The Upfront Podcast

Lauren Adilev is originally from the United States and relocated to Israel in the '80s. She is a single mom of two, living in Efrat in the Gush Etzion Region, and runs two businesses, a boutique content agency and a home/life organization service where she helps people declutter and downsize their life. We are speaking about raising kids as a single parent in a religious environment, how she...

Sharona Shnayder, originally from Lagos in Nigeria moved to Portland, Oregon (USA) at the age of eight. At the age of 21, she decided to move to Israel. She co-founded “Tuesdays for Trash”, a global grassroots movement, mobilizing communities to help clean the environment and raising awareness, and providing education about climate urgency. Sharona is a climate activist and also the chairwoman of...

My guest today is Rebecca Sigala. Originally from Minneapolis in Minnesota (USA), Rebecca made Aliyah in 2009 (Jewish immigration to Israel) and now lives in Israel with her husband and three children. Rebecca is a self-employed boudoir photographer, self-love activist, and a body image and self-love coach for women. We are talking about what her own journey has led her to, what societal expectati...

Rahel Cucchia was brought up in a very small town in Central Switzerland. In 2018 she started working out to build her fitness and competed in her first bodybuilding competition within a year. After several successful national competitions, she then went to Romania to compete in an international pro qualification that she won overall and in her class. Rahel became an IFBB Pro and has been a profes...

In today’s episode, my guest is a very well-known journalist, that reports on extremism and war from within. Due to his very dangerous occupation and his covert travels to certain places, we are protecting his identity by using the pseudonym "Kay" instead of his real name. We will be talking about insights from a war correspondent’s perspective who has witnessed and experienced war in Sy...

This is part 2 of this interview, if you haven't listened to part 1, check out last week's episode before listening to this. In this episode, my guest is Sam (they/them). Sam and their family moved to Israel from California when they were 11 years old and became an advocate for intersectional disability and mental health. Sam is a writer and is currently also studying. We are talking abo...

In this episode, my guest is Sam (they/them). Sam and their family moved to Israel from California when they were 11 years old and became an advocate for intersectional disability and mental health. Sam is a writer and is currently also studying. We are talking about gender identity, disability, mental health, and how Sam handles living with cerebral palsy. Find Sam on Instagram and on their websi...

Ruth Peri was born and raised in a small town in Bulgaria, close to the Romanian border. She lived in Berlin and eventually moved to Israel 8 years ago. In Tel Aviv, her roommate invited a guest over for dinner one night and that is how Ruth came into contact with Muhammed from Ramallah in the West Bank. This encounter inspired her to participate in the work of local NGOs and she discovered the co...

On this episode: Born and raised in India, Siddaq Singh first studied in India and received a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering, as well as an MBA, and then went on to do a Masters Degree in Environmental Studies in Israel. Siddaq is a thinker, educator and sustainability facilitator and currently teaches a course called Sustainability in Practice at Thapar School of Management in which t...

Today’s guest is Emily Katz. She was born in Israel, raised in the UK and Spain and currently lives in Israel but is planning on moving back to Spain in a few months. Emily had studied organization behavior development and now works as an Organizational and Self-Healing Consultant, a professional problem solver, on a mission to try and help heal humanity. She is working on different projects to he...

Today’s guest is the inspirational Roy Freeman who originally grew up in the UK in Luton, just north of London. He moved to Sydney in Australia at the age of 28 and lived there for 11 years until he moved to Israel in 2012. Roy works in High-Tech as an Instructor and in 2013 he dedicated his spare time to founding his own organization by the name of “LGBT Olim” for the LGBTQ+ community in Israel....

In this episode, Nina is speaking with the fascinating Elizabeth Bass. Elizabeth was born in Russia, grew up in Bangladesh, and has lived and worked in several countries. She had studied psychology in the United States and later moved to Israel. Nowadays, Elizabeth works as a Jeweller and Yoga teacher. She is sharing a personal story that has influenced her life and journey to more self-awareness...

On today’s episode, Nina is speaking with Dr. Eyal Dujovny, an environmental anthropologist who has lived in many different countries has then been working as a licensed tour guide in Israel for the past several years and had started a podcast for tour guides. They will be discussing Dr. Dujovny’s fascinating career, what his experience with various travel groups and different cultures has been li...

On this episode, Nina is speaking with Melisa Özçakir, a therapeutic self-empowerment counselor and meditation facilitator with a degree in psychology. Melisa tells us what her professional take on mental health is. She will also explain what "Toxic Positivity" is, how thoughts shape our views and how she assists people with uncovering their belief systems and thought patterns, reaching...

Welcome to the „Upfront Podcast“. My name is Nina Mueller and I am your host for this brand new weekly podcast, where you can listen to compelling stories, directly from our amazing guests. We have invited incredible people, thinkers, experts, change-makers, leaders, and community influencers from all around the world, paying special attention to underrepresented communities. We will have in-depth...