In this episode, I sit down with Iman Kamel, an Egyptian filmmaker, writer, artist and creator, whose work explores inner resistance, transformation, and living between worlds.

Living between Germany and Egypt, Ima’s path spans dance, visual art, film, and international relations. Her films blur the line between documentary and fiction, using embodied storytelling to explore fear, rebellion, and belonging.

We talk at length about her book, Quantum Leaps & Lost Socks, where she brings together personal narrative, ancient wisdom, and “quantum” metaphors to explore transformation, interconnectedness, and what she calls the “holographic being.” The book reflects the same concerns that run through her films: how inner life shapes reality, and how meaning emerges through everyday experience.

Ima's book: https://www.holographicbeing.com/quantum-leaps-lost-socks-book

Recorded on 16 January 2026.

Connect with Ima on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/iman-kamel-1a720425/.

Instagram: @at.the.coalface

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In this episode, I speak with Guillermo de los Santos, a humanitarian fundraiser whose career began as an unintended detour.

After studying international relations with hopes of working in diplomacy, Guillermo found himself stuck in telemarketing. What felt like a dead end became an unexpected training ground in persuasion, listening, and human motivation.

A chance opportunity led him to UNICEF, where fundraising clicked as a way to combine purpose, creativity, and data. From there, he built a career across organisations such as Médecins Sans Frontières and UNHCR, developing an approach to fundraising that is both effective and ethical.

We talk about how people decide to give, the tension between persuasion and manipulation, and why asking for money in humanitarian work is often misunderstood.

This is a conversation about detours, curiosity, and finding purpose in work you never planned to do.

Recorded on 9 January 2026.

Connect with Guillermo on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/guillermo-de-los-santos-msc-oxon-mba-6a739310.

Instagram: @at.the.coalface

And don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.

Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!

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In this episode, I sit down with Mahendra Shunmoogam, a South African policy thinker working at the intersection of industry, trade, and climate diplomacy.

Mahendra’s path spans HIV/AIDS activism, science and economic policy, government diplomacy, corporate affairs, and global climate governance. From working with Zackie Achmat at the Treatment Action Campaign to coordinating negotiations for the G77 at the UNFCCC, his career offers a rare perspective on how values travel across institutions.

We talk about growing up in Cape Town as an Indian South African, the debates that shaped his worldview, and how questions of belonging later surfaced inside global negotiations. Mahendra reflects on the tension between the moral clarity of activism and the compromises required in multilateral diplomacy.

We also explore how evidence enters policy, how companies really think about serving society, and what just international negotiations might look like for countries in the Global South.

Recorded on 5 December 2025.

Connect with Mahendra on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/mahendra-shunmoogam-b794a51.

Instagram: @at.the.coalface

And don’t forget to subscribe to At the Coalface for new episodes every two weeks.

Help us produce more episodes by becoming a supporter. Your subscription will go towards paying our hosting and production costs. Supporters get the opportunity to join behind the scenes during recordings, updates about the podcast, and my deep gratitude!

Support the show