Unapologetically U.S.

In this episode, Dr. Meera Murthi process her status as Brahmin (an upper caste group) in India and being South Asian in the U.S. A compassionate, reflective soul she discusses the work of deconstructing her privilege in service of the greater good--Love.

What do you do when you are raised in two cultures and you are looking for love? In this episode, we discuss finding love as a transnational, second-generation American,

In this episode, Kwesi, co-owner of a local African restaurant reflects on his identity journey. Kwesi discusses learning to find himself and becoming secure in his Africanness while being an American.

We have heard it said, "If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far go together" In this episode, Dr. Banjo talks to Chief Ife Bell the Zosimli Naa of the Kingdom of Dagbo in Ghana, born in the United States. Listen to her story of finding her roots, discovering her purpose, and developing communities!

In this episode, Sina Safayi shares his experience as an immigrant from Iran and his personal success in the U.S. A champion for education, reminds us that we are country of countries, a culture of cultures, and he shares how the success of a nation is largely based on immigrant labor and professional pursuits.

In this episode, I chat with Carol Tonge, author and founder of End Polite Silence. We discuss the importance of staying rooted while branching out to explore new worlds and the importance of our root systems on how see ourselves and where we see our future.

In this episode, Rebecca Snyder shares about her experience being an Adopted Chinese-American. Making sense of being Chinese in a White family, feeling disconnected from China, and at times feeling othered in America.

I got to chat a little more with Dr. Zainab Okolo about managing boundaries as a second-gen while belonging to a collectivistic culture but growing up in an individualistic one.

In this episode, we discuss the tension between growing up in U.S. culture and having a collectivistic ancestral heritage. How do we cope with our identity as individuals, maintaining our psychological well-being, develop relational intimacy, and express boundaries in cultures that might be more enmeshed, hierarchical, or authoritative? At a certain age, do we listen to our parents or listen to ourselves? Do we sit with our feelings or do we push past them? Our experiences are certainly not generalizable but might resonate.

Foreign-born Americans may learn to assimilate, but their ancestry is in their heart. What considerations are given to raising their children born in America? Jin and Hyeri discuss their assimilation experience and their journey raising second-generation children as Asian-Americans. We also discuss how they process and teach their children about racism,  anti-Asian sentiments and tensions between Black and Asian communities in the U.S.