(Created and hosted by Callie Mataczynski)
Unchained is a global conversation series created to stretch perspective.
Each episode shares an honest, unfiltered story from outside the U.S. cultural lens—reminding us that truth, nuance, and humanity exist far beyond our default worldview.
With a focus on the Global South, we explore how development, innovation, conflict, identity, and meaning shape our mindsets—and the worlds we build around us. The aim is simple: to spark awareness, expand empathy, and ask a deeper question:
What does it take to unchain ourselves—and our world—from the struggles, systems, and stories that shape our lives?
Podcast Episode Lineup
Episode 1 — Biresaw on Ethiopia: Gender-Based Violence, Mindset & Mental Health
Tagline: Breaking silence, reshaping the story.
Description: This episode explores the realities of Ethiopian social norms—gender-based violence, mental health, and what unfolds internally when conflict surrounds us. It examines the patterns we inherit, the mindsets we must unlearn, and the cultural shifts required for meaningful healing.
Teaser: A brave, necessary conversation about harm, resilience, and the quiet ways unaddressed trauma shapes who we become—and how change begins.
Episode 2 — Chello on Zambia: Innovation, Politics, & Democratic Freedom
Tagline: From colonial wounds to political awakening.
Description: This episode traces Zambia’s political evolution—from its peaceful path to independence to the shift from one-party rule to multiparty democracy. Chello reflects on how governance, civic awareness, and public discourse continue to shape the country today, while also sharing his work in microbiology and the role of scientific innovation in national development.
Teaser: A clear, compelling look at politics, science, and the everyday realities of navigating change in one of Africa’s most steadily evolving democracies.
Episode 3 — Djibrine on Chad: Educating Young Girls, Mindset, & “Development Jealousy”
Tagline: Progress, pushback, and the future of African youth.
Description: Djibrine discusses the cultural landscape of Chad, the fight for women’s education, and why communities resist change even when they need it.
Teaser: A raw look at progress—and the people who fear it.
Episode 4 — Hirut on Tanzania:Cultural Expectations, Growth & The Movement
Tagline: Between continents, cultures, and expectations.
Description: This episode follows Hirut’s journey across Tanzania, Ethiopia, and the United States, exploring what it means to belong to three different worlds at once. The conversation moves through identity, cultural expectations, personal growth, and the political tensions that shape daily life in East Africa. Together, these threads reveal how movement—across borders and across systems—shapes the formation of self.
Teaser: What happens when identity has three homes? A reflective conversation on culture, political tension, expectation, and the ongoing work of growing into yourself across shifting landscapes.
Episode 5 — Bienfait on DRC: Conflict, Family & the Cost of Sacrifice
Tagline: A life shaped by history and hope.
Description: Bienfait reflects on the state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. How family, the shadow of Rwandan conflict, and the sacrifices that shape character.
Teaser: One family story that mirrors a nation’s wounds.
Episode 6 — Dr. Yomex on Nigeria: Entrepreneurship, Trust & Building From Scratch
Tagline: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in a high-friction world.
Description: Dr. Yomex breaks down what it truly takes to build a business in Nigeria—navigating trust, unreliable infrastructure, systemic friction, and the kind of resilience that can’t be taught. This episode examines why the environment is often not conducive for startups, and what it means to create anyway.
Teaser: A clear, unfiltered look at the realities of building from scratch in a system that wasn’t designed to support you.
Episode 7 — Susan on Kenya: Biodesign, Value Creation & Balance
Tagline: Innovating with empathy and purpose.
Description: Susan dives into the Kenyan innovation ecosystem—human-centered design, value creation, and maintaining balance in high-pressure environments.
Teaser: Where engineering meets empathy.
Episode 8 — Rohith on India: Success, Failure & the Search for Meaning
Tagline: Where ambition meets consciousness.
Description: Rohith offers a deep exploration of Indian ideas around achievement, failure, and what it means to move through life. The conversation weaves through consciousness, mindset, societal expectation, and the inner work required to understand what “success” actually means.
Teaser: A conversation that strips ambition down to its soul—and asks what remains when the noise falls away, or will we every know?
Episode 9 — Deda on Zanzibar: Love, Friendship & Hardship
Tagline: The island stories that shape us.
Description: Deda shares an intimate portrait of life in Zanzibar—relationships, cultural expectations, and growing through hardship.
Teaser: An island heart speaks its truth.
Episode 10 — Abdul: Language, Islam, and the Quiet Discipline of Patience.
Tagline: Language, Islam, and the discipline of patience
Description: Abdul reflects on Nigerian patient culture, the role of faith, and what caregiving reveals about character and compassion. The episode also explores how language—what we say and in which tongue, what we leave unsaid, and the words we inherit—shapes how we show up in the world and how others learn to show up for us.
Teaser: A quiet conversation about duty, devotion, and the dignity found in caring for one another.
Episode 11 — Abdul (Oziii): Confidence, Style & The Nigerian Way
Tagline: The psychology of showing up.
Description: Abdul dives into confidence, introversion, and what Nigerian style really says about you.
Teaser: Why confidence is an outfit you build, not one you wear.
Episode 12 — Amina on Kenya: Cultural Judgment, Religion, & the Philosophy of How We Live.
Tagline: When identity becomes a mirror.
Description: Amin explores how growing up in Kenya shapes the way we see ourselves — through religion, cultural judgment, and the unspoken rules that define belonging. From social expectations to the quiet philosophies that guide everyday choices, this conversation unpacks how belief, environment, and personal truth intertwine
Teaser: A candid, lyrical dive into faith, perception, and the unfiltered human experience — where song lyrics become stories, culture becomes commentary, and identity becomes a living question.
Episode 13 — RVJ on India: Art, Dance & the Anatomy of Purpose
Tagline: When creativity becomes a calling.
Description: RVJ explores Indian art and dance as pathways into discipline, identity, and personal purpose. The conversation moves into the nature of love—where it comes from, how it shapes us, how we survive heartbreak, and what it means to love again after loss. Through movement and memory, this episode traces the quiet architecture of meaning.
Teaser: A poetic exploration of movement, meaning, and mastery.
