Chaii Lab

We're back with our last episode of ‘Chaii Lab interviewing Chaii Lab' where we learn more about each other and ask each other questions we've never got the chance to ask! Last but not least, we have our Wisconsinite, Naman, who will bombard you with Spotify links. Grab your cuppa and join our convo with Naman about finding yourself, books and music, and embarrassing life decisions.

We're back with another episode of "Chaii Lab interviews Chaii Lab" where we learn more about eachother and ask questions we never got the chance to ask! This week's interview is with Laabiah, the Canadian of the group that loves all things science, tech, AI and art. Grab your cuppa and join us as we talk about AI taking over the world, anime crushes and work-life balance.

We're back with another episode of ‘Chaii Lab interviewing Chaii Lab' where we learn more about each other and ask each other questions we've never got the chance to ask! This week's interview is with your girl Muna, the voice of reason on many of our episodes! Grab your cuppa and join our convo with Muna about self-love and care, coping with loss, and our collective need to teleport.

We are excited to do a mini series interviewing each other here at Chaii lab! First up, we learn more about our dear Fatima and the person behind all of our great social media posts. From how Chaii lab has impacted her to what her bogart would be, grab your cuppa and tune into our new episode and learn more about the voices behind Chaii Lab.

After receiving so many questions about how to find a significant other and exploring dating apps for you all, Naman felt Muzmatch had a personal vendetta against her. In order to get to the bottom of Naman's luck, what better person to chat with than the CEO of Muzmatch: Shahzad Younas? A former banker turned tech-entrepreneur, Shaz's mission and passion is making the marriage/dating process accesible for Muslims of all backgrounds. With a community as religiously and culturally diverse as the Muslim community, creating an app that is relatable to all backgrounds is no easy mission. Join us in episode 39, where we chat with Shaz about his journey in creating Muzmatch, the challenges of getting muslims on board, the difference between men & women's dating app profiles/experiences and the future of Muslim dating.

What does empowering women, specifically Muslim women, look like? In a world where Muslim women are faced with sexism, racism, and Islamophobia, how do we uplift and empower ourselves and each other? Sofia Haq has made that her mission. As the CEO/Founder of Muslim Women Professionals (MWP) and Head Of Operations at Glory Skincare, a Black-owned and Women of Color run skincare company, Sofia works hard to empower and amplify the voices of Muslim women and women in color generally. Join us in episode 38 where we chat to Sofia about her work at MWP, what allyship should look like, and the importance of standing up for ourselves as women. Check out her amazing work at MWP (@muslimwomenprofessoinals) and Sofia Haq (@sofia__haq) as well as MWP's amazing rooms on Clubhouse!

This one is for our budding entrepreneurs! Chai is not just a drink but a way of life, and a perfect example of that is the wonderful founders of Chai Guys here in London. Run by Gabriel and Abs, Chai Guys was a passion project that turned into reality as they left their jobs to introduce authentic chai to central London. Join us in episode 37 where we chat with the Chai Guys about their love for chai, running a small business in the middle of a pandemic, working with friends, and the risks and rewards of chasing after your dreams. Check them out on insta @chaiguysuk and online at chaiguys.shop 

As Muslim Women, our identities often speak for us and we are left to constantly defend what our identity is and isn't. What does taking back that narrative look like and what does being unapologetically yourself actually mean? Grab your cuppa and join the conversation in episode 36 where we speak with our inspiring guest, Layla Shaikley, who is a multi-hyphenated force to be reckoned with. A co-founder of a tech start-up that has raised over a million dollars, an architect, podcast host, content creator, and a mom, Layla is an example of showcasing your unique identity  unapologetically and paving your own path. Check out her Instagram as well as her podcast at @laylool and @muslimsdoingthings and her tiktok (@laylool) where she gives invaluable career/interviewing tips. 

We are back with another ‘Advice Over Chaii”, where we answer your questions and give our different perspectives on life issues! Join us in Episode 35, where we chat about everything from cheating and narcissistic friends to mortgages and major life decisions.  (Full disclaimer, we are in no way responsible for ruining your life if you do take our advice)

How do our relationships with the men in our lives shape our experiences? From our brothers and fathers to male friends and colleagues, many of our relationships have a lasting impact on our lives and how we view relationships in general. Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 34 where we unpack our personal experiences and relationships and the value of having supportive male figures in our lives.

Growing up, we always see female friendships portrayed as filled with drama and bad energy in movies and tv shows. But as we've grown older, we've seen how the female friendships in our lives have been the most fruitful and fulfilling. Why are female friendships so important? How do we cultivate meaningful friendships amidst major life changes like distance and relationships? Join us in episode 33 where we discuss the value of female friendships in our lives and the importance of maintaining them.

