Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

Lubna Kayyali & Hawa Ali

37 episodes listed below

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Searching honestly through culture, spirit, and self.

The gist

Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa treats big life questions as lived problems rather than abstract debates. Its conversations move from personal memory into culture, spirituality, family, conflict, and the inner work people avoid naming.

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About Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa is a reflective conversation series shaped by recurring voices, moral questioning, and a persistent refusal to leave common beliefs unexamined. The show often begins with a simple premise. Time heals wounds. Children need conventional schooling. Girls are protected by the institutions around them. War has winners. Love is naturally selfless. From there, Lubna and Hawa slow the idea down and ask what it hides. Their episodes move through healing, parenting, girlhood, boys and violence, beauty standards, uncertainty, romantic love, self-love, spirituality, and the cultural machinery that teaches people what to accept. The pace is measured. The thinking is personal before it becomes philosophical. A discussion of healing becomes a meditation on accepting the self that survives pain, with kintsugi used as a metaphor for wounds that are not erased but integrated. A conversation about girls turns toward child marriage, gender-based violence, bodily scrutiny, and the deeper question of whether children are treated as full human beings. Political episodes can be grave, especially when war, the Middle East, refugees, foreign power, and civilian suffering are on the table. The show does not flatten those topics into slogans. It lets discomfort stay visible. At the same time, it keeps returning to inner work: shadow work, self-knowledge, spiritual resilience, and the possibility that better social relationships begin with a more honest relationship to the self. Its language is accessible rather than academic. Its structure is conversational rather than scripted. The appeal is not speed or certainty, but the feeling of watching two recurring voices reason together in public. For listeners drawn to gender, spirituality, parenting, culture, and emotional repair, it offers a candid space where tenderness and critique can sit in the same room.

Made for: For listeners who like intimate, reflective conversations about identity, spirituality, gender, parenting, healing, and social conditioning. It suits people who want emotional candor with cultural critique rather than quick advice.

What sets it apart: Its strength is the way Lubna and Hawa move from lived feeling to larger moral questions without sanding down the uncertainty. The show pairs myth-busting structure with slow, collaborative reflection.

In their own words

It all started with a simple thought from Lubna to Hawa: "Our conversations always lead to an invitation for something deeper." This is our response. Welcome to a space where two friends unpack life's biggest questions—about identity, spirituality, morality, and culture—with total honesty.Get ready for unscripted, unfiltered conversations that are both deep and a little bit rebellious.About LubnaLubna Kayyali is a lawyer, entrepreneur, and storyteller whose work bridges business and culture. Born in Qatar to Syrian roots and now living between Puerto Rico and beyond, she is committed to bringing a fearless curiosity to every conversation.Abou...

As heard by us

Based on 4 episodes we listened to · September 2026

Lubna and Hawa connect spiritual inquiry to love, uncertainty, social conditioning, and the moral demands of everyday relationships.

Lubna and Hawa begin with ordinary friction: discomfort with romance, anxiety about uncertainty, or the pressures placed on girls. Their two-person conversations then trace those concerns back to social conditioning, religious inheritance, personal agency, and the search for a…

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Lubna and Hawa turn love, uncertainty, and spirituality into questions you cannot politely dodge.

Press play if you want

  • two friends who will challenge your inherited ideas about love, selfhood, and the divine
  • your spiritual questions held open instead of hurried toward a reassuring answer
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
healing mythschildren's autonomygender-based violenceboys and violencebeauty standardsuncertainty and controllove and self-knowledgewar and civilian suffering

Talks about

Best episodes of Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

Girls in CrisisApr 1, 2026

A blunt myth-busting episode centers girlhood, blame, child marriage, and girls' autonomy.

Framed by International Women's Day, this episode keeps its attention on girlhood through a myth-busting structure. It moves from gender-based violence to the way girls are blamed for harm done to them, and that choice keeps the discussion grounded in risk rather than…

The Beauty of the Unknown: Navigating UncertaintyFeb 18, 2026

A winter check-in that becomes a reflective discussion about uncertainty and the comfort of certainty.

The episode opens with winter in New Jersey and a snowstorm that proves less dramatic than expected, then settles into a meditation on uncertainty as a normal part of life rather than an exception.

The Geometry of Love: Circles, Lines, and SoulmatesFeb 15, 2026

A reflective conversation about love, self-knowledge, and the strain romance can hide.

The episode treats love as something shaped by friction, upbringing, and the hard work of learning what can be given before asking what should be received.

On Spirituality | Unscripted with Lubna & HawaNov 12, 2025

A Bali conversation about spirituality, duality, and the hard work of asking what still matters.

The episode uses Bali as more than a backdrop, tying temples, Hindu presence, and the wider multi-religious setting to a broader question about spirituality.

Podcasts like Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

Episodes

  1. 1

    Can Secrets Be a Good Thing? (Part 2)

    Aug 10, 2026·22m
  2. 2

    The Hidden Inner World: When to Speak and When to Hide (Part 1)

    Hidden gem

    Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa examines secrecy, privacy, shame, and the decision to move information from private life into public discussion.

