Cindi Leive has shaped the media world—from her tenure as Glamour's editor-in-chief to co-founding The Meteor. In this intimate conversation, she joins Maryam to talk about losing her mother young, surviving the “command and control” culture of Condé Nast, and building something new from the ground up. They explore the messy parts of starting over, raising kids in a digital age, the loneliness epidemic, feminism under fire, and why collaboration always wins. Cindi shares the lessons she’s learned (and is still learning) on how to stay hopeful, stay human, and rewrite the rules without losing your why.

Show Notes:

Guest: Cindi Leive – Journalist, Editor, Co-founder of The Meteor

Follow Cindi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cindi_leive/?hl=en

Topics Covered:

• Her lifelong passion for magazines (and what 17 Magazine meant as a kid)
• Growing up with a single mom scientist—and losing her at 19
• Compartmentalization, grief, and building self-sufficiency
• What Condé Nast taught her (and what she had to unlearn)
• Leaving Glamour at its peak for something riskier
• How The Meteor began in Gloria Steinem’s living room
• Feminist storytelling in a fraught media landscape
• Raising resilient kids in the age of AI and loneliness
• Lessons in entrepreneurship, imperfection, and asking for money
• Why joy and collaboration matter more than perfection
  
  

Mentioned:

The Meteor (feminist media collective)

Night of Solidarity, a Meteor special

Send us a text

Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for listening.

Katie Sturino is no stranger to reinvention—from fashion PR hustler to viral dog-momager to founder of Megababe and author of the new romcom Sunny Side Up. In the premiere episode of The Messy Parts, she joins Maryam to talk about building a self-funded brand, the real struggles behind the Instagram gloss, and how letting the "messy parts hang out" can be your superpower. They talk all things Ozempic, Oprah, body image, revenge-fueled motivation, and working with family. Katie also opens up about her purpose: helping women stop feeling bad alone—and start feeling powerful together.

Show Notes:

Guest: Katie Sturino – Entrepreneur, Author, Founder of Megababe

Follow Katie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiesturino/?hl=en

Follow Katie on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@katiesturino

Topics Covered:

• Launching Megababe and creating a new body positive category in personal care
• Why embarrassment is her secret weapon
• Her pivot from fashion PR to making her dog, Toast, Insta-famous
• The myth of “making it” and going for progress over perfection
• How revenge came to be her greatest motivator

Mentioned:

Sunny Side Up (Katie’s debut novel)

Mega Babe products

DogMeetsWorld

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution

Ina Garten’s book, Be Ready When Luck Happens

Send us a text

Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for listening.

Whether you’re at the top, or striving to get there—you may have noticed the one thing people rarely talk about: how hard it is to achieve success. The Messy Parts is the answer—a podcast where you’ll hear about the twists, turns and pivots that shape extraordinary careers. The real messy parts along the way. Host Maryam Banikarim has been through it, so she gets it. Maryam has been a transformative leader across media, hospitality and tech. Her powerhouse resume features more than 20 years in the C-Suite at companies like Hyatt, NBC, and Nextdoor—and she has a vast, influential network to match. On The Messy Parts, she brings you unparalleled access to that network. Deeply honest, vulnerable conversations with Maryam—who is never afraid to ask the questions on everyone's mind. Join us as we get real, unfiltered, and messy.

Send us a text

Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

Recorded at The Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center.

Thank you for listening.