Explaining to a co-worker how to say your name correctly, or picking your battles and avoiding that awkward conversation altogether. Failing to express your deepest emotions in your mother-tongue because you can't ever seem to tap into that passionate vocabulary when you most yearn to. Being one version of yourself with your co-workers, and a whole different version with your family, with neither group having unfettered access to your true self. We've all performed this balancing act on some level, an act that seems exponentially more convoluted if you are an immigrant.

If you're like us, you've had conversations about this balancing act with your friends and family, people with this shared experience. We created this Balancing Identities mini-series within this season to put some of these conversations on the record.

Over the next few episodes, we'll talk with some of our friends about their relationship with their unique names, we'll talk about our experiences as multilingual adults having to interact with the world through different languages, and we'll explore our experiences as Indians growing up in Zambia.

Check out the trailer for snippets and join us in unpacking these conversations in the upcoming episodes!

As third-culture kids in America, we see life from our lens – a multi-generational journey, each generation gambling on the ultimate dream of reaching the promised land. The promised land, a short list of havens conjured up in our dreams and hopes for future generations. America, England, Australia. In this episode, we explore a first-generation immigrant’s journey to a place that, for many dreamers, is probably not on that shortlist.

Once a travelling salesman, Hrishikesh Rajan followed his dream of starting his own company and has now found a home for his beautiful family in Sweden. We pick his brain as he reflects on his life in India, the various factors in his decision to move out, and embracing the Swedish Dream.  Comparing our own experiences as Indo-Zambian immigrants in America, we found it intriguing how he balances his identity as an Indian and Swedish citizen, and how he is translating this new hyphenated identity to his children.

Join us in unpacking this immigrant story, a story that some of you will hopefully resonate with.

Death. COVID wedding. New “normal”. Car crash.

We are back from our summer break, one that was filled with ups and downs, jubilation and sorrow, congratulations and condolences.

Before getting back to business as usual, we take some time to reflect on our summer. Join us as we unpack the emotional rollercoaster of the past few weeks.

In today’s fast-paced society, it is so easy to get drawn from one moment into the next without time to look back. We have both considered different ways to hit pause, different ways to take a step back and look at some of our joyful and traumatic memories along our journey.

We wanted to take this opportunity to document some of our cherished memories before they get too blurry. Particularly, those memories most impactful to the trajectory of our lives. From those that define us as immigrants to those that define us as more than just that. This episode is an effort to compile and unpack some of these significant memories.

We take a break on the mountain and take in the view. With an uncertain journey still ahead of us, we reflect on our intergenerational family immigration narrative. We discuss the conversations we had with our parents and how their journeys are intricately woven into ours. With a better understanding of our family's meandering and complicated path thus far, where does this path take us from here?

This episode is part of a mini-series where we dig deep to better understand our personal and family immigration stories.

Join us in unpacking these intimate personal stories, stories that some of you will hopefully resonate with.

In the third episode of our Family Immigration Stories mini-series, we share our story of growing up in Zambia, the consequential decision to move out, and the struggles and opportunities we experienced in the US. From our first impressions of college life and finding the right group of friends, to the constant indefinite state of our immigration status, we unpack our differing experiences and perspectives.

This episode is part of a mini-series where we dig deep to better understand our personal and family immigration stories.

Join us in unpacking these intimate personal stories, stories that some of you will hopefully resonate with.

In the second episode of our Family Immigration Stories mini-series, we talk to Raksha's dad, Rajagopalan Srinivasan, about his story. We pick his brain as he reflects on his childhood in Chennai, the various factors in his decision to move from one place to the next, seeking the next big adventure. A lifelong adventure taking him from Chennai to Indore, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, and finally, Lusaka.

This episode is part of a mini-series where we dig deep to better understand our personal and family immigration stories.

Join us in unpacking this intimate family story, a story that some of you will hopefully resonate with.

This episode is the first in our mini-series where we dig deep to better understand our personal and family immigration stories.

In this episode, we talk to Bharat's mom, Sukanya Natarajan, about her story. We have a candid conversation about her childhood in India, marrying into a new family, making the decision to emigrate to Zambia, and all the joys and challenges along that journey.

Join us in unpacking this intimate family story, a story that some of you will hopefully resonate with.

One of our motivations to start this podcast was to explore our families' immigration stories. We wanted to spend some time to better understand how our parents grew up, why they left home and what their challenges were along the way. We put together a mini-series within this season focusing on our family immigration narrative. Over the next few episodes, we'll have conversations with our parents about their journey, talk about our personal stories moving out of Zambia and coming to the US, and reflect on how these narratives weave in together.

Check out the trailer for snippets and join us in unpacking these conversations in the upcoming episodes!

The whole world turned upside down in 2020. The COVID-19 Pandemic changed all our lives and forced us to adjust to a "new normal". We take some time to reflect on the past year of the pandemic. Where were we when we first heard about the lockdowns? How did we deal with the isolation? What steps did we try to take to overcome the multitude of challenges? Join us as we unpack the crazy COVID year we've all been through.