Episodes List

#73 – Kennedy’s Time in Pakistan

Kennedy Horton was born in America, but from the ages of 7 to 15, he moved with his family to Sindh, Pakistan. Afterwards he moved across Thailand, China, and he now resides in Ireland. In this episode Kennedy shares a bit about his life in Pakistan, going to school and growing up there, and more...

#72 – Religiosity

A fantastic conversation with Dr. Shabana Mir, from Chicago, U.S., who is here to unpack some of her knowledge and thoughts about various issues affecting Muslims and Muslim women today. Shabana Mir is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the American Islamic College, based in Chicago, IL. She teaches Islamic Studies...

#71 – Resilience

A really thought provoking discussion about the most common challenges that affect our Pakistani youth today – lack of opportunities, fear of failure, family and parental pressure, anxiety, and more. Our guest, Mehmooda Shah from Rawalpindi, Pakistan, breaks this down with her own story, and shares her experience on dealing with obstacles, failure, and disadvantages...

#70 – Ko-Ko-Korea!

Ayesha Wahidi was born and raised in the midwest, U.S. Earlier in 2020, she moved to Korea for a teaching-abroad program. She shares her experiences in and out of Korea and her perspectives on common life struggles. Want to get in touch with Ayesha? Email her at wahidi.ayesha@gmail.com TUNE IN ON ANY OF THESE APPS:...

#69 – Engaged at 12

21 year old Noor-ul-Ain from Dubai went viral on TikTok after sharing her personal traumatic story of an ordinary wedding / shaadi visit to Pakistan gone wrong. Essentially , Noor and her family flew to Pakistan from dubai to attend her cousin’s wedding, and unexpectedly, she found that she was getting engaged against her consent...

#68 – Life in Southern Africa

Bilal Junejo was born in Pakistan, but grew up living in the southern region of Africa, namely the countries of Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. Bilal gives us a glimpse of his life over there, including the people, the food, and the places...

#67 – Life in Japan

Meet Fareeha, living in Japan. She hasn’t spent a lot of time in Pakistan, grew up in Saudi Arabia, and then moved to Japan for her studies to a city called Sendai, and has been living there for 9 years, currently working at a lab while pursuing her PhD. Fareeha is an avid listener of...

#66 – To Sacrifice My OWN Life for Pakistan

Recently TikTok and other social platforms have exploded with viral memes of Pakistani kids taking pledges on stage at a school event. Popular lines include: “To sacrifice my own life for Pakistan!” “I pledge to be a pilot, and help everyone!” These videos have been traced to an event that took place at PISJES (Pakistan...

#65 – The NewsRun

Meet Anam Khan, a Pakistani American currently residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, U.S. She has moved back and forth between Pakistan and U.S. and spent a significant time living in both countries. Anam is here to talk about her startup effort, called The NewsRun, which is a free daily newsletter providing short and simple...

#64 – The History Buff

Satir Ahmed is a 22 year old history buff (fan) currently living in Newfoundland, Canada, for his studies. He has also lived the majority of his life in Qatar. Newfoundland is an island off the east coast of the North American mainland. The capital of Newfoundland is St. John’s. The island got global coverage earlier...

#63 – The Ertugrul Conundrum

We bring back our old “Do Takkay” squad from episodes 48 and 49 – Myrah Shafiq, Manahill Shafiq, and Hamza Farooq, to discuss the great Elephant surrounding Pakistan’s entertainment industry: Ertugrul. Ertugrul is a popular Turkish show based on the rise of the Ottoman Empire. After PM Imran Khan promoted the show to Pakistanis, the...

#62 – Love Letters to Pakistan

Several old and new guests come together to share monologues (“love letters”) to Pakistan, to celebrate August 14, 2020. Celebrate with us by tuning in !...

