TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING

Abhay is joined by professor, advisor, and author, Gautam Mukunda.
He is the author of Indispensable: When Leaders Really Matter and Picking Presidents: How to Make the Most Consequential Decision in the World, and has served as a professor at Harvard, Yale, and Tufts. By cultivating expertise as an advisor on leadership and strategy problems,  with publishing widely on innovation, security issues, and synthetic biology...

So I thought that today we would focus on the world of puzzles.  As kids, young and old, we are fascinated and curious about putting together random pieces of cardboard to make a picture, or take numbers or scenes or words and fit them together to make something whole, craving that satisfaction to find the answer and all the frustrations and exhilarations that come with it! Whether you’re doing sudoku or playing a game or ...

Abhay shares a conversation with Los Angeles based art gallerist and curator, Rajiv Menon, to talk about his ongoing work, about art and race and the global South Asian, and even some of the barriers and accelerators he’s encountered along the way.
Rajiv's latest exhibition is titled "Three Steps of Land", as an artistic ode to Onam and Kerala.

(0:00 - 2:46) Introduction
(2:46) Part 1 - Mobilizing art, making art rele...

Abhay shares a conversation with social entrepreneur and recent Harvard University graduate, Shruthi Kumar.
They talked about her commencement speech, college activism, being a South Asian student, and now entering life after graduation
(0:00 - 3:32) Introduction
(3:32) Part 1 - "The Power of Not Knowing", harmonizing empathy with action
(17:22) Part 2 - Nebraska and Harvard, complacency, South Asian student li...

Abhay is joined by Dr. Ritu Raman, MIT engineering professor and author of the book "Biofabrication", for a conversation about personal and professional lessons learned from her journey, the tethers of science fiction and pop culture, and the possibilities and limits of her work.
(0:00 - 2:58) Introduction
(2:58) Part 1 - setting the stage and defining the work, popular science fiction
(16:39) Part 2 - robotic app...

Entrepreneur, journalist, and podcaster Ginni Saraswati joins Abhay for a conversation that touched upon everything from storytelling to mythbusting to wedding planning! Ginni is the founder and CEO of Ginni Media and hosts "The Ginni Show".
(0:00 - 2:40) Introduction
(2:40) Part 1 - wedding planning, storytelling  and building relationships
(12:24) Part 2 - the weight or lightness of identity, the biggest myths a...

Chef, content creator, and author Sanjana Modha joins Abhay to talk about everything from lunchtime food, to cooking as a parent, to her go-to dessert, to writing her new book "Sanjana's Feasts", which is due out this fall 2024. 
(0:00 - 3:01) Introduction
(3:01) Part 1 - lunchtime, cooking as a parent
(11:14) Part 2 - cooking as a way to connect the dots, vegetarian cooking, local specificities
(25:28) Part 3 ...

It’s hopefully obvious to many that the AI revolution has not only begun but it’s in full swing. Now since I’m in healthcare and well a wee bit older than those entering the workforce right now, I wanted to get the perspective of someone who has not only grown up with AI as a digital tool and familiar science but also has developed a relationship in researching AI and using it to tackle problems at scale.  So it was wonder...

Samhita Mukhopadhyay, author of "The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning" joins Abhay for a conversation about a range topics from “trickle down feminism” to being the daughter of two Bengali immigrants, to mentoring and leadership. Samhita served as the executive editor of the popular blog Feministing and then for Teen Vogue and in reflecting on her journey, found herself squarely in the messy middle of it all in bei...

Abhay is joined by writer, director, and producer Vivek Agnihotri to share a broad ranging conversation about his life as a filmmaker.
His films include The Kashmir Files, The Vaccine War, and the upcoming The Delhi Files.  
Believe it or not, the kidneys, Keyser Söze, and cricket all were involved!
(0:00 - 2:45) Introduction
(2:45) Part 1 - Rallying and inspiring, truthseeking, combating the lonely journey
...

Abhay is joined by cricket athlete Saurabh Netravalkar, whose clutch bowler performance led Team USA to a dramatic victory over Pakistan and into the Super 8 competing against Team India in the recent Men's T20 World Cup.  They chatted about everything from his cricket journey to integrating sport with life as a software engineer to growing cricket in the US. 
(0:00 - 2:59) Introduction
(2:59) Part 1 - compartmentali...

Abhay is joined by Dr. Ami Bera, United States Congressman (D) CA-6, as they share a broad conversation about his experiences and journey as the longest serving Indian American in Congress. 
(0:00 - 3:10) Introduction
(3:10) Part 1 - Doctoring and crossover skills in politics, relationship building and prioritizing
(13:36) Part 2 - Governing and campaigning
(26:01) Part 3 - Foreign affairs, Indian American expe...

Abhay is joined by Vikas Khanna, the celebrated judge of Master Chef India,  Michelin award-winning chef, author, and filmmaker.  Vikas' new restaurant BUNGALOW, opened this past spring in New York City.  They shared a chat about his journey and bringing people "home" through his food experience.
(0:00 - 2:36)  Introduction
(2:36) Part 1 - first professional meal, how to age gracefully as a culinary artist
(12:00)...

Abhay is joined by award-winning actor Kani Kusruti for a conversation about her ongoing work and recent role in the film, "All That We Imagine As Light", which recently won the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
(0:00 - 3:06) Introduction
(3:06) Part 1 - relationship with the film, awards, working with director Payal Kapadia
(15:17) Part 2 - the acting process, feedback and success, her craft of a...

Abhay is joined by award-winning filmmaker, Raja Choudhury, whose newest documentary "America's First Guru" is available to stream on PBS, and showcases the story of the young and charismatic Swami Vivekananda’s travels to the US in the late 1800’s to speak at the first World’s Parliament of Religions conference in Chicago, broadly introducing Hindu philosophy and India’s spiritual culture to American audiences.
(0:00 -...

National policy expert, Rohini Kosoglu, joins Abhay to talk about everything from building trust with leaders to policy intersections and governance with AI to the imperatives of this upcoming election cycle.  Rohini recently served in the Biden-Harris administration as Deputy Assistant to the President and Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President. 
(0:00 - 3:19) Introduction
(3:19) Part 1 - parenting and relati...

SPOTLIGHT episodes of TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING feature brief chats about a unique topic or cause.

Varsha Mathur, J.D., PCC, a certified dating and relationship coach with over seven years of experience, guides clients worldwide to effortlessly find and sustain lasting love with their ideal partners.  Through her personalized coaching approach, Varsha empowers both singles and couples
to cultivate confidence, ignite...

Choreographer and dance artist Rohit Gijare joins Abhay to talk about everything from teaching to getting inspired to constantly being a student of dance.  
(0:00 - 2:53) Introduction
(2:53) Part 1 - routine, inspiration, improv
(14:08) Part 2 - how to define "good", being an effective teacher, dance and cultural importance
(32:45) Part 3 - breaking stereotypes and barriers, being a student of dance
(46:58) ...

Abhay is joined by Raj Lulla, author of the novel "The Caring House", to talk about writing about grief, mental health and empathy, and "metabolizing" grief. Their mutual love of the West Wing definitely also came up.
(0:00 - 2:53) Introduction
(2:53) Part 1 - ignition and inspiration to write the book, children grieving
(13:75) Part 2 - inconsistencies, "metabolizing" grief, personal journeys
(28:31) Part 3 -...