Shows
The Gharaana ShowMekaal Hasan Pt. 3Part 3 of a wonderful converstion with Mekal Hasan. Mekaal Hasan is a Pakistani musician known for his recorded and live performances with the Mekaal Hasan Band and for his recording, audio mixing and production abilities which have seen him work with leading contemporary local and international artists.2025-07-3059 minThe Gharaana ShowRakae Jamil Pt. 1Rakae Rehman Jamil is a musician, music producer and a lecturer based in Lahore, Pakistan. He acquired his B.A degree in Musicology from the National College of Arts in Lahore, and his Masters' degree in the Humanities from the University of Chicago, USA with a concentration in Ethnomusicology. He is an Assistant Professor of the Musicology Department at the National College of Arts in Lahore. He has worked as a guest artist in Coke Studio season 2, and as a member of the post-production team assuming the role of an audio engineer in Coke Studio Season 11, as well as being...2025-07-0844 minThe Gharaana ShowMeesha Shafi Pt.2Part 2 of an insightful conversation with Meesha Shafi. Meesha Shafi is a Pakistani-born Canadian singer, actress, and model known for her feminist views and blending contemporary and traditional sounds. Shafi has won numerous awards, including the 2012 "Pride of Performance" national award.2025-07-0139 minThe Gharaana ShowMeesha Shafi Pt.1Meesha Shafi is a Pakistani-born Canadian singer, actress, and model known for her feminist views and blending contemporary and traditional sounds. Shafi has won numerous awards, including the 2012 "Pride of Performance" national award.2025-06-2547 minThe Gharaana ShowMekaal Hasan Pt. 2Mekaal Hasan is a Pakistani musician known for his recorded and live performances with the Mekaal Hasan Band and for his recording, audio mixing and production abilities which have seen him work with leading contemporary local and international artists.2025-06-1849 minThe Gharaana ShowMekaal HasanMekaal Hasan is a Pakistani musician known for his recorded and live performances with the Mekaal Hasan Band and for his recording, audio mixing and production abilities which have seen him work with leading contemporary local and international artists.2025-06-1048 minThe Gharaana ShowHassan & RoshaanHassan & Roshaan is a Pakistani Pop songwriting duo based in Lahore, Pakistan.Their music style can be described as “contemporary subcontinental”: a unique combination of Eastern sounds and melodies coupled with electronically charged production inspired by Western Pop and R&B.2025-06-0348 minThe Gharaana ShowBlack LettersBlack Letters is an alternative rock quartet from Bangalore, India. They blend sounds from various forms of rock, electronic music, and semi-classical Indian music. They have released multiple albums and have a strong presence in the Indian indie music scene.2025-05-2848 minThe Gharaana ShowAJ AbdullahAJ Abdullah is a rising star in the lo-fi pop scene. And for a good reason. His lyricism and melodic style is absolutely captivating.2025-05-2148 minThe Gharaana ShowSanjanaSanjana illustrates universal emotions, cultivating a refuge for herlisteners with an intimate blend ofsoulful vocals, indie-pop sincerity and alternative-influenced songwriting. She draws out theromantic from the mundane, divulging the vulnerabilities of everyday life that we all face but don’talways explore, from anxiety to platonic love to the importance of gratitude in young adulthood.Growing up between India and California and originally trained in Indian classical music, Sanjanabegan writing music as a young teenager. Today, she unites disparate worlds and soundscapes withfinesse, having surpassed 1.7 million global streams, signed a sy...2025-05-1948 min
Health and Wellness Archives - Canada's EntrepreneurFrom Big Tech to Healthcare: Zameer Rizvi’s Mission to Improve Patient CareOntario-based Zameer Rizvi is the Founder & CEO of Odesso and has a great entrepreneurial story.
Zameer has two decades of institutional and professional experience with notable companies such as Amazon, VMware, Amgen, Citrix, and Blackberry.
Patient care has been deeply neglected as healthcare systems are overburdened and underfunded. Zameer recognized this in and realized he had to do something and so he launched Odesso in 2017. Odesso helps healthcare providers shift focus back to the patient by alleviating operational challenges. The company powers some of the most notable players in North America’s healthcare industry today. Od...2024-12-1930 minTech Archives - Canada's EntrepreneurFrom Big Tech to Healthcare: Zameer Rizvi’s Mission to Improve Patient CareOntario-based Zameer Rizvi is the Founder & CEO of Odesso and has a great entrepreneurial story.