#61 – PUBG Ban and Teen Mental Health

In this episode we want to shine a light on teen mental health. 3 teenager suicides took place around June of this year, one after another. All of these suicides were linked by authorities to a popular video game called Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds, or PUBG. Here is a Gulf News article that we read out on the podcast. The...

#60 – A Story of Religion and Love

A love story from Canada, featuring married couple Sana and Will Saleh. Sana is of Pakistani background, born and raised British Columbia, Canada. Her husbad Will is a born and raised Canadian and a convert/revert to Islam. In this 50-minute episode, Will and Sana share the story of how they met each other, how Will...

#59 – Stop Wasting Time!

20 year old Myda Baig from Lahore is a Psychology student, and she’s here tell us to stop wasting time ! Too many people are spending their days binging one movie after another, or lazing around, or not having any kind of short-term plan for success. Myda believes in having a properly structured day, with...

#58 – a Muslim-Hindu Marriage Story

Meet Hina Husain, 32 year old living in Canada, here to tell us her life story, especially a major part of her life that involves marriage. Hina had a very nontraditional marriage, because she did not get married to a Pakistani man, or a Muslim man, as most Pakistani girls do. She married an Indian...

#57 – Dana Wang on Pakistan

We speak to someone not actually from Pakistan. She’s not of Pakistani descent either, yet she has built a connection to the country. Our guest is Dana Wang. Dana is a travel enthusiast, photographer, and food addict from Australia. She also studied Law and recently graduated and got her first full-time job in Sydney. She’s...

#56 – The Foodie!

Meet Arifah, 22 year old from England. She’s here to talk to us about various things, but mostly about her most passionate subject: Food. She even wrote her dissertation on food! Arifah was born in England, moved to Saudi Arabia at a young age, then Italy, and then back to England. Although she’s never lived...

#55 – Can you count in Urdu?

We speak to a number of Pakistani youngsters from Islamabad, Karachi, U.K., and U.A.E. to ask them : can you count to 100, in Urdu? Turns out, it’s not so easy, and as we collectively become more efficient with English, it seems we are losing the edge on our native tongues (Urdu, Punjabi, etc.) overall...

#54 – Lockdown Madness!

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdowns across the world, we wanted to catch up with our Pakistani community on Discord and ask them how they’re doing. As you might have heard from previous episodes, we run a discord server which is basically a modern online chatroom service, that allows both text and voice chats. We...

#53 – Zamana

Guest: Aisha Khan, 19 year old from Toronto, Canada Aisha is here to talk to us about poetry, among other things. Aisha is a published writer and last year she released a book called Zamana, under her pen name Anaa Gulzar. We talk to her about her inspiration, why poetry is important, what are the...

#52 – PSL 2020 Breakdown

Guests: Sarah Malik from U.S., Hamza Qureshi from U.K., Hassan Raza from U.K., and Hamza Farooq from U.S. All big Cricket fans! This group discussion features 4 guests, with the topic being Cricket, especially with a focus on PSL 2020 which was suspended on March 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We discuss the...

#51 – Desibility

Our guest is 24 year old Adil Ghani from London, UK. Adil is the older brother of our previous guest, Aqil Ghani. He is also disabled, and in this episode he walks us through his life story – being diagnosed with Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy at age 3, not being able to walk since age...

#50 – I was a Coconut

“Coconut”: brown from the outside, white from the inside. Often used to describe desis living abroad who are not as near to or aware of desi culture, as they are to their local culture. Today’s guest: Aqil Ghani, 18 years old British-Pakistani brought up in South-east London.  Many of you might be wondering what is...

#49 – Do Takkay ki Guftgoo (Part 2)

Listen on these apps: Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Spotify Soundcloud Continuing our 2-part discussion with Hamza Farooq, Myrah Shafiq, and Manahill Shafiq. Episode #48 contains part 1. Previously we analyzed the highly successful and controversial Pakistani drama series – Mere Paas tum Ho. This episode continues that discussion, but not so much about Mere Paas...

