Episode 46- Sara Al Madani On Taking Entrepreneurial Risks

Sara Al Madani is one of the realest people that you’ll meet. Since recording this, she has landed on Bravo TV’s Real Housewives of Dubai. Al Madani has been a fashion designer, but she’s also a serial entrepreneur. She’s all about self-love, and this is coupled with knowing and respecting herself, which results in her having a love of humanity.

Recorded during the Covid pandemic times, we discuss taking that risk to start a business, how to know if the person you're thinking to partner with is the right business partner, what else is needed (being emotional, mentally, and socially equipped) to start a business, and what she wishes she had known before starting her first business.

Episode 32: Vocal Coach Mama Jan Smith Has Worked With Some of the Biggest Names In Music But It’s The Message of Jesus That Excites Her The Most

Jan Smith is a nationally recognized singer, songwriter, and musician. And, she is a Grammy nominated producer, Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee, and a multi-platinum certified vocal coach and vocal producer who has vocally trained distinctive voices in the industry from Usher to Justin Bieber. She’s the owner of Jan Smith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, a state-of-the-art vocal coaching facility, but she offers services nationwide to record companies, artists, producers and motion pictures.

Episode 31: BBC World News Turned Sky News Presenter Yalda Hakim Talks Women, Journalism, and Afghanistan

Yalda Hakim is a Sky News presenter, as she was formerly with the BBC World News . She made her on-screen debut in March 2013 presenting a special three-part series of Our World entitled, Iraq: Ten Years On for the BBC. Before joining BBC World News Hakim, was the presenter of SBS Dateline in Australia, and she has reported on Afghanistan's Kandahar province, Libya during the Arab Spring, from the streets of Juba, South Sudan, as many celebrated the new country’s independence, and on various issues from the Middle East, the U.S., Africa and Europe. Though a lot has happened in Afghanistan since this interview, Yalda opens up about her native homeland, why Australia will always be home, and how she stays positive amidst the horrors of the stories she has to report on.

Photo Credit: Yalda Hakim/Instagram

Episode 27: Kilian Hennessy Talks His Calling As A Perfumer

In this interview Kilian talks how perfumery found him, how perfume-making is more similar to cooking than cognac making, and how he knows he’s found a winning scent.

Episode 24: Mexican Actor And Producer Eduardo Verástegui Talks The Type Of Men Women Should Be Pursuing And ‘The Sound Of Freedom’ Film

Janet Giachino and Ally Portee sat down, over Zoom during the Covid_19 quarantine to speak with Mexican actor, model, producer, philanthropist, businessman, and former Mexican-Kairo boyband member Eduardo Verástegui. He got his start in Mexico City as a model and actor for soap operas, later joining a boyband. His heart was into his-then definition of success: fame, women, acting and singing. After discovering and accepting Jesus for himself, Verástegui started the production company Metanoia Films, with the goal of producing films that had the potential to not only entertain but also to make a difference in society.

In 2013, Verástegui worked with top TV producer Mark Burnett to be an executive producer on the Spanish Language version of his film, Son of God. And, in 2015, Verástegui co-starred alongside Kevin James in the movie, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, and alongside Oscar-nominated actors, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson in the highly acclaimed movie Little Boy, which Verástegui also produced.

His film, Sound of Freedom, which he produced was supposed to hit theaters in 2020 but didn’t arrive until 2023, delves into the global issue of human trafficking through the true story of a former CIA agent.

Episode 22: From Metal Music To Country Music Devin Dawson Talks His Journey

Devin grew up in a house where music was at the center. It was his mom who influenced the language of music come alive in him. Initially he made Metal music and he played bass for the band, ‘Shadow of the Colossus,’ and then made his way into Country Music as a songwriter. His first love is creating lyrics, but, he made his way into the genre as a singer, and gained fame after filming a mashup of Taylor Swift’s Style and Blank Space. We talk everything from his Metal days, to what inspired him to go Country, and the pandemic.

