Tuckered Out with Ami Thakkar

Not many people can say that they are part of building the audio reflection of the ENTIRE country. Rahul Sabnis can.  Rahul is the Chief Creative Officer of iHeartMedia, an American mass media company that currently reaches 9 out of 10 Americans every month. 9 out of 10.  Let that sink in. Rahul explains how the role of Chief Creative Officer not only means being a champion of the audio medium, bu...

Puja Shah is a visionary poet who shares her voice through written and spoken word, guided meditations, and teaching.  Born in Queens, New York, to immigrant parents, she defied teachers who questioned her English skills by winning countless poetry and short story awards in her youth.  With over 10 years of nonprofit experience and a long public health career, she has created a campaign aligned wi...

It's always nice to interview someone who has nicer equipment than you. Today I talk to fellow podcaster, Ginni Saraswati . She is Founder and CEO of Ginni Media , a podcast production company whose motto is, “Made Offbeat”- which I can relate to. She is also a contributor to Entrepreneur Media and Rolling Stone Magazine. We talk about everything podcasting, her thoughts on the industry, and where...

Today I talk to the co-founder of India Rising, Gautam Kapur. India Rising is the home for brown athletes. It is a media platform designed to develop Indian basketball, showcase next-level talent, and compete in professional tournaments around the world. We talk about whether our genes allow Indian people to be true athletes, the impetus for starting India Rising, the highs and lows of building a...

Welcome back Tuckered Outers! As many of you know, India just celebrated her 75th year of independence. Our fall season begins with one of India's most renowned authors, Suketu Metha. Suketu  is the New York-based author of Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found, which was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize. The book was based off of two years of research and was an account of his personal experi...

It's a reunion!   Twenty years after being his production assistant on a film set in Austin, TX, Kal Penn and I get a chance to sit down and catch up about it all. Kal Penn, is an American actor, author, academic lecturer and former White House staff member in the Barack Obama administration. You may know him from television shows such as House, Designated Survivor, Sunnyside, and How I Met Your M...

Hey guys! Just wanted to really quickly to let you know that we've got a very special conversation coming out this week! Twenty years after being his Production Assistant on a film in Austin, TX, I got a chance to sit down with my old pal with Kal Penn to talk about his book, You Can't Be Serious , and breadth of work throughout his career We touched on so many important topics, including his time...

One of my favorite things about doing this podcast is reconnecting with people who have been part of different phases in my life.  Dr. Sumun Pendakur and I met 20 years ago when I was a production assistant on her hubby’s film set. Needless to say, I knew she was a rock star even then.  She is a #dei strategist, consultant and trainer who has spent the last 20 years focusing on building community...

One of our favorites from the past year, our interview with Malini Agarwal..... We're talking to a media mogul!! Malini Agarwal, aka MissMalini, is India's most famous blogger with a following of 7.5 million worldwide.  We start out talking about how her "diplobrat" life growing up has helped shape her into the women she is today.  Malini discusses living through a civil war in Lebanon, how her mo...

I'm officially a Texan!....now for the unpacking. While I'm setting up shop over the next few weeks, I'll be playing some of my favorite episodes from the past two years....this episode is for all you bad betis & besharam bibis! Today I catch up with activist, writer & speaker, Sangeeta Pillai, who is the the founder of Soul Sutras. Soul Sutras is the South Asian feminist platform that is all abou...

While I'm packing away for my big move to Texas, I'll be playing some of my favorite episodes from the past two years.   I think this episode sums up how I'm feeling right now;).... Well guys, it's the end of the year and of course that means reflecting back on 2021 and thinking, why did I eat my kids (both of them) entire birthday cake this year?  I get it, trust me, I already yelled at myself in...

I could not think of a better person to end this summer with than Mita Mallick.  Mita is a DEI leader, the host of Brown Table Talk on Linkedin, and a Linkedin Top Voice. We talk about having our names mispronounced our entire lives, the horrific bullying she faced growing up in a predominately white neighborhood, how that has affected her personal and professional journey, and how she finally emb...

