The Localist Pakistan Podcast

Dr. Rabbia Aamir is one of the co-founders, and head physiotherapist at the Physical Wellness Centre in Karachi. Her main goal is to provide people with the treatment get out of pain, and help them maintain their own bodies. 

It hasn't been an easy journey though. Dr. Rabbia discusses the lack of infrastructure for aspiring physios in Pakistan, and how she hustled to make it to where she is today. From looking up shady, back-alley physios, to fulfilling her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, prepare to be inspired.

NOTE: This episode discusses trauma and addiction in-depth, and may feel a bit heavy. We highly recommend you listen to it in chunks to better absorb the information 

Aun Ali is the founder of the Trauma Release and Wellness Centre in Karachi, Pakistan. As a therapist, he specializes in treating trauma and addiction, and is on a mission to change the culture of getting help. 

He talks to us about specific norms in Pakistani society that lead to self-destructive behavior, and how our co-dependent culture stops us from getting help. 

Muzaffar Bukhari is the Founder Principal of Veritas Learning Circle (VLC), as well as a practicing therapist. 

He sat down with us to talk about the realities of being an overachieving "checklist" kid and how he eventually decided to chart his own path, founding VLC in the process. Muzaffar talks about the failures of how education is delivered in Pakistan, and how he's hoping to reshape that through his school. 

In what's almost a 2-in-1 podcast, he also talks to us about COVID-19, and gives us insight on how to better deal with it. One of the most important things he says is that having a structured day is important, but to also make sure that structure is working for you, and that you aren't working for that structure.

Marvi Mazhar is a Karachi-based architect, urban planner, and heritage consultant. She is the principal architect at her independent architecture and design studio, Marvi Mazhar & Associates; has served as the director of Peace Niche/T2F; is the co-founder of the Architectural Design Research Lab at the Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture; is the founder of the Pakistan Chowk Community Center; and was the Project Manager for the National History Museum in Lahore. 

Marvi sat down with us and discussed how she became an architect, and was eventually inspired to get involved in the heritage side of things. She tells us the story of Pakistan Chowk, her efforts to conserve Karachi's Banyan Trees, and the importance of heritage to cities. Marvi also talks about her most recent project, The Public Research Lab. They're compiling research about Karachi, and making it available for free to everyone in the hopes of helping however they can. Most importantly she reminds us to take ownership of our city, and to trust the government. 

Karachi is home to a diverse and vibrant underground music scene. We've occasionally seen artists rise to mainstream success. Other times, it's a story of long days and nights, as artists try to strike the balance between day jobs that keep them financially stable, and chasing dreams. 

We caught up with Daniel Panjwaneey aka Alien Panda Jury, to talk about Pakistan's music scene. Working as an audio engineer, as well as musician, Danny talks about the challenges artists in Pakistan face. He also talks about the opportunities here, and how he's working with a group of individuals on something that could potentially change the face of the industry. 

This podcast is not sponsored by Springs Supermarket or Maltesers.

It's very likely that you learned about Western literature while in school, but as time goes on, we are teaching (and being taught) less and less about South Asian literature. We all know who Shakespeare is, but some of us have never heard of Manto.

That's where Qissa-Go comes in. The UAE-based collective focuses on the preservation of South Asian languages and culture through storytelling. We had the chance to sit down and talk to founder, Tanya Daud, and Chief Services Officer, Fraz Ajmal while on a recent trip to Dubai. They talked to us about what they do, why it's important, the richness of South Asian languages, and why they aren't more prominent today.

Sitting down with Hafsa, was pretty much "Fashion 101" for us. She talked to us about how and why the modest fashion movement has hit the mainstream, with some of the world's top designers making a play for the Muslim consumer's wallet. We also talked about the political and cultural implications.

Beyond modest fashion, we also talked about what motivated her to write the new book, Modesty: A Fashion Paradox,  as well as the creative process behind it. 

Hafsa Lodi is a Pakistani-American journalist based in the UAE. She has a background in journalism and Islamic Law, as well as a keen interest in fashion. She writes for a number of publications, and focuses on the politics and culture behind fashion. 

Trigger warning: The following episode deals with sensitive topics like mental health and suicide. 

Ramsha Siddiqi is an Islamabad-based advocate for mental health, and one of Pakistan's few alternative-fashion influencers. In our conversation with her, we discuss the various stigmas related to mental health in Pakistan, as well as some of the steps you can take to get the help you need (or help someone else). Ramsha digs deep into her personal experiences, and shares some of the key learnings her research has unearthed. 

We also spend a lot of time talking about fashion, and sustainability in particular. Ramsha tells us all about "thrifting," the problems with fast fashion, and taking better care of the things we own so we can use them for longer. 

