Voices on the Side

Hasanain is a father, social justice educator, and longtime activist and organizer. I personally have been learning so much from him about the way oppressive systems are impacting all of us regardless of our privileges, where we live, or how we identify.

In this conversation, we talk about whiteness as a construct, the role of propaganda, and why representation is not enough. Hasanain’s ability to show us how all the dots connect is liberatory in an of itself. 

Hasanain reminds us that we must move into and through all the suffering and injustice and build the future that we want to see. We are all meant to be here in this moment — we have work to do. 

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Susanna is a yoga educator, yoga unity activist, founder of the Ignite Institute and co-founder of the Yoke Yoga Social App. She is the author of Embrace Yoga’s Roots, and offers a free chapter of her book linked here.

As an Indian teacher in the West, Susanna is known for her work in decolonizing and embracing the roots of yoga. She reminds us — with much compassion and often levity — that yoga is much more than fancy asana and expensive yoga wear.

Amidst a resounding silence throughout the yoga and wellness community over the last six months and counting, Susanna’s teachings of yoga ethics are a call back to our deepest humanity. In this episode, we talk about the necessity of connecting the dots of white supremacy and imperialism to spaces including the yoga industry. Susanna shares where her work in social justice started, offers insight into the birthplace of yoga, and invites us all to shed our ego and show up for others.

Susanna is a beautiful example of how to continue doing one’s work of passion while also engaging with the world at large. I am so honored to bring you this conversation with the wonderfully wise and ever encouraging — Susanna.

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Susanna's website

Susanna's viral reel

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Nadia is a Palestinian from the American south. She is a chef and filmmaker and has been an incredibly beautiful and important voice in the name of community healing. I loved hearing about the pride she has always had in her Palestinian heritage and cuisine and her yearly visits back home which served as a sort of detox from Americanism. 

With both of us being yogis, we talk about the difference between “pop” yoga and spirituality versus a soulful practice. Nadia also encourages having difficult conversations with both compassion and sometimes necessary boundaries. 

For Nadia, cooking is a soul retrieval and a way of creating community. I hope these conversations may also be that for you.

Please enjoy this delicious conversation with Nadia.

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Nadia’s cooking website

Nadia’s artist website

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Photographed by Liv

Rohan is a queer/non-binary Black Asian writer, dancer, trumpeter and community organizer in New York City. They founded the Blasian March, a Black-Asian-Blasian grassroots solidarity organization, which has been featured on major networks including CNN, NBC Chicago, USA Today, and WNYC.

We talk about racial assumptions and identity — I especially loved learning about their gender identity being Firebird. As a longtime organizer, Rohan shares their thoughts on how we have been conditioned to view activism as something angry, dangerous, and reactive when to protest is an act of direct democracy. They emphasize the importance of joy-based resistance so that we don’t burn out and give up on the movement for liberation, including showing up for Palestine. 

Rohan shares about their time at PWI — predominantly white institution — and their experience being excluded from both the Black and Asian communities. Through all their traumas and challenges, their joy in self and life simply radiates. 

Please enjoy the luminous — Rohan.

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Rohan’s website

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Zach is a Jewish historian of Palestine who received his Ph.D in Near Eastern Studies from Princeton University. He grew up in a very Jewish and Zionist environment — he was in Jewish youth groups, went to Jewish summer camp, and studied abroad in Jerusalem. Jews are 0.2% of the global population and anti-Zionist Jews an even smaller percentage, so Zach’s perspective and expertise are both unique and urgently needed during this time.

Zach provides ample historical context on Palestine and Israel and points to the fact that for much of history, Jews, Muslims, and Christians lived side by side without problems. We discuss the importance of nomenclature especially when it comes to defining what Palestinian even means. Zach asserts that to want Palestinian liberation is not antisemitic, that we must keep engaging in conversations with those who see things differently, and that the tides are turning. 

I am reminded once again that change takes time — years if not decades, and I derive so much hope from people like Zach who are leading the way in teaching us, even as it means clashing with his own community. 

Learn more from Zach through his Instagram, Palestine Nexus website, and upcoming Palestine-Israel 101 course. 

Please enjoy the scholarly and enlightening — Dr. Zachary Foster.

Juliette is a Korean American neuroscientist, adjunct professor, writer, and CFO/COO of a biotech company called Cambrian. On her socials, she offers uplifting advice and insights related to a variety of topics including communication, health, emotions, and networking. As a woman of color in spaces where representation is typically imbalanced, Juliette encourages us all to tap into our worth and our potential, and she herself is an inspiring example of breaking through boundaries.

I learned a lot in this conversation, especially regarding women’s health and the intersectionality of race, data, and healthcare. True to being a neuroscientist, Juliette emphasizes collecting our own personal data from as early as possible, so that we can understand our own bodies and selves and strive to be as healthy and well as possible. 

The lessons in this episode are analogous to the idea that we must first put on our own oxygen mask if we want to be able to help anyone else. When we ourselves are steady and clear, we will be that much more able to be of service to the collective.

Please enjoy the very vibrant — Juliette.

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Juliette’s substack

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Danté is the author of Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle, an award winning writer, an ordained minister, a husband, and a father. Over the last six months, his words have been a beacon of hope and a reminder of our shared humanity. 

We talk about the need to sustain resistance, the way faith can bring out our best and our worst, and the harm that white supremacy causes us all.

Danté’s stories of his family — from his grandparents down through his children — are so beautiful and full of love. He reminds us that it is ultimately about lifting each other up.

I find it magical that this conversation with a Reverend comes out during these last few days of Ramadan. 

Please enjoy the most lovingly eloquent — Danté.

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Danté’s Website

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Bianca is a mother, PhD scholar, activist, and author of the forthcoming Unassimilable. She also cohosts her own podcast, linked below.

Bianca’s substack

Good Thunder podcast

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Raj is a husband, father, meditator, and overall life enthusiast. As an advisor and consultant, Raj’s passion for strategy and vision building has allowed him to lead successful strategic initiatives for both profit and non-profit organizations.

In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about what it means to “build a brand,” how meditation helps in parenting, and Raj’s belief that practicing boredom is an essential art. We talk a lot about family — the way we were both raised by resource-constrained immigrant parents, the idea that parents are stewards of their children, and the roots of ancient cultures which are about the collective rather than the individual.

This conversation is a much-needed dose of honesty, wisdom, and encouragement, a reminder to recognize and be humbled by our privileges, and a call to remember that we have agency in the choices that we make. 

Please enjoy this far-from-boring conversation with — Raj.

Raj’s website

Bigger Than Us podcast

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Michelle is a speaker, writer, and activist, and the award-winning author of The Wake Up. Michelle makes me so proud to be a fellow Korean American — I am so inspired by her humanity, her integrity, and her ability to so clearly articulate her thoughts on many big issues.

We talk about the clashing of unmetabolized traumas, the interconnectedness of all social justice causes, and the white supremacist lie that we must all be in competition with each other. She talks about the betrayal she felt when she realized that her lifelong fight for proximity to whiteness was leading her nowhere, and the unexpected, unconditional love she has received since focusing on the work she is now dedicated to. And I love Michelle’s closing thoughts on hope being a discipline.

Please enjoy the ever so clear and sturdy — Michelle.

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Michelle’s Book

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