Zameer has two decades of institutional and professional experience with notable companies such as Amazon, VMware, Amgen, Citrix, and Blackberry.
Patient care has been deeply neglected as healthcare systems are overburdened and underfunded. Zameer recognized this in and realized he had to do something and so he launched Odesso in 2017. Odesso helps healthcare providers shift focus back to the patient by alleviating operational challenges. The company powers some of the most notable players in North America’s healthcare industry today. Od...2024-12-1930 minHealth and Wellness Archives - Canada's EntrepreneurFrom Big Tech to Healthcare: Zameer Rizvi’s Mission to Improve Patient CareOntario-based Zameer Rizvi is the Founder & CEO of Odesso and has a great entrepreneurial story.
Zameer has two decades of institutional and professional experience with notable companies such as Amazon, VMware, Amgen, Citrix, and Blackberry.
Patient care has been deeply neglected as healthcare systems are overburdened and underfunded. Zameer recognized this in and realized he had to do something and so he launched Odesso in 2017. Odesso helps healthcare providers shift focus back to the patient by alleviating operational challenges. The company powers some of the most notable players in North America’s healthcare industry today. Od...2024-12-1930 minTech Archives - Canada's EntrepreneurFrom Big Tech to Healthcare: Zameer Rizvi’s Mission to Improve Patient CareOntario-based Zameer Rizvi is the Founder & CEO of Odesso and has a great entrepreneurial story.
Zameer has two decades of institutional and professional experience with notable companies such as Amazon, VMware, Amgen, Citrix, and Blackberry.
Patient care has been deeply neglected as healthcare systems are overburdened and underfunded. Zameer recognized this in and realized he had to do something and so he launched Odesso in 2017. Odesso helps healthcare providers shift focus back to the patient by alleviating operational challenges. The company powers some of the most notable players in North America’s healthcare industry today. Od...2024-12-1930 min
Canada’s EntrepreneurFrom Big Tech to Healthcare: Zameer Rizvi's Mission to Improve Patient Care - Toronto - Canada's PodcastOntario-based Zameer Rizvi is the Founder & CEO of Odesso and has a great entrepreneurial story.
Zameer has two decades of institutional and professional experience with notable companies such as Amazon, VMware, Amgen, Citrix, and Blackberry.
Patient care has been deeply neglected as healthcare systems are overburdened and underfunded. Zameer recognized this in and realized he had to do something and so he launched Odesso in 2017. Odesso helps healthcare providers shift focus back to the patient by alleviating operational challenges. The company powers some of the most notable players in North America’s healthcare industry today. Od...2024-12-1930 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE08 | Mark Zuckerberg Is Right About Social Media & Mental HealthMark Zuckerberg outraged Senators and parents in a Judicial Committee hearing by claiming that there is "no causal link" between social media and mental health.The Senators also made Mark Zuckerberg apologize to the families of children who died or ended their lives because of experiences on social media.Here's the problem: Mark Zuckerberg is right. And this hearing is just another case of lawmakers and parents shifting the blame for their own failure onto others. Who should really be apologizing?Let's break it down and dig in.Resources mentioned in...2024-03-2626 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE09 | Can Machines Master Creativity? George Carlin's Daughter Sues Over Fake AI SpecialKelly Carlin — daughter of the legendary late comedian George Carlin — joins me to talk about her lawsuit against the creators of a fake AI-generated "special" of her dad, the future of AI and human creativity, "manufactured humanity," what her father might have thought about the world today, and the experience of making the HBO Max documentary "George Carlin's American Dream" with Judd Apatow. Watch Kelly's previous conversation with me, "Humor, Healing, and Hanging On," here: https://www.youtube.com/live/FuXiPTbR...Get Kelly's memoir, "A Carlin Home Companion: Growing Up With George," here: https://www.amaz...2024-03-2651 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE06 | A Gaza War Survivor Tells Her StoryIn this episode, I speak to May Salam from Gaza. Although she was able to leave, her family is still trapped in the war, living in a tent on a street in Southern Gaza after their home was leveled by Israeli bombing. Her brother is badly injured, with no access to medical treatment. May has had no contact with her family for three weeks. You will hear May tell her story as she has seen and experienced it. We talk about what it was like growing up in Gaza, life under Hamas, surviving Israel's bombing, the blockade, l...2024-03-2658 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE07 | Vishnu Vaka: The Indian Comedian Taking America by StormVishnu Vaka is KILLING it. His clips have