Mindful Mondays with Shudu

In this solo episode of Mindful Mondays with Shudu, Shudu opens up about something no one really talks about — what happens when friendships change, when they break, and when someone you love just disappears without explanation. This is a conversation about the work we don’t put into friendships, the silence that breaks them, and why friendship breakups deserve the same honesty we give our romantic relationships. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays with Shudu, Shudu sits down with Dr. Claudia-Santi F. Fernandes — Vice President of Research and Evaluation at the Born This Way Foundation — to explore how young people experience mental health, safety, and belonging in digital and physical spaces.From peer support and online communities to AI and the role of adults in youth mental health, this conversation challenges the dominant narrative that social media is the enemy — and asks a more honest question: how do we make both digital and physical spaces safe enough for young people to be themselves?This episode examines why digital spaces are lifelines for many young people, why the adults in the room also need to learn, and why systems-level change must begin with listening — not fixing.It is not a conversation about policing screens. It is a conversation about building belonging.Additional resources: Born This Way Foundation Research: https://bornthisway.foundation/research-survey/Born This Way Foundation Programs: https://bornthisway.foundation/current-programs/Born This Way Foundation LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/btwfoundation?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAcGRvZgJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA85MzY2MTk3NDMzOTI0NTkAAadSVd5YCo0d9Gwv45W34LJwC6gF0cRFkt_wQoBNG2_ao1NNBjQrJ-r9DrU2FQ_aem_v6WCgjB1WAKhiyN6ZnWheABorn This Way Foundation x American Psychological Association Commentary: https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2028-13008-001.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays with Shudu, Shudu sits down with Charlize Theron, Academy Award-winning actor, producer, UN Messenger of Peace and founder of the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), for a conversation about Africa’s young people, gender-based violence, grassroots leadership and what accountability looks like when the institutions meant to keep women safe are not doing enough.Recorded at a moment of collective grief and fear in South Africa, the conversation does not treat hope as optimism. Charlize speaks openly about anger, frustration and the refusal to accept complacency, while reflecting on almost two decades of CTAOP supporting locally led organisations across Southern Africa.This is a conversation about what meaningful investment in young people looks like, why women need to be taken seriously when they ask for help, and how we hold on to hope without using it to look away from what still needs to change. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Mindful Mondays with Shudu, Shudu travels to Tarime, Tanzania, spending three days on the ground with police officers, social workers, families, survivors and faith leaders to understand what female genital mutilation looks like within the communities where it is still practiced.She is joined by Grace Uwizeye, a harmful practices and social norms expert at UNFPA, and Michael Marwa, CEO of C-Sema, who comes from the region and has spent more than 13 years working to end FGM from within communities.This is not simply a conversation about statistics. It is a conversation about systems: the economics, social power and deeply rooted norms that sustain the practice, the cost of saying no, and what it would actually take for a girl to refuse FGM and still belong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode, Shudu gets personal about what three months of 'nothing' actually looked like — and what it cost her to finally stop.This is a raw, unfiltered conversation about burnout that went deeper than exhaustion, the identity crisis that followed graduation, and the uncomfortable process of rediscoveringwho she is without the schedule, the stress, and the achievements. From crying because she didn’t know how to do nothing, to reading books that reignited her curiosity, to a UN mission in Tanzania that brought her back to her purpose —this episode is about the messy, beautiful work of getting to know yourself again.Shudu shares the books that shaped her break (Greenlights, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Unmasking AI, Maktub), why she’s learning to say “I don’t know,” and why gravitating towards what’s meaningful — not what’s easy — is the new compass.If you’ve ever felt like you had everything figured out and nothing figured out at the same time, this one’s foryou. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.