S2E15: Meet Varun Rana, a South Asian comedic content creator focusing on social commentary about working in tech, being Indian-American and everything in between. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Michigan, family dynamics, being South Asian in the midwest, comedic inspirations, the academic rat race, computer science at UMich, from Amazon to startups as an engineer, switching full-time to content,, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, breaking molds through content, mental...

S2E14: Meet Varun’s viral brown boy tech persona “Adi” through a 10-minute improv skit. The characters are on a blind first date in New York City… ❗SPOILER ALERT: there will not be a second date.  And tune in next week to meet Varun Rana, the creator behind this internet sensation persona! Varun’s Tik Tok: @varun_rana (https://www.tiktok.com/@varun_rana_)Varun’’s IG: @the_varunrana (https://www.instagram.com/the_varunrana/) 🎧 Streaming Platforms / Social...

S2E13: Meet Suhana, a South Asian digital creator, dancer, and full-time financial services professional  This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Reading PA, parents and their American Dream, a musical upbringing, being one of the only Indians in town, academic journey through a double major + minor at NYU, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, creative career, working with woman-owned businesses, pitching yourself to brands, social media highs and lows, future plans, and...

S2E12: This week, we will be discussing the Presidential Election from the Muslim-American POV. We go through the potential implications of 1) Abstention 2) Third-Party 3) Trump and 4) Kamala. We sat down with Salaar, who works in financial services and is a game designer, but most importantly sits on the board of a nonprofit focused on civic engagement amongst younger demographics. This is a very emotionally and logically confusing time as we grieve our brothers and sisters in Gaza, and feel...

S2E11: Meet Rahul Dhiman, a South Asian filmmaker, actor and production founder. He is best known for starring in and co-creating Amazon’s latest Indian-American TV series Upside Brown! This week’s episode covers a variety of topics including a progressive South Asian upbringing in Chicago, parents’ American Dream, being an only child, South Asian identity, path to acting, engineering at UC Berkeley, working at Tesla, switching from corporate to creative, 🔥 HOT SEAT 🔥, Upside Brown the...

S2E09: Meet Hira Mustafa, a Pakistani, Muslim Beauty Influencer and Third-Year Law School Student PART 2/2: This week’s episode covers a variety of topics including a fun HOT SEAT segment, social media journey, personal milestones, the duality of social media, romance being convoluted online, financial independence as a woman, the future, and more! Check out last week's episode for Part 1/2! Hira’s IG: @lookwhoshira https://www.instagram.com/lookwhoshira Hira’s Tik Tok: @lookwhoshira...

S2E09: Meet Hira Mustafa, a Pakistani, Muslim Beauty Influencer and Third-Year Law School Student PART 1/2: This week’s episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Iowa, being the older sister, parents’ immigrant journey, being brown in Iowa, early academic journey, picking law school over med school, improv comedy, student gov days, switching from consulting to law, path to content creation, detachment from our achievements, competition in the Muslim community, and righting...

S2E08: Meet Kanika, a South Asian actress, multi-designer boutique owner, event MC, and mother! This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in India and Canada, parents and siblings, being raised to be a homemaker, breaking molds for women, balancing motherhood and passions, community expectations, grief after losing parents, getting married at 19, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, starting her acting career, starting a multi-designer boutique, hosting for the Indian consulate, biggest...

S2E07: Meet Nitasha, the South Asian, Muslim host of Shaam ki Chai podcast. This is a special edition episode on emotional abuse in South Asian relationships. We talk through gender dynamics in the South Asian community, our respective personal experiences, the importance of collaborative partnership, breaking the cycle, identifying healthy vs. unhealthy love, the indicative signs, and how to get out step by step. Nitasha’s IG: @therealnitashasyed...

S2E06: Meet Chirag, a South Asian keynote speaker, brand consultant, and content creator. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Queens with a small business family, being a middle child and seeing attention as a currency, the privileges of being in America, a full-time career at Google, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, recent feature in the History Channel docuseries, working with the worlds biggest brands, public speaking career, social media, advice for creators, future...

S2E05: Meet Gaurav Singh, a South Asian actor.  ⚠️TW: Gaurav is incredibly vulnerable during this episode, sharing his journey about running away, starvation, abuse, mental health battles, attempted suicide, the passing of his mother, and more. This episode covers a variety of other topics too including upbringing / family in India, acting as a calling, working for big Bollywood names like Salman Khan and Randeep Hooda, path to acting, journey to NYC, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, starring in the...

S2E04: Meet Neha Dharma, a South Asian model, actress, influencer, and full-time data strategist. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in Dallas, parents, being an only child, relationship with money, career decisions as a woman, academic journey, path to entertainment, fueling creativity, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT 🔥, what it means to be a South Indian creator, performing in the DDLJ musical, relationship with social media, silence shaming influencers, starring in a...

