On the Mic

Ismail Farooq is joined at a medically acceptable and safe distance by Wajeeh Haider to talk about football in relation to the coronavirus pandemic. They talk about why it's alright to say football is important to you and why football is more important than ever right now. The pair also have a detailed chat about the situation of all suspended leagues and tournaments, and how that issue can be res...

Zain Peerzada and Luke Azariah are guitarists for the leading metal band in Pakistan, Takatak. Takatak ventures deeper every single and EP into the modern genres of metal with the band entering it’s eleventh year into existence. Pioneers and trailblazers in the Pakistan music scene, the band gives a deep and insightful look into the world of Takatak; a journey of friendship, struggle, learning and...

Usman Zulfiqar Khan is one of the best fitness and boxing instructors in the country, having a Golden Gloves championship in his trophy cabinet along with a degree in kinesiology. With his entire life based around physical and contact sports, Usman is spearheading the combat sports and fitness regime at the new BRAVE Gym open in Packages Mall. With a vision and understanding for the fitness and co...

Daniyal Nasir Mirza and Salman Butt break down all the fights from UFC Brasilia. With an empty arena and the world watching, the most visually and audibly surreal card ever left us with a lot to talk about. Please like and share this video and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more. This episode is also available on all major podcasting platforms (Spotify and SoundCloud included) Edited by Umer...

Ismail Farooq, Wajeeh Haider and Usama Javed make sense of a very interesting weekend of football. They discuss Real's performance in their El Clasico win, Barcelona's dismal situation and whether Messi is slowing down or not. Liverpool finally losing a game also prompts them to have a chat about where Klopp's men go from here and how important the concept of 'invincibility' is. This episode is av...

Amna Chaudhry is a volunteer for Aurat March Lahore. She is involved in organising the event for this year and mobilising people for the cause. We discuss the upcoming Aurat March in detail, along with the vision and purpose it aspires to achieve. Amna explains Aurat March's Charter of Demands along with the rationale behind it. We also chat about the negative criticism and backlash that last year...

Ismail Farooq, Jawad Nasir and Wajeeh Haider assess what happened at Chelsea 0-3 Bayern and Real Madrid 1-2 Manchester City. Lampard's side's dismal home form, Guardiola's tactical setup and Man City's statement win are all discussed in detail.  This episode is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major platforms.   Edited by: Umer Fasie Bashir   Follow us on:  FACEBO...

Daniyal Nasir Mirza and Shahid Siddiqui break down all the fights going down at the Lions Den Fighting Championship 2 in Dera Ismail Khan THIS SATURDAY.  #SupportLocalTalent Please like and share this video and SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for more. Lions Den Fighting Championship 2 https://facebook.com/events/s/lions-fighting-championship-se/177771003313119/?ti=as Lions Den Fight Club ht...

Shahrukh Aslam is the lead guitarist for Bayaan. Since their claim to fame of winning the Pepsi Battle of the Bands, the band has gone on to release their first album (Suno).   We get to talk to Shahrukh about the band’s creative process of making the album, the band’s journey as a group of musicians and as friends, the time spent working at Nescafe Basement, how “feel nai aa rahi” was an imp...

Ismail Farooq and Wasif Elahi discuss the "atomic bomb" that Manchester City got hit with in the form of their UEFA Champions League ban, including the impact on their match against Real Madrid. They also go in-depth with the two major Champions League matches this week, Atletico vs Liverpool and Dortmund vs PSG. Simeone's tactics and PSG's "first world problems" are discussed, with a special ment...

AbuBakar Siddiq is a Fantasy Premier League (FPL) expert, with a top 4 finish in the world against over 5.5 million players. He is also a writer and contributor for Fantasy Football Hub.   AbuBakar provides incredible insight about ways to approach and play the game in a broader sense, as well as a highly detailed game week-by-game week run-down of how to approach the end of the FPL season. A...

Sarim Rahim has competed in multiple sports on a professional and international level. He shares his experiences with the local MMA scene, as we also take a look at some of the problems with the sporting scene as a whole in Pakistan. Beyond sports, we hear from Sarim about his experiences working on Wall Street, the balance between his professional and fighting life, injuries, setbacks and interes...

This is a special episode of Pressing Matters, with Nauman Faizi, assistant professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), in the studio with Ismail Farooq and Wasif Elahi. Nauman Faizi tells us how he became one of the few Spurs fans in the country, and how he's seen his side evolve over the course of his time as a supporter.   The trio chats all things Spurs and Man City foll...

