The Almost Era

creatives around the world

5.0 (2)
Society & Culture
Updated Weekly

Welcome to the in-between. The Almost Era explores the space between who we are and who we’re becoming - that slightly comic, deeply honest in-between where ambition, identity, and reality collide. Hosted by Vallabhi Singh, it’s a cultural diary for the stylishly self-aware. Equal parts reflection and reinvention.

3d ago

Can You Design Friendship? | Bader Barghoti on Building Joude

Making friends used to happen almost by accident, through school, work, or neighbours. Today, we move cities often, work remotely, and spend more time online than together. In the first feature of Season 02: The Builders, Vallabhi sits down with Bader Barghoti, founder of Joude, a members-only community that brings together strangers through intimate dinners and curated gatherings across London.

14 min
12/24/2025

Season Finale: Sumiran on How to Read the Signs - Tarot, Numbers, Animals & Intuition

In the Season One finale of The Almost Era, Vallabhi sits down with Sumiran Annamaria Kashyap for an intriguing conversation about intuition, timing, and the patterns we begin to notice when certainty runs out. They explore tarot, numbers, astrology, and synchronicity not as belief systems or predictions, but as tools for reflection, self-discovery, and growth. Sumiran brings a rare blend of grounding and insight to the conversation. Trained in yogic intuition and flower essence practices, with a background in psychology and human behavior, she approaches tarot as a mirror rather than a forecast, a way to build emotional intelligence, deepen awareness, and strengthen intuition as a skill. This episode moves through questions of choice, fate, destiny, and timing, unpacking why certain numbers keep repeating, how synchronicity sharpens perception, and why effort alone isn’t always the answer. They talk about adaptability, karmic cycles, spiritual growth, and the subtle difference between forcing clarity and learning how to listen during the transitional years of our 20s and 30s. The conversation closes with a collective card pull for anyone listening - a moment to check in with what resonates, and carry forward what feels aligned. What We Talk About: Intuition is a muscle that can be strengthened over time.Numbers and synchronicity play a significant role in our lives.Everything in life is interconnected through energy and vibration.Personal growth often involves understanding and accepting one's past.Tarot serves as a mirror, reflecting our inner truths.

1h 4m
12/17/2025

Kajol on Ten Years of Social Media and India’s Brand Awakening

Vallabhi sits down with Kajol Arora, founder of Aurora Creatives, for a conversation about social media, brand-building, and growing up alongside an industry. Starting her agency in 2015, Kajol has spent the last decade working across fashion, lifestyle, and F&B, building a rare roster that spans established names like Manish Malhotra and Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna to younger, fast scaling brands such as Urban Clap and Beor 360. With a bird’s eye view of founders, consumers, and culture, she reflects on how India’s brand landscape has evolved, from early experimentation to a more confident market. They get into accidental entrepreneurship and what ten years of working for herself has taught her about work, instinct, and identity.

36 min
12/10/2025

Daisy on Betting on Yourself (and Your Shirt)

Vallabhi sits down with Daisy Kendrick, whose journey from climate activism to building Daisy K. Madrid, a bespoke made-to-measure shirting brand, came full circle when she returned to Boston to receive a Women Who Empower Sustainability Award. Growing up on the coast of Spain, now based in Madrid, Daisy talks about style as a form of identity, building a business as a one-woman show, and what it actually looks like to run a high-touch brand. From hosting intimate trunk shows to cycling across the city with shirts under her arm, it's a conversation about choosing motion over a linear plan.

43 min
12/03/2025

Tara on Spotting Talent Before Everyone Else

Vallabhi sits down with Tara, an A&R with a razor-sharp ear for a conversation about music, taste, and the instinct required to spot talent before the rest of the world catches on. From Indian classical and Berklee ensembles to signing breakout artists in London and New York, Tara has shaped her craft across scenes and continents. Today, she channels that lens into her culture-forward editorial IG presence, spotlighting the most interesting intersections of music, art, and identity. They get into what A&R really looks like, how she recognizes the next big thing, and the mindset that turned her instinct into a creative voice of her own.

35 min
11/26/2025

Vicente on Serendipity, Ambition, and a Super App That Reshaped a Country

Vallabhi sits down with Vicente Zavarce, founder of Yummy and one of LATAM’s boldest disruptors. In a candid, almost off-the-record chat, they chart his path from early scrappiness to building Venezuela’s largest app, raising $70M, becoming an HBS case study, and the specific blend of grit and delusion that fuels bets this big.