For many of us, our passports are collecting dust and our usual privileges/opportunities to travel have been halted because of the pandemic. Join us in episode 32 where we have a conversation about what our passports mean to us beyond just traveling, but also the underlying meanings of citizenship and belonging that comes with this small book.  What does our passport represent, what opportunities does it give us, and what does it mean in the increasingly global world we live in?

After a year like 2020, looking back and reflecting can bring up a lot of the emotions and struggles we have faced. It was a year that brought a lot of change, pain, and loss. It was also a year of redefining our priorities, growth, and gratitude for the smaller things in our lives that we often take for granted. We decided to reflect on the good and the bad and write letters from our 2020 selves to remember the crazy year that we have all experienced. Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 31 where we share our personal stories from this past year, the lessons we've learned, the emotions we've felt, and the hopes that we have for the upcoming year. 2020 brought us Chaii Lab and we hope you continue to be a part of our family in 2021

To celebrate our 30th episode and the end of the first season of Chaii Lab, we decided to chat about the city that brought us together: London. This year has been a crazy ride for all of us here at Chaii Lab and we are so grateful that we were able to come together and provide a space for chaii and wholesome conversations for you all. Join us in our 30th episode where we chat about this crazy city that brought chaii lab together and how it has left its mark on us.

What better way to learn how weird your friends are than to play a game of Would you rather? Grab your cup of chaii , be prepared for a good laugh, and join us in episode 29 where we ask each other the most pressing, slightly deranged, existential life questions.

It's winter and that means that cuffing season is just around the corner. With a whole pandemic center stage, dating has changed its form and the use of dating apps has skyrocketed. Do dating apps work? Is “Muslim Dating” any different and what types of struggles do we as young people have in finding a significant other? Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 28 where we discuss the good and the bad with dating apps, experiences we've all had, and how dating is evolving with the changing world around us. (Disclaimer, this episode is for all the times people have asked Chaii Lab for relationship advice despite us directing you to the podcast next door)

We all remember the nerve-wracking decisions of choosing majors or career paths in our teens. From stability and predictability to passion and purpose, so many factors go into our decisions throughout our lives. What happens when we are no longer happy with the current path we are in and how do we navigate career changes? Do we put too much pressure on ourselves to follow one path and what does a more fluid path look like? Join us in Episode 27 where we speak with the lovely  Nada El Azhary @nadazhary who has navigated career changes from psychology and mental health to film production and how sometimes we just need to take a leap of faith.

We are back with another Advice Over Chaii, where we answer your questions and give our different perspectives on life issues! Join us in Episode 26 where we chat about everything from coping with grief to dealing with relationship issues! (Full disclaimer, we are in no way responsible for ruining your life if you do take our advice)

We've all seen the breaking news about a potential Covid vaccine and the polarising opinions that come with the topic of vaccination. Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 25 where we discuss the vaccine, vaccination in general and common misconceptions that we have seen surfacing on social media! (Facts included from our very own Chaii Lab pharmacist and scientist!)

2020 has felt like one long midlife crisis for the world and we have been feeling it here at Chaii Lab. Whether it's career changes, moving back home, or existential meaning of life dilemmas, this year has definitely caused us to think. Join us in episode 24, where we talk each other through our different quarter-life crisis and try to make sense of the dumpster fire.

In our last episode, we discussed the choices our parents made to immigrate to new countries and the sacrifices they made for these new lives. The conversation left us thinking: How do these choices affect our childhood and upbringing? What pressures are put on us growing up and how do they manifest into our adulthood? Grab your cuppa and join us in part two where we discuss the consequences of our parent's choices and the trade-offs they had to make raising us in the west.

We have all heard the “when I was your age” comparisons from our parents. Whether it was the fact that they uprooted their entire lives or survived war and conflict, our parents have experienced a universe that we often can't even begin to understand. Join us in episode 22 where we speak about our parent's experiences, the immigrant experience, the impact of leaving one's homeland, and what home even looks like for us and future generations.

From Aladdin to Pocahontas, Disney movies can actually be extremely problematic. Whether it's the racism/orientalism or the misogyny and sexism, so many things have gone by unnoticed from our childhood classics (maybe we were too busy singing along). Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 21 where we deconstruct Disney movies and discuss what broader representation in the media means.

We are back with another round of “Advice over Chai”! Join us in our 20th episode where we give our perspectives and advice on a range of topics, from fear of failure and parental guidance to relationships and divorce. (And as always, we are no way responsible for ruining your life if you do take our advice)

We always tend to focus on our physical appearance or outward manifestations of beauty and success. What if we invested that energy into our minds and souls? How do we create meaningful connections with others where we listen to understand, not to respond? Join us in Episode 19 where we are joined with an inspiring guest, Lina (@linathedreamer) and discuss the importance of perspective and investing in the mind. Make sure to follow Lina's page and check out her amazing  "Perspective Series”, which features important and meaningful conversations.

