Amituckeredout

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 Mother. He is also recognized for his performance in the film The Namesake and of course the Harold and Kumar series ( I personally still love Taj Mahal Badalandabad). Penn has taught at the University of Pennsylvania in the Cinema Studies Program as a visiting lecturerWe talk about it all from our first impressions, to those fantastic middle school years, to his job as a farmhand right before he went to UCLA. He talks about the meaning behind the Brown Catch-22, his journey with stereotyping in Hollywood, his experience going to India with President Barack Obama, and why he needed a mini-fridge in the White House.We of

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 careerWe touched on so many important topics, including his time at the White House and the challenges he faced as an Indian-American in Hollywood.  My conversation with Kal was uplifting, funny and real.  I wanted to give you just a little teaser today to get you excited because I definitely am!The full episode will be coming out tomorrow, July 20th, so before then, make sure that you're subscribed wherever you're listening to my voice right now, and that you tell a friend about the show so they can listen too.Also,  I'll be doing a giveaway for Kal's book, "You Can't Be Serious", so stay tuned all week for content surrounding the interview!Enjoy the clip and be sure to listen to t

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 strength as well as institutional capacity for #socialjustice and #racialjustice in the #highereducation sector. She was the #chieflearningofficer @uscraceequity center and has built programs that address underserved needs and communities. We talk about the influence her parents had on her career, how they were definitely both “woke” back in the day when a lot of #southasianimmigrants were not, how she got involved in amplifying the #asianamerican voice, and the history and true meaning of the term “model minority”. I admit that I have had a certain narrative in my head about the South Asian community, we discuss the a

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 mom has been her rock and champion FOMO queen, and what led her to the City of Dreams. She tells me why radio is still her favorite medium, the bucket list of 24, her book, To The Moon: How I Blogged My Way To Bollywood, and some epic stories that you can only experience in Mumbai.We of course dive into her best and worst interviews, what it is really like to work with her husband, and her plan to shed light and start conversations around cyber bullying and sexual harassment in India with #ignorenomore. Malini is a staunch supporter of women supporting women, as can been seen with MissMalini's Girl Tribe, and she tells me

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 about tackling taboos in South Asian culture, creating safe spaces where South Asian women can explore everything from sex to mental health.Their projects include Masala Podcast, featuring interviews with fierce South Asian women about taboo topics and Masala Monologues, a series of writing workshops and theatre shows in the UK & the US.Starting life as a blog, Soul Sutras now boasts a range of projects from podcast, theatre shows, webinar to books & beyond.She has become a key voice in British South Asian feminism speaking at the Women of the World (WOW) 2020 and has been featured in the Huffington Post,

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 the mirror this week. And that's why I so needed to talk to my next guest! Dr. Amy Shah is a renowned wellness expert, immunologist, nutritionist, and author. After years of practicing nutrition and immunology, it was a personal scare in 2012 that made Shah turn to Ayurveda and take more holistic approaches to health which involves clean eating, intermittent fasting, balancing hormones, and strengthening the gut. Basically, all the things that we know we're suppose to do but just don't have time to do it! She has written a book, I’m so Effing Tired, which highlights some of the things we can tweak to help reach our pe

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 embraced being Indian-American.She talks about the challenges shaping minds in a corporate setting as a DEI leader, the importance of impact vs. intent, why the real training of DEI initiatives starts at home, her own toxic work experience and why having an immigrant mentality stopped her from walking out, and her transition to becoming one of Linkedin Top Voices and sharing Brown experiences.She shares a time she experienced immense heartbreak,  who she would like to collaborate with on her podcast, Brown Table Talk, and why it's so awkward to make new friends as adults (hint, you may need some drinks to help out).

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 challenging injustice in the criminal system and nearly 15 years as a public defender. She has tried dozens of cases and supervised lawyers at various levels of practice. Premal will be joining Harvard Law School as the inaugural Executive Director of the Institute to End Mass Incarceration, launching this summer. The Institute’s mission is to end mass incarceration in the United States through a movement-centered, action-oriented organizing and advocacy program with a bold and ambitious innovation institute. We talk about the history of mass incarceration and the current situation as it stands in the United States. She disc

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 Model Minority myth may have evolved, and his favorite conversations while hosting WNYC's Micropolis series.We also touch upon the fear white working -class Americans still have, the idea of replacement theory,  and the political and cultural consciousness of the South Asian diaspora in the United States.He talks to me about his perfect NYC day, the time he experienced heartbreak, who he would like to collaborate with, and good old fashion Indian uncle jokes.Arun has appeared on PBS Newshour, On the Media and Studio 360, and has been published in The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Salon. He also frequently s

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, and had a blast....It's our first live interview almost 2 years!! I sit down with my friend, Pallavi Sharda, in our friends apartment in NYC and chat about it all. Pallavi knows what chasing your dreams is all about. Growing up in Melbourne, Australia, she knew from a very young age she wanted to become a Bollywood actress. We talk about making the decision to move to India to fulfill her dreams of working in Bollywood, her biggest takeaways from her time there and what she learned about herself, what she would tell other young women who want to make their mark on the world's largest film industry, and her relationsh

