TPR Pod

Once upon a time, a whole bunch of foreign vloggers were coming to Pakistan. Many of them portrayed Pakistan as a great paradise with free food, crazy hospitality and no concerns. Then one blogger made a video talking about some realities people would rather gloss over in their clout hunt. So we got her on the show.

Alex Reynolds runs the super detailed Lost With Purpose blog. A full-time traveler and professional travel-blogger, she's been to Pakistan SEVERAL times and is very well versed with the country, cultures, foods and more. So we talked to her about how Pakistan seems as a travel destination for non-Pakistanis! Great, detailed chat from a perspective we don't often hear!

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro, KFC sponsorship, Who is Alex?

2. 05:28 How Alex came to Pakistan

3. 11:12 Alex's video about the truths of visiting Pakistan

4. 19:30 What is Pakistan's vibe for foreigners?

5. 24:20 Pakistani men seducing foreign women online!

6. 28:01 Falooda poisoning!

7. 31:00 Is it easy to get a visa for Pakistan?

8. 33:58 Where can foreign people easily go in Pakistan

9. 38:49 Pakistan's rich people bubble

10. 46:24 Is it easy to travel in Pakistan if you don't speak urdu?

11. 49:47 Easy tourist destinations (Islamabad is boring)

12. 51:41 Food talk! Alex's top 5 Pakistani foods!

13. 1:00:27 Pakistani hospitality

14. 1:04:19 Do you NEED a tour company to visit Pakistan?

15: 1:09:21 Pakistani stereotypes!

16. 1:14:26 Travelling to the US while Pakistani!

17. 1:16:50 Wrap up!

LINKS:

Alex's website: https://www.lostwithpurpose.com/

Alex's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lostwithpurpose

Alex's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/LostWithPurpose

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Karakoram have dropped their debut album, Ailan-e-Jang! Sherry & Omair from the band joined us to talk about it all! Band history, Nescafe Basement, working with Xulfi, album recording and much more! Stop reading this and dive in!

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro & congratulations on the album!

2. 03:33 How the band came together!

3. 07:59 Nescafe Basement & how Sherry started screaming!

4. 12:45 Deciding to make the album in Corona times!

5. 18:25 Working with Xulfi, Pakistan's busiest producer!

6. 22:29 Why an album & not singles, and deciding to release!

7. 28:09 How Patreon is helping them! (Link below too!)

8. 33:09 Touring plans & how their live sound is so good!

9. 37:09 Their influences

10. 39:24 Future collabs & music videos!

11. 44:00 Working with Rearts & streaming landscape

12. 48:47 Gear talk!

LINKS:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarakoramOfficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karakoramofficial/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/Karakoram/

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/karakoramofficial

Support the podcast by becoming a monthly patron on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/tprpod) or send a one-off token on Ko-fi (https://ko-fi.com/tprpod)!

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Illustrious guest alert! After last week's madness things return to their track for a bit with none other than Zarrar Khuhro on the show! A bonafide celebrity in Pakistani Twitter circles if there ever was one, host of the popular Zara Hat Kay show on Dawn News, esteemed journalist, massive pop-culture nerd and one of thousands of attendees of Pink Floyd's legendary Pulse live show! We get to talking about a lot of stuff so best jump right in!

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro & Pandemic checkup

2. 04:05 How Zarrar got into journalism

3. 11:09 Pakistan's News Channel revolution

4. 15:51 How Dawn News on TV differed from other news channels

5. 22:16 How news changed Twitter forever in the early 2010s

6. 28:54 Has Twitter eroded people's trust in the news?

7. 31:53 How Twitter ends up changing the news!

8. 42:45 How he decides what to talk about on Zara Hat Kay

9. 49:37 His introduction to comics & pop-culture

10. 56:53 Zarrar went to Pulse.

11. 1:03:52 Wrap up & favourite Twitter moment

Zarrar's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZarrarKhuhro

Zara Hat Kay on Dawn's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqvJuaAfjXbQZEZrIYkNHyd5JYW4peIwE

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

CONTENT WARNING. We've tried to be as careful as possible with the REAL galiyan but if something slips and your parents slap you round the head, don't blame us.

