Who Run the World

Economist Léa Hakim joins us from Beirut to talk about how creating jobs will not only help the financial crisis in Lebanon, but also allow people to live with dignity. Léa has dedicated a huge chunk of her life to giving back to her community through a number of initiatives that span across the economic and educational sectors. She truly inspired us with her positive energy and can-do attitude. This is a great conversation to listen to for anyone trying to figure out ways to help Lebanon and make a positive impact. 

To learn more about Léa’s initiative Jobs for Lebanon, check out their website here. You can also follow them on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

If you have any questions on other ways to help Lebanon, please write to us on [email protected]

Rhea and Marilyn decide to take off on a girl’s weekend in the desert. And what do two podcast hosts do when they are away for a “self care” weekend? Naturally, record an episode on self care. We discuss how we tap into our community for comfort, and the activities that help us find balance. One of us chooses to watch the Real Housewives and the other likes to eat in bed. We’ll let you guess which practice is Marilyn’s and which is Rhea’s.

What's your self care regimen? Write to us on [email protected]

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and follow us on Instagram on @whoruntheworldpod  and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.

We are joined by Dr. Gael Abou Ghannam in a special episode about the female body in all its states. Dr. Gael, whose specialty is gynecology, is known for her Instagram page where she unabashedly talks about the female body, female health and of course all things period. She brings her wisdom to our podcast and enlightens us about everything from period pain to taking the pill, we share stories of the first time we got our periods, and we have a very important conversation about period poverty in Lebanon.

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and follow us on Instagram on @whoruntheworldpod  and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.

For the first time in a very long time, Marilyn is going to be taking a plane to travel back to Lebanon for a few days. Suffice it to say: she’s a bit nervous. To make her feel better, Rhea sat her down to compare notes on what they love and miss about airports. We talk about what foods we eat (everyone knows calories do not count while traveling), what unnecessary purchases we make, and we have the great debate of the century: are you an aisle person or a window person. 

Have you traveled recently? Do you miss airports? What are your airport rituals? Write to us on [email protected] and share with us your stories! 

Follow us on @whoruntheworldpod on Instagram and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.

We started off this episode giving each other updates on our careers, and we quickly turned the focus onto feeling your power. We’ve all been in those moments where we’ve needed to be reminded of our own power, or where we’ve needed that little push of encouragement. In this episode Marilyn and Rhea share with each other the different objects, rituals and people who remind them of their own power, and help them remain firmly grounded in their inner strength.

What gives you power? Share with us your stories on [email protected]

Don't forget to hit the subscribe button and follow us on Instagram on @whoruntheworldpod  and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.

In the second part of our conversation with Coach Ayoub, we hand him the reins of our episode. This is definitely an episode of firsts, not only our first male guest, our first 2 part episode, but also the first episode where the topic was hidden from us and we couldn’t come prepared. Join us on an exercise of being in the present. If you can, listen to this episode with a friend or partner, and do the exercises at the same time as us. We promise you it’s worth it. 

We would love to hear about the thoughts, sensations and emotions you go through as you listen to this episode. Write to us on [email protected]

In this episode, we sit down with Coach Ayoub to break down last week’s challenge. Rhea fesses up on whether she managed to ask her friends for help for her upcoming move to her new apartment. Marilyn on the other side tells Coach Ayoub about how she’s defining herself as a leader. She chooses to carry a purple lightsaber (you’ll have to listen to understand that metaphor). We had so much to talk about with Coach Ayoub that we split up this episode into two parts, so stay tuned for next week for part 2.

Follow us on @whoruntheworldpod on Instagram and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.

We’ve been gone for a while. To be honest, there was a lot happening in the world, and more specifically in our hometown of Beirut. We spent the last month coping with the aftermath of the Beirut blast. In this episode we talk about what the last month and a half has been like, how we each coped with our PTSD and broken hearts. After many conversations, we decided to finally reboot this season of Who Run the World. Even though we don’t know if it’s the right thing to do, we decided to carry on and continue to do our best in bringing you stories from women in the Middle East, and to continue to shine light on Lebanon. 

If you would like to donate to trusted NGOs in Lebanon:

INSEAD Alumni for Lebanese Red Cross

Georgetown Alumni for St George Hospital

Impact Lebanon

Lebanese Red Cross

On August 4 2020 at 6:07 PM Beirut was rocked with an explosion that shattered the entire city. After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this is the 3rd biggest explosion in a city in recorded history. Countless lives were lost, hundreds of homes were brought to the ground, and 300,000 people were displaced. Our city, no longer recognizable. As expats, the first day was spent calling friends and family, praying they would pick up, that they were alive. The second day, the only way we knew how to cope was to try and figure out how we could help. Here is our conversation with Farrah Berrou, our friend, a writer and fellow podcaster, where we ask her how we can support, how we can cope, and how to help our loved ones back home deal with this insurmountable tragedy.

To Donate: 

Lebanese Red Cross
Impact Lebanon
Beit el Baraka
Offre Joie

For more ways to contribute, visit this link. 

When we were on lockdown, one of our rituals was getting drive-through shawarma in Dubai. We lovingly call this tradition: Meshwarma. So we invited our new friend Arva Ahmed to give us her top shawarma recommendations in the city. Arva is the founder of Frying Pan Adventures, a Dubai based Food tour company and Dubai’s resident expert foodie. You can hear more about her food obsessions on her podcast Deep Fried. 

You can listen to the Deep Fried podcast here, and check out Frying Pan Adventures’s website here. If you want to donate to their Gift a Meal initiative here.

Follow us on @whoruntheworldpod on Instagram and check our website: whoruntheworldpodcast.com.