#48 – Do Takkay ki Baatein (Part 1)

For this episode you need 2 things – familiarity with Pakistani dramas, and a grasp of Urglish – that is Urdu + English. This one is a group discussion, all about Pakistani dramas and it is Part 1 of a 2-part discussion. We have 3 very enthusiastic drama-watching guests. Our main focus was to discuss...

#47 – UN Development in Pakistan

Today’s guest is Ignacio Artaza – Resident Representative at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pakistan. Ignacio has more than 20 years of experience in development cooperation and humanitarian aid. He has served as the UNDP Country Director in Egypt, and has held various positions in UNDP since 1999 – including in New York, Moldova...

#46 – Ex-Muslim (Part 2, Ali Rizvi series)

This episode is Part 2 of our 2-part series with Ali Rizvi, 37 year old from Washington D.C., U.S. (born in Pakistan) In the last episode (#45) Ali told us about how his search for identity lead him to atheism. In this episode, we ask him for specific questions to understand his mindset – questions...

#45 – Lost Muslim Identity (Part 1, Ali Rizvi series)

This episode is Part 1 of a 2-part series discussion with Ali I. Rizvi, 37 year old from Washington DC, U.S, but born in Pakistan. Ali is a documentary filmmaker and video journalist – he also was one of the few journalists who worked on the Panama Papers story. Ali is also an open Ex-muslim...

#44 – Online Dating Horror

Iqra, 26 year old from Brampton, Canada, speaks with us today about her various weird and unfortunate encounters on Muzmatch, a popular Muslim dating app used by Pakistanis. Apps like Muzmatch and Minder are quite powerful and often useful, having helped many people find their significant other and get married. However, a lot of ‘bad’...

#43 – Barcelona

Nosherwan Abbasi is 20 years old currently living around Barcelona, Spain. He moved to Spain earlier in 2019 for his studies. About 5 months before this episode, Nosherwan reached out to us on Instagram and shared a voice note about how his homesickness for Pakistan brought him to this podcast, and he wanted to discuss...

#42 – “PAGAL”: Desis and Depression

We Pakistanis do not discuss depression enough! Today we shed more light on a highly important and underrated topic in the desi community: depression and mental illness. Our guest: 32 year old Israa Nasir from New York City. Israa has worked directly with patients in a mental health clinic, and now works within health tech...

#41 – Sea View in Miami

24 year old Hamza Farooq from Miami is our guest today. Born and raised in the U.S., Hamza brings us a purely Pakistani American perspective. Timestamps of Conversation1:28 – Introduction2:00 – Hamza discusses his time going to a Catholic high school6:18 – Growing up in Miami, and the Pakistani demographics of the U.S.10:03 – Hurricanes...

#40 – Away from Home

Our guest for this episode is 22 year old Hassan Raza from England, U.K. (previously lived in Wales) Hassan moved to UK at the young age of 13. He passionately talks about his Pakistani background and adjusting to life in the UK while maintaining his love for the Motherland. Timestamps of Conversation: 2:40 – Intro...

#39 – Jinn Bhoot Stories Again!

Our goal with this is simple: to scare the poop out of you and out of ourselves. And laugh while we poop. Mostly just laugh! Guests: Muskaan (Night Owls), Noshirwaan from Lahore Topic: Jinns, Bhoots, Churails, Possessions, Pichal peris, you name it. Time Recorded: 1 AM in Pakistan. Reference: “The Chilling Exorcism of Anneliese Michel”...

#38 – Bhang aur Hum

Let’s talk Cannabis with Sabina, our special guest from Michigan, U.S. Sabina works extensively to promote and market Cannabis based products, and teach their value and benefits to the community. Follow Sabina on Instagram at @drcannabina! . Resources shared by Sabina for your research: Instagram: @sagelynaturals @hempsleyhealth Sites: https://www.green-flower.com/ healer.com leafly.com...

