The Messy Parts | Podcast Guru

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New career advice and messy stories, every Monday. Whether you’re at the top, or striving to get there—you may have noticed the one thing people rarely talk about: how hard it is to achieve success. The Messy Parts is the answer—a podcast where you’ll hear about the twists, turns and pivots that shape extraordinary careers. The real messy parts along the way. Host Maryam Banikarim has been through it, so she gets it. Maryam has been a transformative leader across media, hospitality and tech. Her powerhouse resume features more than 20 years in the C-Suite at companies like Hyatt, NBC, and Nextdoor—and she has a vast, influential network to match. On The Messy Parts, she brings you unparalleled access to that network. Deeply honest, vulnerable conversations with Maryam—who is never afraid to ask the questions on everyone's mind. Join us as we get real, unfiltered, and messy.

Recent Episodes

“He Died Believing It Was My Choice”: USA Fencing’s Phil Andrews on Adoption, Loss, and Belonging

“My father died thinking I said yes as a choice.” That’s what Phil Andrews, CEO of USA Fencing, learned from a book of poetry his late father wrote, and it opens a story about adoption, loss, and a childhood he can’t fully remember. On this episode of The Messy Parts, Maryam talks with Phil about growing up in public housing in the UK, feeling like an outsider on full scholarship at boarding school, and how those years shaped a career fixing broken organizations — from taking on Olympic dop...

38 MIN

Gen Z Can’t Name One Company They Want to Work For. Here’s Why. | Emi Nietfeld (Part 2)

When Emi Nietfeld landed her dream engineering job at Google after Harvard, she thought she’d found her forever family. Then she reported sexual harassment, and the company ejected her. Now a journalist writing on work culture, Emi sits down on the blue couch with Maryam for Part 2 of their discussion to dissect why the corporate ladder is officially dead for Gen Z. In this episode, Maryam and Emi discuss: → Why "bringing your whole self to work" is a trap → How reporting harassme...

31 MIN

“The Psych Ward Was the Best Place I'd Ever Been”: Emi Nietfeld on Hoarding, Harvard & Rewriting Her Story (Part 1)

“The psych ward was the best place I’ve ever been.” Not because it was good, but because home was worse. Emi Nietfeld grew up in Minneapolis in a house so full of her mother’s hoarding that the first rule was “don’t open the door” when the social worker came. Then her dad came out as trans. By 13, Emi was in a psych ward for the first time. On the way to Harvard she lived in a foster home, stayed on sofas and in a shelter, and slept in her car. In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, Emi sit...

24 MIN

How Eliza Reid Went From Laid Off to First Lady of Iceland

One night in 2016, Eliza Reid was cooking dinner for her four young kids when a stranger called the family landline and asked if her husband would consider running for president. Within 24 hours, a tsunami of messages followed. Eliza, a Canadian immigrant, Oxford graduate, and freelance writer, never planned to become the First Lady of Iceland. On this episode of The Messy Parts, Maryam sits down with Eliza, author of “The First Lady Next Door,” for a candid conversation about that unexpected...

37 MIN

"This Job Is Beneath Me" — How Being the Secretary for a Billionaire Launched a Global Career

Vote for The Messy Parts! We're nominated for Signal Awards in TWO categories. You can easily vote for us by clicking on the links below. Thank you! Individual Episode - Business: "'Who The Hell Do I Think I Am?' Melissa Ben-Ishay on Running Baked by Melissa While Doubting Herself" - VOTE NOW Shows - Conversation Starter: The Messy Parts - VOTE NOW "I was kicking and screaming, but I didn't have a choice." That's how Maha Abouelenein describes accepting a job as a billionaire's secretary, a r...

36 MIN