Award-winning author, publicist, and activist Jenan Matari joins Well Rooted to discuss her upcoming Palestinian children's book, Everything Grows in Jiddo's Garden, and the deeper mission behind it: raising children with a strong connection to their roots and and their land.

In this episode, Jenan opens up about reclaiming and preserving Palestinian identity through storytelling, and what it means to parent within a diaspora that often challenges indigenous connection to land. We talk about the sacred relationship between indigenous people and their land, and how protecting that bond becomes its own form of resistance and reclamation.

We also go beyond the book to explore Jenan's entrepreneurial path - from founding MISSMUSLIM, one of the first lifestyle platforms built for Muslim women, to launching ZAYTOUN Publicity, a PR agency dedicated to amplifying native, Arab, and Muslim voices.

A conversation about identity, motherhood, land, and the power of storytelling rooted in culture - from the voices leading the SWANA cultural shift forward.

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In this episode, we're joined by Arab comedian and content creator, Abeer, for an honest conversation about dating as an Arab woman, advocacy for Palestine, and using humor to challenge cultural expectations. Abeer shares how she built her platform, what drives her creative voice, and why she believes comedy and activism belong in the same space. This episode is for anyone that's ever been made to feel like they're too much but knows they're meant for a lot more.

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Most people think hiring a CPA is just about filing taxes. Sam Jarrar-with his extensive experience managing high profile clients and guiding enterpreneurs of all experience levels-is here to change that.

In this episode of Well Rooted, we sit down with Samer Jarrar, founder of Jarrar & Associates CPAs, Beverly Hills' award-winning accounting firm-to talk about what it really takes to build and protect wealth as an entrepreneur.

Sam opens up about his journey from immigrant to industry leader, the financial mistakes he sees new business owners make over and over, and why your relationship with your accountant should go far deeper than a once-a-year tax return. He also answers real questions from our audience on navigating the financial side of entrepreneurship.

If you're serious about growing your business and building lasting wealth, this episode is your blueprint.

To learn more about how Jarrar & Associates can help you reach your goals, or to set up your free consultation with Sam, click HERE

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Paul Elia is a Chaldean Assyrian comedian who almost became a lawyer - until Hollywood had other plans. On this episode of Well Rooted, we sit down with Paul to talk about his brand-new stand-up special Good Son, now on YouTube, and the winding road that brought him here: from law school dreams to becoming a Hollywood regular, to finally leaning all the way into where he comes from. We get into what it really means to be Chaldean and Assyrian in America, how Hollywood sees - and often misreads - Middle Eastern artists, and why his most personal work is also his most fearless.

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To watch Good Son on YouTube, click HERE

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What happens when art stops being decorative and starts being dangerous — in the best possible way?

Lara Salmon has spent her career asking that question. A world-renowned Irish-American performance artist and co-founder of social justice apparel brand For Your Viewing Pleasure (FYVP), Lara has built a life at the intersection of radical creativity and deep human solidarity. In this conversation, she joins us to talk about all of it — the work, the world, and the cost of paying attention.

We trace her journey from immersive performance practice to years spent living in the Middle East, where proximity to conflict, beauty, and survival fundamentally shifted how she thinks about art's purpose. Her time working alongside refugees and marginalized communities didn't just inform FYVP — it became the reason for it. The brand she built with her partner and designer Vanessa is clothing as conscience: wearable resistance for people who refuse to look away.

We also go there on the art world's relationship with Palestinian liberation — who's speaking, who's staying silent, and what that silence costs.

This is a conversation about creativity as a form of courage. About what it means to make something when the stakes are real.

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This week we're doing a quick recap on the Oligarch Gala: who showed up, why it's embarrassing, and why money and power do not translate to cultural currency and relevence. We're also shining a light on one of our previous guests, Sylwia Nazzal, and sharing why we want to see here-plus more Arab artists-celebrated at future (hopefully less problematic) Met Gala carpets. Catch up on Sylwia's episode down below!

Listen to Sylwia's episode HERE

Watch Sylwia's episode HERE

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Marya Khalil-Otto didn't just inherit a company - she inherited a mission. As CEO of VI Peel, the first painless chemical peel formulated for all skin tones, Marya carries forward the legacy of her father, Dr. Khalil, who originally created the peel to treat her own acne.

In this episode of Well Rooted, Marya gets real about what it took to step into leadership after losing her father, relocate to LA, and go back to school to get her aesthetician license - not because she had to, but because she wanted to truly understand the brand and the people it serves.

We get into the actual science behind acne and why it's never just a skincare issue, how sobriety completely shifted her relationship with herself and her work, and what inclusivity in the aesthetics industry actually looks like in practice. Plus, what it's like to run a thriving company while showing up as a mother and a whole person.

To follow Marya on Instagram, click HERE

To follow VI Peel on Instagram, click HERE

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I'm back from Coachella where I watched SWANA artists, representing Palestine to Algeria and Egypt to Pakistan unleash their incomparable energy on the festival stage. I'm sharing my thoughts on DJ Habibeats and Zainab's Coachella premiere, DJ Snake's legendary back2back trap takeover, and what I really think about Sabrina Carpenter's response following the now infamous "Zaghrootagate." Plus, I'm unpacking the brilliant execution of the community led Nochella event that saw brands like For Your Viewing Pleasure and Diaspora People's Place raise over $31,000 for Palestine and Lebanon while uniting LA's finest to celebrate community, resilience, and art.

Listen, comment, or send us a DM (see below for details), and we'll feature you on the next Rooted Recap!

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Listen to our episdoe featuring Lara Salmon of FYVP HERE

Listen to our episode featuring Nael Atweh of Grassfed Music HERE

What does it take to build power when the system wasn't built for you?

This week, I sit down with Iraqi-American entrepreneur, startup founder, and one of the most trusted voices in entrepreneurship and career strategy on social media, Layla Shaikley. Layla's story spans architecture school, NASA, MIT, building a multi-million dollar tech startup, and even a viral Muslim hipster music video. She didn't wait to be chosen. She built her own table.

In this episode:

· Growing up Muslim and Arab in post-9/11 America with zero representation

· Why your identity is your greatest strategic asset

· The "super founder" concept and what your first business actually teaches you

· Why emotional intelligence is the most underrated form of generational wealth

· How to find your voice as a creator (even when it feels embarrassing)

· Why representation is just the first step, and ownership is what gives us real power

This one is for the founders, the creators, the first-gen dreamers, and every parent thinking about the environment they're building for their kids.

To follow Layla on Instagram, click HERE

To learn about Layla, click HERE

To follow Layla on Substack, click HERE

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To learn more about Jarrar & Associates and schedule your free consultation, click HERE

Apparenlty, we listen and we do judge! Wow, guys-our last episode featuring the talented and relatable Farah of Lesh La2 really resonated with so many of you and inspired me to share a bit of my own experience and perspective growing up as a first-gen Arab-American. I also reflect on the role judgment and scrutiny plays in our society (you know aside from uplifting the patriarchy), and I offer up some practical ways I've cultivated the community I seeked and how I found confidence in identity. Reclaiming ownership of the MENA/SWANA narrative starts with us sharing our stories, so enjoy a snippet of mine.

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