On this episode, we are sad to announce…  Just kidding! We're thrilled to be back with a story from Maria and Fidan. They take us on a journey through a friendship breakup, sharing their experience of grieving the loss of their friendship, rediscovering themselves, and ultimately finding their way back to each other. Their story highlights the significance of deep friendships in our lives, reminding us that they hold a place as important as familial and romantic relationships. Join us as we...

Back by popular demand, this episode is all about Rhea’s dating life and how to survive the online world of dating. Whether it be Bumble, Hinge, Tinder, The League or any dating app, online dating can really be a slog. Do you talk to one person or to a whole bunch of people at the same time? To use marketing terms, how do you widen your top of the funnel? How do you be flirtatious and mysterious via text? What about banter? Marilyn gives Rhea a whole bunch of dating advice, as the two try to...

Happy 2023 everyone! In our first episode of the year, Rhea and Marilyn share with each other what their word of the year is. We breakdown our thoughts about new year resolutions and intention setting. As always, we are two kinds of people with two different approaches to goal setting and measuring (one of us loves excel sheets while the other one gets great anxiety from excel sheets). Finally, since we love a good framework, we take you through Farnam Street’s 2022 Personal Annual Report,...

In the last part of our Who Run the Holidays series, we talk all about how to manage family dynamics during the holiday season - or as we like to call it: the official guide to your family offsite. Whether you are the one visiting family or if family is coming to see you, we breakdown how to manage expectations, guarantee alone time and make sure you also jump in to family holiday tradition with both feet. Rhea and Marilyn also have an episode-long debate on the term “tips and tricks.” We’d...

This episode is part of a three part series we are releasing for the holidays! In this episode we talk all about the art of gift giving. With the holidays coming up, we wanted to share with you a framework on how to find the best gift for the people you love. We also share examples of some of the best gifts we’ve given each other and why we sometimes feel awkward receiving gifts ourselves.  What are some of the best gifts you’ve received?  We’d love to hear your stories! Write to us on...

This episode is part of a three part series we are releasing all for the holidays! Part 1 is all about the activities that we are nostalgic (and not so nostalgic for) to maybe help inspire you with activities to do this holiday season What are some of the things you used to do and no longer do? We’d love to hear your stories! Write to us on [email protected] or on Instagram @whoruntheworldpod.   As always, we would love it for you to find it in your hearts to donate to one of...

Ever since Marilyn became a mom, she’s noticed an infuriating pattern: her friends started leaving her out of things. She decided to bring up her frustrations on the microphone which led to a conversation about how single and married friends with kids could bridge the gap and not lose their friendship just because they are at different stages of their lives. Marilyn explains what single friends can do to be there for their mommy friends, while also making it clear that just because she now...

In honor of our 100th episode, we decided to celebrate what got us here in the first place: our friendship. We discuss the different facets of female friends with the help of women of all ages from around the world. Our female friendships have been incredibly important to us in our lives. Not only have they shown up for us in times of trouble, but they have also chosen us to be with them in joyful times, have come with us to run errands and supported us in our growth.  We dedicate this...

In this episode, Rhea opens up about her struggles with body image. Rhea shares how the negative feelings she’s had about her body made her feel like she is living a half life. Later on in the episode, Marilyn and Rhea talk about how friends can support friends with negative body image, and what are some of the things we can do to improve our feeling towards ourselves and the skin we are in.    We believe that sharing our stories will help people feel less alone, and we’d love to hear your...

We are back in Dubai and kicking things off with Marilyn telling us all about her birth story: how contractions felt, how she got through the pain, the role of her support system, including her husband Hadi, her doula Valerie, her mom and her brother.  Marilyn also updates on the cliffhanger from last episode: did she or did she not get an epidural?  Finally, Marilyn shares what happened after her daughter was born and how she and her team (which now included baby Gabrielle) got through it...

Marilyn is inching closer to her due date, and that means she has a few key decisions to make around her labor. Epidural or no epidural? Constant monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat or sporadic monitoring? Where to give birth and which care provider to have? Vaginal or cesarean? Do you want to induce the birth or not? Which interventions will you allow? Do you want Pitocin to help you birth your placenta? Do you want to play Beyonce in the deliver room? Marilyn takes us through her thought...

We start this episode off with a very special announcement: Rhea has moved back (or forward - depends how you look at it) to Dubai! She has started a brand new job at Spotify, and on this episode she breaks down her decision making process that got her there. We also talk about growth (it’s no secret that Rhea’s mental health struggled this last year), and how to carry that growth and feeling grounded wherever you live.  We’d love to hear from you! How do you make your decisions? Have you...

This episode is all about the 2nd and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy as Marilyn shares everything she has experienced in the last 6 months. She tells Rhea about all the ways her body has changed, and how her little girl has been sucking the energy out of her (we love you Gaby!). She also talks about the importance of her tribe, friends and family showing up for her, and how that has made her feel more ready to take on labor and motherhood. Finally she talks about how equipping herself with the...

