Episodes
In the first part of this two-part episode, Suhag Shukla speaks with Sanjay Lazar who lost his entire family in the Air India Flight 182 bombing and was literally orphaned while still a child. This is the story of his life beyond the tragedy of the worst terrorist act in aviation history until 9/11.
Pre-order the first part of Sanjay's book series on his experience "On Angel's Wings" here.
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Published 11/16/23
For this special two-part episode we’ve got something a little bit different. This time, Dr indu Viswanathan, who’s been a guest on the show twice, is on the other side of the interviewing equation. She’s speaking with a young Hindu man, who has a unique and important story to tell. Keshav was raised Hindu and began questing his beliefs, to the point that he converted to Islam and began publicly making stereotypical Hinduphobic comments and denouncing India. But Keshav had a change of heart...
Published 11/02/23
For this special two-part episode we’ve got something a little bit different. This time, Dr indu Viswanathan, who’s been a guest on the show twice, is on the other side of the interviewing equation. She’s speaking with a young Hindu man, who has a unique and important story to tell. Keshav was raised Hindu and began questing his beliefs, to the point that he converted to Islam and began publicly making stereotypical Hinduphobic comments and denouncing India. But Keshav had a change of heart...
Published 11/02/23
For this episode we have something a bit different for you. It’s a special episode for Navaratri. We've interviewed several members of our extended HAF team as well as members of the Hindu American community about how they celebrate Navaratri today, what they remember about the holiday growing up, and how their understanding of it has changed over the years. What you’ll hear are excepts from longer interviews our staff writer Syama Allard did with each person.
Here are the full versions of...
Published 10/19/23
In this episode we speak with Akshar from The Emissary about an article he published earlier this year about Critical Caste Theory, as well as the activists who view Hinduism, Hindu culture, and India’s history and contemporary society through this very narrow lens.
Read the article that we're talking about here.
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Published 09/28/23
In this episode we speak with Prof. David Haberman from Indiana University about his extensive work documenting how Hindus bring trees, stones, and mountains into their religious worship.
Buy the books we discuss: People Trees, Loving Stones
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Published 09/07/23
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Sarah Stern, the founder and president of the Endowment for Middle East Truth, a think tank and policy institute based in Washington DC. They speak about the parallels between growing antisemitism and rising Hinduphobia, the US-Israel relationship, and efforts to strengthen the Israel-India relationship.
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Published 08/17/23
In this episode we're speaking with film director Nico Oscoff on his latest project 1893: Year of the Yogi, a documentary currently planned to be released in 2024.
Learn more: https://www.instagram.com/1893yoty/
Donate to the film here.
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Published 08/10/23
In this episode we're again speaking with HAF's own Easan Katir on the topic of dharmic investing, with a focus this time on why it's adharmic to lose money.
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Published 07/27/23
In this special episode Mat McDermott moderates a discussion between HAF Co-Founder Suhag Shukla and Managing Director Samir Kalra about the latest revelations in the case of alleged caste discrimination at the BAPS temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, and how the connect to the similar allegations as Cisco Systems in California.
Please note: The audio quality on this one isn't quite up to our usual standards as the That's So Hindu recording studio is in the midst of being moved to another...
Published 07/26/23
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with David Santoro, President and CEO of the Pacific Forum, a non-profit foreign policy research institute based in Hawaii. They discuss the state of the India-US relationship, the positive changes he's seen in India in recent years, and much more. Learn more at: https://pacforum.org and follow David Santoro on Twitter here: @DavidSantoro1.
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Published 07/13/23
In this episode we speak with Ananda and Suguna Prathik, the husband and wife team behind the non-profit Behind Every Temple, who are are doing some really interesting work restoring ancient temples in Tamil Nadu.
Learn more: www.behindeverytemple.org
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Published 05/25/23
In this episode we speak with Georgetown University's Brahmachari Vrajvihari Sharan about the tension between the internal diversity and pluralistic outlook of Hinduism and both the trend and sometimes need to present Hinduism as one thing to the non-Hindu world.
