Modern Minorities

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Ramadan Preview (رمضان مبارك) Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

As the crescent moon rises and the holy month of Ramadan is upon us (April 2 - May 1), we celebrate a month of voices and perspectives who bring light to the Muslim American experience, making the fabric of our culture so much richer. Also, dates and tea (but only after dusk). Special thanks to Seif Hamid, Lena Shareef, Aaliyah Habeeb, Tehran Von Ghasri, Sara Alfageeh, and Dian Alyan for sharing. We can't wait for you to hear their full stories.

Ramadan Mubarak (رمضان مبارك)

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Satjeet Kaur's (fight) for your rights Mar 28, 2022

Show notes

"We need an institution that is there to protect our rights — that every kid in this country knows exists for them."

Satjeet Kaur is the former Executive Director of the Sikh Coalition, the largest Sikh civil rights organization in the United States — where she’s been involved for more than a decade leading as an organizer and activist providing direct support to Sikh communities across the country, responding to hate crimes, organizing advocacy, and mobilizing civil engagement. Satjeet was named as one of the 15 faith leaders to watch by the Center for American Progress. Most folks don’t know that Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, and something we learned is that part of the Sikh faith is standing out and speaking up. For Satjeet and the Sikh Coalition that means advancing civil rights for all underrepresented communities - which is really powerful, interesting, and inspiring work. Lots more in the shownotes below. Also, Satjeet’s father’s a rad scientist, and her mother-in-law’s Saag is amazing.

LEARN ABOUT SATJEET

MENTIONS

Sikhism: wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikhism
Sat Hari Singh: youtu.be/DguqOVOesTU
Senate Bill S4037 “Prohibits discrimination against religious attire” nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/S4037
15 Faith Leaders to Watch: americanprogress.org/article/faith-leaders-watch-2020
Old Punjabi Movies: chandigarhmetro.com/classic-old-punjabi-movies-must-watch

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Madeleine Albright (1937-2022) Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright was an American diplomat — the first female Secretary of State in US history. Madeleine was born in Czechoslovakia 1937. During her early childhood, her parents converted from Judaism to Catholicism in 1941 to avoid anti-Jewish persecution. Madeleine immigrated with her family to the United States in 1948, and became a full citizen in 1957 while a student at Wellesley College. She earned her PhD from Columbia University in 1975, writing her thesis on the Prague Spring. She served as a Senate aide, soon on the National Security Council, and as US Ambassador to the United Nations. In 1997 Madeleine became the 64th United States Secretary of State — the highest-ranking political post for a woman in American history. As an immigrant and the granddaughter of Holocaust victims, Madeleine brought a unique perspective to the job. Beyond her accomplishments, Madeleine was also a wife and a mother, and the author of five New York Times bestsellers. In 2012, Madeleine was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom —for her courage and toughness that helped bring peace to the Balkans and pave the way for progress in some of the most unstable corners of the world.

Once, at a US naturalization ceremony, an Ethiopian man came up to Madeleine and said, 'Only in America can a refugee meet the Secretary of State' — to which she replied, 'Only in America can a refugee become the Secretary of State.'

Madeleine Albright was a Modern Minority.

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Mariko Tamaki's many (Surely) Books Mar 21, 2022

Show notes

"The idea that a person can't relate to something because it's not directly about them is a misunderstanding of who's been reading books this whole time."

Mariko Tamaki is an award-winning Canadian comics creator and writer — known for works like Skim and This One Summer (with her cousin Jillian Tamaki). Her latest novel is Cold, a haunting YA novel about four students who knew too much and said too little. AND Mariko’s also the Co-founder & Editor of Surely Books - a comics imprint of LGBTQIA+ creators. Mariko’s ALSO known for comics like Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Emiko Superstar, and several prose works of fiction and nonfiction. AND since 2016, Mariko’s been writing for Marvel & DC comics - on powerful books like I Am Not Stafire, and Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass. Mariko’s also only the second woman to write Detective Comics - the 1000+ issue flagship DC series about the Dark Knight. If you can’t tell by now, one of us has been a BIG Mariko Tamaki fan for awhile, and after hearing her approach to writing and sharing personal stories, you soon will be too.

