Confessions of a Desi Drama Queen

In this weeks episode Sana officially introduces your new co-host Amna Saleemi! Aaaah! Amna takes the mic and the girls jump straight into Babygirl *in a baby voice*, Kendrick vs Drake & it ends with Candace Owens'? 

Continuing the conversation with Samreen from last week, we're diving into her unique path to success with SamreensVanity. One thing we know for sure is Samreen is willing to roll up her sleeves and never takes 'NO' for answer. Her secret sauce to continued growth and success is in all her ability to keep persevering. 

Get ready for the baddest businesswoman on the block to share her journey to a multi-million dollar beauty company against all odds AND being a wife and mother. Samreen came to the states to attend college in hopes of pursuing a career and today is the founder and CEO of her own brand, SamreensVanity. Samreen opens up about her post-partum experience and how she navigated her journey into motherhood while finding her way in her own life. THIS is the episode you'll want to take notes on because Samreen tells us how she did it all, in her career and balancing a life with her family. 

It's a solo dolo episode this week. The first solo episode of season 2 *YEAH BABY* (read in Austin Powers voice only, please). This week is a true catch up SZN. It's been a while since we've talked updates!! We catch up one on one about where I've been pre and post season 1 from leaving our home in Tennessee to navigating life in hometown CHAOS to all the BTS from interviews done for this season of the podcast. And FINALLY, a RAMADAN AND EID EPISODE!!!!! Being home for Ramadan after years and after being married has been new and we talk about the good and the bad. We end talking about EID 2024 and the vibes for eid fits, at least on this end, being more comfy than glam this year...OR SO SHE SAYS.

Continuing our conversation with Sahrish from last week, we're diving into what happens AFTER the divorce? Is navigating single life as a woman in her early 30s easy or harder than when you were in your early 20s? How do your expectations change when you're independent and settled in your career? There is SO much to talk about, especially as a desi woman trying to find a partner and Sahrish tells us about some of her experiences with dating apps (muslim vs non-muslim), solo traveling, society's expectations, and the double standards desi women face. 

IT'S OFFICIALLY SPRING 2024 and we're kicking off this spring with a friend who is the QUEEN of turning lemons into lemonade. Sahrish is the girliepop of girliepops and we've been in each other's lives for over a decade as we've taken on new roles and hit huge milestones in our lives. Most recently, Sahrish had a pretty big life change in that she is officially separated from her husband of 5 years. She speaks candidly about not only how she's dealt with the good, bad, and ugly of her separation, but also how she's dealt with the desi community's REACTION to it. We also spend a lot of time diving into Sahrish's career which she shares with pride and honor (because -- hello it's SUCH a cool job?!) and the beauty of friendship soulmates. The overall theme of this episode is romanticizing the rawness of life as women, and in turn TRULY celebrating it...and this is only part 1 ;)

Ramadan Mubarak girlies!

GEEERD MORNING on this lovely Tuesday with none other than Sana and THEEE Zubair Show! Buckle in for a conversation with piping hot tea as we talk to our FIRST interview with a MAN. On this week's part 1 of 2 series, AKA Tea Time with The Zubair Show, we are answering your burning hot questions about zubair's life ranging from whether he's single and ready to mingle to how he's navigated being in the influencer and content creation space in NYC as a south asian male. Zubair tells us about his journey to NYC, how difficult it can be to rise above perception and judgement especially taking the fashion and creativity BOLD risks that Zubair is so passionate about, and family dynamics from childhood to adulthood. 

This week we have on an EXTREMELY special guest and the first person in my family to join us on the pod, AMNA SALEEMI!!! Someone roll out the red carpet because we're talking alllll the things you want to hear from Drake's released video of an *ahem* palm tree, how Amna and I met as pre-teens and thought we were too cool for school (and each other), MEG VS NICKI and so much more! Saving the best for last, we begin our first 'PAKISTANI CONFESSIONS' segment in which talk in depth about a wild, wild story.

We're back and better than ever with our first episode of season 2!!! Starting off strong with our interview with Amy Devan, a true NYC boss woman who shares her stories and secrets with us in this week's episode. We talk about her ACCIDENTAL move to hustling and bustling NYC, navigating single life at 40, and how she manages her business life wearing all the hats (but no ballet flats) a woman can wear ;) 

Like I say in the beginning, this is a shoot the shit type of episode BUT we do talk about oldest daughter syndrome and how it quickly sets you up to fall into 'hustle culture' and the toll that can take long term (trust me)! I give you all some of my favorite ways to slow down and self-care - no matter how many times I have to remind myself it's okay to not be going 100 mph like I used to, I'm ready for my soft gworl era. Pop culture hot take? Barbie was a 6/10 but absolutely beautiful cinematically and Drake was a super fun show with a slight hiccup (my moon was in rising or whatever). ENJOY!

