What if finding your way back to yourself isn’t about hustling harder, having all the answers, or being perfect — but about faith, presence, and a little more compassion?

This week, Sarah sits down with spiritual teacher, speaker, and content creator Meir Kay for a real, open-hearted conversation about identity, faith, fear, and transformation.

Meir opens up about the viral moment that introduced millions to his message — standing blindfolded in Union Square offering hugs as an Orthodox Jew during a time of rising antisemitism — and the fear, faith, and courage it took to show up anyway. From there, the conversation goes deeper, touching on depression, losing yourself, rebuilding faith, and how even our darkest moments can become unexpected sources of light.

Together, Sarah and Meir talk about what it means to be a proud Jew in a complicated world, how to live with less fear, and why being human always comes before labels. Meir shares simple, powerful tools for grounding anxiety, building daily faith, and reconnecting with God — not through perfection, but through honesty, breath, prayer, and self-forgiveness.

This episode is an invitation to come home to yourself. To remember that you are enough. To choose love — with boundaries. And to trust that healing your own life might just help heal the world too.

Learn more about Meir Kay: http://linktr.ee/meirkay

Follow @MeirKay : https://www.instagram.com/meirkay

Chapters:

00:00 Standing Proud as a Jew: The Union Square Hug Story

02:05 Rising Antisemitism & Choosing Love Over Defense

03:21 Blindfolded in Union Square: Fear, Faith, and Vulnerability

07:13 Facing Fear & Trusting God in Real Time

08:36 The Hugs That Changed Everything

09:04 Arab–Jewish Connection & Remembering We’re Family

14:24 What Faith Looks Like in Daily Life

16:16 Regulating the Nervous System with Breathwork

16:34 Tehillim, Prayer, and Ancient Wisdom

18:07 Speaking to God in Your Own Words

20:50 Losing Yourself, Depression, and Identity

23:58 Stepping Back, Numbing, and Hitting Bottom

26:52 Teshuva: Returning to Yourself and to God

27:54 Turning Darkness into Light

28:42 Pain as Purpose: Becoming a Messenger

31:56 Healing the Body, Healing the World

33:43 Technology, Addiction, and Awareness

34:46 Money, Trust, and Fear

36:39 “I Am Enough” and Breaking the Consumer Spell

41:33 Protecting Your Energy While Staying Loving

42:51 Daily Self-Care Practices That Actually Work

44:47 Looking Ahead to 2026: Purpose, Retreats & Growth

Follow Sarah:

Instagram: @soakiba https://www.instagram.com/soakiba

Book The Spaces: https://bookthespaces.com/

Subscribe to That's So Akiba:

Podcast: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3uPL2CvjHFO6nbk0Pe3FeA

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-so-akiba/id1793125684

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UC1kXcQdM_6vgbED6z6KPMpA

What if the thing you are searching for this year is not more success, more productivity, or more answers — but deeper purpose?

It's been nearly one year of That's So Akiba podcast - so why keep going?

As listeners enter 2026, Sarah shares an honest conversation about purpose, inspiration, freedom, joy, and the power of community. From building businesses and hosting dinners to motherhood, relationships, and daily acts of kindness, this episode is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and choose a more intentional way of living.

Sarah explores why people have always been her purpose, how giving to others creates fulfillment, and why joy is different from fleeting happiness. She opens up about shedding relationships and habits that no longer serve her, choosing worthy connections, and learning to show up fully for the people who matter most.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Searching for purpose & inspiration

02:05 – Living life through inspiration (work, mindset, daily rituals)

02:55 – Why purpose matters right now

03:24 – Realizing work as fulfillment and purpose

04:10 – Community as purpose & making others feel good

05:10 – Acts of kindness & the ripple effect

06:15 – Shedding old traits: Year of the Snake → Year of the Horse

07:20 – Freedom, joy vs. happiness

08:15 – Finding your “why”: journaling, prayer, daily intention

09:35 – Small mindset shifts that transform your life

10:43 – Personal reflection: people as purpose & motherhood

11:50 – Building community (it starts with one person)

12:40 – Showing up better for family, not just work

13:05 – Choosing worthy connections

14:15 – Giving back authentically

14:55 – Entering 2026 with intention & purpose

15:25 – Subscribe, share & closing message

Follow Sarah:

Instagram: @soakiba https://www.instagram.com/soakiba

Book The Spaces: https://bookthespaces.com/

Subscribe to That's So Akiba:

Podcast: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3uPL2CvjHFO6nbk0Pe3FeA

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-so-akiba/id1793125684

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@thatssoakiba⁩

What if the thing that saved you… was simply being seen?

In this emotional, full-circle episode of That’s So Akiba, Sarah Akiba sits down with Izzy Gleeson and Melody Buzzi — AWOM Girls Club Alumni — to reflect on how a girls mentorship program that began nearly 10 years ago became a lifelong sisterhood and a turning point for their lives.

Sarah shares the story of starting AWOM Girls Club at local schools as a mentorship program designed to help young women become the strongest versions of themselves — not through perfection, but through truth, resilience, empathy, and support.

And the most powerful part?

The girls became the leaders.

The students became the teachers.

The community kept growing.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro

00:39 – Meeting during COVID + starting AWOM Girls Club on Zoom

01:20 – What is AWOM Foundation + how Girls Club began (10 years!)

02:35 – Why Melody joined (popular loner + craving real girl friendships)

03:45 – Why Izzy joined (sports + clubs + leadership energy)

06:55 – The AWOM Girls Club Fashion Show (“runway of life”)

11:30 – Students becoming teachers + growing into leaders

16:20 – Why Girls Club wasn’t just a club — it was family

18:15 – What Girls Club helped them overcome: insecurity + mental health

19:49 – Social media pressure + makeup, hiding, depression

20:45 – Journaling as healing + “I wasn’t alone”

29:19 – Izzy’s goals: 2026 vision + photography + mental health reset

37:40 – Melody’s struggle after high school + bad habits + alcohol

42:42 – Closing message: community, love, and never giving up

Learn more about AWOM Foundation & AWOM Girls Club: https://www.awom.org/

AWOM Girls Club was created under AWOM Foundation (Angel Watching Over Me) to give teen girls the one thing they often don’t get enough of:

a safe space to be real mentorship through the hardest years

tools for confidence, emotional growth, and self-worth community that feels like family.

Follow Sarah:

Instagram: @soakiba https://www.instagram.com/soakiba

Book The Spaces: https://bookthespaces.com/

Subscribe to That's So Akiba:

Podcast: Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3uPL2CvjHFO6nbk0Pe3FeA

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thats-so-akiba/id1793125684

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@thatssoakiba⁩