Radio – Sarika D. Mehta: Recent Episodes
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Air date: 6/15/2018 **Read the transcript of the feature: CymaSpace Transcript CymaSpace is a non-profit performance venue & technology incubator in Portland, Oregon. The organization is dedicated to making the arts accessible to Deaf… Continue reading →
Air date: 4/30/2018 Read the transcript of the episode: 051618 intersections with Las Cafeteras Las Cafeteras, the Chicano band from LA, and what I like to think of as unapologetic political folk music for… Continue reading →
Air date: 4/30/2018 **Read the transcript of the episode: 051618 intersections with Brenda Rufener Brenda Rufener’s debut YA novel, Where I Live, follows the story of Linden Rose, a clever and witty teenager who… Continue reading →
Nidhi Chanani is a survivor. She survived a traumatic childhood and the loss of her first baby. That doesn’t stop her from finding and celebrating the beautiful, everyday moments. That’s how she created… Continue reading →
Shanthi Sekaran is the author of the novel “Lucky Boy”, about adoption, immigration and motherhood, in Berkeley, CA. Two mothers’ paths cross unexpectedly due to their love for this boy, Ignacio – the lucky… Continue reading →
The last time I spoke with Celeste Ng was for her debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, which won critical acclaim and in fact was featured in one of the first episodes… Continue reading →
Alia Malek is the author of The Home that was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria, in which she she weaves the personal history of her family – particularly her maternal grandmother –… Continue reading →
Back in August, the day before their latest digital album was released, Bomba Estéreostopped by Portland to start their extensive international tour. This new album, Ayo, differs from previous ones with heart-wrenching melodies… Continue reading →
Rene Denfeld won critical acclaim for her first novel, The Enchanted, inspired by her experience as an investigator on death penalty cases. Her second novel, The Child Finder, is the story of missing children:… Continue reading →
Dr. Vanessa Grubbs is one of the rare few black doctors in nephrology (specializing in the kidney) and that’s just the beginning. She recently published a book looking at racial disparities in kidney… Continue reading →
Jonathan Sun is a doctoral student in Urban Studies at MIT – but he’s better known as @jonnysun, the alien character twitter phenomenon with nearly 500,000 followers. Jonny Sun’s profile self-describes as “aliebn… Continue reading →
The Chicago Quarterly Review is a literary anthology that invites aspiring and established writers to submit fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Any writer can tell you the challenges of getting published and the topic… Continue reading →
Did you know that July is the anniversary month of the Americans with Disability Act (1990)? July is also the anniversary month of Intersections Radio (2015)! What better way to celebrate than airing… Continue reading →
Sandhya Menon is the author of the young adult romance novel When Dimple Met Rishi, her debut novel. The story follows two Indian American (Gujarati, in fact!) teenagers from the San Francisco Bay… Continue reading →
Nina Diaz, lead singer of the indie punk rock band, Girl in a Coma has been on tour for her debut solo album, The Beat is Dead. This album tells the story of… Continue reading →
Sometimes I have the opportunity to host badass South Asian artists in studio, and it is always a very good day. It’s one thing we get to take over the airwaves with this,… Continue reading →
Boston-native Jennifer Yu has had quite an eventful year: She published her debut young adult novel, Four Weeks, Five People, just before graduating from college at the University of Pennsylvania. Getting to graduation… Continue reading →
Last month, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and chat with Malian blues guitarist extraordinaire: Vieux Farka Touré. Mali is home to so many outstanding blues and Tuareg artists and Vieux Farka… Continue reading →
Since moving to Los Angeles from her native Guatemala, singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno has achieved remarkable success as a musician. She has been nominated for a Grammy (2017) for her latest album, Ilusión, an Emmy (2010) for… Continue reading →
The last time I talked about the protests at Standing Rock, ND, there was a victory of sorts: the Army Corps of Engineers had denied easement to build the Dakota Access Pipeline… Continue reading →
One of the longest running stories of 2016 was the protest at Standing Rock, ND – to reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline. This protest gathered indigenous communities, environmentalists and allies from all over the… Continue reading →
**This is the second episode in a two-part series that discusses the Deaf community’s complicated relationship with the Justice System. The Deaf community is at a unique intersection of linguistic minority and disability… Continue reading →
**This is the first episode in a two-part series that discusses the Deaf community’s complicated relationship with the Justice System. The Deaf community is at a unique intersection of linguistic minority and disability… Continue reading →
Anat Maytal is the president of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association and an attorney with Baker Hostetler in New York City specializing in Business Litigation. You might recognize her as… Continue reading →
