RAW with Uma

Uma’s death clock app tells her how long she has left to live. But surviving to 95 isn’t the goal—living with vitality, muscle, and a sharp mind is. Terrified that most common health advice is wrong and hoping to avoid the physical decline she witnessed in her parents, Uma brings her raw data and deepest fears to Dr. Foong, a primary care physician who specializes in longevity. This episode strips...

If you've had a hormonal blood panel and been told everything is fine, you may have been asking your doctor for the one test that cannot actually diagnose perimenopause. Dr Foong explains why — and what the right diagnostic approach looks like. Uma Thana opens this episode by doing something most women never do: she shares her own medical records on camera, exposing a decade of missed signals...

Everyone expected her to be angry. What Tawana actually felt was harder, and she explains exactly why disappointment hits differently than rage when institutions betray you. Tawana is Meta's APAC lead, a senior Black American woman who came to Asia expecting the familiar challenges of race and gender and found something more complex: new forms of privilege she'd never noticed, the slow cru...

Menopause may have been the best thing to happen to her. In this episode, senior banking executive Sunday joins hosts Uma and Jingjin for one of the most disarmingly honest conversations the show has aired. Sunday talks about how menopause removed the social constraints that had been slowing her down, how parenting a daughter with ADHD rewrote the way she leads teams at one of the world's larg...

As an ophthalmologist, Claudine kept noticing something that her patients' other doctors were missing. The retina doesn't lie - systemic disease shows up there first. She'd refer patients for follow-up and watch nothing happen. So she went and studied functional and anti-aging medicine herself, and built Asia Wellness from that frustration. In this conversation with Uma and Jingjin, Cl...

She walked back into the workforce after five years at home, marched into Merrill Lynch without a client list, and proposed the following deal: If I'm successful, you pay me. If I'm not, you don't. They gave her the job. Evonne Tan is a wealth management professional who now advises some of Asia's wealthiest families. She spent 27 years in finance across multiple countries, includi...

What if the pain you spent 30 years being told was in your head was silently taking over your body, and you kept outperforming everyone in the room anyway? In this raw, honest conversation, Uma Thana and Jingjin Liu sit down with Amy Kunrojpanya, a global executive who has led teams across more than ten countries, navigated 20 years of infertility, raised three children in four years after 40, and...

What happens when reinvention unlocks parts of yourself you forgot existed? In this intimate episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the unexpected gifts that came from leaving corporate, the creative side I buried for decades, the writing that evolved into magazine columns and a book deal, and the coffee shop moment when I realized I never want to go back. I share how I rediscovered my joy o...

What happens when you spend a year building the wrong business? In this raw episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on Year 1 of entrepreneurship, the part nobody posts about on LinkedIn. The pivots, the money lost, the arrogance that cost us everything, and the humbling moment when we realized our "perfect" business model wasn't working. I share the story of building The Elevate G...

How do you find clarity when you’re exhausted from pretending everything is okay? In this intimate episode, I walk you through the 10 questions that helped me navigate one of the most confusing seasons of my life, a Careerquake™ that didn’t come with a dramatic exit or obvious failure, but discomfort, misalignment, and the feeling that something inside me was asking for more. Today, I’m sharing th...

What happens when the ground beneath your career suddenly shifts? In this intimate episode, I share the story of the moment everything I thought I wanted stopped making sense. After building a two-decade career in tech, working toward the title I believed would define me, and finally reaching the peak I’d always imagined… the view wasn’t what I expected. I had the dream role. I had the team. I had...

What happens when the path you thought you were on suddenly disappears? In this deeply personal episode, I share the moment that shattered my corporate identity - when my inbox went from hundreds of emails to zero overnight. After navigating a major acquisition as a VP with a large team, I thought I had it all figured out. The payout was secured. The next executive role was lined up. Everything wa...

What happens after everything you’ve built starts to crumble? Welcome To My Careerquake™ In this new chapter, Uma steps into the unpolished truth of reinvention, not the highlight reel, but the space between endings and beginnings. The part no one prepares you for. Two years ago, Uma walked away from everything that once defined her, a high-powered corporate career, titles, and the certainty of wh...

What do you do when your entire career crumbles—and you're left staring at the pieces? What does it mean to experience a Careerquake—and rebuild not just your work, but your identity? In this honest and soul-baring episode, Uma opens up about the Careerquake that changed everything: being made redundant after years at the top of her tech career, losing her title, and confronting the deep quest...

What if ambition no longer looked like climbing a ladder—but learning to breathe? How do you lead without performing? And is it possible to succeed without playing by outdated rules? In this powerful conversation, we unpack the emotional complexity behind the “girl boss” identity and why so many women—especially in Asia—are quietly rewriting the script on ambition, success, and leadership. From co...

Feeling trapped after multiple career rejections? How do you build resilience after rejection? Why is asking for help one of the most courageous things you can do?  This episode uncovers practical approaches to rebuilding confidence, authentic networking techniques that honour cultural values, and powerful boundary-setting practices that can transform your professional journey. Whether you're...

Networking doesn't have to feel transactional or inauthentic. In this episode, I'm joined by Audrey Tim, who brings thoughtful questions about building meaningful professional relationships, and later by Stephen Morse, a 27-year medical device veteran who shares his unique perspective on deep versus broad networking. Their combined insights reveal how introverts can thrive in networking si...

How do women find their voice and claim their space in male-dominated workplaces?  Many of us grow up being taught to be quiet. So how do we overcome cultural conditioning that teaches women to stay quiet and docile? My guest Jenny shares her struggles with speaking up in meetings and having her ideas heard, especially with senior male colleagues. Despite 13 years of corporate experience, she stil...

How do you build an authentic brand identity while staying professional? How can you be vulnerable while discussing important but uncomfortable topics? My guest, Nicole, is an HR leader and DEI advocate from the Philippines. Nicole faced a decade-long battle with depression and took nine years before she felt ready to open up and share her story. She realized that her vulnerability didn’t just hel...

Many of us don't realize the invisible disabilities that hold our colleagues or friends back. We see them every day at work, in meetings, or grabbing coffee, but beneath the surface, some are fighting battles we can't even imagine. My guest, Suvinder has been silently battling lupus for 25 years while climbing the corporate ladder. Her story of blood clots, brain surgery, and boardroom pressures w...

What would you tell your 20-year-old self about life and work ?  From worrying about validation from others to self-confidence, Kit and I talk about the layers of self-perception, workplace dynamics, and the liberating power of authenticity.  Later Reeta joins us to talk about evolving in confidence as a young, timid girl who did what ever her parents asked, to a woman who isn’t afraid to ask ques...

How do you turn superficial conversations into meaningful connections?  Networking can be tricky. Overcoming discomfort to put yourself out there, following up, cultivating introductions into deeper connections or even feeling worthy of asking for one’s time are all challenges women face when trying to network.  In episode 4, I chat with Divya for the first time to explore transforming superficial...

You’re in your 50’s, your health is failing, and you can’t sustain your career… How do you pivot? In episode 3, I meet Mona for the first time to talk about navigating career transitions when you don’t know where to start and have no time to put yourself first. Duncan Hewett, Former CEO of VMware in Asia Pacific, Author of “Accelerating Women,” and a trailblazer for diversity in leadership, later...