#37 – Life in Paris

Welcome back! What is life like for Pakistanis in Paris? In his case, 23 year old Saad was born and raised there. Saad gives us his perspective and insight into French culture, especially valuable for Pakistanis and non-French westerners. Since Paris does not have an extremely large Pakistani community similar to London, Saad is open...

#36 – Independence Day Trivia

In honor of August 14, 2019, we celebrate by bringing 6 guests on-board and playing Trivia! The questions are all about Pakistan and Pakistani culture. New Guests Awais – Karachi Patch – Lahore Ainy – Peshawar Returning Guests Hamza – U.K. Marium – Karachi Uswah – Lahore...

#35 – Desi and I Know It

This episode’s special guest is 23-year old Faras Aamir (AKA Farosty) from Maryland USA, one of the founders of the popular Youtube entertainment channel – RwnlPwnl – which brought us awesome, hilarious parody songs like “Desi and I know it”, “Pissed Off”, “Have Some Gosht” and many others. Faras’s other endeavors are a podcast called...

#34 – Burgers, Pizza, and Cricket

So Pakistan did not qualify for the Semi-Finals in 2019’s Cricket world Cup. What do they need to do next? We invite 4 cricket fanatics to this episode to discuss their thoughts and impressions on the Pakistani cricket team and the landscape of international cricket. Guests: Minahil – 22 from Islamabad Hamza – 24 from...

#33 – The Case Against Rishta Aunties

Almost every single desi person will relate to the horrifying rishta process. I’ve been there myself. Getting asked by your parents and aunties about your plans to get married even when you’re still in school or perhaps just got your first job. This is especially troubling for desi girls as they often start getting proposals...

#32 – Is our Education system GOOD?

Pakistan arguably has a rigorous education system. But is it equipping the students up for success? Are teachers given the resources to teach to their best potential? Are people finding jobs? 3 guests in this episode – Amaaz (23, ISB), Laiba (22, Lahore), and Marium (19, Karachi) discuss student life and the success of students...

#31 – Careers & Planning Your Future (Doctor Nahi Banungi!)

What if you wanted to study Arts and Humanities, against the wish of your parents who want you to stick with Engineering or Medicine? How would you feel if you studied in a field for a long time, and just because of 1 failed course, you could not get a degree? What if you were...

#30 – Ramadan; is it Healthy?

We asked for your questions around health and fitness during Ramadan, on Instagram and Discord, and now we answer them! Doctor Shagufta Feroz from Lahore (her website: picchls.com), discusses Ramadan in great depth and answers your questions. Dr. Feroz is a nationally known holistic lifestyle medicine doctor. She is the only Asian who is an...

#29 – Night Owls

This episode, we invited 5 guests – the most so far! Meet Muskaan (18, ISB), Amaan (19, ISB), Hime (18, KHI), Sami (18, KHI), and Saif (23, London). Saif has been on the podcast before, and everyone else is new. The topic is a simple question: Why do you stay up all night? Every person...

#28 – Unfiltered with Hira Hyder

An in-depth discussion with Hira Hyder, 26 year old Journalist and Life Coach based in Toronto Canada. Hira writes for 5 online lifestyle publications and is also a broadcast journalist for HUM TV Canada. She became especially well-known after her Twitter format of rapid-fire interviews, called “Hira Hyder 7Qs”, went viral with responses from celebrities...

#27 – Drug Addiction in Pakistan

This episode is about Drug Addiction. We start this episode with Ahmed, 15 years old from Islamabad, who tells a personal story about his uncle who battled drug addiction. After this story, we move on to a more in-depth discussion on addiction with our main guests: Abdullah, from Islamabad, and Nasir, from Karachi. Hear it...

#26 Part B – The Too Sweet Show

In Part B,let’s get to know Buntoo Cage – host and owner of ‘The Too Sweet Show’, a video review show about video games. Buntoo is based in Lahore and 20 years old. We discuss his perspective on games, and also how he got the nickname Buntoo. Also in this episode are Noor, from Karachi...