S2E03: Meet Asmita, Lilly’s sister. Asmita is also a South Asian, Muslim influencer, full-time marketing professional, and mental health advocate. This episode is a special one, as we dive into Lilly’s story. Asmita opens about the passing of her sister Lilly, and bravely shares Lilly’s journey with mental health, drugs, recovery, and relapse… There are powerful themes embedded throughout the narrative regarding lack of support from South Asian / Muslim communities through the ostracizing of...

S2E02: Meet Aman (@a.magic.man), a South Asian actor, magician, model, and content creator.  This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in New York, path to magic tricks, content creativity at a young age, spiritual path, personal growth going from a shy young boy to a confident man, UCLA college journey, social media evolution / going viral, 🔥 HOT SEAT SEGMENT, starring in a play and short film, metrics for success, fears while navigating the landscape, love life,...

S2E01: Meet Sabeen Sadiq (@sabeencomedy), a Pakistani, Muslim Comedian, Actress, and Model This episode covers a variety of topics including Muslim upbringing in Chicago, Pakistani immigrant parents, family vs. creativity, siblings with mental health circumstances, journey with spirituality, academic journey, the creative process behind her album "Perfect Daughter", career highlights (working with Hasn Minhaj and Kumail Nanjiani), personal finances as a creator, future plans, a fun hot seat...

Episode 13: Meet Sarah Anwer Khan, a South Asian and Muslim as NBC’s Social Host and 1497’s Social Media Coordinator. This episode covers a variety of topics including mentorship from Hasan Minhaj, being Jai Wolf’s PR, industry experiences with Dev Patel, immigrant parent upbringing in Texas, cultural issues in the Muslim community, running away from home to couch surf in LA and break into Entertainment, landing NBC, roots with Brown Girl Mag, being in media as a Muslim, 🔥 A NEW HOT SEAT...

Episode 12: Meet Pardeep, a South Asian contestant from The Bachelor franchise (first Indian-American to get a rose), Diplomat, and Former Neuroscientist. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Brooklyn in the 90s, growing up on food stamps in a single-mother household, having an older brother who was on Indian Matchmaking, Indo-Guyanese roots with slavery, growing up poor but feeling rich, cycles of privilege in the world, being a neuroscientist during COVID, path to...

Episode 11: Meet Ashish, a South Asian creator as an Executive Producer of The Third Place Agency, Former Popshift Producer, and Co-Founder of DDN Legends. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Orlando, early creative ventures as a child, parents, sibling, dreams as a kid, confidence in feeling like the “weird kid” in high school, going to UMiami for Pre-Med and switching to Film, co-founding DDN Legends, working with Zee TV, path to producing, in-home Tik Tok...

Episode 10: Meet Slesha, a South Asian Model (Vogue, Cover Girl, GMA), Former Fashion Head, Master of Healthcare Admin (Johns Hopkins), and Former Med School Student. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Kansas, family history as refugees from Burma, immigrant parents, relationship with money, private school culture, being one of the only brown kids, leaving medical school, pursuing a Master of Healthcare Admin at Johns Hopkins, working as a Fashion Head in NYC,...

Episode 9: Meet Sabeen, a South Asian and Muslim influencer, podcast host, and ex-investment banking analyst. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Pakistan and Westchester NY, growing up in an Ivy League feeder neighborhood, Pakistani community, Muslim upbringing, high school social dynamics, spirituality, college at UMich Ross, nuances of the Muslim community, our paths to Investment Banking, our time on Wall Street, why we both left finance, content creation, and...

Episode 8: Meet Sheel, a South Asian fashion designer for Svarini (as seen on the SANYFW 2023 runway and Vanity Fair), YouTuber, and former software engineer. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Houston, family (grandma/parents/older brother), relationship with clothing, freedom of choice as a woman in dress, importance of education, exposure to wealth, dreams as a kid, high school, going to Cornell for Computer Science, imposter syndrome, past creative ventures,...

Episode 7: Meet Kalissa, a South Asian + Guyanese influencer and actress. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing in Queens NY, growing up in a single-parent household with a strong female presence, exposure to wealth, Guyanese roots, path to acting, performance arts education, normalizing rejection, auditioning for big roles like Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever, lows in the journey, defining personal success, social media journey, relationships, and...

Episode 6: Meet Pankti Doshi, a South Asian influencer, co-founder of Masala Mixtape and And Aur, NYC event planner, and certified genetics counselor This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in the Bay Area, being an only child, exposure to wealth, intellectual curiosity as a kid, academic pursuits, double majoring in biomedical engineering and mathematics, the world of genetics counseling, grad school, moving to NYC, the journey to event planning, co-founding...

Episode 5: Meet Faaris (@faaris.mp3), a South Asian and Muslim rapper, full-time data engineer, and best of all… my cousin. This episode’s special, as you’ll see our off-camera banter and rivalry intertwined in our on-camera dynamic. This episode covers a variety of topics including upbringing / family in Texas, phases in adolescence (the Bieber haircut, the Vine era, Rapchat), dynamics of growing up in a Muslim community, spirituality, music journey leading to becoming a rapper, the creative...