ABCDEI

And just like that, we're kicking off Season 2 of ABCDEI!

In episode 1, Susan and Rohini are joined in studio by another dynamic duo – the Milkshake Sisters. Marianna and Angel are activists and educators with a focus on trans rights, with an intersectional lens given their immigrant roots. This episode tackles some tricky unlearning territory: for marginalized folx, it's resisting the urge to "exhale anger" and for cis-normative/white folx, it's the need to self-educate and to stop approaching any marginalized group as a monolith.

The powerhouse duo leaves us with a serious call to action: change policies, don't send prayers. Make sure to take notes as you tune into this supercharged lesson on equity.

As we come to the end of Season 1 of ABCDEI, co-hosts Susan and Rohini reflect on the lessons they have taken away from the last 10 weeks. The origin story of ABCDEI lies in the deep discomfort of staying silent in the face of inequity and the desire to unlearn out loud through conversations with people with different lived experience. The pair's reflections touch on topics including self-worth, sponsorship, supportive networks and silence as a privilege in and of itself. Tune in for an actionable look back at some of the powerful and inspirational conversations from season 1.

This week, we chatted with Mohit Rajhans, one of the first South Asians working in mainstream media in Toronto. His curiosity about the lack of diversity in media when he was coming up in his career led him down a path that included Bollywood coverage, red carpet reporting and ultimately, morning news. But living in this duality between diaspora and mainstream media gave Mohit a first-hand view of the blind spots in the industry and Canada as a whole. Mohit shares insightful advice on how leaders need to understand the deep value of true representation, so they are building inclusive foundations and not resorting to tokenism and fake facades.

This week, we unlearned all the advice about steering clear of politics and religion. Our guest, Toronto City Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, is modelling true allyship in the way she advocates for her constituents' diverse needs. In this humbling conversation, Councillor Wong-Tam talks about the need for more smart, progressive women, especially those who are racialized and differently abled in the government. She shares her own inspiring journey into political office and how running for office is the most physically and spiritually challenging experience she has been through. It's a version of government we don't see often – the singular human experience. If we have more leaders like her in this city, we are in good hands. Lots to unpack in this incredible episode.

This week, we are joined by Leo Nupolu Johnson – internationally acclaimed human rights activist, social entrepreneur, and Executive Director of global charitable organization Empowerment Squared. In this awe-inspiring and humbling conversation, Leo covers serious ground on the incredible power of lived experience and the need for marginalized communities to fight injustice with one hand and build systems with the other. Leo urges corporate leaders to put a deservedly high value on the knowledge and participation of the BIPOC community around matters related to creating equity. This episode will give you chills and leave you inspired.

Stacy Lee Kong – writer, editor and creator of one of our favourite newsletters, Friday Things - joins us for a serious conversation layered under a really fun conversation. As a racialized woman in journalism, Stacy shares how she has turned some of the fatigue around race-related conversations into pop culture reporting with a cerebral twist. She delves deep into the stories beneath the latest celebrity scandals, with takeaways that are accessible to most. In this episode, she gives us the goods on two very different Meghans: Markle and McCain. Great takeaways on representation, lived experience and seizing the narrative.

In episode 5 of ABCDEI, Gail Strachan – culture strategist, co-Founder and co-chair of the first-ever Antiracism in PR summit and all-around inspiring advocate - is in the studio! Gail's journey of wokeness began as curiosity about Black history in high school and became confusion, hurt and anger. As a social justice advocate, Gail states that skirting around the topic of race is stifling our progress towards inclusion and equity. The trio discuss the foundation of disproportionate power structures holding BIPOC and break down the meritocracy myth once and for all.

Celebrity alert! In episode 4 of ABCDEI, actor-director Ali Kazmi joins Susan and Rohini to chat about the challenge of tackling the intersectionality of homosexuality and South Asian culture in Funny Boy, Canada's Oscar entry this year. He also shares his candid views on typecasting in the entertainment business, the importance of allyship within marginalized communities and the need for more fulsome roles for BIPOC talent. The trio also talked about what Kim's Convenience did in terms of representation of Korean, Canadian and immigrant identities.

About Ali

Ali is a trained multilingual, multifaceted and experienced, professional creative powerhouse of an Actor/Director & Producer. He was born in Karachi, Pakistan and he now lives in Toronto, Canada where he went to Film School and Drama school and started his career again from scratch. Hailing from a family of Creative juggernauts, he has been working successfully both on and off camera, in the industry in Pakistan, India, Canada & USA for 17 years in the creative fields of theater, television & film. Working on projects from conception to completion is his strong suit. Ali has a penchant for languages and can speak English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Persian, Pashto/Dari, French(basic) and Arabic.

Instagram: @thealikazmiTwitter: @thealikazmiFacebook: Ali Kazmi

In the last episode of the launch-time binge, Susan and Rohini tackle another topic that has a lot of baggage, especially in the South Asian community. And that is mental health. Susan shares her journey to getting comfortable with the subject. The last year has taught us many things, but a deeper appreciation for mental health is the silver lining we're choosing to focus on.

The hosts also share their take on the #MeghanandHarryonOprah interview with some learnings that anyone – manager, entrepreneur or political leader – can apply in their own lives.

In this episode, Susan and Rohini get real about an important and uncomfortable topic: conflict. Is conflict always bad? No. Is it inevitable in the process of creating systemic change? Yes.

Getting comfortable with confrontation can come more naturally when you're taking on someone else's cause, but advocating for yourself can be hard. But fight the good fight we must, if equity is the ultimate goal. In this episode, Susan and Rohini talk about the three types of racism and what we can – all – do better when confronted with them.