting boundaries, guilt, and guilt! Apologies for any audio quality issues, someone (cough, Mehak) didn't use headphones (MEHAK) while recording (MEHAAAAAAAAAK).
Oh hey, it's us again, the world's most inconsistent podcasters! Ya girls are back at it with this fresh episode just in time for the end of the world. Taking on solo-hosting duty, femmedamentalist Faiza interviews an internal medicine doctor at one of New York's hardest hit hospitals. We take a closer look at how frontline workers are coping (or not) and what we can do to help those putting themselves at risk to keep us safe.
HAPPY 2018 Y'ALL! remember us? you loved us once upon a time? your friendly femmedamentalists are alive and kickin and ready to take 2018 on. first up - the campaign that has taken the world by storm, exposed society's most undeniable truth, and touched literally every industry: #metoo. join us this month as we discuss the pervasiveness of sexual assault, and how we can start to move away from the deep social conditioning that results in the normalization of it.
get at us! twitter: @neeci, @coldshouldercat; instagram: @mehakjamil, @thecoldshouldercat; blog: https://thecoldshouldercat.wordpress.com/
::sheepish wave:: hi friends! we're sorry we disappeared. we're also sorry in advance that we may disappear again at some point. but we're here now? hugs
on this episode of femmedamentalists (the first of 2017!), mehak and faiza try to make sense of the election, the current state of affairs, and how we can all stay motivated and engaged when all we really want to do is fly to cambodia and get old on some beach and never read another painful trump tweet again in our lives. SAD!
a few weeks ago, qandeel baloch, a pakistani social media personality, was murdered by her own brother for allegedly bringing shame to her family.. another name on a seemingly never-ending list of victims of 'honor killings.' another name in a worldwide, generations-long fight to let women live of their own volition, by their own rules, without having to answer to and abide by the norms imposed upon them by a patriarchal society. THIS IS A HEAVY WEEK, GUYS. this is a worldwide struggle. why cant we live and let freaking live?
get at us! twitter: @neeci, @coldshouldercat; instagram: @mehakjamil, @thecoldshouldercat; blog: https://thecoldshouldercat.wordpress.com/
sooooo. azealia banks stepped to zayn malik on twitter on some next level racist, homophobic nonsense, then jusreign and his #curryscentedarmy came thru and shut all that mess down. this week, we talk about HOW AMAZING it was, and show mad love to brown twitter bc #wow. we also show too much love to @jusreign, bc what a guyyyyyy. last but not least, we also humbly request everyone start showing love to non-"cool", non-artsy professions like teachers, doctors, etc., bc that struggle is really real guys. ok hugs.
get at us! twitter: @neeci, @coldshouldercat; instagram: @mehakjamil, @thecoldshouldercat
sooooo. we've been terrible with recording/releasing episodes and we're rillyrillyrilly sorry about that :( been a busy year so far but we are BACK and will have more regular episodes! (in case you were wondering)
this week we have the ever fabulous Shyema Azam of beautyandthefeastblog.com joining us! we talk about girl love, positivity, keeping it real, being passionate, staying authentic as you create content - BASICALLY we talk about everything. big moral (spoiler alert): you give what you get. keep your aura pure and positive, uplift those around you, and reap the resulting rainbows that karma sows. SHY WE LOVE YOU AND YOU ARE SO DELICIOUS.
get at us! twitter: @neeci, @coldshouldercat; instagram: @mehakjamil, @thecoldshouldercat
also get at shyema because wowssss mad heart eyes for this one. blog: beautyandthefeastblog.com; twitter/instagram: @beautyndfeast
SORRY FOR OUR ABSENCE LOVIES. we felt compelled to do another episode on saudi, islamophobia, and the general absence of sanity in today's world. this one's for the outrageous mass shia executions by saudi, the attacks in paris, the killings in san bernandino, the kidnapping and burnings in nigeria, and other assorted acts of insanity. you can probably expect a few more of these episodes so long as saudi, boko haram, isis, trump, and the NRA continue to torture our brains. apologies in advance?
get at us! twitter: @neeci, @coldshouldercat; instagram: @mehakjamil, @thecoldshouldercat
YOU KNOW WE HAD TO DO IT. dating/getting married in the south asian community is like, super super super fun. super fun. listen to us talk about part 1 of 2 of how fun it is, focusing on the rishta/arranged marriage process.
also, this week is EXTRA fun bc the femmedamentalists had its very first guest! aisha the great adds more fun to our already VERY FUN convo about arranged marriages when youre a south asian girl. the anxiety and the struggle are both v v v real, friends.
happy fall podcast friends! this week is a little nutty and all over the place.. the stampede at hajj was a real tragedy but guess who left all their effs at home? saudi. shocker. also, mehak and faiza argue about what actually qualifies as cultural appropriation, and the real conclusion of this episode is south asian men need to work on their politeness. hugs!
this week we talk about south asian discrimination! is it real? is it made up? is it accurate or just completely insane? ARE WE ALL REALLY JUST STEREOTYPES? and is there ever going to be a world without this craziness? we dont really answer any of these questions.. but we'd love it if you would.
twitter stalkers: @neeci @coldshouldercat; instagramses: @mehakjamil @thecoldshouldercat
part 2 of many talks on religion! this week we take a look at terrorism - why has islamic terrorism gripped the world, and what are we as an ummah doing or not doing about it? is it the end of times or is there some hope for us yet? IDK BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT IT.
a little heavy this week with that #religion talk. why do we all judge so much? can we all just be #nice to each other and be good for the sake of being #good? also, God's my homie, idk why you all are so scared of Him. talk to us! IG: @mehakjamil @thecoldshouldercat; twitter: @neeci @coldshouldercat
this week, ppl need to leave HONY our honey alone bc his pictures showcase a rarely seen depth to pakistan. also, #COKESTUDIO. is HONY your honey too? let us know we really want to know. photo cred: HONYYYYYY
Back at it - sound quality still not ideal but we're trying okayyyy? This week we talk about women in the workplace and all the feelings we feel about that. Moral: BE NICE Y'ALL. it's gona be ok.
Social media pros and cons, bad sound quality (sorrys! we'll do better next time promise), and mad love for Reza Aslan tha gawd.