Chalant Crew session in for February. Rizwan and Sarkhail were both in Dubai and at the time of recording this the Cannoli Islamabad situation was the biggest crisis the country had ever faced. So we talked about it. Talked about how social media backlash gets old and stupid real fast and a whole lot of other, honestly undefinable stuff. Also people responded to a thread about rich people stuff so that was more fodder for hilarity and everything broke down at the end.

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro

2. 02:35 Rizwan ate Dubai

3. 08:12 The Cannoli saga. Cause, reaction, follow-up & dumbassery

4. 21:45 We did a poll on rich people & Cannoli apology

5. 27:58 Don't have expensive weddings, save money for travel

6. 34:50 Imported domestic staff in Pakistan

7. 39:34 Sarkhail's rich boy story & designer bags are crazy

8. 43:04 Tube-wells & ordering Land Cruisers on your phone

9. 46:28 Street food is not for rich people

10. 50:00 ALALLAY TALALLAY & breakdown

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Continuing our tradition of speaking to people living that content creator life, this week we're speaking to Saman, the person behind the very popular Stroll With Saman account on IG and a channel by the same name on YouTube! What we noticed and are sure you will too is that Saman is an extremely level-headed person. She has a clear idea of who she is, what she's interested in and where she's going both in terms of her content game online and her life in general too. We spoke about how she got into the scene, how the experience has been including some significant ups and downs she faced, advice for people looking to get start and her own plans for the future. Chapter breakdowns below and links to her stuff too as usual!

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro

2. 03:41 How she got started with content creation online

3. 10:03 Her initial exposure to brands & sponsorships

4. 13:13 What her parents thought at the start

5. 16:40 How travelling changed her view of the world & Pakistan

6. 27:59 Realizing travelling solo was what she wanted her IG to be about

7. 31:22 Her dentistry career & how it links to her platforms

8. 36:21 Content creator money talk & long-term career advice

9. 45:08 Pressures as a content creator & how she's been forced to grow

10. 54:35 Plans for 2021 & closing thoughts

LINKS:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/strollwithsaman/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/StrollwithSaman/

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Jinn Stories return! No need to waste time with an intro. Two people wrote threads on twitter about the haunted homes they grew up in. They're on the show. Turn the lights down, get cozy and get scared.

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro

Kayhan

2. 02:55 Why did he make the thread?

3. 07:57 When did they move to the house?

4. 11:07 His first memory of something happening

5. 14:20 They made the cook perform for them

6. 16:53 Doors locking, old men in trees and strange children

7. 22:25 Wolves in doors and getting desensitized

8. 28:15 They own the house and leaving

9. 35:21 Hard segue

Zahra

10. 36:55 How she's blocked out her memories and more interactions

11. 41:13 There's something in the closets

12. 44:53 Guests' experiences

13. 45:51 Chanda is possessed

14. 49:12 Goat heads

15. 55:38 What was their reactions the first time

16. 1:00:37 Shared dreams and premonitions

17. 1:04:24 Ali's family's stories

18: 1:10:18 The threads reached the original owners

LINKS:

Kayhan's Thread: https://twitter.com/7kayhan/status/1348909161589956609

Zahra's Thread: https://twitter.com/southasianaf/status/1349435684357074945

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod​

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp​...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast​...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/​

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod​

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper​

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan​

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

We're back, and with a great guest to kick off 2021 too! Rehman, known better as Maanu , is on the show! We talk about a lot of things, including his new album, how he got started in music, audiences and more! The man's making great music that you should definitely check out but also, check out the interview!

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro & Apologies

2. 02:00 How 2020 has been for Maanu - Remote LUMS!

