Cultured, or Nah?
Find us on Instagram: @culturedornah. A podcast about understanding the truisms inherent in desiness. We (probably) talk about the stuff your mom and dad won't. Ever been curious about what South Asians in other countries are like - or why they might actually be different from you? Ever wondered about the increasing role of the South Asian American electorate, or about why we're seeing more brown faces in mainstream media today? Perhaps you've even wondered why you've been born into a religious identity when it seems our non-desi peers don't have the same experience. Join us as we discuss these and other topics, and dive deep into the root causes of why things are the way they are. We won't always have the answers, but we do love to discuss it!
Episodes
39 episodes
S4 E10: Perceptions of Love Growing Up South Asian
Bollywood, our parents' marriages, Disney movies, Hollywood - all of it would have been enough to throw us into a doozy. How did you think about love and dating growing up? What has changed for you, and what do you hope for now? In this episode...
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Season 4
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Episode 10
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1:31:47
S4 E9: Not Wanting Kids as a South Asian
Do you ever feel like our collectivist cultures and all the models we grew up with of what a fulfilling life could be make it seem like not having kids is a strange, or even selfish choice? How do we talk about not wanting kids and still being ...
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Season 4
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Episode 9
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57:42
S4 E8: Dissecting & Understanding Caste
In this episode, Shabnum compares two books: The Doctor and the Saint - Caste, Race, and the Annihilation of Caste (the Debate Between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi) by Arundhati Roy, and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander to get a deeper u...
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Season 4
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Episode 8
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1:05:59
S4 E7: What do Web3 and NFTs mean for South Asian brands?
Today we're joined by Payal Shah - Founder & Designer of L'Dezen and Psylish Jewelry, fashion influencer, and Web3/NFT enthusiast! Payal talks through the basics like what even are NFTs? She then proceeds to explain how she has been looking...
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Season 4
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Episode 7
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1:02:34
S4 E6: "Not a regular mom" - Redefining the New Age South Asian Mom
What do you think when you hear the term "mom"? What do you picture when you picture a desi mom? Taking the previously uncool to cool, we're seeing a new generation of women claiming all aspects of their identity - motherhood, South Asianness, ...
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Season 4
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Episode 6
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1:01:46
S4 E5: South Asians in Comedy
Does your comedy always have to stem from your race / religion / culture? Join us as we talk to Meghana Indurti and Daman Bamrah about how they got started in comedy and what drives them. Meg and Damn will get into the good, the bad, the ugly o...
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Season 4
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Episode 5
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1:03:49
S4 E4: A Look Inside Brown Girl Magazine's Untold
Publishing a book is no joke - especially one that seeks to tell the stories of South Asian women across the world in all different phases of life - young, old, married, single, divorced, taking care of their mothers or mother-in-laws, maintain...
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Season 4
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Episode 4
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56:11
S4 E3: The Weight of Non-Romantic Relationships as a South Asian
Join us as we talk to 3 writers from Brown Girl Magazine's Untold anthology who speak about unique experiences such as the expectations between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, caretaking duties as a children of desi parents, and relationsh...
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Season 4
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Episode 3
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1:11:08
S4 E2: Truth Telling on Social Media
Ever been confused by how your parents can hate Trump but support Modi? How do we have difficult and honest conversations on social media given very real potential threats from the governments of South Asian countries, as well as the comment tr...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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1:10:19
S4 E1: Make it Make Sense - The Legalities of Roe v. Wade Overturning
How did this happen? What allowed this to happen? And what are the legal arguments that underpin such a momentous decision in American history? Back with a bang, Shabnum comes back for Season 4 with Seema Iyer, a lawyer and journalist with Quee...
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Season 4
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Episode 1
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1:00:20
S3 E10: Growing up Indo-Caribbean
In this episode Shabnum is joined by Juanita Dudhnath of Brown Girl Magazine as both of them talk through the dark history of indentured servitude that led to Indian migration to the Caribbean, and how four to five generations onward the cultur...
