Malik has built a career around one idea: stories shape how we see ourselves and the world around us.

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with the filmmaker, visual artist, and creative technologist behind the globally recognized Elder Series. Malik shares his journey from growing up in Nigeria and teaching himself filmmaking to using AI as a tool for cultural preservation, advocacy, and storytelling.

He also opens up about losing his mother, how grief ultimately inspired the Elder Series, why our obsession with youth distorts the way we see aging, and the responsibility creators have to make sure AI doesn’t erase or misrepresent culture.
The conversation goes beyond AI. It’s about grief, purpose, identity, family, aging, creativity, and leaving something meaningful behind for the next generation.

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What makes someone irreplaceable in the age of AI?

In this episode of Swurl Radio, Eric and Ayka sit down with Daria Tarawneh, VP of Design at SAP Build, to explore the human skills that technology can't replace. From growing up between Russian and Jordanian cultures to leading design teams at some of the world's top technology companies, Daria shares how resilience, curiosity, and problem solving shaped her career.

The conversation dives into identity, leadership, AI, ADHD, design thinking, entrepreneurship, and why rejection often becomes the foundation for future success. Daria also opens up about the lessons she learned from her family, the importance of creating environments where people can thrive, and why the best leaders aren't defined by titles, they're defined by the problems they solve.

Whether you're a designer, entrepreneur, leader, or someone navigating the future of work, this episode offers practical insights on building a meaningful career in an AI-driven world.

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Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"

Gabrielle Mérite grew up the second of five kids in a small French town, with doctor parents who told her she could always do art on the side, but if she gave up science that young, she'd never get it back. So she followed the science all the way to a master's in immunology, through a top school she compares to making foie gras: they pour information down your throat, you memorize it, and you regurgitate it.

In this episode, she takes us from making her first infographics at the French equivalent of the NIH, to a forced visa detour designing cosmetics and ghost kitchens, to the day the UN knocked on her door with a project and she almost refused the call because she didn't feel good enough. She called her mom to say she was quitting her job. Her mom said don't. She did it anyway.

We talk about what Pentagram taught her, why the chart is an output but not the goal, and the room full of climate philanthropists who went from screaming at each other to realizing they only disagreed on five percent, once someone finally mapped what they agreed on.
Her mission with Figures & Figures: make life-saving information land and stick. Because sense making, not chart making, is a responsibility.

And her advice for anyone stuck between the practical and the creative: you don't have to choose. There are millions of jobs that don't exist yet that will let you do both.

Support Swurl
Swurl is building a new kind of networking platform focused on real connections, not self-promotion.

"Music by Vlvt. If you are working on a podcast, get your Swurl Radio discount code and save 20% on anything at Vlvt.fm"