Hey guys!  We've had to take a mini-break the last few weeks to get life in order- moving homes, new babies, and getting ready for summer time madness.  We'll be back with 2 more episodes before we take our summer break where we'll rest, regroup, and get ready for an amazing fall season! Until then, enjoy this gem from last summer. Premal Dharia has spent the last twenty years dedicated to challen...

Arun Venugopal is an American journalist and a Senior Reporter in the Race & Justice Unit at WNYC. He covers news regarding race, immigration, gender, and identity in the United States. We discuss our personal experiences growing up Indian-American in Houston, TX,  when he started reflected on these experiences while critiquing ideas of Asian-American exceptionalism in the United States, how the M...

With the upcoming Netflix film Wedding Season coming out this summer, a romantic comedy that highlights the Indian fascination for arranged marriages starring Pallavi Sharda and Suraj Sharma,  I thought we should play our interview with Pallavi from last year.  This interview was the first one I did live after the pandemic.  We sat in our friends apartment on the LES, had a few liquid companions,...

The recent news of the leaked Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade and end the constitutional right to an abortion and started political firestorm and is deepening divisions.  This decision would essentially dismantle 50 years of precedent, paving the way for states to limit abortion rights. Dr. Meera Shah is the Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, the auth...

Anjali Kumar works with entrepreneurs and C-level executives in all stages of business, focusing on early-stage tech, consumer products, and luxury fashion companies with a social conscience. Anjali recently founded Slightly Reserved, a home for all of Anjali’s entrepreneurial and creative ventures, including an advisory firm providing legal counsel and business strategy for entrepreneurs, executi...

BONUS EPISODE The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, an act that would have created national standards for policing in an effort to increase accountability, sadly couldn’t reach a bipartisan deal-leaving it dead in the water.  We all have heard about the horrific killing of George Floyd, the protests that occurred after, and the many stories that have been shared over social media. Today, I int...

Pallavi Golla is the Founder and CEO of Lark Adventurewear (larkadventurwear.com), the first and only childrens activewear brand for children 0-10 years and now adults (their fastest growing segment). They're on a mission to make technically superior clothing that makes life less stressful for parents and more comfortable for children Armed with years of experience working in investment research a...

Today I get to interview my 3rd author,  Neel Patel.  Neel Patel is a screenwriter and author who grew up in Champaign, Illinois and currently lives in Los Angeles, where he writes for TV and film.  His first book, If You See Me, Don't Say Hi, is a New York Times Book Review Editors’ choice, an NPR Best Book of 2018, and has been optioned for television. His writing has appeared in Elle India, The...

Tuckered Outers!  I wanted to post our interview with Rabia Chaudry, which we published back in December, since we are planning a part 2 with her very soon! So I started this podcast back in 2017 after listening and being inspired by the first season of Serial, the most downloaded podcast of all time. I could not think of a better guest to round out this year than the woman who brought Adnan Syed'...

Sonny Caberwal is a serial entrepreneur, a lawyer, a fashion model, a participant in global music act Thievery Corporation, and is currently  the founder and CEO of Ever Scouts. Ever Scouts is on a mission to help families raise responsible kids and learn life skills not normally taught in schools.   Sonny discusses how the pandemic forced him to really understand what his kids were learning in sc...

It's International Women's Day 2022! As most of you know, March is Women's History Month and the theme for IWD2022 is #BreakTheBias- in our communities, workplaces, schools, and homes.  You see it, you call it out. I could not think of a better female powerhouse to talk to as we celebrate International Women's Day than Joya Dass. Joya has spent 20 years covering the financial markets on TV from th...

We're talking sports people!  And not just any sport....the worlds most popular sport...SOCCER!  Or American football.  Or soccer. Akash Jain is a global business development and strategy executive with experience growing sports properties and establishing international operations across markets for leading organizations, including the United States Tennis Association (USTA), National Football Lea...

Beginning late 2016, Rishi envisioned, architected and scaled a new business to help purposeful ideas travel more evenly around the world. Today, Times Bridge, the global investment and partnership arm of Times Group, is the U.S.'s largest venture firm bringing the world's best ideas and technology to India and Asia.  We talk about our relationship with our Indian identity as Indian-Americans and...