UNSUGARCOATED with Aalia

In Episode 82, we are joined by the DIY Queen Summer Azul. Today Summer talks about the benefits of being self-sustainable villages in areas such as growing our own food and building our own homes! During the global pandemic, Summer established “My Super Quarantine Life”, a platform for creative sustainable education through fun music videos! Aalia discusses being a successful single mother as wel...

Chief Investigator Moses Castillo, a true life detective that’s dedicated his life to solving sex crimes against women and children, believes justice matters. Castillo and Aalia give an update to her ongoing civil case against a man who sexually assualted her at 14 and the church that covered it up, thanks to the AB218 Law that ends at the end of 2022. On the subject, they discuss advocacy and edu...

Episode 80 features Adrienne Lau, a world renowned triple threat actor, producer, and singer. Adrienne is known as "Asian Janet Jackson" in the American music scene and the first Chinese American to hit Top 10 on the U.S. Pop Billboard Sales Chart. Discussing the importance of Asian representation in media, as well as challenges navigating lockdowns in Hong Kong and how that has affected her busin...

In Episode 79, we are joined by Kim Macharia, an influential woman breaking gender and racial barriers within the Space Industry, and a very special guest co-host, Jamie DuBose. Kim talks with our ladies about contributing all of her time to continuing to diversify and democratize the white male-dominated industry. Aalia and Kim talk about being powerful women in these industries and drop gems abo...

In Episode 78, Aalia is joined by female founder, international speaker, and author of “Imposter Syndrome: The Lies Within”, Sheryl Anjanette! How do thoughts, feelings, beliefs and our past traumas contribute to imposter syndrome? Together they discuss that and what it looks like for someone to walk a path of integration that allows them to move past the lies within. Tune in to hear what she has...

In Episode 77, we are joined by Brandon Dean Johnson, who has accepted the passing of the torch to be the new CEO of Create Now, founded by our late friend, Jill Gurr. An organization that has used arts to impact the lives of tens of thousands of at-risk youth, Aalia and Johnson discuss the challenges and joyous moments of being their first African American CEO. Discussing Create Now’s focus on ed...

In Episode 76, we are joined by luxury fashion designer, Veronica Tharmalingam, to discuss visualization and what it means to have a brand that isn’t trying to sell a product, but an experience! Tharmalingam, shares on her journey of being multicultural, split between French and Indian, and what building an empire looks like when you’re trusting the process! Using her bold pieces to empower women,...

UNSUGARCOATED with Aalia, Season 10 launches with a powerful conversation surrounding separation, divorce, and rebuilding with guest, award-winning director and filmmaker, Sunnie McFadden-Curtis. Unfortunately, around half of all marriages end in divorce. What if someone were to tell them that it was just the beginning and not the end? McFadden-Curtis reveals to Aalia the process behind creating a...

In Episode 74, actor Michael Nouri joins us for our season 9 finale to discuss the influence of meditation. Michael got his big break as Nick Hurley in the 1983 film Flashdance. He experienced his spiritual awakening when he became passionately interested in why he was here on the planet (19:55). After 50 years of meditation, Michael has found he is happiest when coming from a place of service and...

In Episode 73, “Jolly Good Ginger”, a self-proclaimed reformed bigot and racist, shares with Aalia his journey of unlearning white supremacy and his mission to educate white people about their bigotry and implicit biases. Jolly discusses how racism is a spectrum and that everyday he continues his journey to learn about racism and reject the racist beliefs he was raised with (11:38). He shares how...

In Episode 72, Eric Blake shares how his passion for making people laugh got him off the streets of South Central Los Angeles and into the life of a comedian. Eric enlightens the audience with his formula for comedy and the importance of staying true to oneself as an artist (11:35). On the stage, Eric feels there are no limits to topics he can use as material. He reminds the audience to be open-mi...

In Episode 71, Kushal Choksi shares his story of how surviving the tragedy of 9/11 altered his path and encouraged a life of living in the present. After such a traumatic experience and close encounter with death, Kushal was forced to question the status quo of his life and ask himself “what am I really doing?” (6:00). Through spirituality and meditation, Kushal has found healing and personal grow...