gone viral on TikTok and Instagram. Russell Peters (a fan) has taken him on tour. Bill Burr has shared his bits online. He has gotten "passed" at New York's elite Comedy Cellar, one of the world's toughest clubs to get into. If you're one of the few people who haven't heard Vishnu yet, trust me—you soon will.Vishnu came to the U.S. as a teenager, but kept his Indian accent because he loves it. He faces stereotypes about Indians in America head-on and uses his uniquely smart co...2024-03-2654 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE05 | Ask an Israeli, Ask a PalestinianThe whole world is talking about Israel and Palestine — but what do people on the ground there really think?In this episode, I speak with Corey Gil-Shuster, who joins me from Tel Aviv, Israel. Corey has spent more than a decade taking a camcorder (and translators as needed) into the cities and towns in the West Bank and in Israel, asking questions to ordinary people on the street sent to him from those on the other side. He records their answers and posts them unedited to his channel.The results are often surprising and eye-opening. Wi...2024-01-131h 24
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE04 | Christian Nationalism: The Biggest Threat to America?Is Christian Nationalism the biggest threat to America today? James Carville, political guru and strategist who got Bill Clinton elected president twice, thinks it’s "more dangerous than Al-Qaeda." Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has said the separation of church and state is a “misnomer.” Congresswoman Lauren Boebert thinks it’s “junk.” And the US Supreme Court itself is insidiously inching towards their premise.With MAGA evangelicals more enthusiastic than ever about the Second Coming of Donald Trump, it’s time to talk about why 2024 could be one of the most defining years in America’s hist...2024-01-131h 15
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE03 | Did a Jewish Author and Muslim Illustrator Just Write the Best Christmas Book of the Year?It isn't just a Christmas book — it's a raucous, fun, biting statement on our world at the end of 2023. Christmas Mubarak!Author Mookie Spitz (American Jew) and illustrator and artist Rusty Yunusoff (Russian Muslim) talk about their fantastic new book about Santa Claus (North Pole Christian).But that's not all there is to it. Listen and find out.Get Super Santa here: https://www.amazon.com/Super-Santa-Rise/dp/B0CH25G4DJWatch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to Unlicensed Therapist on YouTube and hit the notification bell to be...2024-01-131h 06
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE02 | Comedy in the Age of D.E.I.After a killer first episode (thanks to all who watched/listened/shared), we’re on to Episode 2 of Unlicensed Therapist, featuring one of my favorite rising standup comedians, Noor Kidwai. You may have seen Noor in one of his viral Instagram sketches with fellow comics Andrew Oporto and Edworld Kim, all of who perform standup together on their Diversity Hires comedy tour — one of the funniest and most brilliant comedy shows in Toronto right now.I speak to Noor about everything comedy, particularly his biting and hilarious take (as a person of color) on many of the inan...2023-12-1456 min
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviE01 | The Jew and the MuslimMookie Spitz is the Jewish-American son of Hungarian Holocaust survivors.I was born to a Pakistani Muslim family and grew up in Saudi Arabia.In North America, we're friends. Elsewhere, we may not have been.In the inaugural episode of Unlicensed Therapist, we'll do more than just talk to each other: we will listen.Join us as we get into how our backgrounds shaped our views on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the current war between Netanyahu and Hamas, and whether peace can provide justice.Further reading:Mookie Spitz on...2023-12-031h 39
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviKelly Carlin: Humor, Healing, and Hanging OnKelly Carlin is the only daughter of legendary comedian George Carlin and author of "A Carlin Home Companion." Kelly is an inspirational public speaker, a writer of books and screenplays, radio host, podcaster, and a declared asker of big questions, with a graduate degree in Jungian psychology and a refreshingly unique perspective on life and living. In this episode, we talk about personal healing in these pandemic times, secular spirituality, the role of comedy in the age of wokeness, her life as the daughter of a complex comedic icon, and her powerful new coaching initiative, Women on the Verge...2021-10-031h 01
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. Rizvi10 Essential Tips for Newly Divorced Dads — With Elena Locker-TorresGoing through a divorce is always difficult and complicated, no matter what your circumstances. And when there are children involved, it can be even more fraught and heartbreaking. If you are a divorced dad who is fortunate enough to have shared or full custody of your child(ren), you might be surprised at the lack of resources available to help you navigate your new life as a single father. My guest today is trying to help change that.Elena Locker-Torres is a licensed master social worker and family counselor who works with divorced parents—especially fathers—and thei...2021-05-281h 27