3. 05:19 Early days of getting into music, performing live & influences

4. 16:21 Support from his family

5. 18:24 When does the work start on Yain City & the themes behind it

6. 22:45 How important was it for the music to be relatable

7. 27:33 How did he get producers like Talal & ZahraP for his music

8. 34:05 Response to the album

9. 39:07 Lessons learned

10. 44:07 Future projects!

11: 49:10 Ali has old person questions

12. 53:34 Some more future talk!

LINKS:

Maanu's Instagram (links to his music will be here too!): https://www.instagram.com/maanusmusic/

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Last episode of the year! It's been a fun ride with everybody here over the past one year we've been on YouTube. Thanks to everybody for watching our videos and subscribing and commenting and all that good stuff. The last episode could only be a Chalant Crew episode and so let's hang out with the lads one last time before we head into the new year. May it be much better than the previous garbage fire.

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro & hair & beard discussion

2. 04:32 Wonder Woman 1984 and Mandalorian discussion

3. 10:22 Rizwan watches post-credit scenes first

4. 13:55 Rizwan & Palwasha went to another crazy wedding!

5. 25:20 'Rona fears

6. 32:11 Fan Question 1: How do you define success?

7. 38:10 Fan Question 2: TPR plans for 2021!

8. 43:34 Rizwan's going to Dubai & bullshit advice from people

9. 46:10 Nadir arrives, immediate chaos

10. 52:23 Hummus debate

11. 55:25 YouTube recommendations

12. 1:01:42 Nadir's message for the youth

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Nadir: https://twitter.com/nadirshahzad26

We did it. Got 5 of the best YouTuber guests we've had on this year for a close-out panel discussion of the industry. Irfan Junejo, Rana Hamza Saif aka RHS, Akber Kazi from the Kya Kahe Ga Kazi podcast, Asad Khan aka Daktarsaab and Gul Zaib who is the GM and head writer at Teeli!

1. 00:00 Intro

HOW 2020 WENT

2. 02:39 Gul - How Teeli’s 2020 went

3. 08:49 Gul - How were brands affected in 2020?

4. 11:51 Asad - How has the year gone since we last spoke?

5. 15:09 Kazi - 2020 Update

6. 18:24 Irfan - Lessons learned in 2020

7. 21:42 Rana - second channel reasons

AUDIENCE OPINIONS OF YOUTUBE

8. 25:31 Gul - watching art and being an artist two different things

9. 29:28 Irfan & RHS on vlogging’s acceptance by viewers

10. 34:48 Asad’s thoughts on how people feel about YouTube & how to bring audiences in

11. 41:25 Kazi’s monologue on audience perception around creators

DO BRANDS UNDERSTAND CREATORS

12. 45:50 Gul on how Teeli tries to integrate brands in their scripted videos seamlessly

13. 52:00 Irfan Junejo - brands can’t say “sponsored”

14. 58:22 RHS on brands not understanding the creator’s audience as well as them

15. 1:00:37 Intermission discussion by Irfan, Gul & RHS on whether brands understand/use insights or just want name value

16. 1:04:13Asad on considering the ethical impacts of brand integrations with medical content

17. 1:09:00 Kazi on his brand experience, why people dont accept sponsorships from their creators

18. 1:13:53 Irfan on his suggestions to brands work on longer term deals rather than per-video plans

19. 1:15:33 Irfan, RHS & Asad on brands being open to working with smaller creators and the possible influence imbalance that may create

FREEDOM OF CREATION ON YOUTUBE & AUDIENCE PRESSURE

20. 1:20:39 Gul on being careful around social boundaries, acceptable messaging and potential licensing on youtubers

21. 1:25:41 Irfan Junejo on self censorship, getting death threats, what he sees as the difference between a small, committed audience and being mainstream

22. 1:29:33 RHS on how after a certain point you can’t handle replying to all the comments and the audience not being able to understand

23. 1:31:24 Asad on sensitive topics related to the medical field and tackling social stigmas and boundaries while remaining respectful

24. 1:35:46 Kazi on there being nobility in pushing boundaries that can be pushed in constructive ways, why people rush to cancel and hate

