The Messy Parts

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The Messy Parts

with Maryam Banikarim

30 episodes

2 weeks ago

This week, we are looking back at some of the most powerful, hilarious, and vulnerable moments from The Messy Parts. We created this episode with Hark Audio, gathering the standout clips that define what this show is all about: embracing the chaos and finding strength in the struggle. Whether you are new to the podcast or a day-one listener, this compilation features the wisdom you need right now. We revisit these conversations and more: Negin Farsad on finding the humor in social justice and...

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Society & Culture,

All content for The Messy Parts is the property of with Maryam Banikarim and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

This week, we are looking back at some of the most powerful, hilarious, and vulnerable moments from The Messy Parts. We created this episode with Hark Audio, gathering the standout clips that define what this show is all about: embracing the chaos and finding strength in the struggle. Whether you are new to the podcast or a day-one listener, this compilation features the wisdom you need right now. We revisit these conversations and more: Negin Farsad on finding the humor in social justice and...

Show more...

Society & Culture,

Episodes (20/30)

The Messy Parts

The Best of The Messy Parts: Humor, Resilience & Rewriting the Rules

This week, we are looking back at some of the most powerful, hilarious, and vulnerable moments from The Messy Parts. We created this episode with Hark Audio, gathering the standout clips that define what this show is all about: embracing the chaos and finding strength in the struggle. Whether you are new to the podcast or a day-one listener, this compilation features the wisdom you need right now. We revisit these conversations and more: Negin Farsad on finding the humor in social justice and...

2 weeks ago

43 minutes

The Messy Parts

Katie Sturino on Building Megababe, Owning the Mess, and Dreaming Big (Re-Release)

We're going back to our first episode: Katie Sturino is no stranger to reinvention—from fashion PR hustler to viral dog-momager to founder of Megababe and author of the new romcom Sunny Side Up. In the premiere episode of The Messy Parts, she joins Maryam to talk about building a self-funded brand, the real struggles behind the Instagram gloss, and how letting the "messy parts hang out" can be your superpower. They talk all things Ozempic, Oprah, body image, revenge-fueled motivation, and wor...

3 weeks ago

45 minutes

The Messy Parts

Ana Gasteyer Gets Real About Wicked, SNL, and the Hustle of Showbiz (Re-Release)

What does it really take to build a career across Saturday Night Live, Broadway’s Wicked, network TV, and music? In this re-release of one of our favorite episodes of The Messy Parts, Ana Gasteyer joins Maryam Banikarim to reveal the messy, unglamorous parts of showbusiness — like rejection, insecurity, and feeling like an outsider. Ana turned those realities into fuel for her creativity, and tells Maryam about the power of radical preparedness in auditions, why naming her goals out loud shif...

4 weeks ago

45 minutes

The Messy Parts

Rafat Ali Plays the Long Game: This Internet Pioneer Says You Should Stop Rushing Your Career

Is your path too messy for success? In this episode of The Messy Parts, Maryam talks to Rafat Ali, founder of Skift and one of the most quietly influential figures in digital media. This feels like a personal conversation, Rafat opens up about the parts of his journey most people never hear: stuttering as a teenager, feeling like an outsider in America, breaking down during intense life changes, and rebuilding through resilience. Maryam guides Rafat through the unexpected threads that connect...

1 month ago

36 minutes

The Messy Parts

Celebrity Wedding Planner Marcy Blum Turned Fun Into a Million-Dollar Business

How do you turn fun into a career? In this honest, funny, and inspiring episode of The Messy Parts, celebrity event planner Marcy Blum tells Maryam how she went from living on a failed commune in Vermont to organizing lavish celebrations for LeBron James, Kevin Bacon, and countless billionaires, and why “fun” is her most powerful business strategy. Along the way, Marcy opens up about sexism in the culinary world, building her brand without a blueprint, and finding purpose after burnout. It’s ...

