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Brown People We Know Exploring the Indian American experience. http://brownpeopleweknow.com

My South Asian community growing up was relatively small, but there definitely was a strong sense of community. We could...
05/08/2021

My South Asian community growing up was relatively small, but there definitely was a strong sense of community. We could connect in a unique way (i.e. Shared food, holidays, etc.) that we could not with most other people in that city.

In particular, there are a handful of family friends that we would spend weekends with, etc. The kids in that group would refer to me as "Anna," older brother in Telugu. The adults called me by the same name as my parents, so there was a sense of family as well.

What was your South Asian community like growing up?

Yawar is a Gay Pakistani American actor-turned-real estate agent. Acting, for him, is a family business. Yawar’s grandfa...
04/08/2021

Yawar is a Gay Pakistani American actor-turned-real estate agent. Acting, for him, is a family business. Yawar’s grandfather, Noor Mohammed Charlie, was a pioneer in the Bollywood film industry until the India-Pakistan partition. And though his parents, successful actors themselves, discouraged Yawar from pursuing acting, he built a successful career in the industry. You may have seen him on shows like NCIS Los Angeles, Heroes, and General Hospital. Today, Yawar has shifted his focus to real estate. In 2016, he joined the real estate powerhouse, Aaron Kirman Group, which sold over $580MM in real estate in 2019 alone. He continues to sell homes, and you can watch him do so on The American Dream TV and CNBC’s Listing Impossible.

In this episode, Yawar talks about community migration and why his family discouraged him from pursuing the family business of acting after they moved to the United States. He shares tips for first time home buyers and talks about selling to South Asian clients in a very competitive LA housing market. Lastly, he reflects on coming out as gay to his traditional Pakistani family and on having a very public marriage at the Grammy’s. Throughout the conversation it was amazing to hear about how his identity has played a role in his different careers and about the different ways in which Yawar wears his South Asian culture proudly.

Did anyone else not realize that Hot Cheetos ate actually supposed to be hot??   Thanks for the chuckle  🌶️😂
03/08/2021

Did anyone else not realize that Hot Cheetos ate actually supposed to be hot??

Thanks for the chuckle 🌶️😂

Congrats  and  on their feature in  🎉💐       Check out the post to learn more about the podcast, and to hear a few words...
02/08/2021

Congrats and on their feature in 🎉💐

Check out the post to learn more about the podcast, and to hear a few words from BPWK host Suraj on the current and future state of South Asian podcasts. Link in bio!

As much as we like to meme our strict parents, most parents aren't ecstatic when their children pick a high risk career ...
01/08/2021

As much as we like to meme our strict parents, most parents aren't ecstatic when their children pick a high risk career path. What I've realized through this show is that for parents, it can be hard to picture the path you'll take and what success looks like. Or maybe they know what it takes, and they don't want you to toil.

I do think that gets exaggerated with immigrant parents who aren't familiar with the American education system, cultural landscape, etc. Because now it becomes especially hard to picture what success looks like. And of course, they often feel like they struggled so you wouldn't have to. There are other things at play, but if this describes your parents, try to paint the picture for them of your next steps and end goal.

Kunal also discusses the need for third-party validation during the episode. It can be annoying, but you can also use it to your advantage with more traditional parents. A co-sign isn't a bad thing to have.

Yes, this is true for your career and for romance! But imo, it's also true for immigrant families. While my parents thou...
30/07/2021

Yes, this is true for your career and for romance! But imo, it's also true for immigrant families. While my parents thought about saving money, I though about investing it. While they thought about stability, I've thought about legacy.

Where have you had to shift your skills from level one to level two?

South Asian Stories is an interview podcast where Sameer Desai chats with artists, entertainers, athletes, scientists, a...
29/07/2021

South Asian Stories is an interview podcast where Sameer Desai chats with artists, entertainers, athletes, scientists, and even a former surgeon general to discover South Asians who have taken a different path. Join him as he uncovers their identities, success, and failures through their stories.