Episode 20: A Heart To Understand- A Chat With Katie McKenzie On Systemic Race Relations in the US

Katie McKenzie is a creative, living in Columbia, South Carolina. Both McKenzie and Ally Portee grew up in the same church in South Carolina. Recorded during the time of the George Floyd murder, and the racial unrest that it brought to the US, both wanted to discuss how it's not possible to move forward as a nation- Black and White unless people seek to understand, talk, listen, repent and heal together. Both chat on themes of racism and share ways of moving forward.

Episode 19: Musician Phil Joel From The Newsboys Talks About What He’s Doing Now

Ally Portee chatted with New Zealand musician Phil Joel, who was formerly with the Christian rock group, Newsboys. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, Phil now lives in Nashville, TN with his family. But now, he has his own band Zealand. “Zealand means a state of heart and mind; where the soul is awakened and the leaves turn greener,” he says. Though he’s not with The Newsboys anymore, he sometimes performs with them on tour.

Episode 18: “Paul, Apostle of Christ” Andrew Hyatt Opens Up About Making The Film

A conversation with Andrew Hyatt, an award-winning writer and director.  He talks his film, Paul, Apostle of Christ, as well as his journey. The movie was made on a shoestring budget of $5 million. Hyatt is passionate about God, and he has done well in combining his two passions: storytelling through film and God.

Episode 17: Country Music Band LANCo Performs In London

From March 2018’s Country2Country Music Festival at London's 02 Arena. Ally Portee sat down with Country Music band, LANco, where the band of five talked music, faith, performing in the UK and humility.

Episode 13: A Chat With Ellen Mirojnick, The Costume Designer For Oppenheimer

Ellen has costumed designed for many Hollywood films and TV shows for 30 plus years. This is Ellen on the set of Bridgerton Season 2 | Photo Credit: Ellen Mirojnick/ Instagram

First of all, Ellen Mirojack looks great for her age. She’s 74 years young and I hope I can look that great when, God-willing, I’m 74. This was a memorable interview, maybe because I’m in awe of anything designed fashion-wise for the runway or for the silver screen. Ellen has been in the business of designing costumes for film and TV for over thirty years, and she’s known for inspiring men’s fashion in the early 90s, when she created bold patterned ties, colorful suspenders, and crisp suits for the 1987 Wall Street film. After that film, men saw how sharply Michael Douglas’ character Gordon Gecko dressed, so they started dressing just like him.

Cillian Murphy playing J. Robert Oppenheimer | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Ellen’s resume includes from Fatal Attraction (1987), Wall Street (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), Speed (1994), What Women Want (2000), The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), By The Sea (2015), The Greatest Showman (2017), Bridgerton (2020), to Oppenheimer (2023).

“It was the most spectacular and fulfilling collaboration I have ever experienced,” says Ellen of designing the costumes for Oppenheimer. In this podcast episode, we talk about how she got into costume design, what a costume designer does, and her process for Oppeheimer.

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Writer and Director Christopher Nolan on set with actor Robert Downey, Jr. "| Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Oppeheimer is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin. Written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who directed Tenet, Dunkirk, Interstellar, Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy. His films have earned more than $5 billion at the global box office and have been awarded 11 Oscars and 36 nominations, including two Best Picture nominations.

It was filmed in a combination of IMAX® 65mm and 65mm large-format film photography including, for the first time ever, sections in IMAX® black and white analogue photography.

Only two characters in Oppenheimer wore hats in the film, Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer | Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

The cast includes Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey, Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Michael Angarano, Josh Hartnett and Kenneth Branagh. It was also produced by Emma Thomas, Charles Roven and Christopher Nolan.

Episode 5: Unexpectedly Discovered To Model, Anok Yai Talks Her Journey From Refugee To The Runway

Anok Yai has an incredible life story and she’s only 23 years old. I’m amazed by what she will have accomplished by 93 years old. She was born in Cairo, Egypt as a refugee to South Sudanese parents, who were able to move their family to the US. Her early life of living on government assistance taught her a lot about life and having a thick skin. She and her siblings, as they are the older ones, helped to raise her younger siblings while their parents worked hard. Anok talks about this in our interview. Education was a main standard in her household and it was while being a biochemistry student in college that Anok went down to Howard University’s homecoming, where she had her photo taken by a photographer who posted it on Instagram. The next day Anok woke up with hundreds of followers and calls from modeling agencies.  