LEARN ABOUT MARIKO TAMAKI & HER WORK:

twitter.com/marikotamaki
instagram.com/marikotamaki
goodreads.com/author/show/483588.Mariko_Tamaki
Surely Books: abramsbooks.com/imprints/surely
This One Summer: goodreads.com/book/show/18465566-this-one-summer
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me: goodreads.com/book/show/40864841-laura-dean-keeps-breaking-up-with-me
Skim: goodreads.com/book/show/2418888.Skim

MENTIONS

Heather Gold: heathergold.com/about-heather-gold
Jillian Tamaki: jilliantamaki.com
Lauren Tamaki: laurentamaki.com
Gene Luen Yang: geneyang.com
BOOK: Stone Fruit (Lee Lai): goodreads.com/en/book/show/55678434
BOOK: Shadow Life (Hiromi Goto, Ann Xu): goodreads.com/en/book/show/51591596
Alice Munro: wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Munro
Timothy Findley: wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Findley

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Shalini Govil-Pai’s (breaking) stereotypes Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

"These stereotypes of 'nerd girls are awkward' really plays on kids' minds. The world needs to know smart women who are very strong in their thinking and perspectives."

Shalini Govil-Pai is a tech and media executive at Google, who previously worked at Pixar on films like Toy Story and A Bug's Life. Shalini’s worked on partnerships across YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max - at the center of disruptive technology, challenging herself to educate, entertain, and inspire globally. It was a great chat about her experiences coming up in a very male-dominated technical field, and the lessons learned along the way, as well as some of the reflections on today’s media culture. Whether growing up in Bombay / Mumbai India - surrounded by Bollywood (and Amitabh Bachchan) - or creating a new life in America and the Silicon Valley, Shalini’s not afraid of taking risks and challenging the status quo - all because of her deep connections with her family, friends, and community.

LEARN ABOUT SHALINI:

MENTIONS

Luxo Junior (1986 - first Pixar short): youtu.be/6G3O60o5U7w
ACTOR: Amitabh Bachchan - wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitabh_Bachchan
AD: Google “Dear Sophie” - youtu.be/zhPklt9nYas
VIDEO: Google Year in Search: about.google/stories/year-in-search
AUTHOR: Isaac Asmimov - goodreads.com/author/show/16667.Isaac_Asimov
TV: Foundation (Apple TV+) - imdb.com/title/tt0804484/
PERSON: Steve Jobs - wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs
PERSON: Sundar Pichai - wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundar_Pichai

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We are (all) Ukrainians Mar 04, 2022

Show notes

“We feel grief. We feel anger. We feel sadness. We feel mobilized to help. We feel energized. But we feel that our life, it's not the same as it was before.” // “We're on a precipice and people will say why wasn't more done. This is about Ukraine right now, but may not stay about Ukraine. And so not doing anything, it's not an option.”

While a tragedy continues to unfold in Ukraine, it remains...abstract ...for many of us. Something terrible happening in a faraway place to a faraway people. We see photos and videos online - a horror is happening to a people we do not know over there, and sadly, we find ourselves going back to our busy lives over here.

Ukraine is a sovereign nation of 44 MILLION, with a rich, beautiful culture and people. There's more than another 10 Million folks of Ukrainian heritage living outside of the country, among one of the world's largest diaspora populations.

We can’t solve the Ukrainian crisis with our podcast. But what we can do is create more empathy and understanding. So we sat down with some Ukie friends - old and new - to learn about their Ukrainian heritage, their personal stories, and their very real feelings in this moment. Olesya Govorun was born in Kyiv, and lives in NY, and a longtime friend of Raman’s. Adrianna Melnyk is a 3rd generation Ukrainian American, a non-profit professional active in the Ukrainian American community. Both are daughters, mothers, wives, and all around amazing people living through a unthinkable moment for them, and especially their countrymen. Hear their stories, because whether we know it or not, we are ALL Ukrainians.