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Season 3
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Episode 10
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1:10:10
S3 E9: Effect of Religious Conversion on Identity
In this episode, Shabnum interviews Jennifer Williams, Senior Foreign Editor of Vox Media on her journey with religious conversion to Islam. Jennifer grew up Southern Baptist, but through the course of her own work and research, found herself d...
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Season 3
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Episode 9
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1:05:34
S3 E8: Growing up Biracial Desi
Is the American dream for everyone? Does the color you are on the spectrum affect your place in society? In this episode Shabnum talks to Madison Natarajan and Alex Karjeker about their experiences growing up part South Asian. Madison is half w...
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Season 3
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Episode 8
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1:13:26
S3 E7: Adulting - Raising Brown Children Today
A lot of us are first generation citizens of western countries where our parents were immigrants. Some of us have been parents for a few years while others are just now embarking on this journey; still others are a few years away. Gen X and Mil...
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Season 3
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Episode 7
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1:11:13
S3 E6: Sufism and Modern Religion
In this episode Shabnum sits down with Unitarian Minister Barbara Merritt, who is working on a collection of poetry from Rumi's Masnavi. She explains the persistence of Sufi poetry in our world and how and why it has survived the test of time. ...
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Season 3
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Episode 6
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1:04:17
S3 E5: Secret Diary of a British Muslim
In this episode, Shabnum interviews British standup comedian and now book author Tez Ilyas about his book "The Secret Diary of a British Muslim Aged 13 3/4." Cycling through a variety of topics, Tez and Shabnum exchange childhood stories of gro...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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1:18:44
S3 E4: the Evolving Role of Masculinity in Bollywood
Originally recorded for the South Asian Film Festival of America by Product of Culture, in this episode Shabnum & Rajiv take a magnifying glass to Bollywood films throughout time. With an almost academic fervor, they explore the relationshi...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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46:20
S3 E3: Perceptions of Divorce
In this episode Shabnum talks to Sabrina Lakhani and Malini Ramakumar Bartels. Sabrina is a behavioral scientist who specializes in helping people learn how best to navigate their own attachment styles in relationships. Having gone through a di...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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59:55
S3 E2: Indian Matchmade - The Arranged Marriage Episode
In this episode Shabnum talks to Supraja Seshadri and Darshi Shah in more of an anecdotal episode on their experiences going through the Arranged Marriage process. Supraja is Tamil and Darshi is Gujarati. They both talk through how the process ...
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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1:48:45
S3 E1: Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan: Divided Lands
In this episode, Shabnum sits down with her friend Khalil currently joining us from Ramallah, Palestine and they both explore the similarities between the Israeli/Palestinian and Indian/Pakistani conflict. Taking the stance that dividing countr...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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1:12:51
S2 E8: Sikh as an Identity
In this episode, Shabnum sits down with Navpreet Sachdev (Nav the Poet) and Jaydeep Singh Ugra to talk about how being Sikh plays a role in one's understanding of identity. As a minority group within India as well as in the West, and given the ...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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1:17:19
S2 E7: LGBTQIA+ Representation in South Asian Media
In this episode, Shabnum is joined by esteemed film director Faraz Arif Ansari. Faraz has worked on numerous Bollywood projects, and most recently is known for their internationally award winning short film Sisak, Netflix's the Big Day, and the...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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1:04:14
S2 E6: So You Know You Can Dance?
If you are Indian American, dancing is more than just a "hobby." It's a blood sport. How someone hasn't already made a reality TV show about the national Bollywood, Bhangra, and Raas competitions we all end up doing is a mystery to me (consider...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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58:48
S2 E5: Interracial Marriage & Desis
Is there a racial hierarchy when it comes to dating outside of our community? How difficult would it be to go against the 20-30 years of conditioning we've all had on what an acceptable partner looks like? And how does religion add in a third l...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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1:15:04
S2 E4: Toxic Masculinity in the Desi Community
In this episode Shabnum is joined by Rajiv Menon, a producer working in LA with a PhD from NYU in Masculinity and Global Pop Culture. Shabnum and Rajiv talk through a series of issues in our understanding of what Toxic Masculinity is today - st...
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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57:29