From Adele's bantu knots to Shien's prayer mat fiasco, cultural appropriation is constantly a heated topic of discussion. Where do we draw the line between appropriation versus appreciation? Who exactly gate keeps culture and are we at risk of being cultural appropriators ourselves? Join us in episode 18 where we chat about this difference and how we can better appreciate cultures in an increasingly connected world.

From twitter feuds to international movements, we've all seen call-out and cancel culture take center stage in the social media world. With a click of a button, we have seen mass mobilization behind holding problematic people and systems accountable. But does it always work? Is cancel-culture toxic? In what type of situations is cancelling a necessary tool? Join the conversation in episode 17 where we talk about cancel culture, the benefits and harms, and whether alternative methods exist.

We've all gone down a rabbit hole on youtube that has lasted for hours. What we don't think much about is how hours of scrolling on social media platforms affect our thoughts, our opinions, and even our lives. What influence do algorithms have on shaping our opinions? Is censorship dangerous or necessary? Will Tik-Tok take over the world? Join us in episode 16 where we discuss the New York Times podcast: Rabbit Hole and the reality of what the internet is doing to us.

Why are we conditioned to view vulnerability as a weakness? Are we truly vulnerable with anyone in our lives, including ourselves? What does vulnerability actually look like in our lives, from our professions to relationships? Join us in episode 15 where we talk about our own perceptions of vulnerability and how we can start seeing it as a form of strength.

If you haven't been living under a rock, you probably have seen the new popular Netflix show: Indian matchmaking.  Grab your cuppa and join us in episode 14 where we talk about our opinions of the show's depiction of arranged marriage, beauty standards, how women are treated in this process and whether we would ever trust Sima Aunty with our future

In this episode we explore the prescribed gender roles in our upbringing, modesty, the workplace and more. We have all  faced and internalised double standards at some point in our lives and we discuss the different double standards we have faced and how we can we work to overcome them.

Trying to convince your parents to move out? Do you feel yourself drifting from friends? Struggling to find a partner? (Bound to be one of these!) Join us in Episode 12 for our first “Advice over Chaii” where we answer your questions and give our perspectives (disclaimer, we are in no way responsible for ruining your life if you do take our advice)

Every woman has experienced some sort of pressure to get married, whether it's sly comments from aunties at graduation or just generally from standards set by our communities. Join us in Episode 11 where we talk about our experiences as women navigating careers and societal pressures and how important is to define success and happiness on our terms.

Being the first to move away from your family for university or work is a struggle, from convincing your parents of the move, to figuring out how to deal with a clogged sink without first calling baba. If that wasn't enough, you now have to come to terms with spending time with yourself and loneliness that comes with moving into a completely different city, country, or even continent and the struggle of making new friends. Join us in Episode 10, where we discuss our experiences with finding our independence whether we chose to move out or stay at home

“You're pretty for a dark-skinned girl”, “Your fair skin is so beautiful, why do you want to tan?”: we've all heard casual comments like these from childhood to the present day. Why isn't colourism addressed in our communities? How does colourism affect us from relationships to the beauty and media industry? Join us in Episode 9 where we speak about our experiences with colourism, the impact it has, and how we can no longer allow it to be the status quo.

Where does our internalized racism and colorism come from? How important is understanding history in unpacking these prejudices? Can we afford to be silent in today's world? Grab you chaii and join us, with a special guest, on a conversation about the importance of decolonizing our minds and attitudes and our responsibility to change for future generations.

Is being Somali and Black mutually exclusive? How much of our identities are shaped by our surroundings? Join us in episode 7 where we explore Blackness, racism, and the tough conversations that are necessary to have with ourselves, our friends and family and with our broader communities.

Does travelling necessarily make you a better person, or is finding yourself abroad overrated? Join us as we talk about our personal travel experiences as women, how many women are discouraged to travel, and whether or not that can stifle your life experiences and development.

Do you believe all your achievements in life are scams... or are you normal? Grab your chaii and join us in episode 5 as we discuss self-doubt, failure and being honest about our experiences. (P.s take a sip of chaii every time we say "100%"...) 

What does love mean to you? Can Motherly love be compared to the love of your oldest friend? Grab your chaii & join us in episode 4 as we discuss how the language of love differs across cultures and takes many shapes and forms depending on the relationship

Have you turned into a TikTok addict during quarantine? Finding yourself doing a virtual spring clean on who you're following? Grab your chai and join us in episode 3 as we discuss our relationships with social media, especially during this time. 

Nostalgia can be bittersweet - sometimes a source of comfort and other times a source of grief. Join us in episode 2 as we explore our experiences with nostalgia and how key moments in our lives can shape who we are.                              . P.s. we have changed our instagram to @chaiilab - see you there!