HOW TO HELP:

supportukrainenow.org

MENTIONS:

Zelenskyy Speech to EU Parliment: youtu.be/hVvkdwksxMw
PERSON: Volodymyr Zelenskyy - wikipedia.org/wiki/Volodymyr_Zelenskyy
BOOK: The Gates of Europe - goodreads.com/book/show/25255053-the-gates-of-europe
PERSON: Timothy Snyder - timothysnyder.org
FILM: Klondike (2022) - imdb.com/title/tt16315948
FILM: Winter on Fire (2015) - imdb.com/title/tt4908644
UKIE FOOD (NYC): secretnyc.co/ukrainian-businesses-nyc

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Sheetal Sheth’s (always) writing Anjali Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

“I was told over and over to change my name to the point where I lost out on a lot of things. But I never felt that was something I was going to do. And I didn't want to compromise that.”

Sheetal Sheth is an acclaimed author, actress/producer, cancer graduate, and activist. She’s the author of “Always Anjali” and its sequel, “Bravo Anjali” - which are among Raman and his daughter’s FAVORITE books. Sheetal’s stories challenge us to bring our full selves to the table, and challenge a world that keeps that from being a reality.

Sheetal’s an outspoken advocate - with op-eds in CNN, The Daily Beast and Thrive Global. And more recently, as an author, Sheetal’s a part of Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) - a leading literary nonprofit - who is celebrating and engaging kids in the important topic of Diversity. RIF’s hosting a celebratory event on MARCH 2 (“Read Across America Day”) rallytoread.org/readacrossamerica - alongside Chelsea Clinton, Sandra Boynton, Miguel Cardona (U.S. Secretary of Education) and many more.

In a conversation about growing up with a “funny sounding” name - you’ll hear of some of the stories that shaped Sheetal - and so many of our experiences, and how she’s chosen to share a new perspective for us all going forward. And tune in for a “very special” reading at the top of the episode, with some voices you’ve heard, and some voices you’ve heard about...

LEARN ABOUT SHEETAL:

sheetalsheth.com/books
instagram.com/beneaththesheetz
twitter.com/sheetalsheth
rallytoread.org/readacrossamerica
eventbrite.com/e/reading-inspires-a-rally-to-read-special-webcast-goes-live-at-9am-et-registration-221645406377.

MENTIONS

BOOK: Always Anjali: goodreads.com/en/book/show/35494942-always-anjali
BOOK: Bravo Anjali (2021): goodreads.com/book/show/58027916-bravo-anjali
FILM: Dead Poets Society (1989): imdb.com/title/tt0097165
PERSON : Nikole Hannah-Jones (Journalist): nikolehannahjones.com

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Black History’s (current) meaning considered Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

“It's important for the community to be teaching our history — the reality with our history is we have to be the ones to tell the story.”

Black History is not just one month - it’s being made every day. But since we are NOT experts about the Black experience - especially when it comes to Black History, we sat down with FrieMMds of the Pod (past guests) — Stanley Lumax (Founder of African Chophouse AND Teranga), and Suzanne Sinatra (Founder & CEO of Private Packs — to unpack what Black History meant to two folks with very interesting backgrounds and experiences - as immigrants and children of immigrants. You’ll find this one to be a very...spirited conversation that makes you unpack and question what these months even mean, or should/n’t mean to us all....

