Paul Elia on Being a 'Good Son,' Chaldean Assyrian Identity, and Breaking Into Hollywood

Paul Elia on Being a 'Good Son,' Chaldean Assyrian Identity, and Breaking Into Hollywood

Paul Elia is a Chaldean Assyrian comedian who almost became a lawyer - until Hollywood had other plans. On this episode of Well Rooted, we sit down with Paul to talk about his brand-new stand-up special Good Son, now on YouTube, and the winding road that brought him here: from law school dreams to becoming a Hollywood regular, to finally leaning all the way into where he comes from. We get into what it really means to be Chaldean and Assyrian in America, how Hollywood sees - and often misreads - Middle Eastern artists, and why his most personal work is also his most fearless. To follow Paul on Instagram, click HERE [https://www.instagram.com/pauleliacomedy/?hl=en] To learn more about Paul's upcoming shows, click HERE [https://watchpaulelia.com/] To watch Good Son on YouTube, click HERE [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwYJAnn0h3U] To follow Well Rooted on Instagram, click HERE [https://www.instagram.com/wellrootedpod/] To learn more about Jarrar & Associates, click HERE [https://jarrarcpa.com/]

Lara Salmon on art as resistance, the Middle East's transformative power, and why FYVP is clothing with a conscience

What happens when art stops being decorative and starts being dangerous — in the best possible way? Lara Salmon has spent her career asking that question. A world-renowned Irish-American performance artist and co-founder of social justice apparel brand For Your Viewing Pleasure (FYVP), Lara has built a life at the intersection of radical creativity and deep human solidarity. In this conversation, she joins us to talk about all of it — the work, the world, and the cost of paying attention. We trace her journey from immersive performance practice to years spent living in the Middle East, where proximity to conflict, beauty, and survival fundamentally shifted how she thinks about art's purpose. Her time working alongside refugees and marginalized communities didn't just inform FYVP — it became the reason for it. The brand she built with her partner and designer Vanessa is clothing as conscience: wearable resistance for people who refuse to look away. We also go there on the art world's relationship with Palestinian liberation — who's speaking, who's staying silent, and what that silence costs. This is a conversation about creativity as a form of courage. About what it means to make something when the stakes are real. To shop FYVP, click HERE To follow FYVP on Instagram, click HERE To follow Well Rooted on Instagram, click HERE To learn more about Jarrar & Associates CPAs and book your free consultation, click HERE

ROOTED RECAP | Culture is Not For Sale and Other Musings on the Met

This week we're doing a quick recap on the Oligarch Gala: who showed up, why it's embarrassing, and why money and power do not translate to cultural currency and relevence. We're also shining a light on one of our previous guests, Sylwia Nazzal, and sharing why we want to see here-plus more Arab artists-celebrated at future (hopefully less problematic) Met Gala carpets. Catch up on Sylwia's episode down below! Listen to Sylwia's episode HERE [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/from-paris-to-palestine-resistance-in-creation-fashion/id1784382933?i=1000726291963&l=zh-Hant-TW] Watch Sylwia's episode HERE [https://youtu.be/BIsCWeU0B00?si=qqD37S1BWyTzY3Ho] Follow us on Instagram HERE [https://www.instagram.com/wellrootedpod/]

Acne, Sobriety, and Building a Skincare Empire with Marya Khalil-Otto of VI Peel

Marya Khalil-Otto didn't just inherit a company - she inherited a mission. As CEO of VI Peel, the first painless chemical peel formulated for all skin tones, Marya carries forward the legacy of her father, Dr. Khalil, who originally created the peel to treat her own acne. In this episode of Well Rooted, Marya gets real about what it took to step into leadership after losing her father, relocate to LA, and go back to school to get her aesthetician license - not because she had to, but because she wanted to truly understand the brand and the people it serves. We get into the actual science behind acne and why it's never just a skincare issue, how sobriety completely shifted her relationship with herself and her work, and what inclusivity in the aesthetics industry actually looks like in practice. Plus, what it's like to run a thriving company while showing up as a mother and a whole person. To follow Marya on Instagram, click HERE [https://www.instagram.com/maryakhalil/] To follow VI Peel on Instagram, click HERE [https://www.instagram.com/vipeel/] To follow Well Rooted on Instagram, click HERE [https://www.instagram.com/wellrootedpod/] To learn more about Jarrar & Associates and schedule a free consultation, click HERE [https://jarrarcpa.com/]

ROOTED RECAP | Nochella, Coachella, and the SWANA Takeover

I'm back from Coachella where I watched SWANA artists, representing Palestine to Algeria and Egypt to Pakistan unleash their incomparable energy on the festival stage. I'm sharing my thoughts on DJ Habibeats and Zainab's Coachella premiere, DJ Snake's legendary back2back trap takeover, and what I really think about Sabrina Carpenter's response following the now infamous "Zaghrootagate." Plus, I'm unpacking the brilliant execution of the community led Nochella event that saw brands like For Your Viewing Pleasure and Diaspora People's Place raise over $31,000 for Palestine and Lebanon while uniting LA's finest to celebrate community, resilience, and art. Listen, comment, or send us a DM (see below for details), and we'll feature you on the next Rooted Recap! Follow Well Rooted on Instagram HERE [https://www.instagram.com/wellrootedpod/] Listen to our episdoe featuring Lara Salmon of FYVP HERE [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/why-art-should-be-a-revolutionary-force-the/id1784382933?i=1000703205597] Listen to our episode featuring Nael Atweh of Grassfed Music HERE [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nael-atweh-on-building-grass-fed-music-artist-development/id1784382933?i=1000731092361]