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 author of “You’re the Only One I’ve Told: The Stories Behind Abortion”, and the Medical Director of Whole Women’s Health Alliance in South Bend Indiana.I ask her about her decision to join Planned Parenthood, her highs and lows the past four years, what she believes Planned Parenthood stands for for women across America, the threat abortion providers experience, and the ground-breaking work she is doing with trans and non-binary community at her clinics.She talks about her experience working with patience from India, why the right language is so important to use and understand, what prompted her to write her book, and why

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, executives, talent, and brands. She is also a co-founder of COVID Tech Connect which sent nearly 20,000 smart devices to hospitals and senior care facilities across the US that allow critically ill patients to connect with their loved ones.Prior to that, Anjali was the Founding Chief People Officer and General Counsel at Cheddar, the Founding Head of Social Innovation and Founding General Counsel at Warby Parker, Founding General Counsel at Acumen, and Senior Counsel at Google. She has recently launched The Important Things with Bobbi Brown and Anjali Kumar, a podcast that focuses on the things that really fulfill our souls.

BONUS EPISODEThe 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 interviewed Rahul Dubey, one of Time Magazine's Heroes of 2020 who simply, as he puts it, opened the door to those in need. On June 1, 2020, Rahul Dubey was at home in Washington, DC, as demonstrators filled the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd. After a 7 p.m. curfew, he noticed crowds in the street outside who were seemingly trapped and being pepper-sprayed by police. We talk about his story of housing 70 protestors overnight to help them avoid curfew, the fear and pure terror he felt for himself and the demonstrators, and how that one night changed his life.  https://www.wsj.com/articles/george-floyd-shoul

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 childrenArmed with years of experience working in investment research at hedge funds and later beverage product development and branding at e-commerce darling WINC wines, Pallavi Golla dove headfirst into the apparel industry -- determined to create a next gen apparel brand for millennial families  focused on making functional clothing to make life less stressful and more comfortable.Lark has uniquely positioned itself as a thread-to garment technical bamboo apparel brand in the $100 bn activewear market due to its exclusive Softek bamboo that is UPF 50 sun safe, temperature regulating and hypoallergenic.They have been mentioned in numerous magazines and media outlets including Vogue, IN

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 Paris Review, on Buzzfeed.com, and many moreI chat with him about his debut Novel, Tell Me How To Be, which I found out about after Lilly Singh gave him a shoutout on her platform, Lilly’s Library.  It focuses on a mother-son relationship, Indian-American stereotypes, and has the best Guju (Gujarati) phrases sprinkled in throughout the book.  What else do you want?We also chat about how we were both bad at math, his coming out story, why stories like this are so important to the Indian-American community, why leaving home and then coming back helped inspire his novel, and all that yummy Indian homemade food we both mi

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's case to light, Rabia Chaudry.Rabia Chaudry is a Pakistani-American attorney, author and podcast host. A childhood friend of Adnan Syed, subject of the podcast Serial (2014), Chaudry subsequently wrote a book about his case called Adnan’s Story: The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial (2016), which became a New York Times best seller. Chaudry co-hosts 3 podcasts- Undisclosed, a podcast on Syed's case and many others, which has now 360 million downloads, The 45th, which followed the crazy that was Trumps presidency, and The Hidden Djinn, showcasing the folklore and history behind the legends of the djinn, and co

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 school, the core life skills he discovered were lacking in young adults, what responsibility really means and how it can be turned into a hard skill, and his experience setting up the preliminary Ever Scouts program in his own home town.He also talks about how tech can have a positive affect on children's growth, his biggest takeaways from building an e-commerce business in India, the three pillars that are important to him, and why he is an extreme optimist about our future.Sonny and I met in India while he was building the earliest e-commerce fashion companies, Exclusively.In, and he made the smart decision to hire me

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 the floor of the NYSE, she has interviewed countless CEOs, and is considered one of the best public speaking coaches out there. She started LadyDrinks in 2010 with her business partner as a monthly meetup for women in film and TV to network and get jobs, and has lived in New York City since 1999  because frankly, she loves the NYC attitude. She is currently the founder of the Women's Leadership Academy, a leadership platform for executive women.  She talks about growing up in a house witnessing domestic violence, how she has been in survival mode since the age of 18, why her super power consists of fantastic retreats for

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 League (NFL) and National Basketball Association (NBA).  He is currently the VP of Strategy and Planning at Major League Soccer. We talk about why historically soccer hasn't been as popular in the US, what has changed for US fans in the past 25 years,  the relationship with FIFA and The National Women's Soccer League,  what we can expect from the 2026 World Cup returning to North America, and why it will be the perfect (hopefully) post-pandemic celebration.Akash also talks about his journey opening up the first NBA offices in India,  how he feels about his 5 years in Bombay growing the NBA, and we of course exchange a fe

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 how it’s evolved through the years, how we both made soulful decisions when it came to our professional journeys, how his interest in India was more of a anthropological one versus a social one, and what it means to be a place-based person. We of course discuss about how we were both surprisingly fell in love with cricket and what his team at Times Bridge considers when meeting and talking to entrepreneurs.  #southasiantrailblazers #tuckeredoutwithami #tuckeredoutpod