1 month ago

34 minutes

The Messy Parts

How to Reinvent Yourself When You "Should Have Figured It Out By Now": Kelly Kopp

Kelly Kopp, is now known as “New York City Kopp,” influencer, photographer, tour guide But at 40 years old, Kelly lost everything—his house in the mortgage crisis, his restaurant job, his health (without insurance), and watched his best friend, Sandy, die of cancer. Sitting poolside in Orlando contemplating how people reach their breaking point, Sandy's death became his wake-up call to "go live." He moved to New York City with just a suitcase, discovered photography, and built a social media ...

1 month ago

31 minutes

The Messy Parts

The Real Cost of Staying Silent at Work with Brooke Baldwin

Could getting fired be the best thing that ever happened to you? In this deeply personal episode of The Messy Parts, journalist Brooke Baldwin sits down with Maryam to discuss her journey from heartbreak to healing after she was let go from her dream job at CNN. Brooke talks about speaking truth to power, walking through fear, and redefining success on her own terms. The two explore what happens when your identity is tied to your career — and how to rebuild when it all unravels. Whether you’r...

1 month ago

42 minutes

The Messy Parts

Turning “No” Into Opportunity: Broadway’s Michael McElroy on Rejection and Resilience

Is your biggest mess also your best teacher? Broadway veteran Michael McElroy tells Maryam about his remarkable journey from rejection at Carnegie Mellon to leading Broadway casts and founding the award-winning Broadway Inspirational Voices. He and Maryam explore how to find purpose after burnout, the power of community and service, and what happens when you finally stop waiting for permission to begin. Michael opens up about identity, faith, and the messy truth behind resilience — reminding ...

2 months ago

42 minutes

The Messy Parts

Finding Light in the Darkness: Writer Jonathan Merritt on Faith, Courage, and Starting Over.

Jonathan Merritt was a pastor’s son destined to preach — until he was publicly outed online and his life imploded. When faith, identity, and ambition collide — what do you do? Jonathan knows that question intimately. But through the wreckage came clarity, courage, and an entirely new way of living. In this candid episode, Jonathan tells Maryam how losing community, career, and certainty opened the door to authenticity, spirituality, and a renewed sense of purpose. Whether you’re navigating a ...

2 months ago

49 minutes

The Messy Parts

Build a $22M Company While Surviving Layoffs, Lawsuits, Losing Friends: Create and Cultivate's Jaclyn Johnson

At 22, Jaclyn Johnson landed her dream magazine job — until she realized it paid less than her rent. That rejection set off a chain of bold decisions: launching a fashion blog, being sued by a former employer, losing a job she moved across the country to take, and eventually starting her own PR/branding agency. Jaclyn tells Maryam how she turned fear into fuel and turned Create & Cultivate from a side hustle into a brand she eventually sold for $22 million. Along the way, she learne...

2 months ago

41 minutes

The Messy Parts

From Her Parents' Basement to Editor-in-Chief (Twice): Danielle Belton's Comeback Story

Think your biggest breakdown means you’ve failed? Journalist Danielle Belton was hospitalized multiple times for bipolar disorder while she was building her career. In this powerful episode, she opens up to Maryam about a childhood riddled with anxiety, falling into a deep depression after a failed marriage, and drinking tequila at work to power through panic attacks. Danielle hit rock bottom in her mid-twenties and moved home to her parents basement, where she started over and got a job fold...

2 months ago

42 minutes

The Messy Parts

The Real Reason You're Paralyzed in Your Career (It's Not What You Think): Farnoosh Torabi

What if everything you were told about building a career was wrong? Financial expert and host of The So Money Podcast, Farnoosh Torabi, gets raw about the messy reality behind her success—from being forced to give up her dream schools to avoid debt, to getting fired twice, to drowning in $300K of business debt that forced her to sell her home. This isn't another "hustle harder" story. It's an honest conversation about the fears nobody admits: waiting for permission that never comes, taking re...

3 months ago

41 minutes

The Messy Parts

The Points Guy Couldn't Get His Own Credit Card: Then He Made $28 Million (at 28 Years Old)

Brian Kelly (aka The Points Guy) has been obsessed with credit card and frequent flyer points since childhood. At age 12, his dad challenged him to book a family vacation using only points, and young Brian successfully got his entire family to the Cayman Islands for free. Fast forward to his twenties, and his credit was ruined. He had to resort to payday loans. As he says, "I was in survival mode." He walked to work because he couldn't afford the subway fare. His boss had to give him a raise ...