In Episode 70, Matt Gray and our host tackle the challenges the cannabis industry is facing in the coming year along with his story of becoming a cannabis entrepreneur and the CEO of Herb. Matt shares his passion for natural remedies and the positive impacts of cannabis on ailments both mental and physical (7:30). However, there is still a great stigma around cannabis use. Matt uses Herb as a plat...

In Episode 69, Sean V. Bradley shares his journey from being a dealer on the streets to becoming “The Millionaire Car Salesman.” In this candid conversation, you’ll get to hear from both our host, Aalia Lanius and Sean discuss their less than perfect backgrounds and how each dealt with the shame of “who they were'' to embrace “who they are”. Sean shares how he grew up in an abusive household, spen...

In Episode 68, Christy Buss, joins us to share her story and speak on the challenges shared by women leaders in relation to her own journey of entrepreneurship. Discussing her own perspective of what female entrepreneurship looks like and how her journey has taken her through dance, being married into the Laker family, once upon a time, and her latest venture into the skincare industry. HEDO, Chri...

In Episode 67, Dr. Mathew Knowles joins us to share his journey as an author, cancer survivor, music executive, artist manager, and father to one of the most iconic people in modern day music, Beyoncé Knowles. In this candid conversation, Dr. Knowles shares his story of growing up as a black child during the civil rights movement and the trauma of being a black man in America (13:32). He shares hi...

In Episode 66, emergency medicine MD, Dr. Calvin Sun returns as a guest for our season 9 premiere to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine, our social contract, and the misinformation dividing us during the pandemic. For a pandemic that has lasted almost two years, Dr. Sun discusses how everyone must play their part in preventing the spread, and that unvaccinated people increase the chance of more variants...

On Episode 65, Singer/Songwriter April Diamond joins us for our season finale to share her experience in the music industry and her inspiration to live her purpose. Diamond discusses what her motivation is and what it means to live out your dreams (4:00). Diamond talks on her long-time collaboration and meticulous chemistry with producer David Longoria (11:00), including their participation in the...

On Episode 64, the Pivot Queen, Kate Hancock, and her husband/business partner Daniel Robbins, serial entrepreneurs and co-founders of “What It Takes to Run a Million Dollar Business”, join us to discuss the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship and how the current era and opportunity of the internet and Clubhouse has changed the entrepreneurial world. The pair start the interview off discus...

Tevin Everett, award winning filmmaker, discusses on UNSUGARCOATED with Aalia his inspiration to become a writer and director after being in the Navy for nearly 9 years (07:25). Everett wanted to become a filmmaker because he wanted to tell stories about the lives of black people without racism being at the heart of the story (08:25). He believes that telling these stories, especially through a co...

Sky Nelson-Issacs, physicist, musician, and author, sits down with Aalia to discuss his view and vision for a better future, which consists of inviting synchronicity and flow into our lives. He defines synchronicity (07:30) and explains how we can bring context to our lives to promote growth and healing (10:50). Sky, recognizing that our lives can bring about challenging times, also has worked to...

On Episode 61, Jason Jimenez, Founder and CEO of Redstone Business Holdings LLC, and Frederick Douglas Bussey Jr., Founder and CEO of ICON Status, share their experience not only leading businesses, but leading their own families as husbands and fathers. Jason and Frederick discuss how Clubhouse has benefitted their businesses and networking (4:30). Diving into their business motivations and what...

In Episode 60, Nazanin Nour, actor, writer, judge on Persia’s Got Talent and a voiceover artist, works to use artistic expression and comedy to bring people together and shed light on vexing political and social issues. Nour shares her passion for how she uses comedy as a vehicle to share truthful and insightful messages with others (20:52). She also explains where her passion for comedy came from...

In Episode 59 of UNSUGARCOATED with Aalia, Disability Advocate and Public Speaker, Matthew Walzer shares his journey from childhood to being at the center of one of the biggest milestones for Disability Inclusion in the history of everyday clothing and streetwear. Walzer, who collaborated with shoe designer Tobie Hatfield to design the Lebron Zoom Soldier 8 FlyEase, Nike’s first FlyEase shoe and t...

In episode 58, Wesley King, co-author of the best-selling book series The Wizenard Series, along with ten other novels, works to promote literacy for young people by writing stories that are truly relatable to a middle grade audience. King, who collaborated with the late Kobe Bryant, discusses the process of working on The Wizenard Series, which consists of several books that tackle the psychologi...