**This is the second episode in a two-part series examining the intersection of sexuality with faith and ethnicity. You can listen to the first episode in the series here. Daayiee Abdullah is a religious and… Continue reading →
**This is the first in a two-part series examining the intersection of sexuality with faith and ethnicity. I first met Sapna Pandya, very briefly, when she officiated my friend’s Deaf, gay, (“big, fat”)… Continue reading →
The disability community comprises of the world’s largest minority. Thanks to the efforts of Alice Wong, Gregg Beratan and Andrew Pulrang, the community has a political voice and base in this national election… Continue reading →
For my podcast, Intersections Radio, I’ve been doing a three-part series on South Asian comic/graphic/cartoon artists who use their talent and artwork for social justice. This is the last in the series: Vishavjit Singh… Continue reading →
For my podcast, Intersections Radio, I’m doing a series on South Asian comic/graphic/cartoon artists who use their talent and artwork for social justice. You can check out the first episode. This is the… Continue reading →
For my podcast, Intersections Radio, I’m doing a series on South Asian comic/graphic/cartoon artists who use their talent and artwork for social justice. This is the first in the series: Gauher Aftab is… Continue reading →
Chaitali Sen is a writer from Austin, TX. Her debut novel, The Pathless Sky, is the story of a couple navigating their relationship through a country’s political turmoil. Although the country is fictional,… Continue reading →
D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor, writer, and comedian. The first time we met was back in 2013 during the Dis/Orient/Ed comedy tour, which features all Asian American trans and female comics. D’Lo… Continue reading →
Nayomi Munaweera is a brilliant author whose writing draws from her life experiences in Sri Lanka, Nigeria and California. The first time I met her, we talked about her debut novel, Island of a… Continue reading →
One of the topics I’ve been exploring on this show is the relationship between police and people of color with disabilities – and the dearth of coverage in the media. For this episode, I… Continue reading →
For International Women’s Day this year, I am showcasing an interview with Virginia Espino: she’s UCLA scholar and Program Coordinator of Latino & Latina Studies and producer of the film, No Más Bebés.… Continue reading →
We’re closing out Black History Month and I wanted to feature another set of superstar Bay Area activists who have invested in recognizing our community’s history as a result of the Civil Rights… Continue reading →
In December of last year, NYPD Officer Peter Liang fatally shot unarmed Akai Gurley in a dark stairwell. Recently, he was indicted by a grand jury and found guilty of second-degree manslaughter. In fact,… Continue reading →
Leroy Moore is a superstar disability justice activist and hip hop artist from the SF Bay Area and also, was a guest on the inaugural episode of Intersections Radio! Since then, he’s published… Continue reading →
Something I love about interviewing authors is learning actual histories of different lands through the power of fiction. I had this opportunity again with author Tanwi Nandini Islam’s debut novel, Bright Lines. Tanwi… Continue reading →
Well it has been an awful year with regard to mass shootings around the US – and we’re not even finished yet. So it is timely that Deepa Iyer’s book, We Too Sing America, was… Continue reading →
People all over the United States are hunger striking for Deaf children’s education at Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. This program has come under scrutiny due to its low Deaf representation in… Continue reading →
Celeste Ng‘s debut novel, Everything I Never Told You, has been making waves! This title won the New York Times Bestseller Book Review Notable Book award for 2014, the Asian American Award for Literature in… Continue reading →
Sara Nović is an impressive writer with a unique perspective on language and writing. She recently graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in Creative Writing and Translation Studies. Her debut novel, Girl… Continue reading →
Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians & Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing racial group in the United States, and have grown to over 220,000 in Oregon. Despite generations of contributions to our economy, culture… Continue reading →
I’ve had the fortune of talking to very cool people about Cuba, including journalist Julia Cooke and inaugural poet Richard Blanco. And I had the opportunity once again thanks to the Artists Repertory… Continue reading →
First things first: Read, listen to and watch everything here for the back story on the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center and Deaf India’s fight to run this establishment. Now that you’ve done… Continue reading →
Deanna Fei is a writer, known for her debut novel, Thread of Sky. In fact, that’s how I came to learn about her in the first place, when she was a guest on APA… Continue reading →
Back in September, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a call to action: Step it Up. In an effort to encourage a health lifestyle, he’s encouraging us to not only be outside walking… Continue reading →
Chicago’s southside neighborhood of Bronzeville has been making waves: a group of parents from the community engaged in a 34 day hunger strike to fight for their neighborhood high school, Walter H. Dyett… Continue reading →