Ismail Farooq and Jawad Nasir sit down and take a look at the aftermath of a brilliant week for Liverpool where it looks like the 30-year wait for a league title is finally over, and a horrible week for Man United who first lost to historical rivals Liverpool and then to Burnley at home. They examine how it's impacted Solskjaer's future and United's top 4 chances.    The two also analyse...

Daniyal Nasir Mirza, Badr Ali and Shahid Siddiqui break down what happened at UFC 246, talk about what this means for the MMA landscape, what's next for McGregor and the forecasts for the lightweight and welterweight title pictures.   Please like and share this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more.   This episode is also available on all major podcasting platforms.  E...

Ismail Farooq is joined by Usama Javed to assess the recent situation at FC Barcelona. Ernesto Valverde was given the sack after Barcelona's last match versus Atletico, even though that was one of their best performances of the season. Valverde's successor is long-time Cryuff and Messi fan, Qique Setien. He has always created teams that thrill and dazzle but what will he bring to this haphazard Ba...

Zarrar Khan is an ISSA certified Personal Trainer and a Certified Group Fitness Instructor. Zarrar has worked at some of the best fitness institutions in the country and is currently a personal and online fitness trainer to clients. Zarrar left his job and the corporate world to pursue his passion for fitness. We talk about fitness, myths surrounding training and dieting, his story with fitness an...

Ismail Farooq is joined by the man who started it all with him, Shanawar Burhan, to unpack a statement win by Liverpool over second-placed Leicester as they get into cruise control for their much-awaited Premier League title. Meanwhile, their main supposed rivals Man City falter against a tough Wolves side as their defensive frailties are exposed yet again.   How has Liverpool gone on to beco...

Shahid Siddiqui is a professional MMA fighter. He won the Dogfights Lightweight Championship in 2017 and has competed for the ONE Warrior Series. He left the comfort of his home and home town to pursue his dream of being an MMA fighter. With losses and setbacks initially putting his career in doubt, we talk about Shahid’s remarkable story of dealing with adversity and making sacrifices to reach so...

Ismail Farooq and Wajeeh Haider unpack the first 0-0 Clasico in La Liga since 2002, with both sides looking short of technical quality and intensity needed for what has historically been the best match in Europe. Are Real and Barca still two of the best in Europe?   The two also look at Zidane's tactical set up in the match and how that allowed Real to dominate Valverde's passive Barcelona si...

In the aftermath of Unai Emery's sacking, Ismail Farooq and Mamoon Ur Rehman take a look back at his tenure and how it got to a point where Arsenal have not won a league match since early October. Was it all Emery's fault? What were the Ozil and Xhaka situations? They also discussed other issues at Arsenal that go beyond the manager such as player recruitment and the board. The two also look at po...

Daniyal Nasir Mirza and Badr Ali discuss all of the combat sports news from the Pakistani scene. We discuss Muhammad Waseem's big win, the results from the Karachi BJJ Festival hosted by the Carlson Gracie team, Arwa Afridi's big win in Azerbaijan, VCL Into the Fire and... Khan Baba..?  Please like and share this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more. Timestamps in the comments...

Ismail Farooq and Wasif Elahi chat about the recent breaking news of Mauricio Pochettino’s sacking and the much-awaited return of the Special One, Jose Mourinho. What was Pochettino’s fault in Spurs’ current condition? Was Levy right to sack him? Mourinho says he has learned and improved over the course of his time away from football. How much has he changed? Will he get money to spend at Spurs? A...

Nausherwan Effandi is the Founder and President of Pak Reds, Liverpool FC's Official Supporters Club for Pakistan. He has also been a Committee Member representing all Liverpool FC supporter clubs throughout the world at Liverpool FC's Supporters' Committee. He is currently the Chief Commercial Officer at Peshawar Zalmi and has been the force behind Zalmi Group's successful projects in cricketing,...

Since Misbah's appointment as Chief Selector and Head Coach, Pakistan(the no.1 ranked T20 team in the world) have lost 5consecutive(if we exclude the draw due to rain) T20 matches. With Sarfaraz gone, the new selections clearly not working and the T20 World Cup and Asia Cup less than a year away, the onus is on Misbah and co. to justify Sarfaraz's removal from the team and to get back to winning w...