Romen Borsellino is a staff writer on NBC’s A Little Late with Lilly Singh and was executive producer and co-creator of Freeform’s 2020 election series Kal Penn Approves This Message. He’s also worked on Michael Schur’s 2019 NBC comedy Sunnyside. Prior to that, Romen served as a political appointee in the United States Department of the Interior under President Obama. Romen has also worked on a number of high-profile political campaigns in his home state of Iowa, including President Obama’s historic 2008 Iowa caucus race and 2012 re-election. In this episode he discusses watching Harold and Kumar in theaters with his dad, working on the Clinton campaign, and going from Kal Penn’s assistant to his co-creator on Kal Penn Approves This Message.

When I switched from the healthcare sector to the non-profit sector, I took a significant paycut. At the time, it was a ...
28/07/2021

When I switched from the healthcare sector to the non-profit sector, I took a significant paycut. At the time, it was a difficult decision to make... But in hindsight, I was 10X happier afterwards.

Throughout moments of career uncertainty, I've found that intentionality is key. Am I doing this to build my resume, to hone my craft, etc.? What is most important to me in this moment?

Don't do it for the resume, because log kya kahenge, etc. Do it because it's right for you.

Social media has given us a great place to connect on our identities, past experiences, etc.! This was an interesting qu...
28/07/2021

Social media has given us a great place to connect on our identities, past experiences, etc.! This was an interesting quote to me because it was an inside perspective on the production side, especially for content that can be sensitive.

Also a good reminder to find and build the communities around you!

BRB signing up for this retreat 👀 In all seriousness, I didn't even know that there were camps like this in the US!     ...
28/07/2021

BRB signing up for this retreat 👀 In all seriousness, I didn't even know that there were camps like this in the US!

Did you go to a Sunday school or camp for religion, language, etc? Do you remember a lot of what you learned?

Sujata is a performer, writer, and director for TV & Film. You may know her from the Upright Citizen Brigade’s Asian AF ...
27/07/2021

Sujata is a performer, writer, and director for TV & Film. You may know her from the Upright Citizen Brigade’s Asian AF show, from her involvement with Sundance as a Lab Fellow and a Film Festival influencer, or from her characters in film and TV. Those include Cece in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl or Sarah in HBO's Insecure. More recently, she acted, wrote, and directed in her first independent full-length feature film, Definition Please. The movie, which has been touring the film festival circuit, discusses mental health and family relationships in the context of a Bengali family. The protagonist is a washed up Spelling Bee champion… a story which may hit painfully close for those of us in the diaspora with a dusty third grade trophy somewhere in the house. 

In this episode, Sujata talked about why she got an engineering degree despite knowing that she would be an actress from a young age, in addition to the hilarious stories behind her transition from consultant to actress. She shared the moment that got her moving on her dream project, and how she convinced actors that have been in Scrubs, The Jungle Book, and other major productions to take a chance on her independent film. Lastly, she talked about making a South Asian film where an identity crisis was not the central conflict and how she avoided stereotyping while still crafting a relatable story in Definition Please.

When I started the podcast, I tried to be inclusive by referring to every guest as South Asian. By labeling them by the ...
26/07/2021

When I started the podcast, I tried to be inclusive by referring to every guest as South Asian. By labeling them by the "in-group." As I reflected though, I realized that the best way to be inclusive is to refer to each person by their individual identity (e.g. Gujarati, Bangladeshi, Muslim, etc.), and then to focus on bringing on a range of guests from a range of backgrounds. This way different identities were being highlighted and included on the podcast.

All this to say that content creation is a learning process! We're all still learning 📚 but that makes me optimistic!

When I started the podcast, I tried to be inclusive by referring to every guest as South Asian. By labeling them by the ...
26/07/2021

When I started the podcast, I tried to be inclusive by referring to every guest as South Asian. By labeling them by the "in-group." As I reflected though, I realized that the best way to be inclusive is to refer to each person by their individual identity (e.g. Gujarati, Bangladeshi, Muslim, etc.), and then to focus on bringing on a range of guests from a range of backgrounds. This way different identities were being highlighted and included on the podcast.

All this to say that content creation is a learning process! We're all still learning 📚 but that makes me optimistic!

Love this idea of taking cues from your children and simply acting as an advisor. By stepping back, you're allowing your...
26/07/2021

Love this idea of taking cues from your children and simply acting as an advisor. By stepping back, you're allowing your children to make mistakes and to develop a growth mindset... Whether that's around parenting or anything else!