Sonia Faleiro is a journalist and author of 13 Men, which investigates the brutal gang rape of a tribal woman in West Bengal, and the complex political intent involved in the story. She is based out… Continue reading →
Michele Friedner, Medical Anthropologist and author of Valuing Deaf Worlds in Urban India. She’s faculty at the StonyBrook School of Health Technology and Management and an expert in investigating Deaf Communities in India. This… Continue reading →
I happened to visit New Orleans in early August for an Interpreting conference. In fact, I was in New Orleans on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and was… Continue reading →
Parnaz Foroutan is a writer based out of Los Angeles. Her family fled Iran during the Iran-Iraq War and eventually found themselves in Los Angeles. She grew up listening to stories from her… Continue reading →
Cristina Henríquez is a novelist based out of Chicago, originally from Delaware. Her latest novel is The Book of Unknown Americans, which follows the lives of different Latino immigrants residing in the same… Continue reading →
Chaumtoli Huq is a human rights lawyer from New York City and editor of Law at the Margins. Only July 19 of last year, during the month of Ramadan, she and her family… Continue reading →
Chitra Viraraghavan is the author of her debut novel, The Americans. This is the story of Tara, a single Indian woman in her mid-30s who travels to America to look after her teenage niece… Continue reading →
Haben Girma serves as a Skadden Fellowship Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, California. Honored as a White House Champion of Change, and the first Deaf blind graduate of Harvard Law School, Haben… Continue reading →
Lennard J. Davis is a Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences and teaches in the English Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he had also served as the department’s… Continue reading →
Leroy F. Moore Jr. is a Black writer, poet, hip-hop\music lover, community activist and feminist with a physical disability. He has been sharing his perspective on identity, race & disability for the last thirteen… Continue reading →
Rooshey Hasnain is a scholar in the department of Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but her work centers on people with disabilities. As a researcher, educator, and clinical… Continue reading →
Alice Wong, MS, is a Staff Research Associate at the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF. Alice works on various research projects for the Community Living Policy Center, a Rehabilitation Research and… Continue reading →
Two-time Juno award winning modern Indian music singer Kiran Ahluwalia has a new album, Sanata: Stillness. It features lovely songs composed by Kiran with accompanying rhythms by her husband, renowned jazz guitarist, Rez… Continue reading →
The first time I heard folk-rock artist Bhi Bhiman, I was astounded by his vintage quality vocals, his witty lyrics, and I hadn’t even processed his guitar talent yet. What’s incredible is that while… Continue reading →
Portland is a popular theatre city. I’ve even had the pleasure of interviewing some folks at the Artists Repertory Theater for their innovative productions. However, Portland’s demographic makeup is not well-represented in the… Continue reading →
Air date: 4/22/2015: You can read the transcript here: ISLRTCTranscript India’s Deaf Community is fighting for their independence! This is a story that is near and dear to me. The Indian Sign Language Research… Continue reading →
Lately I’ve had the great fortunate of interviewing deaf folks for radio and it has been awesome. Here’s another one to add to the list! I have to admit, when I heard the title El… Continue reading →
Journalist and writer, Sandip Roy, is known for his work at New American Media, Huffington Post and currently, for his Dispatches from Kolkata on KALW. He was born and brought up in India,… Continue reading →
Vijay Iyer is a Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and composer, and 2013 recipient of the MacArthur Foundation’s “genius grant”. He is the leader of the Vijay Iyer Trio with Stephen Crumb and Marcus Gilmore, and their new… Continue reading →
Inaugural poet, Richard Blanco, made waves at President Obama’s second inauguration with his poem, One Today. He was the first immigrant, first Latino, the youngest and the first openly gay poet at the… Continue reading →
I’ve been working with Deaf people for a long time (I’m a sign language interpreter when I’m not at KBOO). It’s a rare event that my radio/journalism world and my Deaf world come… Continue reading →
Nayomi Munaweera was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. At the age of three she immigrated with her family to Nigeria. In 1984, a military coup necessitated a third migration and the family settled… Continue reading →
Actor and writer, Aasif Mandvi, has a strong background in theatre and film, but gained recent fame as “Senior Muslim Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his role in… Continue reading →
Eric Liu served as a speech writer and policy advisor during Bill Clinton’s administration, and is the founder and CEO of Citizen University, which teaches “the art of powerful citizenship”. Based out of… Continue reading →
Atul Gawande is a renowned cancer surgeon and writer, based out of the Boston area. He gained fame for his previous book, The Checklist Manifesto, and recently published The New York Times bestseller,… Continue reading →
I recently saw this impressive UnderArmour ad featuring ballerina, Misty Copeland, which sparked several articles about requirements, assumptions and stereotypes of ballet. This (and my intense love of dance!) inspired me to investigate the… Continue reading →