The Localist Podcast is all about finding the local heroes of Pakistan that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Anam Tabba is a perfect example of one of these heroes. She's one of the most highly-qualified fitness professionals in the country, and holds certifications from OPEX, CrossFit, and Precision Nutrition. 

Anam tells us about her experiences as an athletic female growing up, and how the obstacles she faced ultimately steered her towards building a fitness practice that caters specifically to the needs of women. No fad diets, and "butt blaster" workouts, but sustainable fitness programs that take the needs of real women into account helping them live longer, more fulfilling lives. 

From her early days hanging around gyms in Karachi begging clients to listen to her, to having her own studio, Anam is no stranger to the grind. Listen to her here, on her first-ever podcast appearance.  

In this episode of The Localist Podcast, we sat down with Akbar Chaudry a stand-up comedian, one of the key people behind LOLWalaay, and co-host of Dawn News morning show Chai Toast aur Host. Also an aerospace engineer by profession and faculty member at IoBM, Akbar explains that there is no such thing as a “conventional type” for a comedian or a morning show host. His balanced outlook on life, and daily gratitude practice make this a very special conversation.

Pakistan's media seems to be increasingly out-of-touch with with the needs of its consumers, so we decided to talk to journalist, story-telling consultant, and teacher, Saman Ghani Khan. In our conversation she discusses the disconnect between traditional media and its audiences, the failure to innovate, and how this is all leading to exciting media start-ups created by young journalists. 

As the co-founder of the Physical Wellness Center (PWC), she also talks about the challenges of entrepreneurship and the importance of treating your employees well. 

Pakistan's GDP to savings ratio is worse than ever. There are glaring holes in not just our nation's financial literacy, but also financial inclusion. So how do we fix it?

A fintech start-up, Oraan, claims it has some of the answers. We sat down with their CEO/co-founder, Halima, as well as their Education Lead, Maya to find out how they're helping make things better. They've got jaw-dropping stats, a plan to educate us on finance, as well as a slick app that can help anyone harness the power of a committee to save money. 

Why are there so many misconceptions about health and fitness in Pakistan? From misinformed doctors, to fad diets, health and fitness can be a confusing topic. The more we research, the more confused we seem to get. That's why we've got one of Pakistan's best-known trainers, Mustafa Jamshed on the show to clear up some of the noise. 

Mustafa is a personal trainer, as well as the founder of Impulse Fitness. He tells us about his fitness journey, how he nearly lost it because of poor medical advice, and the fitness community he's trying to build here in Pakistan. 

Atif is the creative brain behind Super Savari Express, a tour operator that focused on taking pride in our country, and went viral in the process. He talks about the challenges he faced, the problems with human capital, the future of the tourism industry (with his latest start-up, Ghumo.pk), and why he believes now is a great time to be an entrepreneur in Pakistan. 

Our conversation was eye-opening, and provides an optimistic outlook on business in Pakistan.

Arfa Shahid flies in the face of stereotypes. She’s the first Pakistani plus-size reporter, and producer on a Pakistani TV news channel; an influential blogger; a champion of modest fashion; and most importantly, an advocate of body positivity.

Along with our guest-host, Rehana Arif, we discuss body image, self-love, the challenges of Pakistani media, and much, much more. Our conversation with Arfa was informative, relatable, and heart-felt.

Why is Pakistan’s economy so broken? Why are we constantly borrowing money to repay borrowed money? Our national economy can be a tricky subject, so we’ve brought our favorite finance guy on the show to help us figure out exactly what’s going on, how we got here, and how we get out of this mess. 

Financial advisor, Rizwan Khan, tells us a bit about himself, and all things economy in terms we can all understand. 

This conversation takes a little bit to get going, but we promise it’s worth the wait.

Sometimes it requires a remarkable scientist/engineer to solve a city’s trash problem. Upon his return to Pakistan in 2016, Ahmad Shabbar noticed Karachi’s worsening trash crisis, and decided something needed to be done. This marked the birth of GarbageCAN! - a sustainable waste management company. 

In our conversation with him we uncover the extent of the problem and how we can help. 

The good news is that Shabbar is just getting started - Not all local heroes wear capes.

In October 2018, Moe Khan and Rabia Rathore quit their cushy corporate jobs, packed up their lives, and moved to Karachi, Pakistan to help reverse the brain-drain. 

Their latest project is called, The Localist, a weekly newsletter created to fill the gaps in Pakistan's news media. In the first episode of the The Localist Podcast, they talk about who they are, why they decided to move to Pakistan, and what The Localist is.