Rethink Desi

Saumya is a Research Associate at the Global Center for Environment & Energy at the Ahmedabad University. She also works on the Opportunities for Climate Mitigation and Sustainable Development (OPTIMISM) project, which is funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council as part of the research council’s “Towards a Sustainable Earth” program and the DBT at Ministry of Science and Technolog...

Hi everyone, welcome back for Season 2 of the Reframe Series podcast. This podcast helps us unpack what it means to be Desi locally and globally. Before we get started, please like and subscribe!  Mrinal Gokhale is an Indian-American writer with a special interest in psychology and wellness. As a former freelance journalist, she has worked for minority owned publications in Milwaukee, Wiscons...

Hi friends... So finally the last episode of Season 1 of Reframe series is out now.  For episode 15 we have the Co-Founder of Rethink Desi, Arpita Sharma. Arpita holds dual Master’s degrees in Public Policy and Planning from the University of Southern California and a BA in Development Studies with a minor in Global Poverty and Practice from the University of California, Berkeley . Arpita is...

Hi friends,  Welcome back to the podcast, today, we will be learning more about Manu Multani, the Co-Founder of Rethink Desi. Multani is a doctoral candidate in Anthropology and Social Change at the California Institute of Integral Studies . She is focusing on how youth formulate their sexual scripts in Panjab, India-- namely, how are they defining romance, love and intimacy and how do phenom...

Hi friends,   Welcome back to another episode of the Reframe Series.  Today, we have Anjuli Sherin with us. Sherin is a Pakistani-American licensed marriage and family therapist specializing in trauma recovery, resilience building and cultivating joy. She has over 16 years of practice working with immigrant, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Muslim and LGBTQI+ populations. Sherin received her...

In episode 12, we talk about "Writing Children's Books for Desi Kids in US" with a very special guest who is a writer, mom and kindergarten teacher, Jyoti Rajan Gopal . Growing up, she lived in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, India and China. Twenty-eight years ago, she moved to New York and now lives in Yonkers in a quirky old Victorian, with her husband and two daughters. Jyoti currently writes st...

In this episode we discuss "Climate Change: From Research to Market." We get into conversation with Nikhil Gargeya who is a Senior Strategic Partnership’s Manager at Activate , a nonprofit organization that empowers scientists to reinvent the world by bringing their research to market to address climate change and other global challenges of our time. His work between the government and private sec...

In this episode, we interview Puji Masireddy, a high school student living in Pennsylvania. She is a Youth Advisory Board member, originally joining ACE as a PA Action Fellow. During the fellowship, she was involved in the Enough! campaign and voter registration work. She is also a member of the Youth Leadership Team where she develops strategies and creative branding ideas for the renewable energ...

In this 8th episode of the REFRAME series, we meet Vandana Kumar, who is a publishing executive with a 35-year track record in the industry. As a new immigrant, she co-founded India Currents Magazine in 1987 and published an award-winning print magazine from April 1987 to Dec 2017. Fully digital today, India Currents has the largest following among Indians in the United States.    Vandan...

Manu Multani and Arpita Sharma discuss the legislation currently at-risk with the Supreme Court in the United States, May 14, 2022. In the spirit of solidarity, we find it necessary to share this episode today, in this critical moment, and include resources to organize/resist this moment while also recognizing the need to address the health consequences that such conversations are bringing for POC...

So we are back with another episode 7 of REFRAME series.  This time with us is Dr. Gayatri Sethi (PhD). Sethi is an educator, writer, and independent consultant. She teaches and writes about Social Justice, Global Studies, and Comparative Education. Born in Tanzania and raised in Botswana, she is of Punjabi descent, multilingual, and polycultural. She reflects on these lifelong experiences of...

In episode 3 of the Reframe series we meet Iman, a young Bangladeshi woman with multiple chronic illnesses and we talk about her life, her challenges, and what she wished people knew more about disabilities.  You can follow here on Instagram: @alilbitofaith & @iiman.r   You can check out more about POTS and the film mentioned here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/behindthevisiblefilm&nbsp...

So we are back with another episode 6 of REFRAME series. In this episode Manu Multani, researcher in Anthropology & Social Change and I talk about feminist empowerment and what does that actually mean for us.  In this episode we talk about the realities of being a woman, some of the challenges to feeling in control over our lives, and strategies we've developed to help ourselves. Follow u...

Hi friends, in this episode we are interviewing Prithvi, an immigrant from India who is an urban planner working for a metropolitan organization in the United States. We are talking about how she deals with isolation and the process of building connection in a brand new country. If you've ever wondered what it might be like to study in the US for a non engineering/computer science/md degree, this...

Hello friends, in this episode, we talk about our experiences with healthcare as South Asians, some of the challenges we've had and recommendations we have for hospital administrators, and patients. These are just our personal views as experiences of the healthcare system in the US, they are not meant to be representative of all South Asians, but as a tool to encourage discussion among listeners.&...

In this episode, we are talking with Sai Raj Kappari, who is the first Indian nursing facility administrator in the State of Louisiana. We discuss his journey, where his passion for taking care of the elderly started, and how it has changed his life.  Thank you to my Patreon subscribers for helping to supporting this content!  Tara and Vishesh, you are greatly appreciated! Follow us on I...

This is the first episode of the reframe series, where we are challenging ourselves to have conversations about challenging topics within the South Asian community. We started out by having our attempt at talking about a topic most of us shy away from - sexuality! Join us along our journey! Follow us on Instagram Check us on YouTube If you would like to be a Patreon supporter, please go here: http...