25. 1:39:18 Asad and Kazi on false choices pushed on to creators

PLANS FOR 2021

26. 1:42:11 Teeli will hope to focus more on web series going forward, new additions to the family

27. 1:45:01 RHS’ plans to enter the high end food preparation videos and two wheeled dreams

28. 1:46:52 Asad hoping to not hold back in the next six months, doing as many collabs as possible

29. 1:48:54 Irfan gives a channelwise breakdown for his plans

30. 1:50:56 Kazi on trusting yourself and doing what he wants for the first time ever and final words

31. 1:52:57 Outro

LINKS:

Daktarsaab: https://www.youtube.com/DaktarSaab/

Irfan Junejo: https://www.youtube.com/irfanjunejo & https://www.youtube.com/junejo200

Kya Kahe Ga Kazi: https://www.youtube.com/KiyaKaheGaKazi/

RHS: https://www.youtube.com/RanaHamzaSaifRHS/ & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8VnrEaiCyAjWPtIrkkJAhA/about

Teeli: https://www.youtube.com/Teeli/

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan

Some podcasts we do are group chats, some are smaller conversations with one or two people and some others still are friends just hanging out. This is probably the first episode that seems closest to a distilled lesson, where there is somebody with the information and we ourselves are part of the audience.

Pakistan's music industry is dead. Pakistani music survives in patches and bursts but there exists no real industry in any sense of how the word is understood in the modern world. Ahmer Naqvi, columnist, podcast host, prolific commentator on cricket & music and esteemed member of the Pakistani Twittersphere is on the show.

The episode was supposed to be a discussion on how the industry is dead and what this artist said and what that show did but it quickly turned into a journey through time with events, decisions, social structures and personal memory linked in an intricate and nuanced manner. the story is tragic and the "what could have been" unimaginable, which is probably true for most things related to this country. But hope remains in some places and understanding our history must be the key to not repeating it. Check out the chapters below and take your time with this one.

Things discussed in this episode:

1. 00:00 Intro

2. 05:43 Music’s place in our society, defining what “industry” means and the importance of 1971’s events

3. 15:03 The 80’s: Zia, a cinema industry in trouble, the golden era of TV and the introduction of piracy

4. 20:16 The 80’s: Pop music’s inroads into urban elite & diaspora, jeans on TV

5. 25:52 The 90’s: Folk/traditional vs pop music, wild concerts & the facade of an industry

6. 31:58 The 90’s: Dish/Satellite TV arrives, the rise of piracy and the collapsed facade

7. 40:01 The 00’s: Musharraf, private channels showing change is possible, the last real era before the internet and a tragic end

8. 44:41 The 00’s: Coke Studio, NFAK, artistic experimentation & a sponsor’s limits

9. 54:07 The 10’s: The internet arrives, only free music allowed, people have other places to spend their money

10. 59:17 The 10’s: The struggles of working in a streaming music service (Patari) in a country with no music infrastructure

11. 1:06:40 How those without financial freedom eventually get kneecapped (feat. Lyari Underground’s story) & where the real money is now

12. 1:13:35 The control of & dependency on corporate sponsorships, and how good trends never seem to last

13. 1:20:54 How today’s musicians end up moving into video, drama, social media influencing, and how Nescafe Basement stripped artists of their brand identity

14. 1:31:13 Despite the darkest of dark times and all the difficulties, music remains a part of the nation’s psyche (feat. a very dark anecdote)

LINKS:

Ahmer's Twitter: https://twitter.com/karachikhatmal

Ahmer's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karachikhatmal

Ahmer's writings for Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/authors/130/ahmer-naqvi

Ahmer's writings for CricInfo: https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/story/author.html?author=527

Find all our previous episodes on SoundCloud, Spotify & Apple Podcasts and follow us all on Twitter! Links to everything below!

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/tprpod

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6PvTahp...

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tprpod/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TPRPod

Ali: https://twitter.com/themaholupper

Rizwan: https://twitter.com/RizwanPehelwan

Sarkhail: https://twitter.com/Sarkhail7Khan