This week's topics are twist(ers) and turns starting with a little Eid update, story time about a childhood fear come to life, and conversations about why desi women grew up with a scarcity mindset in a toxic culture of comparison. 

After a few weeks apart, we're BACK BABY! Buckle up for an episode with twists and turns you wouldn't expect. We do a recap on how life has been in this desi drama queen's life followed by a deep dive of some self-reflection that's taken place over the last few weeks including therapy, self-reflection and fears that we all may go through. Ending with some fun hot takes from all of YOU queens! Hope you enjoy. :)

Continuing where we left off last week, Mashal and Sana get into the harder conversations around marriage, in laws, family, siblings, etc. Listen for some really tangible ways to help you in so many scenarios from arguments with the husband to building a stronger relationship with your MIL and how to take your health seriously if you've been on the vicious cycle of dieting. Enjoy a fun lightening round at the end as we wrap up desi girl's guide to adulting!!!

On this week's episode, I get to interview Dr. Mashal Khan! Enjoy the first of a two part series with Mashal as she talks about all the curveballs she's navigated as a badass, each time turning lemons into lemonade. Whether it be personal or professional, Mashal has shown grace, strength and resilience in so many of her life experiences. She reminds us that there is power in sharing our stories and teaches us tangible ways to create our DREAM reality.  In part one, we discuss her journey into medicine and beyond as a self-made functional medicine and health coach, her pregnancy story (including a HILARIOUS public gender reveal mix-up), navigating a new career while faced with severe hesitation from family, and how she met her now husband, Nadir!

Mina Hasan joins Confessions of a Desi Drama Queen as the FIRST ever featured guest of the podcast to give us the inside scoop on her very public and viral drama with beauty brand owner and powerhouse, Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty. Mina also talks to us about her experience as Gen Z living in a post-pandemic college culture and the reality of growing up in a desi household. Her experiences will resonate with so many younger women as she helps us navigate the best ways to set boundaries respectfully and still choose yourself.

We're taking a little trip down memory lane today. Sana takes you through the nostalgia of a Chicago chaand raat. It's the era of Imran Khan, over-bronzed mac foundation, and pencil thin brows roaming Devon at 2 am the night before Eid and the VIBES WERE IMMACULATE. We get into the bittersweet Eid's pre-marriage and how hard it is to do Eid traditions differently after you get married. After the Eid dive, we talk pop culture this week. SPOILER ALERT: We talk through Love is Blind ep 11 and allll the drama that's popped off on tik tok since! Lastly, apparently the Kardashians aren't invited to the Met Gala this year? *SIPS. TEA.* 

Part 2 of the Ramadan Series 2023! This week we take a look at the culture of Eid on social medial and the absolute CHOKEHOLD that Pakistani designers have on our life every Eid. Diving into some topics from last week, we discuss responses from a Ramadan poll shared on the podcast IG - including some of your favorite traditions! Confession of the week: Ramadan Guilt. We respond to your comments on the tough parts of Ramadan for some, and the isolation and guilt that comes with feeling spiritually disconnected. 

Ramadan Mubarak!!! We promise this is not the Ramadan episode you'd expect. This week we're answering your questions and sharing Ramadan stories LIKE AN OPEN BOOK. We talk about periods and how annoyingggg it is to have to pretend to fast so that the men in our lives aren't uncomfortable and the lengths we go to to prove we're fasting when we LITERALLY CAN'T. We also talk about what Ramadan is like once you're married INCLUDING how intimate you're allowed to get with your spouse in this holy month, the shift from a Ramadan family experience to the loneliness and quiet of Ramadan as a couple, and more. In the last 10 minutes of this episode, we share some hilarious stories from listeners that will leave you SHOOK. This episode is Part 1 of Ramadan Rants (Part 2 to come in EP 5).

Welcome back to reality! After a couple weeks of travel (including a girls trip to Paris), we're back with another episode of CDDQ! We're diving into the DRAMA around a girls trip to Paris without husbands, the shock of a Parisian cabaret show, pressures of vacation in the age of social media, and a confession about Ramadan being around the corner. Enjoy!

In this week's episode we skip, hop, and jump to all things BOLLYWOOD and the impact it had on our childhoods and connection to home but also some of the questionable story lines we romanticized. Sana also discusses her controversial thoughts on the 2023 superbowl performance (SRY love you riri) and spends a little too much time deep diving on experiencing the season of spring in the south. 

EPISODE 1 IS FINALLY HERE! Here. We. MF. GO. Welcome to the official launch of Confessions of a Desi Drama Queen! In this week's episode, the pilot of the podcast, Sana dives into the 'why' of this podcast. If you've followed the journey, you know this has been a long time coming. Let's get into what brings us all together and how we plan on building on all our shared experiences one week at a time. It's time to create a public place that we treat like the ultimate girl's group chat. Ladies and gentlemen...let the confessions ROLL.