Shows
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaNavigating Afghan Diaspora Identity with Mina SharifOn this episode of Halva for the Heart, I am thrilled to be interviewing Afghan-Canadian author Mina Sharif.Mina spent 15 years living and working in Kabul, Afghanistan. She’s the author of Your War, Our Lives, a short story collection that brings heart, humor, and nuance to everyday life in Afghanistan during the international occupation. Through her work, she shares the quieter, more human sides of conflict, and what it means to belong to more than one place at once. In this conversation, Mina and I speak about her new boo...2025-07-301h 11
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaAncestral Wisdom with ShivaniOn this episode of Halva for the Heart, I am joined by my friend and fellow death doula Shivani Narang. Shivani is a death worker, a grief worker, and a postpartum, abortion, and post-abortion doula who is deeply connected to their ancestors. Their work is an act of devotion.In this conversation, Shivani and I speak about surrendering to the wisdom of our ancestors and allowing them to guide our death work. We also discuss magic of grandmthers and great-grandmothers, and how we stay connected to our ancestral homelands while having grown up in the US....2025-07-2354 min
Nine Keys: the art, business, activism, and mystery of death workHafez Death Care: Grief Across Oceans with Misha MurphyMisha Murphy of Hafez Death Care and the podcast Halva for the Heart joins Narinder for a warm, sharp, and deeply human conversation. A Nine Keys alum, Misha’s grief work centers Iranians in the diaspora, holding space for inherited griefs, ancestral wounds, and love stretched across time zones. Though Misha currently lives in Seoul, they serve globally.This isn’t just a somber sit-down. Misha moves between devotion and levity with rare grace, talking straight, laughing easily, and naming the magic of grief care without flinching. Together, mentor and mentee share stories about wo...2025-07-221h 11Nine Keys: the art, business, activism, and mystery of death workNot Just Holding Space: Death Work as Political PracticeWhat is a death doula, really? In this episode, Narinder unpacks the limits of the most common definition, "non-medical support at the end of life", and invites listeners into a much deeper understanding. With tenderness and clarity, she explores how death work is inherently political.Drawing from over a decade in the field, Narinder shares how her own practice began to reveal the inequities baked into our systems, how grief, care, and death are commodified, how the death and grief illiteracy of our society causes more harm, and how true healing comes to...2025-06-2643 min
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaMeditation for the Iranian DiasporaIn this special episode of Halva for the Heart, I offer a guided meditation created specifically for the Iranian diaspora.Since Israel's attack on.Iran, many Iranians—myself included—have been struggling with emotional overwhelm, fear, grief, and dissociation. In response, I’ve been hosting grief support spaces for Iranians, and this meditation emerged from those gatherings.Rooted in the teachings of Valerie Kaur, Holly Truhlar, and my death midwifery mentor Narinder Bazen, this episode is a somatic, ancestral, and heart-centered meditation practice. Please find a quiet, comfortable place to rest. Bring your grief, your tenderness, your l...2025-06-2521 min
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaBeing a Death Doula in a Time of WarIn this episode, I discuss the recent Israeli bombings happening throughout Iran and how my work as an Iranian-American death doula can help me support my community in this moment.If you're Iranian, join us for Dard-e Del three times a month. Learn more and signup here. Let us support each other 🫂If you'd like to share what this episode brought up for you, leave me a voice note🎵 Theme song: 'Lullaby' by Iranian oud player Negâr BoubânLearn more about my work at my website www.hafezdeathcare.comFollow m...2025-06-1931 min
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaThe Politics of Death & GriefDeath and grief are deeply political, especially during this moment in history. Listen as I discuss how turning towards our grief and deepening out death work can help us as we live through this time of collapse.If you'd like to share what this episode brought up for you, leave me a voice note🎵 Theme song: 'Lullaby' by Iranian oud player Negâr Boubân❤️🩹 Cover image is Palestinian docter Dr. Alaa Al Najjar whose nine children were killed by an Israeli airstrike in GazaLearn more about my work at my website www.hafezdeathc...2025-06-1129 min
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaPoetry and Grief with Mallory DowdIn this episode, I'm joined by my friend Mallory Dowd. She is a clinical therapist, intuitive tarot reader, and art witch based in Seoul. Together, we will be hosting a community grief circle soon and I wanted to bring her on the podcast to talk about relationship to grief. 🖤Content Warning for discussions about grief from a loss by suicide.Get in touch with Mallory on Instagram @mallorydowd or through her website www.mallorydowd.comIf you'd like to share what this episode brought up for you, leave me a voice note2025-05-271h 26
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaHealing with my SisterThis episode is all about my sister and our relationship. How we've finally found reconciliation after so many years of guilt and resentment from how we each handled our mom's death.We sat down to record this episode while she was visiting me in Korea with the simple topic of "Let's talk about our grief". I didn't know what to expect because we had never really spoken about our grief together before, but recording this episode brought us so much closer to one another.If you have any strained relationships in your life, I hope this...2025-05-171h 16
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaThe Origins of my DeathworkIn this episode, you'll hear about:● what drew me to deathwork● when I first encountered the term 'death doula'● why I named my podcast 'Halva for the Heart'Have some tissues ready for this one! I was in tears recording it 💙If you'd like to share what this episode brought up for you, leave me a voice note🎵 Theme song: 'Lullaby' by Iranian oud player Negâr BoubânLearn more about my work at my website www.hafezdeathcare.comFollow me on instagram at @hafez.death.care2025-04-2837 min
Halva for the Heart: Dying and Grieving in DiasporaWalking with Grief to Build a Liberated FutureWelcome to the very first episode of Halva for the Heart! We're kicking things off with an episode about a Grief Walk event I'll be hosting for Annual Grief-in-Public Day, and why the act of walking is so valuable for grief care.Plus, I discuss a bit about why community grief care is so important to me and the world I'm trying to help build.If you'd like to share what this episode brought up for you, leave me a voice note🎵 Theme song: 'Lullaby' by Iranian oud player Negâr Boub...2025-04-1521 min
BeginnerBye Bye ByeMisha talks to her sister about what it means to be cool, makes flash cards for NSYNC songs and looks for the root of her insecurities as an immigrant. Produced by Misha Euceph, with help from Robin Miniter and Sammy Miller. Music by Podington Bear, Ali Farka Toure, Sanam Marvi and the Rumi Symphony Project by Hafez Nazeri.
2017-05-2117 min