Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

Formerly the Unscripted Podcast with Spencer LodgeJoin Spencer Lodge as he connects with the most fascinating personalities in Dubai. A city that rose from the desert sands to become one of the most ambitious, innovative and inspiring places on Earth. Behind its glittering skyline are people with stories just as extraordinary - pioneers, dreamers and doers who dared to turn bold visions into reality.Made in Dubai is where those stories are told. Hosted by Spencer Lodge, each episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the people shaping the UAE's future — from business leaders and record-breakers to cultural icons and creative disruptors.But this isn't just about their success. It's about the journey - the risks they took, the challenges they faced and the moments that defined them. It's about the unique magic of Dubai: a place where ambition meets opportunity, where cultures from around the world collide to create something truly special and where anything feels possible.

Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge is a news podcast hosted by Spencer Lodge, with 412 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Spencer Lodge hosts Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge, a news show with 412 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

  #411: She Rescued 682 Children | Hannah Badi, CEO of Himalayan Entrepreneur Resources

  Aug 17, 20261h 3m

  She grew up in a community that Nepal doesn't count. Below all 126 castes. Girls in her village had no access to education, healthcare, or transport. From the age of 11, they were sold. Hannah Badi was nearly trafficked at 9 years old. She escaped at midnight with 32 girls and a stone in her hand. She went on to rescue 682 children. Her sister is now a minister of Nepal. This is one of the most powerful conversations Spencer has ever had. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:13 Hannah's childhood in far west Nepal 02:52 No food, no water, no school: what survival looked like 05:00 How the Badi community made money: selling daughters 08:03 What the Badi community is not allowed to do 10:18 There is no age: when girls are sold 14:15 A baby bought before she was born 16:36 Price tags on girls: Hannah's personal story 22:50 She collapsed. Her father took her to hospital for the first time. 25:25 What the doctor did 27:51 Her father's instruction: say nothing 28:14 The moment she realised it was wrong 28:31 Uncle Raju arrives in the village 29:48 Nobody believed him 31:20 The midnight gathering in the jungle 32:37 32 girls, one bus, a stone in her hand 33:41 Arriving in Kathmandu for the first time 38:50 Seeing a toilet for the first time 43:17 How long it took to change their mindset 44:41 At 13: her first rescue 46:11 682 children rescued 46:50 From that first group: doctors, bankers, a minister 47:18 Hannah's sister is now a minister of Nepal 51:06 Spencer's visit to Nepal and the documentary 52:00 Meeting the president of Nepal 53:54 The caste system: where the Badi sit within it 56:36 Below all 126 castes: not even counted 58:43 Hannah's message to the world Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Hannah Badi on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/hannah_badi_/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/hannah.badi.487845 linkedin.com/in/devisara-badi-168720250

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  Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

  #410: She Survived a Liver Transplant. Then Questioned If She Deserved It. | Nadia Musiuk Liver transplant survivor

  Aug 10, 20261h 15m

  Her son was 12. While she was on the waiting list for a donor liver, he went home and Googled everything she was too scared to search. She came through the surgery. And then sat with a question that stopped everyone in that room. Dr Kaiser Raja, her surgeon at King's College Hospital Dubai, is also in this conversation. And Spencer does something in this episode that Nadia did not know was coming. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Why Nadia chose to share her story 02:12 When the diagnosis changed everything 07:21 Waiting for a donor: the school run she will never forget 11:30 The operating theatre and what her son said before she went in 17:16 Did I really deserve this second chance? 28:06 Her first steps back: 30 seconds at a time 34:26 Living with someone else's liver: the fear of rejection 42:23 What Dr Kaiser means to her 43:22 The moment Spencer brought Dr Kaiser into the room 55:38 Dr Kaiser on the reality of liver transplant surgery 1:08:00 Quick fire with Dr Kaiser Raja Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow King's College Hospital on Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/kingscollegehospitallondon/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/king's-college-hospital-london-uae https://www.instagram.com/kingscollegehospitaldubai/

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  Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

  #408: Your Employer is Gambling with Your Gratuity | Safa Bouzidi, Managing Director of Daman Investments

  Jul 27, 202659 min

  Most people in the UAE have spent years building a career and assuming their gratuity is sitting somewhere safe, waiting for them when they leave. Safa Bouzidi is one of the few people who will actually tell you what is happening to it. If you work in this country and you have never asked your company where your end-of-service money is, this is the conversation that will make you start. Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 1:11 Why gratuity was never designed to be your pension 3:31 The DIFC DEWS scheme and what changed 7:21 How your company has been using your gratuity as cash flow 9:20 The mistake most people make when they change jobs 17:31 Why companies are pushing back against the new scheme 21:51 The five approved providers and who is holding your money 28:23 The truth: your gratuity might not actually exist 31:58 Is Dubai actually built for you to retire in? 40:42 The freelancer and SME gap nobody is filling 44:19 Where financial habits really come from 48:18 Why fresh graduates spend before they save 51:36 Quick Fire with Safa Bouzidi Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Safa Bouzidi on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/safa_bouzidileterme/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/safa-bouzidi-leterme-5a515416/ https://www.instagram.com/daman.investments/

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  Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

