Zainab Salbi is frequently named one of the top women changing the world by leading publications ranging from Newsweek to The Guardian. Oprah Winfrey included her in a top list of women changing the world to People magazine and President Bill Clinton hailed her in Harper’s Bazaar as one of the 21st-century’s heroes. Most recently Foreign Policy Magazine named her as one of "100 Leading Global Thinkers" and Watkins magazine in the UK identified her as one of the top 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People in 2020.
At the age of 23, Zainab founded Women for Women International, a humanitarian organization dedicated to women survivors of wars. Under her leadership (1993–2011), Women for Women International grew from helping 30 women upon its inception to helping more than 420,000 women and distributing more than 100 million dollars in aid.
Zainab is the author of several books, including the bestseller Between Two Worlds: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam (with Laurie Buckland); The Other Side of War: Women’s Stories of Survival and Hope; If You Knew Me You Would Care (with photographs by Rennio Maifredi); and her latest, Freedom Is an Inside Job: Owning Our Darkness and Our Light to Change Ourselves and the World.
She is also the executive editor and host of several shows, including Through Her Eyes with Yahoo News; #MeToo, Now What? with PBS; The Zainab Salbi Project with Huffington Post; and The Nida’A Show with TLC Arabia.
Zainab is current chief awareness officer at FindCenter, host of the podcast Redefined with Zainab Salbi, and co-founder of Daughters for Earth.
See Zainab’s Collection
April 13th, 2022
Growing up in Kibera, one of Africa’s largest urban slums, Kennedy Odede survived extreme childhood poverty, crime, sexual abuse, and drug abuse on a path to ultimately becoming one of the most compelling social entrepreneurs and community leaders working today. Read more...
April 6th, 2022
Jean Oelwang, president and CEO of Virgin Unite, spent fifteen years interviewing sixty-five prominent pairs, including Ben and Jerry, Leah and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Rosalynn and President Jimmy Carter. Read more...
March 30th, 2022
Wajahat Ali, author of the new memoir, Go Back To Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations On How to Become American, joins Zainab to discuss finding God in the good and the bad, using language as liberation, the danger of clinging to anger, the importance of investing in joy,... Read more...
March 23rd, 2022
Pioneering Marine fighter pilot and two-time congressional candidate Amy McGrath reveals how she deals with sexism, the personal responsibilities she bears as a retired member of the Armed Forces, and carrying values of sacrifice and service throughout her life, even when faith and duty collide.
March 16th, 2022
Acclaimed journalist, television host, and author Lisa Ling joins Zainab to talk about the timely and personal significance of her latest show, Take Out, fighting back against bigotry and bias by teaching empathy and diverse history to the next generation, and what a recent psychedelic... Read more...
March 9th, 2022
Internationally celebrated author, poet, and activist Alice Walker joins Zainab to discuss transcending boundaries, finding solace in nature, a pivotal visit to Russia, finding love and danger in the American South during the Civil Rights movement, and, says Alice, learning to accept that there is... Read more...
March 2nd, 2022
Mark Nepo, poet, spiritual teacher, and bestselling author of twenty-two books, reflects tenderly on the moments that have transformed his writing, creativity, and relationships. Mark also reveals how he developed the tools to heal his pain, live through his heart, and put a premium on the present. Read more...
February 23rd, 2022
Tony Porter, CEO of A Call To Men, shares stories from his decades-long crusade to help men invest in a healthier form of manhood, discusses the evolution and controversies of his intersectional methods, and reveals the very personal origins of his journey.
February 16th, 2022
Distinguished historian, Princeton professor, and bestselling author Elaine Pagels talks with Zainab about the hidden history of religion and her lifelong spiritual and academic journey to understand the purpose religion can hold in each of our lives.
February 9th, 2022
Bestselling author Agapi Stassinopoulos shares lessons from her new book, Speaking with Spirit, including the power and ritual of personal, non-denominational prayer, and how to find a home in oneself no matter the external circumstances.
February 2nd, 2022
With a rare combination of humor and tenderness, author and heart-centered teacher Danielle LaPorte reveals how she overcame impostor syndrome, decluttered her spiritual practice, and learned to truly trust her own voice.
January 25th, 2022
After a brush with death, Damien Mander searches for a way to change his life and the lives of others. Read more...
January 19th, 2022
Damien Mander, founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation, once served as a sniper in the Australian military and as a private security contractor during the insurgency in Iraq. He barely made it out alive and left with a burning need to change his life. Read more...
December 29th, 2021
Reverend Doctor Jacqui Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Church in New York City and author of a remarkable new book, Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World. Read more...
December 22nd, 2021
From “God moments” in Ethiopia to falling in love amid her partner’s cancer treatment, actress and writer Maria Bello joins Zainab to talk about evolving spiritual beliefs, finding freedom from judgment, and the wisdom of past and present relationships.
December 15th, 2021
Sharon Salzberg has maintained a meditation practice for nearly fifty years and during that time she has become one of our most compassionate and compelling teachers. Read more...
December 8th, 2021
Visionary yogi and mystic Sadhguru discusses the power and necessity of embracing self-determination and shares moving lessons from his latest book, Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny.
December 1st, 2021
Music great Rosanne Cash joins Zainab to talk about the intersection of creativity, authenticity, and the Divine. Over the course of her illustrious career as a singer, songwriter, and author, Rosanne Cash has learned to embrace both her own identity and her father’s towering legacy. Read more...
November 24th, 2021
With power, humility, and clarity, author, playwright, and activist V (formerly Eve Ensler) reveals how deep empathy creates great art (The Vagina Monologues, The Apology), why she will never stand for injustice, and what she has learned from surviving cancer and sexual abuse.
November 17th, 2021
Before Hugh Jackman became an iconic performer, on stage and on screen, he was a child plagued by fear, an adolescent pondering God, and a young man searching for meaning. Read more...
November 10th, 2021
Elif Shafak, one of our generation’s most compelling writers, reveals how she balances anxiety and activism with the life of an artist. Estranged from Turkey and now living in London, Elif shares how she deals with displacement. Read more...
November 3rd, 2021
As an Ecuadorian immigrant living in poverty and seeking safety—and later facing rock bottom while confronting substance abuse—poet Diego Perez had a long way to go to find his center. Read more...
October 27th, 2021
From working as a child star to working through its residual traumas, Alyson Stoner has turned her own healing journey into a platform through which she helps others. Read more...
October 20th, 2021
Marianne Williamson, presidential candidate, bestselling author, and spiritual teacher, shares what it means—and what it costs—to lead with love. Read more...
October 13th, 2021
Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Zen priest and sensei, first met Redefined’s Zainab Salbi on a bus. The two women had a surprising and intense encounter while riding between Gaza and Egypt. Read more...
October 6th, 2021
Don Lemon, CNN anchor and bestselling author of This Is the Fire joins Zainab for an intimate conversation about embracing personal risk, working through heartbreaking loss, and his ongoing experience of reconciling love and pain as a Black man in America.
September 29th, 2021
Annie Lennox joins host Zainab Salbi on the debut episode of Redefined to talk about the personal moments that have shaped her identity as a citizen, activist, artist, daughter, and mother. Formative and transformative stories of hope, loss, struggle and awakening fill this heartfelt conversation.
September 29th, 2021
Redefined explores what happens when life’s biggest challenges lead us on a transformative search for what matters most. Read more...