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviPhysician Suicides Are Up. Why?Suicide is an occupational hazard for physicians. It is the only cause of death that occurs with more frequency in physicians than non-physicians, at double the rate of the general population. For perspective, 400 physicians take their own lives every year in the US — that's more than one doctor a day. And a survey by the Canadian Medical Association showed that 1 in 3 physicians screened positive for symptoms of depression last year and at least 8% thought about killing themselves during the same time. Recent data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation. What is going on? Dr. Anwar Khokhar is...2021-05-081h 11
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviIncitement to Violence & Trump's Twitter BanSocial media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have banned the sitting President of the United States for directly inciting the unprecedented violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters on January 6. Filmmaker Jay Shapiro joined me to talk about censorship, free speech, the role of media in a post-Trump world, and a lot more — with a perspective you may not have heard before. This episode was recorded just before Trump was impeached, but as you'll see, we assumed it anyway.Watch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to Unlicensed Therapist on YouTube and hit the notification be...2021-01-141h 34
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviThe Former Fox News Christian: With Seth AndrewsSeth Andrews was a fundamentalist Christian radio host for ten years. Today he is a secular humanist and atheist activist based in Oklahoma. He is the author of the excellent book, "Confessions of a Former Fox News Christian" — more relevant than ever today — and joins me to talk about a lot of things that have been on both our minds: his first-hand insights into the mind of the Christian pro-Trump Fox News viewer; how to achieve unity and common purpose after the deep divisions, racism, and bigotry of the last four years; the future of secular liberalism as it stan...2020-11-181h 08
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviIs Trumpism Dead? (Live from Four Seasons Total Landscaping)It's OVER. Strategist Mookie Spitz and filmmaker Jay Shapiro join me again to talk about what happened. Yes, Trump lost. But he got 71 million votes. No, there was no voter fraud. But SCOTUS is 6-3 conservative. Trump's gone—but is Trumpism dead? And did he take pollsters down with him? Is it incumbent upon liberals now to reconcile with and reach out to Trump supporters? We talk about all of this and more in our autopsy episode of the 2020 election.Watch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to Unlicensed Therapist on YouTube and hit the notification be...2020-11-102h 00
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviTrump vs. Biden: Are You Confident—or Terrified?Are you confident Biden will win on November 3? Or are you terrified that it's 2016 all over again? Mookie Spitz — a strategist who consulted for the Andrew Yang campaign — thinks Trump will win. Jay Shapiro — filmmaker and director of "Islam and the Future of Tolerance" — is confident that Trump will lose. Both join me in this episode to duke it out. Let's do this!Watch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to Unlicensed Therapist on YouTube and hit the notification bell to be informed of new episodesFollow Unlicensed Therapist on Instagram: @UnlicensedTherapistPodcastFollow Unlicens...2020-11-031h 33
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviWhy Trump Won—And Why He's About to Lose: With Filmmaker Jay ShapiroWith two weeks left to go before the election, Democrats are more anxious than ever about a repeat of 2016, despite polling and fundraising numbers that are dramatically more favorable to Joe Biden than Donald Trump. My friend Jay Shapiro—the extraordinarily talented director and producer behind documentaries like Islam and the Future of Tolerance and Opposite Field—joins me to talk about why 2020 will not be a repeat of 2016. Jay is also host of the philosophy podcast, Dilemma.Follow Jay on Twitter: @Jay_ShapiroDiscussed in this episode: Donald Trump and Vince McMahon's Battle of the...2020-10-201h 52
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviCan Trump Still Win? With Strategist Mookie SpitzAfter his exposed tax returns, his first debate with Biden, and his diagnosis and hospitalization with COVID a month before the election, conventional wisdom would say that Donald Trump is on the trajectory to almost certain defeat. But 4 weeks is still a long time in US politics, and Mookie Spitz makes a persuasive case for why Trump STILL has a good shot — and why we should be cautious about polls. We'll talk about the state of the race now, and why (or whether) Trump can still pull this off.Watch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to...2020-10-062h 06
