Teen Vogue Editor on Brown Women Power Editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue Versha Sharma talks about the power of brown women in fashion and elsewhere. She focuses on covering social justice, culture, fashion and politics through the lens of young people. She also talks about the surge of incredible South Asian Americans creatives in the US. […]
S5 E3: Versha Sharma – Fashionable & Feminist Read More »
Music icon on spirituality & sensuality Raveena Aurora is a massive music star & the first woman of Indian descent to play at Coachella. And she’s on Masala Podcast! A gorgeous mix of music, spirituality & sensuality, Raveena talks about the barriers of being a brown woman in the music business. Her genre-bending style mixes
S5 E2: Raveena Aurora: Music Spirituality Sensuality Read More »
Being a Queer South Asian American Season 5 of the multi-award-winning Masala Podcast is a USA Special. Our first episode features the trailblazing sex educator, sexual health expert and advocate Dr. Varuna Srinivasan. Listen for a thought-provoking journey as we dive into the heart of sexual orientation, identity, and LGBTQ+ rights with Varuna. Varuna’s story
S5 E1: Dr Varuna Srinivasan – Being Bisexual Read More »
Recorded at UC Berkeley California on campus “Being Sri Lankan in America is to unapologetically claim my space as a South Asian…” The final episode of Season Two is a special that was recorded, on campus, at UC Berkeley, California interviewing young South Asian American womxn about their experiences. I talked to Sitara Bellam, Emma
S2 E10: Being American & South Asian Read More »
With Ram Devineni & Dipti Mehta “An ordinary salwar-kameez clad young woman fights sex trafficking…” In this episode, I talk with Ram Devineni & Dipti Mehta, who are the creators of the Priya Shakti comic book – which has made the topic of sex trafficking really accessible to younger people. Their project was named “Gender
S2 E9: Sex Trafficking Read More »
With Susmita Bhattacharya “My daughter asked if she could choose my wig after chemo…” In this episode, I speak with Susmita Bhattacharya. She’s an award-winning author with many books to her credit. Her debut novel, The Normal State of Mind, was longlisted for the Mumbai Film Festival prize, Word to Screen. Her short story collection,
With Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan & Mina K “Three-quarters of women with HIV in the UK are BAME…” In episode seven, I talk to Dr Rageshri Dhairyawan, an NHS Consultant who’s also a Sexual Health & HIV activist, working primarily among South Asian womxn. Many of whom have contracted the virus through their husbands, but are
With Madhu Kapoor “I had night sweats, hot flushes, itchy skin, insomnia, tingling on my skin…” In this episode, I talk with Madhu Kapoor, Founder, M for Menopause who went through a difficult journey through menopause. She found no literature or support when she was struggling. And is now on a mission to get South
With Leesa Gazi “Women are taught to carry shame & honour for their families.” In this episode, I speak with Leesa Gazi, the director of a critically acclaimed and highly impactful film about survivors of rape in Bangladesh during the war, who are now in their 70’s and 80s. Leesa stayed with the women, connected
S2 E5: Rape and the Stigma Read More »
With Sahara Knite “My mum found out that I was a Porn Star!” This episode features an interview with the South Asian porn star Sahara Knite. We explore attitudes towards porn & sex among South Asians, and talk about very South Asian fetishes. We talk about Sahara’s family and their responses to her work. Sangeeta
With Salma-El-Wardany “This idea of not belonging anywhere is one of the sadnesses of my life.” In this episode, I speak with writer, poet, speaker and BBC radio presenter Salma El-Wardany speaks about juggling multiple identities & looking for belonging within those identities. She speaks about her South Asian side and how her ‘Desi’ identity
With Seema Hari “I was depressed & suicidal because of how I was treated because of my skin colour.” In this episode, I speak with Seema Hari, who is a model, a Software Engineer and a powerful activist fighting colourism. Seema talks about growing up as a dark-skinned Indian girl and the awful way she