Have you thought about starting a podcast? Curious and want to go behind the scenes?           BPWK Producer & Host Sura...
25/07/2021

Have you thought about starting a podcast? Curious and want to go behind the scenes?

BPWK Producer & Host Suraj Kandukuri talks his theory on why podcasts succeed, pitching your show to guests/listeners/journalists, and the unexpected challenges of building a podcast. He also reflects on how COVID has impacted the podcast sphere, and how that's changed the equipment needed.

This was a guest lecture for Madhavi Reddi's Digital Storytelling course at the UNC Chapel Hill, Hussman School of Journalism and Media.

Link in bio 🎧🎉

Over the last year, I've connected with many South Asian creatives via IG and over Zoom calls... But today I got to meet...
24/07/2021

Over the last year, I've connected with many South Asian creatives via IG and over Zoom calls... But today I got to meet my first one in person!

Rashmili and I connected a few months ago because I'm a big fan of podcast! Also because I was skeptical that there was another Telugu podcaster 👀

Listen for her voice when The Carolina Desi joins us on Podcasts We Know in August 🎧

If you want every day to feel like Friday... start investing 💰 Loved this metaphor for money as a measure of freedom, ra...
23/07/2021

If you want every day to feel like Friday... start investing 💰 Loved this metaphor for money as a measure of freedom, rather than something valuable in and of itself.

Madhavi is an interdisciplinary artist. She’s the producer on two documentaries: What’s Your Name and Through Fish Eyes....
22/07/2021

Madhavi is an interdisciplinary artist. She’s the producer on two documentaries: What’s Your Name and Through Fish Eyes. She’s done photography exhibits, Bharatanatyam and theater performances, and has even dabbled in podcasting. She’s also a PhD student at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, School of Media and Journalism, whose work focuses on identity and representation, particularly in entertainment media, art, and politics.

In this episode, Madhavi reflected on the current state of South Asian representation in media and how we got here. She explained what ethical or proper representation looks like and what we can do to create more of it, especially in film and TV. And she discussed the responsibility of creators to create ethical representation, using including such as Apu from the Simpsons and Indian Matchmaking.

 has helped BPWK book some awesome guests! So when she was published in Urban Asia (link in bio🎉), I was curious why she...
22/07/2021

has helped BPWK book some awesome guests! So when she was published in Urban Asia (link in bio🎉), I was curious why she decided to cover this story:

"As a filmmaker, Kumar's work is focused on social impact stories, such as child poverty and women empowerment in India, which was really interesting to me. From my interview with Kumar, I learned a lot about filmmaking from a director’s point of view, which was extremely eye-opening."

That face when you hit 200 posts‼️ When I started podcasting, I had no desire to be on social media. But, I knew that I ...
21/07/2021

That face when you hit 200 posts‼️ When I started podcasting, I had no desire to be on social media. But, I knew that I needed to be on platforms like IG to increase the reach of the show. I remember struggling to create graphics and think of things to post... But I'm glad I figured it out because I've found both friends and inspiration on IG!

That aside, I'm taking a moment right now to celebrate the effort, instead of the results. It's easy to get caught up in likes, impressions, website taps, and other metrics. But all of that stems from effort... in this case, the number of posts. 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣🎈🎈

Just as we experience frequency bias from watching the news, we fall prey to frequency bias with social media. This can ...
20/07/2021

Just as we experience frequency bias from watching the news, we fall prey to frequency bias with social media. This can be especially dangerous on social because feeds are curated and we feel connected with many of the people that we follow.

Remember that not everyone is always on vacation! Post with vulnerability and treat social media more like a journal to change the tone of your feed and interactions. Live. It's hard to get jealous or feel FOMO when you're focused on doing your thing.

It seems like conversations around career just focus on money and prestige. I think this is partly because we don't know...
20/07/2021

It seems like conversations around career just focus on money and prestige. I think this is partly because we don't know the details behind many jobs before we enter them. It could also be because of conflicting priorities (e.g. focusing on the pay because you know the hours are bad).

Humor and entertainment aside, I appreciated the clarity and honesty that Anish brought to breaking down financial careers.

What's something that people should know before entering your career field?

