Keep The Meter Running

In the season premiere of Keep The Meter Running, Kareem Rahma asks a retired New York taxi driver named Eugene to take him to his favorite place and ends up at a Russian banya in Brooklyn. Eugene has been a cab driver for 40 years. Originally from Russia, he came to New York on political asylum and spent decades behind the wheel. After losing his wife last year, Eugene tells Kareem he feels alone but says the banya is where he goes with friends to socialize, reset, and feel better. At the banya, Kareem meets Eugene's longtime friend Igor, and the conversation turns from immigration to loneliness to New York politics. Then Rustam, the owner, takes Kareem back into the steam room for a full Russian sauna treatment with veniki (oak branches). By the end of it, Kareem is convinced the banya beat the depression out of him. There is Russian food, root beer, herring and potatoes, a toast to America, and one of the strangest cab stories ever told: the time Eugene picked up a circus bear in his taxi. Final meter: $390.

In this episode of Keep The Meter Running, Kareem Rahma asks Hanny, an Egyptian New York taxi driver, to take him to his favorite place and ends up at the Taxi Clubhouse in Chelsea, Manhattan, to watch a Liverpool game, talk about fatherhood, and pray during Ramadan. Hanny came to New York from Egypt in 1985 and has spent decades driving a cab, raising kids, traveling America, and finding community with other drivers. At the clubhouse, Kareem learns why the space matters: a place where taxi drivers can rest, eat, pray, work out, watch TV, and feel human between shifts. The day turns into a conversation about Egypt, Arabic, family, religion, fatherhood, Mo Salah, and what Kareem wishes he could still ask his own dad. Then Hanny decides Kareem needs to move his body, fat-shames him with love, and takes him outside for a soccer lesson.

TAKE ME TO YOUR FAVORITE SPOT AND KEEP THE METER RUNNING! Kareem hails a New York City yellow cab and meets Khakendra Pun, a Nepalese immigrant and 10-year veteran of the taxi force, who takes him to Himalayan Restaurant & Bar in Jackson Heights to show Kareem a taste of home. Khakendra came to America from a small mountain village in Nepal and spent decades chasing a better life, working 77 different jobs, living at 94 different addresses, writing and self-publishing his own book, and driving a taxi through New York City. Along the way, he taught himself to find joy in the in-between moments, playing the flute at red lights, practicing kindness wherever he goes, and dreaming of one day becoming a comedian. The day turns into a conversation about immigration, creativity, resilience, grief, happiness, third eyes, handmade gifts, Nepali food, and what it means to keep going when life doesn't go according to plan. Then Kareem decides one dream should not wait any longer and takes Khakendra from the driver's seat to a real comedy stage for his very first stand-up performance at The Stand in Union Square.

TAKE ME TO YOUR FAVORITE SPOT AND KEEP THE METER RUNNING! Kareem hails a New York City yellow cab and meets Norman, a Filipino immigrant and longtime Queens cab driver, who takes him to Jib Lanes, the bowling alley where he met his wife and built a second home for his family. Norman came to America at 19 after spending much of his childhood helping raise his two younger brothers while living apart from both of his parents in the Philippines. After becoming a father himself, he started driving a taxi so he could have the flexibility to be there for his kids in ways he never experienced growing up. Over the years, bowling became more than just a hobby. It became therapy, routine, community, and eventually the thing that brought his whole family together. The day turns into a conversation about immigration, grief, fatherhood, resilience, emotional control, family, bowling leagues, giant tater kegs, and the quiet ways people learn to survive difficult lives. After a few games at the lanes with Norman's wife and son, Kareem takes Norman to a rage room to explore a very different kind of therapy and asks what happens when someone who's spent their entire life holding everything in finally lets go.