    Jul 23, 2026·23m·1 clip
  3. 3

    The Physics of Forgiveness

    Jul 2, 2026·55m
  4. 4

    Womanhood, Unfiltered: In the Studio with Farah Kayyali

    Jun 25, 2026·57m
  5. 5

    Success (Part 2)

    Jun 18, 2026·33m
  6. 6

    Success (Part 1)

    Jun 10, 2026·46m
  7. 7

    Jealousy

    May 20, 2026·54m
  8. 8

    On Boldness

    May 6, 2026·31m
  9. 9

    Debunking the 4 Biggest Myths About Healing

    Two hosts discuss and debunk four common myths about healing, starting with the idea that time alone heals wounds.

    Apr 8, 2026·17m
  10. 10

    Raising Free Children

    Two hosts discuss a TEDx talk about unschooling as an unconventional parenting approach that prioritizes child-led learning over traditional schooling.

    Apr 1, 2026·47m
  11. 11

    Girls in Crisis

    Hidden gem

    Lubna and Hawa open on International Women's Day and center girls.

    Apr 1, 2026·43m·4 clips
  12. 12

    The Business of War & The Lies We're Sold

    A discussion debunking myths about war, focusing on the Middle East and the impact on civilians.

    Mar 5, 2026·33m
  13. 13

    The Boy Crisis: Why Our Sons are Struggling and What We Can Do

    Two hosts discuss Warren Farrell's book 'The Boy Crisis' to explore why boys are struggling and how societal factors contribute to male violence.

    Mar 4, 2026·40m
  14. 14

    Beyond the Mirror — Redefining Beauty in a Filtered World

    A discussion on redefining beauty beyond dominant cultural norms and the impact of environment on beauty concepts.

    Feb 27, 2026·57m
  15. 15

    The Beauty of the Unknown: Navigating Uncertainty

    Hidden gem

    Lubna opens with winter in New Jersey and a snowstorm that turned out to be more dramatic than damaging, which gives the episode an easy entry into a bigger question.

    Feb 18, 2026·1h 1m·2 clips
  16. 16

    The Geometry of Love: Circles, Lines, and Soulmates

    Hidden gem

    Lubna and Hawa open by admitting that love is the topic Hawa is least eager to discuss.

    Feb 15, 2026·1h 17m·2 clips
  17. 17

    Dark Forces: When Moral Decay Becomes Diabolical

    Feb 5, 2026·1h 8m
  18. 18

    The Currency of Living: Measuring Wealth Beyond the Balance Sheet

    Jan 28, 2026·57m
  19. 19

    Why the Modern School System is Failing Our Kids (and What’s Next)

    Jan 23, 2026·1h 17m
  20. 20

    The Stories We Tell Ourselves (Bonus Ep)

    Jan 14, 2026·1m
  21. 21

    What is Our Purpose in This Life?

    Jan 14, 2026·1h 23m
  22. 22

    The Stories We Tell Ourselves

    Dec 25, 2025·1h 2m
  23. 23

    Is AI solving our problems—or atrophying our minds? (Bonus Ep)

    Dec 24, 2025·1m
  24. 24

    Is AI solving our problems—or atrophying our minds? 🧠🤖

    Dec 17, 2025·1h 8m
  25. 25

    The Illusion of Choice: Are We Really Free? (Bonus Ep)

    Dec 13, 2025·1m
  26. 26

    The Illusion of Choice: Are We Really Free?

    Dec 10, 2025·1h 15m
  27. 27

    From Theory to Practice: Enforcing Your Boundaries | Part 2

    A discussion on the balance between enforcing healthy boundaries and avoiding building walls that prevent growth and community.

    Dec 4, 2025·43m
  28. 28

    Why #Boundaries Are Simple, But Never Easy (Bonus Ep)

    Dec 4, 2025·2m
  29. 29

    Why Boundaries Are Simple, But Never Easy | Part 1

    Nov 27, 2025·42m
  30. 30

    Is Privacy Dead? The Spiritual Cost of Being Watched (Bonus Ep)

    Nov 19, 2025·1m
  31. 31

    Is Privacy Dead? The Spiritual Cost of Being Watched

    Nov 19, 2025·1h 7m
  32. 32

    On Spirituality | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Hidden gem

    The hosts begin in Bali.

    Nov 12, 2025·1h 12m·5 clips
  33. 33

    Bonus Episode | The Questions are Now Yours | On Spirituality | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Nov 12, 2025·1m
  34. 34

    Bonus Episode | The Questions are Now Yours | On Authenticity | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Nov 7, 2025·1m
  35. 35

    On Authenticity | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Two friends unpack the concept of authenticity, exploring the tension between being authentic and being performative in different areas of life.

    Nov 7, 2025·1h 23m
  36. 36

    Bonus Episode | The Questions are Now Yours | On Friendship | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Nov 2, 2025·2m
  37. 37

    On Friendship | Unscripted with Lubna & Hawa

    Lubna and Hawa explore the philosophical concept of friendship through Plato's dialogue 'Lysis'.

    Nov 2, 2025·53m