Radio Inquilab

Rupande speaks with Kirthi Jayakumar, founder of Gender Security Project, about her reasons for getting involved in this work, how her past has shaped her outlook towards healing justice and the forms of work GSP undertakes. They discuss how the justice system needs to evolve from incarceration and retributive justice to healing justice for all.

Kirthi discusses her paper: Redrawing the Galtung Triangle - Finding Place for Healing Trauma in Peace Work, and specifically talks about the idea of how trauma is not only limited to people but also extends to countries, citing the example of the Holocaust and by extension, unhealed trauma, leading to the conflict and land grab in Palestine by Israel.

Resources Recommended:

1. Gender Security Project: https://www.gendersecurityproject.com/
2. Instagram posts, blogs, any book on decolonization
3. Kalpvraksh Podcast

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, the owner of Kitchen Curandera. They talk about her work, what it means to be a curandera and the healing power of plants. Rupande asks Felicia about her book, Earth Medicines and how we can all start small by incorporating meaningful doses of ancestral wisdom in our daily lives.

They talk about corn, how the sacred plant came to be vilified by colonialists and today is causing more harm than good. Felicia offers her thoughts on how being aware of where we source our food from/grow it ourselves/practice ancestral acts it is a good way to re-indigenize/decolonialize our lives.

To learn more about Felicia, visit her website: https://www.kitchencurandera.com/ or follow her on Instagram @feliciacocotzin.

Resources Recommended by Felicia:

1. Check out gardening zones to see what you can plant
2. Visit the library for seed swaps
3. Google search ethnobotany to see how native plants were grown/used

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Vasudha Viswanath, author of The Vegetarian Reset. They talk about Vasudha's journey with food - how despite being a vegetarian all her life, Vasudha was shocked when she received a pre-diabetes diagnosis. That led her to study and research more about the food we eat and how to eat more healthy everyday. They talk about the food movement, how to make healthy substitutions in your diet, train your diet to like new/healthier foods and lead an overall life that encompasses good food, exercise, sleep and a sound being.

For more on Vasudha, please visit her website: www.v8well.com. She can also be found on her Instagram @v8well.

Resources recommended by Vasudha:

1. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
2. Why We Get Sick: The Hidden Epidemic at the Root of Most Chronic Disease--and How to Fight It by Benjamin Bikman
3. The Vegetarian Reset by Vasudha Viswanath

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Michelle Harris from Colibri Ecological Consulting and Amaroq Weiss from the Center for Biological Diversity about the return of wolves in Tulare County, CA. Michelle and her colleague, Samantha Winiecki-Love, first spotted a gray wolf in Sequoia National Forest in August 2023. Michelle talks about her experience spotting the wolf and her work in Sequoia National Forest restoring the giant sequoias and how climate change is affecting them and the entire ecosystem.

Amaroq Weiss is a Senior Wolf Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity. In this episode, she sheds light on what it means to have wolves return, the kind of impact they will have on the environment, tourism dollars and the potential threats their existence may face. She talks about the history of wolves. legislation enacted to protect them and their future.

Resources Michelle Recommended:

1. Save The Redwoods League Website: savetheredwoods.org
2. Local wildlife chapters/Audubon society/Local nature centers/outdoor groups
3. King Sequoia by William Tweed

Resources Amaroq Recommended:

1. Center for Biological Diversity: biologicaldiversity.org
2. Of Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez
3. Voyageurs Wolf Project

In this episode, Rupande talks to Dr. Sofia Rehman about the beauty of Islam. They talk about the unflinching faith of the Palestinians, strengthened during these trying times, and how so much of the world is turning to Islam to understand its true nature. Sofia sheds light on the meaning of the hijab and what the West gets so terribly wrong about Islam.

Resources suggested by Sofia:

1. The Clear Quran by Dr. Mustafa Khattab or The Qu'ran by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem
2. Mohammed by Martin Lings
3. A Treasury of 'A'ishah by Sofia Rehman 

TW: violence

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Prof. Nahed Habiballah from the Arab American University of Palestine about the current humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Prof. Habiballah gives context on the conflict, including the history of Palestine and how Israel came into existence. They discuss the formation of Hamas and the acute double standards shown by the West while dealing with the violence perpetrated by Israel.

Resources suggested by Prof. Habiballah:

1. The Holocaust & the Nakba: A New Grammar of Trauma & History by Bashir Bashir & Amos Goldberg
2. 100 Years of War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi
3. Justice for Some: Law & the Question of Palestine by Noura Erakat

In this episode, Rupande speaks with Roshni Kavate and Rebecca Servoss, founders of Marigolde to bring warm, nourishing care and support to your grief journey. They talk about the grief crisis enveloping our worlds and how we can better manage it using the Marigolde framework.

You can find Marigolde at: www.wearemarigolde.com or on Instagram @wearemarigolde.

Resources suggested by Roshni and Rebecca:

1. Mango and Gnocchi podcast
2. Marigolde grief journal
3. Grief support groups/peer groups

In this episode, Rupande provides an intro to the podcast and its purpose. She talks about her life, her past experiences, what led her to this path and the type of conversations/interviews Kalpvraksh will be conducting.