33 min
11/19/2025

Melanie on Freezing the Clock and Rewriting Her 30s

Vallabhi sits down with Melanie Buck, a Swiss-Argentinian project manager who grew up between Singapore and Switzerland before moving from banking to e-commerce and, eventually, into a wetsuit on a tiny Indonesian island. After overstaying a relationship, burning out in Madrid, and slipping into a quiet depression, Melanie audited her life at 30 and chose something radically simple: to be happy. They get into freezing her eggs, the emotional whiplash of starting over alone, and balancing remote work with life as a dive instructor.

33 min
11/12/2025

Ayo on AI, Ethics & the Art of Being Human

Vallabhi sits down with Ayo Oyebanjo, a former banker turned AI ethics graduate, to unpack how technology, creativity, and spirituality are reshaping what it means to live and learn. They talk about raising children in the age of ChatGPT, why instinct still matters, and how to stay human when machines can do almost everything for you.

37 min
11/05/2025

Adi & Varun on Flying First-Class (Without First-Class Money)

Vallabhi sits down with Varun Engineer, a consumer-tech investor, and Adi Anandkumar, an AI/ML product manager - two travel-obsessed childhood friends who’ve turned loyalty programs into a lifestyle. They get into the mechanics of credit card points, airline alliances, and why upgrades are no longer random luck. It’s a mix of practical hacks and commentary on the business of aspiration. A little culture, a little delusion, and the quiet thrill of scanning into the lounge like you meant it. We Talk About: Travel "hacking" can transform everyday expenses into travel rewards.The importance of understanding the philosophy behind points maximization.How airline upgrades have evolved.Why choosing the right credit card can significantly impact your travel rewards.Why airline alliances play a vital role in maximizing travel benefits.The future of loyalty programs shifting towards revenue-based models.Travel experiences can be both a personal passion and a financial strategy.Finding balance in life as we navigate our 30s.

1h 4m
10/29/2025

Nouf on Juggling a Jewelry Brand and an MBA in Paris

Recorded at the historic Abbaye des Vaux de Cernay, this in-person conversation with Nouf Alawadhi traces the accidental beginnings of her jewelry brand, COYA, after a trip to Peru, and how she now juggles a full-time MBA, a job, and a business, all at once. Nouf reflects on movement and contradictions, how they’ve shaped her pace, her priorities, and her idea of success beyond the straight line of a traditional career. A candid conversation about creative energy and the quiet freedom of designing your own timeline. We Talk About: Entering your 30s as an “almost era” where identity, ambition, and lifestyle start to feel clearer, even when life doesn’t look the way you once imagined.The reality of building an eight-year jewelry brand alongside a government career and an MBA.How travel often shapes the biggest life decisions.What an MBA in Paris offers beyond academics.Letting go of perfection, learning through failure, and trusting that effort compounds over time.

37 min
10/29/2025

Nina on Motherhood, Self-Doubt, and Becoming Herself Again

Children’s book author and host of The Curious You podcast, Nina Janjetovic joins Vallabhi for an open conversation about rebuilding self-confidence, rediscovering curiosity after motherhood, and making peace with the versions of ourselves we outgrow. They talk about hair as identity, how social media distorts happiness, and why reinvention sometimes begins with stillness. A soulful exchange about surrender, and the art of taking yourself seriously again. We talk about: Childhood experiences shape our curiosity and interests.Motherhood can catalyze personal growth and self-discovery.Transformative changes in appearance reflect deeper shifts.Daily routines are essential for maintaining balance and well-being.The journey of self-discovery is ongoing and ever-evolving.

44 min
Trailer

Introducing The Almost Era

The Almost Era connects dots across identity, ambition, taste, and lifestyle.

2 min

Trailer

Introducing The Almost Era

The Almost Era connects dots across identity, ambition, taste, and lifestyle.

10/29/2025

•

2 min

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

Welcome to the in-between. The Almost Era explores the space between who we are and who we’re becoming - that slightly comic, deeply honest in-between where ambition, identity, and reality collide. Hosted by Vallabhi Singh, it’s a cultural diary for the stylishly self-aware. Equal parts reflection and reinvention.

Creator

creatives around the world
Years Active

2K
Episodes

12
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© creatives around the world
Show Website

The Almost Era