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviWill Trump Win Again? With Strategist Mookie SpitzCan Trump win again? Talking to strategist Mookie Spitz has seriously shaken me out of my complacency. Spitz is a marketing and PR strategy maestro who specializes in healthcare, non-profits, and politics. He is also a writer, rock guitar player (who can seriously SHRED), and was fired by Presidential candidate Andrew Yang (a story you'll definitely want to hear). We talked about the election, the polls, the pandemic, and got into the weeds on what Dems have to do to get it right this time. Spitz is my go-to guy when I want to cut through the noise and...2020-07-232h 09
Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviWorking Out At Home: With Armin NavabiYou're lazy. You have little motivation. You don't want to go to the gym. And you're stuck at home in these COVID-19 times. But you want to be healthy and look good. Is that even possible? Armin Navabi — the controversial Iranian-Canadian atheist activist whose organization, Atheist Republic, has over 2 million followers and counting — describes himself as all of those things, but has also gotten totally jacked these last few months while the rest of us piled on the pounds. What's more, he did it with minimal to no equipment. No gym membership required. What you may not know about Armi...2020-07-142h 16Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviCoronavirus, #BlackLivesMatter & the 2020 US Election: With Habib Fanny, MDThe subtitle says it all: "A Journey from Ivory Coast to America, from African to Black, and from Undocumented to Doctor." Habib Fanny is a US physician who grew up in the Ivory Coast. He is both an American African and an African-American. He was raised Muslim and is now an atheist. He is an outsider and an insider. He is a prolific writer, with almost 100,000 followers on Quora, where he is known for having fascinating perspectives on a range of issues, often supplemented with lots of charts and data. I was wondering who I could talk to about...2020-07-061h 50Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviWhy Ex-Muslims Should Speak Up About #BlackLivesMatter: With Maryam NamazieThe murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed have sparked passionate conversations within many marginalized communities about how insidious systems of oppression can be, especially in this day and age. I'm speak with Maryam Namazie — the British-Iranian secularist and human rights activist often credited for making the ex-Muslim movement the global phenomenon it is today — about systemic racism, parallels between Islamic and White supremacy, showing solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter protesters, and her own personal experience being beaten by the NYPD and thrown in jail during a peaceful protest in the early 1990s.Links discussed:Washington Post...2020-06-182h 02Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviIntelligence and Success: With Anwar Khokhar, MDBack in medical school, Anwar and I used to have a lot of conversations about what success means, what intelligence means, and how much of a role intelligence plays in success. I eventually left clinical medicine to go into medical communications and writing. Anwar is still a practicing internist, and also an aspiring fiction writer and a member of Mensa. We go back and talk about how we defined success for ourselves back then, how (or whether) comprehensive intelligence can be assessed beyond just IQ, what we've learned in the decades since, and, well, the meaning of life.2020-06-161h 49Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviThe Power of Online Activism: With Pakistani Atheist Harris SultanHarris Sultan is a Pakistani-Australian atheist activist and author of "The Curse of God: Why I Left Islam." His YouTube channel, Pakistani Mulhid, promotes atheism and secularism in Urdu, the language spoken in Pakistan. With tens of thousands of subscribers and an even wider audience, he is able to reach countless atheists in one of the world's largest Muslim countries—in their language—with a message that would land him in jail or worse if he did it on the ground. While "armchair experts" and "slacktivists" were disparaged in the past, we're now seeing how internet connections and YouTube chan...2020-06-072h 31Unlicensed Therapist | Ali A. RizviOn Death and Dying: With Simi Rahman, MDDr. Rahman is a California pediatrician and dear friend of almost three decades. We went to medical school together. We’ll talk, among other things, about our personal and professional experiences with something that is on the minds of many in these COVID times: death. Join in and send us your questions.Watch the video version of this episode: Subscribe to Unlicensed Therapist on YouTube and hit the notification bell to be informed of new episodesFollow Unlicensed Therapist on Instagram: @UnlicensedTherapistPodcastFollow Unlicensed Therapist on FacebookFollow Unlicensed Therapist on TikTok2020-06-042h 05