Almirah Radio Hour
A podcast that brushes the dust off of local politics, art, and culture. A podcast by Nina Bhattacharya and Sheela Lal.
Episodes
May 30, 2019
This week, Nina and Sheela talk about the role of community during hardship, do a quick friendship inventory, and discuss why April was the worst month.You can follow Rising Voices of Asian American Families on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/risingvoicesasianamfamiliesFollow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina on Instagram at @radio.rani. Follow Sheela everywh...
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April 25, 2019
This week, Nina sits down with musician and organizer Saraswathi Jones for a conversation that spans artistic colonialism, genre labels, the history of Bangladesh, and her own first memories of music.You can find Saraswathi Jones on Bandcamp, Instagram, and, of course, her website. This episode features her songs, “Hey Duniya,” and “Mother Tongue.”Follow us at ...
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April 1, 2019
This week, Nina and Sheela wrestle with everything that is uncomfortable, especially the topics where they still feel like they are learning…. Whew.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina on Instagram at @radio.rani. Follow Sheela everywhere at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Our cover art is by Mili Sethia.
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March 8, 2019
This week, Nina interviews organizer and advocate, Nafisa Isa. Nafisa is the Program Manager at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and the brains behind some of the most intentional, creative, and intersectional museum and community work we've seen. They discuss accessible art spaces, growing up in the South, Bengali things, and their diaspora wishl...
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February 19, 2019
Season Two
(we’re back!)
In this week's episode, Nina and Sheela catch up on their creative projects and discuss the impact of the new film, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow N...
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November 12, 2018
Someone stole equipment from Bandhu Gardens, one of our favorite Detroit
organizations. Help us help them!
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October 15, 2018
Hey, you! After a brief hiatus, we are back! In this week’s episode, Sheela
interviews lawyer, writer, and organizer, Aditi Juneja, to discuss
everything from Aditi’s research on policing in South Africa and the
linguistics of disability, to her feature in “Forbes 30 Under 30” and self
care. You can find Aditi online at http://aditijuneja.me.
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August 22, 2018
Sheela and Nina continue last week's conversation on representation, and discuss Netflix's Sacred Games series and burlesque.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Our cover art is by Mili Sethia.
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August 9, 2018
This week, Sheela and Nina talk about the power of Asian American literature, the intersections of mind and body in dance, and... how the U.S. exports black culture for soft diplomacy. They also discuss how non-black artists need to take a step back and examine their influences critically--and that casteism has no place in hiphop. Yikes.Learn more about the Unerased Book Club.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynin...
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July 18, 2018
This week, Sheela and Nina take a step back and put each other in the reflective hot seat. Sheela talks about the growth that comes with starting her own business, while Nina thinks about what it means to cultivate radical imagination. Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Original music by Michael Dwan Singh. Our cover art is b...
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June 26, 2018
This week, Sheela interviews Monika Gupta (@guptamnka), Senior Product Marketing Manager at Inkling, graduate of the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, and fellow Missourian. They talk about the totally normal ambiguity that comes when defining a career path, creating a life outside of work, and one book pick for the summer.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Episo...
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June 12, 2018
This week, Nina and Sheela catch up about the recent political shake-up in Missouri, small talk and social capital, South Asian American culture and what that might mean, government by contract, and book recommendations.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Mentioned in this episode:My Struggle with American Small Talk (Karan Mahajan, New Yorker)Kansas Could Slap Medicaid Contracto...
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May 24, 2018
Sheela and Nina catch up about Missouri drama, contextualize what's been happening Sri Lanka with a broader conversation about violence and social media, discuss media and tech responsibility, and connect the work of the We Have Voice Collective to Pakistan's recent music #MeToo moment.Content warning: We do discuss sexual assault and violence in many parts of this episode. Please do not hesitate to skip this one if you need t...
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April 23, 2018
Sheela and Nina discuss e-governance in Bangalore, talk about different approaches to learning, think about collaboration without competition, and talk about navigating feedback.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Texts mentioned in this episode include:Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brownUses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde, in Sister OutsiderSexism: An Am...
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Sheela and Nina develop the pitch for Sheela's book, talk about where vulnerability and masculinity intersect, unpack why college Indian American communities can be so toxic (looking at you, Michigan), and touch on futurism.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.In Ann Arbor? Catch Sheela's monologue in Yoni ki Baat this Friday or Saturday at 7 pm at Rackham Auditorium. Details here...
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February 12, 2018
Sheela and Nina talk about human rights and supply chains; unpack the recent Larry Nassar sentencing and its implications for health care systems; appreciate spaces young women are creating for themselves; and providing a necessary Missouri shitshow update.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Original music by Michael Dwan Singh. Ou...
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January 22, 2018
This week, Nina and Sheela talk about the history of regulating women of color's bodies; death and aging; holding South Asian health professionals accountable; Sheela's dates; and Missouri's current shitshow. Ope!Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Original music by Michael Dwan Singh. Our cover art is by Mili Sethia.
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November 24, 2017
Nina talks to Anjal Chande about Bharatnatyam dance, what it looks like now, and why she dedicates her life to the art form. Check out her other work here.Follow us at @almirahradio. Follow Nina at @onlynina. Follow Sheela at @queenofblah.Our opening track is "Laung Gawacha" by Nucleya. Other original music is by Michael Dwan Singh. Our cover art is by Mili Sethia. (photo)
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October 27, 2017
This Week...
Sheela and Nina talk about acupuncture, compensating artists, judging worth outside of profit, femme bodies and violence, and the war on drugs (historical and present).Content warning: We discuss sexual violence in the U.S. and #MeToo from 22:30 to 32:30. Some links:Peopl...
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September 26, 2017
Sheela and Nina talk to Emma Olson Sharkey, co-founder of The Franchise Project, an organization dedicated to educating, exciting, and empowering citizens to engage in effective voting rights advocacy at the local level. Check out their Voting Access Scorecard and learn how you can make voting more accessi...
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