That's So Hindu

By Hindu American FoundationSociety & Culture Religion & Spirituality Hinduism

That's So Hindu episodes

October 09, 2025 What Hindu Americans need to know about immigration today
In this episode HAF Legal Director Needhy Shah speaks with immigration attorney Akanksha Kalra. They have a wide ranging discussion on immigration issues particularly applicable to the Indian American and Hindu American community, what is changing under the Trump Administration, what laws that have existed for some time but are being more strictly enforced, issues regarding asylum claims, Indians arriving without documentation at the southern border, and more.

NOTE: This episode was recorded just prior to the proclamation of September 19th on changes to the H-1B program, so other than a brief mention that is not addressed. Once we have greater clarity on those changes, what parts of President Trump’s proclamation actually go into effect, for example, we will revisit that if it seems needed.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 16 min
September 25, 2025 How does the HAF team celebrate Navratri?
For this episode we have something a bit different for you. It’s a special episode for Navratri, originally published in 2023. We've interviewed several members of our extended HAF team as well as members of the Hindu American community about how they celebrate Navratri today, what they remember about the holiday growing up, and how their understanding of it has changed over the years. What you’ll hear are excepts from longer interviews our staff writer Syama Allard did with each person.

Here are the full versions of some of these interviews, as well as some interviews that didn't make it into the episode.

https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-bhutanese-refugee-bhuwan-pyakurel
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-samir-kalra
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-iskcon-communications-director-anuttama-das
https://www.hinduamerican.org/blog/on-celebrating-navaratri-and-dussehra-through-the-lens-of-hindu-american-kavita-pallod
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
September 11, 2025 Setting the record straight about the craziest things people say about HAF
For the Hindu American Foundation’s organizational birthday, coming up later this month, Mat McDermott, Suhag Shukla, Samir Kalra, and Raj Rao sat down to discuss and debunk some of the craziest things activists and adversaries say HAF does, believes, and sets out to do. Is HAF funding genocide in India? Are we trying to hide the Nazi origins of Hindutva? Fighting to preserve the right of Hindus to discriminate based on caste? Pinkwashing our Hindu supremacy? Working for the Government of India? Hating Sikhs and Catholics? No, no, no, no, no, and no.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 7 min
August 28, 2025 How was Indian society historically organized? Hint: It wasn't caste.
Devala Rees is back with us this week for another informative, enlightening and hopefully entertaining discussion. This week we’re talking about how ancient Indian society organized itself, with the subtitle of “Hint: It wasn’t caste”. The different social groups that were traditionally used, and how these morphed into something else entirely once British administrators in the 19th century decided they wanted to try understand the people they ruled in India, and how this has implications today both in India and the diaspora. This is a must listen episode for, well, everyone Hindu and non-Hindu alike.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min
August 14, 2025 How many Hindu Dharma Traditions are there?
This week we’ve got another special episode with HAF’s Devala Rees. This time we’re talking about why HAF has been using the term Hindu Dharma Traditions wherever it makes sense, rather than Hinduism. Plus how many different traditions there are under that banner, their similarities, differences, and how they relate to other dharma traditions.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
29 min
July 31, 2025 A dharmic investing take on Bitcoin | Easan Katir
In this episode we speak with HAF’s own Easan Katir about cryptocurrency and Bitcoin investing from a dharmic perspective, plus AI, the energy demands of both of those, and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32 min
July 17, 2025 Hindu at Heart: Naren K. Schreiner, Purohit
In this episode, part of the Hindu at Heart series, Indu Viswanathan speaks with Naren K Schreiner, one of the purohits at the Kali Mandir in Laguna Beach, California. They discuss his background and entering into Hinduism, the similarities between practices of Hindu Dharma and Native traditions in what’s now the United States and Mexico, the nuances of the idea of religious tolerance, the importance and inclusivity of the opening of the new Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, the importance of gurus, and much much more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 30 min
July 03, 2025 What’s going on in Bangladesh today? | Ahnaf Kalam
In this episode Samir Kalra speaks with Ahnaf Kalam, from the Middle East Forum. They talk about so-called Red Green Alliance between Islamists and Progressives, how Woke Right figures have started to side with Pakistan over India and Islamists groups in Bangladesh, how Mohammed Yunus is handling extremism in Bangladesh, how the Bangladeshi diaspora in the US view the situation there, and more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
57 min
June 20, 2025 International Yoga Day Special: Swami Sarvapriyanda on the four paths of yoga
In this episode, Sheetal Shah has a wide ranging conversation with Swami Sarvapriyananda, from the Vedanta Society of New York, about the four traditional limbs of yoga (Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Jnana Yoga), how these work together in spiritual seeking, the benefits of Hatha Yoga and asana practice for physical health and how that is key factor in spiritual life, and much more.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 2 min
June 19, 2025 All about the 1985 Air India bombing, one of the biggest intelligence failures of the 20th century | Sanjay Lazar
On the 40th anniversary of the worst act of air terrorism until the 9/11 attacks, the bombing of Air India flight 182 on June 23rd, 1985, Samir Kalra speaks with Sanjay Lazar, who lost his entire family in the bombing. They have a wide ranging conversation about the intelligence failures that allowed the bombing to happen, the struggle to this for bringing the Khalistani terrorist to justice, how the Khalistan movement is not supported by the majority of the Sikh community, and allegations of transnational repression leveled at India.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
57 min

About That's So Hindu

From the publisher's feed

The podcast that interviews entrepreneurs and activists, politicians and professors, journalists, entertainers, spiritual teachers, and more on how Hinduism shapes their work and lives. All American.…