What is food for Pakistani's if not a companion in joy, grief and memory? How do we truly see food when it encompasses so many of our relationships and defining moments beyond just the act of eating itself? With Masterchef Pakistan back, amidst a slew of criticism and support, host Anmol Irfan sat down with finalist Muhammad Zain for today's episode to take a deeper look at what food means to him as a self taught chef and why emotions and exploration play such a huge role in his journey. From his creative fusion creations to his background in Astrophysics, Zain takes us through his culinary inspirations, his Masterchef experience and what it means to him when he steps into the kitchen Follow Echoes Media for more stories and slow news.

Does the best writing come from rage? Pakistan's latest debut author seems to think so. In our latest episode, host Anmol Irfan speaks to author and writer Arslan Athar about his debut book, 40 days of mourning, writing and publishing in Pakistan's rocky literary industry and the difference between fiction and non fiction writing. Arslan gets deep into how writing is impacted by his emotions, what this journey has been like personally and professionally and what it takes to "make it" as a writer. You can order 40 Days Of Mourning directly from Run On Press here.

What does it mean for tech solutions to actually be made for diverse global communities of survivors? When the tech available genuinely caters to the needs of some of the world's most vulnerable communities?

In this episode, host Anmol Irfan is joined by Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn, an organisation developing tech led survivors for, and by, survivors of abuse. As a Pakistani based the UK, Hussain developed a truly global approach to an initiative that started out aimed at Pakistanis and the Pakistani diaspora - after helping friends escape from abusive situations. This is the final episode for our latest project Echoes Unmuted: Navigating TFGBV. Echoes Unmuted is a two part educational and awareness initiative in collaboration with WOW Pakistan, ahead of the upcoming WOW Festival being held from 24-25 January in Karachi You can be part of Chayn's work through their current survey, where they are mapping out what image based abuse can mean within global contexts. This series is being delivered with support from the British Council as part of the WOW Pakistan Creative Gender Grants