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Published 05/04/23
In this episode we're speaking with Lavanya Vemsani, professor of history at Shawnee State University in Ohio, specializing in Indian history and religion. Her latest paper in the International Review of Modern Sociology is titled “Global Hinduphobia: Construed, Constructed, and Unleashed from the West” and that’s what we’re going to talk: Hinduphobia, the fallacy of Aryan Invasion Theory, and how to revamp the study of Hinduism so that a more accurate picture of Hinduisms past and present...
Published 04/13/23
In this episode we're speaking with Professor Jeffery D Long, who teaches religion and Asian studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. This his second time on the show. And today we’re discussing a recent paper he’s written on the connections between deep ecology and advaita vedanta.
Read more: Advaita Vedanta and Its Implications for Deep Ecology
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Published 03/23/23
Do you want to know more about Hinduism? Like actually understand what karma is? Or what dharma means? Do you want to know what the sacred texts of Hinduism are? Or, maybe, you just want to know why Hindu women wear a dot on their forehead? Or, perhaps, if all Hindus vegetarian?
If so, then All About Hinduism is just what you’ve been waiting for.
We’ll give you an overview of Hinduism as a lived and contemporary spiritual path. We’ll explore the history of how Hinduism has come to be what it...
Published 02/02/23
In this episode Suhag Shukla speaks with Andrew Jasko. Andrew was born into a minister’s family and became a preacher and missionary to India, after studying theology at Wheaton College and Princeton Seminary. After an agonizing crisis of faith, he rejected religion and spirituality. Later, after finding healing through practices like meditation, psychedelics, and breathwork, that introduced him to profound mystical experiences for the first time, he embraced Hinduism. He currently counsels...
Published 12/29/22
In this episode, Samir Kalra speaks with Dr Michael Rubin, from the American Enterprise Institute, about his recent trip to Kashmir and what he learned from speaking with Kashmiris about life after Article 370, as well what is needed to improve US diplomacy in the region.
Published 12/01/22
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Soundarya Balasubramani and Sameer Khedakar, co-authors of “Unshackled”, a practical guide for immigrants in the US to become entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, or just have more creative autonomy over their careers.
Published 10/13/22
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Puneet Sahani, coordinator of Sikhs for Enlightenment Association, a volunteer effort of Sikh researchers across the world, who are pushing back against Khalistani propaganda
Published 09/22/22
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Ohio state senator Niraj Antani about his career in politics, from being the youngest person elected as a state representative in Ohio, the only Hindu elected, to now being a state senator.
Published 08/18/22
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Akhil Ramesh, research fellow at Pacific Forum International. They discuss the current state of the US-India relationship, where it could be headed, the challenges that relationship faces, as well as some of the challenges the Indian diaspora faces due to skewed perspectives on current Indian politics.
Published 08/11/22
In this episode Mat McDermott speaks with Michigan State Representative Padma Kuppa, who serves the 41st House District.
Padma is an engineer by training, who also served on HAF’s Board of Director for a number of years, before turning to politics.
We talk about how she decided to focus on elected office, the connections between her Hindu faith and public service,
the attacks she’s faced based on her Hindu identity, and some of the more contentious public policy issues we’ve faced in the...
Published 07/14/22
In this episode we’re bringing back HAF’s very own California Advocacy Director Easan Katir, who, doesn’t just do Hindu advocacy work, but rather since 1983 has provided wealth management for families, individuals, and retirement plans. Last time we spoke about Dharmic Investing in general. Today we’re talking about the current state of the financial markets, how to weather them, which sectors are doing well, and how to think about wealth management through the lens of dharma.
Published 06/30/22
In this episode Suhag Shukla speaks with Keith Sarasin. Keith is a chef, three-time author, restauranteur, and public speaker who grew up in a small city in New Hampshire. Keith learned to cook Indian cuisine studying with a home cook, and went onto study with archeologists and food historians from across India. Keith currently runs Aatma, a pop-up tasting experience showcasing food from the Indian subcontinent.
Published 06/09/22