Redefined with Zainab Salbi

Growing up in Kibera, one of Africa's largest urban slums, Kennedy Odede survived extreme childhood poverty, crime, sexual abuse and drug abuse on a path to ultimately becoming one of the most compelling social entreprenuers and community leaders working today. On our season 2 finale, Kennedy joins Zainab to share his harrowing journey and reveals why truly transforming oneself means also transforming the lives of others.

Jean Oelwang, president and CEO of Virgin Unite, spent 15 years interviewing 65 prominent pairs, including Ben & Jerry, Leah and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rosalynn and President Jimmy Carter. Her resulting book, PARTNERING: FORGE THE DEEP CONNECTIONS THAT MAKE GREAT THINGS HAPPEN reveals how finding the right collaborator can change the world. In identifying six principles that make partnerships flourish, Jean also reveals how those concepts changed her life.

Wajahat Ali, author of the new memoir, Go Back To Where You Came From, And Other Helpful Recommendations On How to Become American, joins Zainab to discuss finding God in the good and the bad, using language as liberation, the danger of clinging to anger, the importance of investing in joy, and what Wajahat does perpetually to correct perceptions about Muslims in the West.

Pioneering Marine fighter pilot and two-time congressional candidate Amy McGrath reveals how she deals with sexism, the personal responsibilities she bears as a retired member of the Armed Forces, and carrying values of sacrifice and service throughout her life, even when faith and duty collide.

Acclaimed journalist, television host and author Lisa Ling joins Zainab to talk about the timely and personal significance of her latest show, Take Out, fighting back against bigotry and bias by teaching empathy and diverse history to the next generation and what a recent psychedelic experience taught Lisa about an important and complicated relationship.

Internationally celebrated author, poet and activist Alice Walker joins Zainab to discuss transcending boundaries, finding solace in nature, a pivotal visit to Russia, finding love and danger in the American South during the Civil Rights movement and, says Alice, learning to accept that there is magic in this life. 

Mark Nepo, poet, spiritual teacher and bestselling author of 22 books, reflects tenderly on the moments that have transformed his writing, creativity and relationships. Mark also reveals how he developed the tools to heal his pain, live through his heart and put a premium on the present.  "The old world is gone," he tells Zainab, "and the only way forward is through kindness."

Tony Porter, CEO of A Call To Men, shares stories from his decades-long crusade to help men invest in a healthier form of manhood, discusses the evolution and controversies of his intersectional methods and reveals the very personal origins of his journey.

Distinguished historian, Princeton professor and best-selling author Elaine Pagels talks with Zainab about the hidden history of religion and her lifelong spiritual and academic journey to understand the purpose religion can hold in each of our lives.

Bestselling author Agapi Stassinopoulos shares lessons from her new book, Speaking with Spirit, including the power and ritual of personal, non-denominational prayer, and how to find a home in oneself no matter the external circumstances

With a rare combination of humor and tenderness, author and heart-centered teacher Danielle LaPorte reveals how she overcame impostor syndrome, decluttered her spiritual practice and learned to truly trust her own voice. 

After a brush with death, Damien Mander searches for a way to change his life and the lives of others. In the second of our two-part series, Damien tells Zainab about founding the International Anti-Poaching Foundation and leaving a life of destruction for one of conservation, innovation and protecting the planet.

Damien Mander, founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, once served as a sniper in the Australian military and as a private security contractor during the insurgency in Iraq. He barely made it out alive and left with a burning need to change his life. In the first of two parts, Damien unpacks how childhood violence led to a path of unstoppable aggression, and talks with Zainab, in her most personal interview yet, about participating in a system that caused pain and destruction in her native country. Damien and Zainab come together here in the spirit of healing, reconciliation and truth.

Reverend Doctor Jacqui Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Church in New York City and author of a remarkable new book, Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness that Can Heal the World. Rev. Dr. Lewis joins Zainab to discuss how these ideas are rooted in her own fierce journey, one that has challenged her to find grace in healing and forgiveness, and truly develop a willingness to embrace new beginnings.

From "God moments" in Ethiopia to falling in love amid her partner's cancer treatment, actress and writer Maria Bello joins Zainab to talk about evolving spiritual beliefs, finding freedom from judgement and the wisdom of past and present relationships.

Sharon Salzberg has maintained a meditation practice for nearly 50 years and during that time she has become one of our most compassionate and compelling teachers. To learn from Sharon is to commit to opening your heart and, ultimately, to extend compassion to yourself, to others—and even to your enemies. Join Sharon and Zainab for a remarkable, open-hearted conversation about the intersection between self-love and self-acceptance, the roots of empathy and understanding, and more stories and teachings from Sharon's fascinating and impactful life.

Visionary yogi and mystic Sadhguru discusses the power and necessity of embracing self-determination and shares moving lessons from his latest book, Karma: A Yogi's Guide to Crafting Your Destiny.

Music great Rosanne Cash joins Zainab to talk about the intersection of creativity, authenticity and the divine. Over the course of her illustrious career as a singer, songwriter and author, Rosanne Cash has learned to embrace both her own identity and her father's towering legacy. Along the way, she's dealt with devastating loss, opened her heart to transformative love and learned that live performance is a matter of service rather than ego. 

With power, humilty and clarity, author, playwright and activist V--formerly Eve Ensler--reveals how deep empathy creates great art (The Vagina Monologues, The Apology), why she will never stand for injustice, what she has learned from surviving cancer and sexual abuse.

Before Hugh Jackman became an iconic performer, on stage and on screen, he was a child plagued by fear, an adolescent pondering God and a young man searching for meaning. On this episode of Redefined, Hugh opens up about that search and how his perpetual quest for healing and self-knowledge has become a cornerstone of his existence, leading to ongoing personal growth.

Elif Shafak, one of our generation's most compelling writers, reveals how she balances anxiety and activism with the life of an artist. Estranged from Turkey and now living in London, Elif shares how she deals with displacement. Both children of the Middle East, Elif and Zainab discuss what they learned from their female elders about sisterhood, kindness and empowering the next generation. 

As an Ecuadorian immigrant living in poverty and seeking safety, and later facing rock bottom while confronting substance abuse, poet Diego Perez had a long way to go to find his center. Now, better known by his pen name, Yung Pueblo, Perez discusses his path to personal awakening and a gentler way of being.

From working as a child star to working through its residual traumas, Alyson Stoner has turned her own healing journey into a platform through which she helps others. Tune in as Alyson shares what she learned about the role of trauma in art, why she put herself in therapy at 13 and how she manifests meaning--and healing--through her latest endeavor Movement Genius.

Marianne Williamson, presidential candidate, best selling author and spiritual teacher, shares what it means-- and what it costs--to lead with love. From her work with the terminally ill to her desire to heal our politics, Marianne gets vulnerable and candid with Zainab, revealing the moments that have shaped her from childhood to the present day.

Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Zen priest, Sensei, first met Redefined's Zainab Salbi on a bus. The two women had a surprising and intense encounter while riding between Gaza and Egypt. In this moving conversation, they unpack what they saw and how they acted as part of a tender, revealing and impactful dialogue about what it really means to live in truth.

Don Lemon, CNN anchor and best-selling author of This is the Fire joins Zainab for an intimate conversation about embracing personal risk, working through heartbreaking loss, and his ongoing experience of reconciling love and pain as a Black man in America.

Annie Lennox joins host Zainab Salbi on the debut episode of Redefined to talk about the personal moments that have shaped her identity as a citizen, activist, artist, daughter and mother. Formative and transformative stories of hope, loss, struggle and awakening fill this heartfelt conversation.

Zainab Salbi introduces Redefined.