Comedian John Oliver rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, especially last summer while he took over as the host. He just completed the first season of… Continue reading →
Dmae Roberts in a Peabody-award winning radio documentarian who covers a wealth of issues concerning communities of color, usually specializing in the arts and social justice. With background in journalism and performing arts,… Continue reading →
Portland Public Schools is home to several dual-language programs, including Mandarin, Spanish and Japanese. This year, 2014-2015, is the inaugural year of the Vietnamese Dual-Language program, beginning with the kindergarten class and adding… Continue reading →
With Election Day around the corner and some controversial ballot measures, our local politics got support from some unexpected celebrities: Rick Steves and Jose Antonio Vargas. Rick Steves is the host of Rick… Continue reading →
La Santa Cecilia‘s soulful music mixes cumbia, klezmer, rock (and more!) with politics, a love for Los Angeles, and romance. Their second album, “Treinta Días” won the Grammy for best Latin Rock album and… Continue reading →
A new restaurant has opened in downtown Toronto in which you have to order your food using sign language! Even if you don’t know sign language, there are tutorials all around the restaurant… Continue reading →
New York-based comedian Hari Kondabolu is on tour armed with his album, “Waiting for 2042.” According to census data and obsessed media-outlets, 2042 is the year that white people will be the statistical… Continue reading →
Simon Tam is the founder and bassist of Portland’s very own Chinatown dance rock band, The Slants. The band is beloved worldwide and has even gained recognition from younger audiences, survivors of Japanese internment… Continue reading →
Jean Kwok is the author of two novels, Girl in Translation, and her latest, Mambo in Chinatown. As a child, she and her family immigrated from Hong Kong to New York where she… Continue reading →
Julia Cooke is a Portland-native reporter who now lives in NYC where she teaches Writing, and reports from Mexico and Cuba. Her first book, The Other Side of Paradise: Life in the New… Continue reading →
The Sikh Coalition recently released a report, Go Home Terrorist: A Report on the Bullying of Sikh American School Children. The findings of this report (including staggering statistics such as 67% of turbaned… Continue reading →
Today I had the pleasure of chatting with local author-former Marine-soon to be retired attorney, Michael Pacheco. He is the author of Of Angels, Demons and Chopped Chorizo: A Collection of Cuentos. Born… Continue reading →
Julia Alvarez is one of my favorite writers (my extremely biased perspective), ever since my college years when I discovered her novel, How the García Girls Lost their Accents. Born in New York… Continue reading →
Writer and humanitarian, Ishmael Beah, survived a childhood conscripted as a soldier in his native Sierra Leone. That story is told in his memoir, A Long Way Gone. He recently published his first… Continue reading →
Five years ago this past November, an Ecuadorian undocumented immigrant named Marcelo Lucero was out walking at night with his friend, Angel Loja, in Patchogue, a quiet town outside of Long Island, NY.… Continue reading →
Vanita Gupta, Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU and Director of the ACLU’s Center for Justice, was the invited keynote speaker at this year’s Northwest ACLU conference at Lewis & Clark College back… Continue reading →
Back in October of this year, the city of Astoria celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the Ghadar Party’s origins in their town. The Ghadar Party included the initial revolutionaries involved in the… Continue reading →
While the assumption about South Asian American immigration tends to follow the wave of Punjabi Sikh immigrants in California during the 1920s or the larger wave of Indian immigrants during the 1960s and… Continue reading →
In celebration of the new documentary, Linsanity, which chronicles the life of NBA player, Jeremy Lin, here’s a throwback to a story from last November! This feature was a team-effort by Compassers Liz… Continue reading →
Shazia Siddiqi is a Deaf Pakistani American doctor, born in Texas area and raised in California. Meeting a deaf doctor is not a common experience, so I asked her to share her medical… Continue reading →
Smita Kothari was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. She finished her college degrees in Business and in Education in India, never having had interpreters. Smita moved here two years ago after… Continue reading →
Zara Husain is a Deaf Pakistani American scholar from Columbia University, who divides her time between the east coast and Lahore, Pakistan. She was kind enough to share some stories from her life… Continue reading →
Vidyut Latay is a filmmaker based out of Los Angeles California as well as a Film Consultant with the nonprofit organization, Filmmakers’ Alliance, which supports new filmmakers in achieving their goals. Her short documentary,… Continue reading →
The South Asian American Digital Archive, or SAADA, (whose president, Samip Mallick, was featured on APA Compass a couple years ago) is launching a wonderful new project called “First Days”, asking South Asian… Continue reading →
Khaled Hosseini is the author of The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns and his latest novel, And the Mountains Echoed. He is also a medical doctor and a UN ambassador. His novels… Continue reading →