Something that many Arab women have faced in their lifetime is single shaming. In this episode we dive deep into single shaming: how it shows up, how to respond to single shaming and Marilyn even hits us with some stats (since the pandemic single shaming has been on the rise). We even try to understand how single people and people and relationships can broach the topic of dating and relationships. This resulted with our first ever on microphone argument.  We’d love to hear from you! Have you...

We spent all last week immersed in the latest gossip taking over the ton. In other words, we binge watched season 2 of Bridgerton, and we have a lot of things to say about it. We rank our favorite subplots, play a good old game of kill, f**k or marry, while comparing and contrasting the actors’ butts and debate on what we really think of Anthony Bridgerton and Miss Kate Sharma’s love story.  We’d love to hear from you! What did you think of this season? Did you feel like there was a huge hole...

Marilyn has been going through a little witch obsession, and she got Rhea to watch her latest TV binge that has witches at the center of it all: Wheel of Time. On this episode, we discuss what we liked and disliked about this Amazon Prime Video original: from the acting to the plot to the fun names of the characters. Marilyn finishes off this episode by sharing which witch TV shows to watch and which ones to avoid (stay away from Netflix’s the Witcher people).  Have you seen Wheel of Time?...

A few episodes ago we announced that Marilyn was expecting! This week, she openly discusses the different range of emotions as she navigates through this new chapter of her life. Marilyn candidly shares about the feelings of power pregnancy has given her, but also how she is navigating becoming a mother while running her company. Finally, Rhea and Marilyn have an open discussion about identity, how to deal with change and how to show up for your friend as they go through various life changes...

After months of being apart, Rhea spent one month staying at Marilyn’s in Dubai. In this case, absence did not make the heart grow fonder, but it did make the brain notice weird quirks in your best friend. So in this edition of Who Run the Time, Rhea and Marilyn point out each other’s quirks and oddities. The two finally talk about each other’s weird eating habits, Marilyn’s hyper focus abilities, Rhea’s underwear and how much they crack themselves up.  What are some of the quirks you’ve...

Over the break, We both binged watched Netflix’s Emily in Paris, and we have a lot of things to say about. In this episode we discuss plot twists of season 2, what we think of Emily’s fashion and take a look at how the show adequately describes the French Labor Law. We also break down the two love triangles at the center of the show, and stake our claims on who we would date (Marilyn is team Gabriel and Rhea is team Alfie).. We also try to make sense why the French people talk to each other...

On this episode we welcome for the second time on the podcast Tala Odeh, who just like Marilyn, is expecting a little girl later this year. We talk about the different (and ridiculous) old wives tales about pregnancy. After doing some research on the internet, we found that the majority of old wives are around guessing the gender of the baby, and a whole lot of old wives tales are extremely sexist. We spend the episode debunking the old wives tales (Marilyn had a great time using Google as...

Who Run the World turns three years old this week! In honor of our podcast’s birthday, we answer questions from you, our audience, about the podcast, about our friendship, our creative partnership and so much more. In this episode you’ll get a sneak peek into the behind scenes of Who Run the World, you’ll find out about the different areas of conflict we have to deal with, whether there are any topics that are off limits to us (spoiler alert: there are not), and we give you a timeline for...

Last month Netflix’s Arabic movie Perfect Strangers quickly became the number 1 streamed movie across the Middle East. So just like everyone else, we recently watched the Arabic adaptation. The movie is set in Lebanon, and the plot revolves around a group of friends who decide to read every message they receive on their phones over the course of a dinner. Suffice it to say: chaos ensues. In this episode of Who Run the Time, we discuss the different plot points, and whether we would take part...

After two years of successfully avoiding the CoronaVirus, it got Rhea on December 31st 2021. While visiting Marilyn in Dubai, Rhea tested positive for COVID19. Rhea spent eleven days stuck in Marilyn’s spare bedroom, where all her deepest insecurities were flared up. The quarantine period came with enlightenments and a persistent cough. In this episode, we look back at those eleven days, breaking down the different lessons Rhea picked up including how to accept help, distinguishing what is a...

On our very first episode of 2022, we have a very special announcement. We have a new co-host who has been stealthily present and growing for the last couple of episodes: Marilyn is pregnant! In this episode, Marilyn shares how she and Hadi found out, she talks about the stresses of the first trimester, as well as how she copes with everyone suddenly having an opinion on her body.  Marilyn also talks through the different feelings she had in the last few months, especially finding out she was...

Just like everyone and their mothers on social media, we present to you our 2021 Spotify wrapped, sharing different moments and memories associated with each song and artist. In this episode, we learn that Rhea likes but does not love music, Marilyn has 7 songs from the same album in her 10 most played songs, both Rhea and Marilyn love Beyoncé, and Rhea’s taste in music made Marilyn puke - quite literally.  What song or artists were featured on your 2021 Spotify wrapped? Do you have any...