#26 Part A – Controversies in Gaming and Media

In this episode we discuss a lot of controversies, primarily based on gaming but also overall modern media. Featuring 3 guests: Buntoo Cage (20, Lahore, hosts ‘The Too Sweet Show’), Noor (24, Karachi), and Saif (23, London). This episode has some strong opinionated conversations, and while we may not all agree with the opinions offered...

#25 – Music Scene

Welcome back! This episode is a 2-part discussion around Pakistani music. Featuring our main guest, Hamza Swaleh from the U.K. who has a passion for music and runs his own band, and our second guest, Hassan from Dubai. Hamza’s Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/nu_marc/...

#24 – The Social Influencer

Haroon Tahir (24, from U.A.E.) has two lives: a marketing and PR consultant by day, and a popular social “Influencer” (he dislikes that word) by night. He blogs about fashion, writes his own poetry, and also shoots for various fashion and clothing brands. In this episode, Haroon shares his journey to becoming an Influencer, the...

#22 – Homecoming

A life story of returning to Pakistan from abroad., told by Anushae, 18 years old and full of wisdom. Anushae takes us through her journey growing up in various countries including Sudan, Ethiopia, Canada, and then eventually moving back to Pakistan in her teens. Of course, moving around so much isn’t easy growing up, especially...

#21 – Life in Pakistani Fashion

In this episode, we have an in depth conversation with Aarinda Tul Noor, a 24 year old highly successful fashion stylist and marketer from Lahore. Aarinda gives us a detailed overview of her life, how she shaped her career, and also shares common misconceptions and assumptions people around her keep about the world of Fashion...

#20 Muslim People Problems

Adeel Khan, 24, lives in Calgary, Canada. He has served as the President of the MSA (Muslim Student Association) at his university, and today he’ll share a few stories of his time throughout that journey, and also some of the challenges he saw within the Muslim community in his area. Also, Adeel has a podcast...

#19 – Long Distance

Imaan, 18, from Karachi shares her personal experience of a long distance relationship with an Algerian, and the challenges of facing traditional norms. Interracial marriage, gender bias, and marriage as a bond between individuals versus a bond between families – Imaan hits these topics and many more as her story unfolds...

#18 – Why I Started This Podcast

What’s the big idea about Pak-Cord? In this episode, we talk JUST about this podcast, and give more information about the host, Red. We answer FAQs, including: is this a “liberal” podcast, what are our plans for the future, how can you star in this podcast as a guest, and more!...

#17 – The iGeneration

Here’s our final episode of 2018! And our first episode featuring 3 teenagers: Ahmed, from Pakistan, Faaz from U.S., and Mavra from Canada. They bring their perspectives to the table on issues surrounding their age group – school, religion, peer pressure, and much more! ► Music Credit: SUNDANCE Track Name: “Perséphone – Retro Funky (SUNDANCE...

#16 – Ludo: the Game of Emperors! (and Tharkis)

“Chess may be the game of kings, but Pacheesi is the game of emperors” – The Big Game Hunter, Bruce Whitehill.  In this episode, I talk to 4 different guests and ludo-lovers, to talk all about Ludo, including the history, luck vs. skill, the social aspect of the game, reason why Pakistanis are obsessed with...

#15 – Cousin Marriages

This episode is about Cousin Marriages. In this episode, we invite a journalist who has studied and published about cousin marriage. She will share the result of her research, and she relates her research back to quite a few personal stories, to complete her perspective. We tackle cousin marriage from 3 angles – the facts...

#14 – The Disconnected Desi’s Guide to Punjab

What is Punjab? What are some misconceptions that people have of Punjabi people? Is Punjabi a ‘badtameez’ language? How are punjabis portrayed in the media? What’s the difference the Pakistani side of Punjab and the Indian side? Today we’ll discuss a lot about Punjab! Today’s guest – our first non-Pakistani guest! Ramsingh lives in Canada...