3 months ago

39 minutes

The Messy Parts

Debunking Myths About Careers, Generation Gaps, and The Power of Side Hustles: Sam DeMase

If you’re job hunting, eyeing a promotion, or just feeling burnt out—this conversation will remind you that your path doesn’t have to be traditional to be powerful. From bossy kid to bold career coach, Sam DeMase is redefining what leadership and success really look like—with empathy, authenticity, and purpose. In this episode, Sam shares her unconventional journey: from managing 70 people at a fast food chain straight out of NYU to building a business that empowers women to ask f...

3 months ago

43 minutes

The Messy Parts

Edge of Bankruptcy, Surviving A Toxic Partnership, Starting Over: Gwen Whiting's Messy Truth

What happens when your toxic business partnership implodes and nearly 20 years of work vanishes while you're getting your hair done? Gwen Whiting, co-founder of The Laundress, opens up about the brutal reality behind building a successful brand, selling it to Unilever—and watching everything she created collapse. In this raw conversation, Gwen reveals how early tragedy shaped her resilience; surviving on credit cards for over a decade; why her career path was not marriage; and the devastating...

3 months ago

45 minutes

The Messy Parts

Overcoming Anxiety and Thriving Through a Twisty Career: Emma Rosenblum

Job opportunities in her industry faded away slowly and then all of a sudden. So Emma Rosenblum committed to her side hustle and found a way to pivot into a new career altogether – she wrote a book. A literary agent rejected it as "too mean,” but she found a way through. Then, when her manuscript accidentally leaked to her real-life community (the location of the book) with real residents' names still in it, the small-town drama was intense. Now a full-time novelist obsessively checking...

3 months ago

40 minutes

The Messy Parts

No to Wall St. and Yes to Broadway (and Tony Awards and heartbreak) with Tom Kitt

Tony Awards, Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize, Emmy Awards. Next to Normal, If/Then, Hell's Kitchen, and NY State of Mind. Tom Kitt traded a Wall St. job offer (and paycheck) to follow his passion, a life making music, but that decision didn't come without great cost. He spent five years developing his first Broadway show, "High Fidelity," and it closed after just 10 days, sending him into months of depression and self-doubt. In this raw conversation, Kitt reveals how creative heartbreak became his ...

4 months ago

38 minutes

The Messy Parts

Negin Farsad: Did I Do Justice to My Dreams?

Feel like you're on the “wrong” path? Negin Farsad (comedian, filmmaker, writer, actor, and activist) went from steady job as a NYC policy advisor to chasing laughs on lonely standup stages across the country. As one of the few Iranian-American Muslim women in comedy, she’s built a career blending sharp political satire with deeply personal storytelling—using humor to tackle racism, sexism, and Islamophobia. From touring conservative towns with The Muslims Are Coming! to hosting F...

4 months ago

48 minutes

The Messy Parts

Sarah Personette: Choosing Kindness

Ever feel like everyone else has it figured out while you're drowning in chaos? Sarah Personette's journey through Facebook, Twitter, and now Puck as CEO reveals the messy reality behind big-name success. She shares brutal truths about workplace bullies who wanted her gone, the isolating loneliness of leadership, and making gut decisions that horrified her father. From losing student elections repeatedly to navigating public failures at major tech companies, Sarah exposes how kindness became ...

4 months ago

45 minutes

The Messy Parts

Judith Curr: Prince, Tarot Cards, Chat GPT and changing the plan

What do Prince, The Secret, and Colleen Hoover have in common? They all worked with Judith Curr to publish their books. Judith's career has been quite a trip: from selling her brother's engine block to a junk dealer in a very small Australian town. to selling Dior to pharmacies door-to-door, to revolutionizing book publishing—founding Atria Books, discovering tomorrow's bestsellers today, and now steering HarperOne into uncharted territory. From Sydney to New York, Judith has made a car...

4 months ago

35 minutes