Her life hasn’t been the same since. It was the Prada AW18 show that propelled Anok’s modelling career, where she opened the show, being the first Black woman since Naomi Campbell, who opened the show in 1997. She has walked in many more shows from New York, to Milan, London and Paris- and has taken part in countless fashion campaigns.  

Anok and I talk about this all, as well as her taking an active part in making sure fashion is diverse and inclusive.

Episode 4- Recuperating After The Beirut Explosion, Fashion Designer Rabih Kayrouz Has Come Back With A Shift In His Brand And A New AW21 Collection

Rabih Kayrouz founded his brand Maison Rabih Kayrouz [ MRK] in 1999, embodying a couture savoir-faire House. He’s laid back and loves to have a good time. On the night of his twenty-fifth anniversary party in Paris a few years ago, Rabih danced the night away with his closest friends. He’s a good dancer I might add.

And then August 4, 2020 happened and Rabih was one of many physically affected by Beirut’s explosion that rocked Lebanon. He hasn’t given many interviews since then. The famed designer suffered a brain hemorrhage, two clots, and twenty-two stitches that day. As a result, there was a limited ready-to-wear collection last September and no haute couture collection in January, as Kayrouz took a step back to physically and emotionally heal.

Today, 7 months after the explosion Rabih is refocusing MRK. He taking it back to the basics, back to its roots, and back to the House’s iconic pieces giving new breath. His new collection is filled with wrap around coats, capes, trench coats, pants and skirts that a woman can use for any moment.

Enjoy this podcast episode with Rabih where he talks about how he’s been spending the past few months and his refocus of MRK.

Episode 3: Ever Bold and Ever Talented Egyptian Actress Amina Khalil Opens Up About Acting in A Time Of Corona, Fashion, and How Once Living In NYC Made Her Independent

Photo Credit: Ahmed Zaatar | MakeUP: Perry Saber

Born in Chicago, Egyptian-American actress Amina Khalil is an influential woman. As a child she would act out Disney movie scenes, casting her friends to play other roles, so it’s no surprise to those who know her best that she’s an actress. But, she’s not in it for the fame, acting is her way of connecting with people.

Her roles bring attention to the culture of the Middle East and the challenges women face in society. In a series called Leh La’a (‘Why Not?’) in english, directed by Mariam Ab, Khalil played a thirty-year-old woman who wants to gain independence from her family, move out, get a job, and live on her own. It was planned that she would marry, and though the marriage wasn’t arranged, it was a pushed union and Khalil’s character brought attention to this.

The thirty-two-year-old and I talk about a range of topics from acting, women in the Middle East, her experience of living alone in NYC- something that’s not the norm for single Arab women, her overcoming Covid, fashion, and her charity work.

Episode 2: Tenacious Egyptian Actress Tara Emad Opens Up About Her Journey From Modeling To Film, And Why Almost Giving Up On Her Dream Was Not An Option

Photo Credit: Batool Al Daawi

Tara Emad is an Egyptian actress and model. Her father is Egyptian father and her mother comes from the former Yugoslavia.

Tara started her career when she was 4-years-old, appearing numerous TV commercials, and she started working as a clothing model at the age of 14. In 2010 when she was 17, Tara participated in the Miss World beauty pageant for teenagers in Brazil, winning “Miss Africa” and the first-runner up for Miss World for Teens. After high school, Tara began studying Business Administration at American University in Cairo and pursued “acting workshops” with actor Ahmed Kamal and online with American organizations. Her first acting experience was in 2011 in the TV series “El Gama’a” (University) directed by Hani Khalifa in which she acted alongside other young actors. 

I sat down with Emad at her hotel room during the October 2020 El Gouna Film Festival in El Gouna Egypt to do this interview. We talk fashion, her acting work, the festival, and her charitable work.