  #407: THE CEO OF LEO BURNETT JUST CALLED OUT HIS OWN INDUSTRY | Nadim Ghrayeb, CEO of Leo Burnett

  Jul 20, 20261h 18m

  We talked about what the advertising industry actually gets wrong, and why most agencies won't tell you. We got into Jaguar, Ferrari, data, creativity, and the uncomfortable truth about what really makes a campaign work. And then halfway through, he said something that had nothing to do with any of that. Sixteen years. That's how long he's been sitting with something most men in this part of the world would never say out loud. This is one of those episodes you don't skip to the end. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:44 The Audi Campaign Flop — His Biggest Career Mistake 03:42 What Agencies Actually Do Now 08:51 The Scale of Leo Burnett and Publicis 10:55 B2B vs. B2C Marketing 15:34 Sales and Marketing: Stop Working in Silos 19:06 Calling Out Digital Agencies 23:08 Billboards Are Not Dead 30:44 Data vs. Creative Ideas 36:16 The Cadillac Win — A Facebook Road Trip That Changed GM 39:45 Clients Who Refuse to Evolve 43:11 Jaguar and Ferrari: Where Did It Go Wrong? 51:02 AI in the Creative Industry 56:56 The CEO's Hidden Battle — 17 Years of Anxiety 1:02:06 Disconnecting to Lead 1:03:34 Corporate Culture and Career Fulfilment 1:05:15 Legacy and What Really Matters 1:09:25 Quick Fire — Two Decades of Advertising in 60 Seconds Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Nadim Ghrayeb on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/ghrayebnadim/tagged/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadim-ghrayeb-848b2515/ https://www.instagram.com/leoburnettuae/ vero.co/babaghanouj

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  Made in Dubai with Spencer Lodge

  #406: Success Has Nothing to Do with What You Build | Paul Evans, CEO of Solutions Leisure

  Jul 13, 20261h 30m

  Paul Evans is the CEO of Solutions Leisure, one of the most recognised hospitality brands in the UAE with 23 venues across the region. But that is not the reason we brought him in. He grew up dyslexic and spent years being told he wasn't enough, and the decisions he made in his early twenties landed him in a UK prison cell at 21. What followed was years of searching for something he couldn't name, until his body made the decision for him. While building a business in Egypt, acute pancreatitis brought on by years of serious alcohol abuse put Paul in a coma for 77 days. He woke up with a different set of priorities and the kind of clarity that only comes when you have had to earn the right to still be here. This conversation goes places most successful people never go publicly. He talks about what accountability really looks like when you stop blaming everything else, about the real price of starting over from nothing, and about why a man who has built all of this still believes that success has nothing to do with what you build. Some conversations change how you think about things. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction Spencer introduces Paul Evans and Solutions Leisure. 19:30 — Growing Up: Dyslexic, Bullied and Written Off Paul on his childhood in Cheshire, being diagnosed with dyslexia, the bullying, a distant father, and the moment at 14 when he decided to prove everyone wrong. 25:36 — Going to Prison at 21 An altercation. A 12-month sentence. Six months served across Walton and Kirkham prisons in the UK. Paul on what he took from it. 31:07 — From General Electric to a Bar in Egypt After prison, Paul builds a successful career in sales at General Electric. Then makes an accidental £30,000 investment in a bar in Hurghada, Egypt and never looks back. 35:43 — The Spiral: When It All Started to Fall Apart The Egypt years. Running his father's diving business, managing his own bar, and the heavy drinking and long hours that quietly took everything to the edge. 38:20 — 77 Days in a Coma Acute pancreatitis. An emergency flight to England. Seventy-seven days in a coma while his family lived in Singapore. The most intense part of the conversation. 56:19 — Building Solutions Leisure: 20 Venues in Dubai Paul on arriving in Dubai, founding Solutions Leisure from scratch, and building one of the most recognised hospitality portfolios in the UAE. 1:10:12 — Finding Purpose and Getting a Life Coach What do you do when you have everything and still feel lost? Paul on finding direction, working with a life coach, and the advice he gives people who feel stuck. 1:13:38 — The Daily Practice That Changed Everything Three things. Every morning. The gratitude habit Paul picked up through coaching that he says shifted everything. 1:14:04 — Selling 50% of the Business Paul on the decision to sell half of Solutions Leisure to Sunset Hospitality, the timing, and why he has no regrets. 1:14:58 — How He Saved 400 Jobs During COVID The pandemic. The decisions nobody talks about. Paul on how he kept 400 people employed when most of the industry was collapsing around him. 1:20:57 — Quick Fire Round No alcohol. Daily gym. Surround yourself with the right people. Fast, unfiltered, and completely honest. Follow Spencer Lodge on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/madeindubaipodcast/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61586194260076 https://www.instagram.com/spencer.lodge/?hl=en https://www.tiktok.com/@spencer.lodge https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencerlodge/ https://www.youtube.com/c/SpencerLodgeTV https://www.facebook.com/spencerlodgeofficial/ Follow Paul Evans on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/pauljohnevs/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/solutionsleisure/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/SolutionsLeisure https://www.linkedin.com/company/solutions-leisure-group/ https://solutions-leisure.com/

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