It can be difficult to recognize or appreciate the smaller ways that our work is recognized. But those little things can...
19/07/2021

It can be difficult to recognize or appreciate the smaller ways that our work is recognized. But those little things can give us an opportunity to celebrate or fuel to get us through the day. Over time, we might come to appreciate them more than the awards and the glamor!

Anish is a NYC Queens-raised Bengali that built a career in finance, working for Barclays and Goldman Sachs. While he st...
16/07/2021

Anish is a NYC Queens-raised Bengali that built a career in finance, working for Barclays and Goldman Sachs. While he still wears Ferragamo and advocates for crypto, he’s not your typical finance bro. Before leaving his job as a VP at Goldman, Anish started building a second career in standup comedy. He’s performed at Gotham Comedy Club, The Village Underground, and at many corporate gigs. He even ran a monthly show, called The Surprise Show, which featured some big names like Hasan Minaj, Jim Gaffigan, and Nikki Glaser. Today Anish has combined his two careers into IPO & Chill, a brand focused on putting out entertaining financial news and content. You’ve probably seen his TikToks about the best shoes to buy as an intern, or his IG stories about whether you should buy Bitcoin.

In this episode, Anish talked about the reasons why people pursue a career in investment banking. He talked about getting money for the first time and about how his attitude around money and his spending habits have evolved over time. He shared the funny story of how a coworker introduced him to stand-up comedy, and how that medium compares to making funny content for social media. Near the end, Anish shares his one tip for living a more intentional life and becoming a better dater.

It takes courage to go against a norm, even in something like romance. For example Shivani got married in her early twen...
15/07/2021

It takes courage to go against a norm, even in something like romance. For example Shivani got married in her early twenties, at a time when many people are getting married later in life.

What "relationship rules" do you agree/disagree with?

Another exciting announcement for BPWK listeners! In the upcoming weeks, you'll see the launch of two new segments in yo...
14/07/2021

Another exciting announcement for BPWK listeners! In the upcoming weeks, you'll see the launch of two new segments in your feed.

South Asian University - an interview series where we bring in academics to discuss cultural or historical topics that affect the diaspora. SAU episodes will come out every five episodes in lieu of our regular interviews. The first one is with Madhavi Reddi (), a PhD student studying ethical media representation with a focus on the South Asian diaspora. Releasing 7/20.

PWK - an episode swap series where we bring you episodes from other South Asian-created podcasts ranging in topic, style, etc. It could be a talk show, a show about South Asian history, anything is game. PWK episodes will come out biweekly on Thursdays, in addition to our regular episodes. The first one is with , a show that is similar to BPWK. Listen as Sameer () interviews Romen Borsellino, an Indian-Italian writer for celebs like Kal Penn and Lilly Singh. Releasing 7/29.

Episodes will be labeled SAU and PWK in the feed. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app to get notified when they come out!

There are two Ravi's in my life. Both Libras. Ravi Pathare, you met on episode one of BPWK. The other, Ravi Lad (picture...
14/07/2021

There are two Ravi's in my life. Both Libras. Ravi Pathare, you met on episode one of BPWK. The other, Ravi Lad (pictured handsomely above), is the other. Say hello to BPWK's new Audio Engineer/Editor! 👋🏽🎉

If you noticed the massive jump in audio quality over the last two episodes (Shivani and Anushay), then you've already seen Ravi's impact on BPWK. He's also sped up our production process, which is why you may have noticed that we've been uploading weekly. Just an all-around rockstar addition to the team 👏🏽🎸

Ravi could be a BPWK guest himself! The Houston native just left his job as a petroleum engineer to pursue an entrepreneurial career in Music Production. While he does that, he's getting a degree from the Berklee College of Music and producing the audio for multiple South Asian podcasts including BPWK, , and . He's an avid supporter of diaspora voices, an angelic singer, a beastly crossfiter.

If you can't tell, I'm super excited to bring him on. Please give him a warm welcome 🎊🎈

Don't have time to catch full episodes? Search for "Brown People We Know Podcast" on YouTube and subscribe for clips fro...
13/07/2021

Don't have time to catch full episodes? Search for "Brown People We Know Podcast" on YouTube and subscribe for clips from our episodes!

We've started with just a handful of episodes, but will add and continue to add more over time. If you have a favorite BPWK moment, DM us and we might add it to the channel 📺

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