#13 – Tourism: Why you should Travel IN Pakistan!

Are you Pakistani, or of Pakistani descent, and thinking about rediscovering your roots? Here’s a great episode to get some ideas on where to go, and explaining why there’s so much to see in this beautiful country. A few weeks ago, we did an episode on why EVERYONE should travel more! Today, our episode is...

#12 – Video Games: Fazool Waste of Time?

In 2018, the Video gaming industry is on track to hit 138 billion dollars of global revenue ,according to a Market FOrecast report form Newzoo. The same research forecasts this global revenue to explode more and more each year, projecting 180 billion by 2021. Compare this to the global TV & video revenue, and you’ll...

#11 – Nomophobia; Rants against the Internet

Myra, Ammaz, and Habib start with the word ‘Nomophobia’ – a real, defined fear of being without your mobile device, and talk through a flurry of conversations...

#10 – Why EVERYONE should travel more (especially Pakistanis)!

Meet Bilal Hassan (IG @mystapaki) from Karachi – Doctor, Traveler, Blogger, Visionary! Bilal shares WHY it’s so important for every single person – especially Pakistanis – to travel, even if you can only afford to travel within your own country. Also, how can we promote tourism within Pakistan and change outside perceptions of this great...

#8 – Spoopy Hour: Jinn Bhoot Stories

Did you hear that?  Did you see the shadow running across the room? The unknown sounds of a creaking wooden floor, children laughing in the middle of the night, a rusting bicycle chain circling from the distance behind you are all sounds we don’t want to hear when we’re alone.  For most of us, the...

#7 – Culture Shock and Life in London

We feature 2 guests from London today – Kainaat (19, born and raised in London) and Saif (22, born in Pak, moved to London at age 14). We talk a little about life in the U.K., ups and downs of growing up in the west with a Pakistani background, religious extremism, and other tidbits. Music:...

#6 – Lahore vs. Karachi vs. Islamabad (Urdu)

In our second Urdu-based episode, we bring 4 guests on board to discuss the Big 3 of Pakistan – Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad! Meet Noor from Karachi, Saneela from Lahore, and Shahrukh and Hina (husband and wife) from Islamabad. Tune into this meme-filled episode full of random jokes, and (maybe) learn a little from us!...

#5 – Biryani and Dumbbells

Today we have 2 guests – Maha (Canada) and Dan (U.S.) to talk to us about health and fitness issues in the Pakistani community. Perceptions of health, as well as reasons why we don’t work out enough, and why uncles and aunties just can’t manage to lose weight – it’s all discussed here! This conversation...

#4 – What? There’s Pakistanis in Hong Kong?

Meet Sara, 24 year old Pakistani from Hong Kong. Born in HK, and travels to various countries including occasionally to Pakistan. In this half-hour chit-chat, Sara shares her perspective on living in HK, learning Cantonese/Mandarin, careers and options for women, and lots of other things!...

#3 – Best age to get married?

In this episode we go deep into the massive subject that is marriage, specifically in the context of Pakistani/desi culture, and to help us answer a specific question: is there a ‘perfect age’ to get married? Why do more singles want to wait before getting married now? Is getting married early really a ‘bad thing’...

#2 – Depression, Mental Illness, and Jinns

Today we talk to Myra (from New York) and Hassan (from Dubai). Myra, Hassan and I are going to scrape the surface on a hard-hitting topic: depression and mental illness among the Pakistani and South Asian communities. We know we will not be able to solve any problems with this episode, but hoping it can...

#1 – Life in Dubai (Mostly Urdu)

Today we talk to Hassan – a 25 year old from Pakistan. Hassan will tell us about his experiences growing up in Dubai, life of Pakistanis living in that area, and also his background in gaming and eSports. This episode is primarily in Urdu. Hassan’s Twitter: twitter.com/nightwing94...

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