LEARN ABOUT STANLEY:

AfricanChopHouse.org, @africanchophouse
itsTeranga.com, @itsteranga_
youtu.be/_KpbMPWNnCc
Stanley on MM (2021) modmypod.com/episodes/ep-48-stanley-lumax-builds-diaspora-community-thru-food

LEARN ABOUT SUZANNE

instagram.com/suzziesinatra
Privatepacks.com
businessinsider.com/founder-private-packs-while-undergoing-breast-cancer-treatment-2021-12
Suzanne on MM (2020): https://apple.co/3sFyL1c

MENTIONS

CANADIAN BLACK HISTORY: thestar.com/news/gta/2020/06/04/why-the-black-struggle-in-canada-has-all-but-been-erased-two-historians-explain-our-blind-spot.html
PERSON: Malcolm X - wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcolm_X
PERSON: Mary Beatrice - wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kenner
PERSON: Mae Jemison - wikipedia.org/wiki/Mae_Jemison
FILM (Suzanne): Hidden Figures (2016) - imdb.com/title/tt4846340
FILM (Suzanne): King Richard (2021) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9620288
SERIES (Stanley): Exterminate all the Brutes (2021 - HBO Max) - imdb.com/title/tt8396314
FILM (Stanley): Lumumba (2000, Raoul Peck) - imdb.com/title/tt0246765
FILM (Stanley): I Am Not Your Negro (2016, Raoul Peck) - imdb.com/title/tt5804038
FILM (Raman): Summer of Soul (2021) - imdb.com/title/tt11422728

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KJ Dhaliwal’s (Dil Mil) where hearts meet Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

"Being brown and single at 30, that’s a big no-no in the culture. What’s auntie-optimized isn't necessarily what the individual wants. Growing up in India and having a different value system VS some hybrid of Indian American - AND trying to figure out what your identity is doesn't necessarily overlap really well.”

Love is in the air - and for lots of South Asians, KJ Dhaliwal is a big part of that. KJ’s the Founder & President/ CEO of Dil Mil, the largest and fastest-growing matchmaking app for South Asians across the world. But disrupting a long-held model of match-making hasn’t made him friends among the aunties of the world, though that is starting to change as Dil Mil’s changing the culture for South Asians abroad and increasingly at home in the subcontinent. Dil Mil - which means “hearts meeting” in Hindi and Punjabi - has been able to thread the needle between matrimonial match-making and keeping it casual (we’re looking at you Shaadi + Tinder) - and was acquired in 2019, making KJ Chief Strategy Officer of Dating Group - allowing KJ to expand his vision of bringing cultures together - across cultures. An engineer from the South Asian Ameircan suburbs, this former engineer with mad dancing skills is somehow still single, and we promise his parents didn’t put us up to this one.

LEARN ABOUT KJ

instagram.com/kjdhaliwal
twitter.com/kjdhaliwal
dilmil.co

MENTIONS

FILM: The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) imdb.com/title/tt0787524
PERSON - Einstein - wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

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Dr. Edjah Nduom’s residency of reform Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

"You're taught to make them forget, to move into leadership. There's not a lot of neurosurgeons made every year - and so there's not a lot of young Black people talking about their experience.”

Dr. Edjah Nduom is a Black neurosurgeon-scientist, activist, patient advocate, father, husband, son and brother. He gets paid to take out brain tumors and study how to treat them with the immune system. He does not get paid to pursue social justice, both inside and outside of medicine, but he does it anyway. Edjah is also the Co-Founder of Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform - an organization that wants to change the conversation on how negative encounters with the criminal justice system lead to detrimental health consequences in targeted communities. Born to immigrant parents from Ghana, he actually moved back to Ghana at the age of eleven, and found out his Nintendo cartridges weren’t compatible. Not to long after, he found himself back in the US, having earned and worked his way up through an elite medical system that still (does) not look like him. Edjah’s ’s now using his position to speak up more, and create a better system for us all.

LEARN ABOUT EDJAH

winshipcancer.emory.edu/bios/faculty/nduom-edjah.html
instagram.com/eknduom
twitter.com/EKNduom
ORG: Physicians for Criminal Justice Reform - pfcjreform.org
OP-ED: “This Is a Moment to Demand Big, Sweeping Changes” - medscape.com/viewarticle/936774

MENTIONS

BOOK: Doctors (Erich Segal): goodreads.com/book/show/91201.Doctors
SKIT: It’s Not Brain Surgery: youtu.be/THNPmhBl-8I

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