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★★★★★

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Lahari Rao is a quirky, opinionated, & curious gal who vowed on her 18th birthday, that her Indian-American confusion would be fixed in her adulthood if she pretended she was a brown Carrie Bradshaw. Instead, Lahari found herself in the following situations: negotiating with her dad the number of years she could date on her own before he put her profile in a Telugu marriage bureau site; being the only South Asian person in a 700-person cereal factory in rural Georgia; and frantically pulling beach towels to cover her body to avoid getting ‘even darker' while her friends embraced the sun. When she wanted to talk about being South Asian socially, she was met with a lot of enthusiasm about butter chicken, arranged marriage, and Slumdog Millionaire (“Jai Ho!”) At 30, she decided enough was enough—she would awaken from her denial, embrace her identity, and dive deeper in its psychology, and how to heal oneself to show up better for sister communities. Now, on this podcast, Lahari talks with every day, badass brown women and allies, about topics that were often avoided. Here is a community obsessed with the question: What would life look like if we freed ourselves from the pressures of pressures and stigmas, to be our best, truest selves?

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Check latest episodes from Down to Brown podcast

Gun violence survivor Nirmitha Iyangar on why South Asians should act on gun control, intersectionalities with gender-based violence, and our community’s relationship with trauma

2023/03/27

In the final episode of Down to Brown, Lahari talks to Nirmitha Iyangar, apparel designer, mother, and gun violence survivor. Nirmitha is a long-time Down to Brown listener, and when talking to Lahari, realized it was time to tell her story. Together, Lahari and Nirmitha talk about the harrowing incident; ways South Asians can take action with gun control and why we should care; how gun violence intersects with gender-based violence in our communities; and our community's journey with trauma. You can get more involved in the fight towards gun control here: https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/take-action/volunteer/https://giffords.org/take-action/https://www.everytown.org/https://www.bradyunited.org/https://wearorange.org/about/

Who's responsible, the consumer or seller? Jigisha of Ji Clothing and Living on consumer behavior, responsible cultural appreciation, downstream consumer impact to craftsmen and more

2023/03/09

Lahari talks to Jigisha, founder of Ji Clothing and Living about our responsibility as consumers, especially in the context of the interiors and textiles space. We unpack the "trendiness" of purchasing local artisan-made work, how our behavior impacts craftsmen from countries outside the US, the "savior complex" of purchasing goods, and how we can be adapt to be more fair and equitable consumers.

"VC you, women of color": Victoria Kennedy & Isabelle Seale believe the new unicorns are companies by women of color; the importance of investing in them, unpacking generational wealth, access to financial literacy, and more

2023/03/01

Lahari talks to Victoria Kennedy and Isabelle Seale, who are product and design leaders turned investors who set early stage companies up for long term success. Their VC, Seed to Harvest, believes companies built by and for women of color (WOC) are the new unicorns. We talk about the basics of the VC world, exploring generational wealth as it impacts WOC, and access to financial literacy. Learn more about them on their website https://www.seedtoharvestvs.com/ This episode was sponsored by Brooklyn Delhi, use code LAHARI10 at checkout for 10% off!

The Spare of the Royal Family, an Heir to privilege, racism, & colonization: UK-Desi Mitali Dargani & US-Desi Lahari Rao review Prince Harry's new book

2023/02/16

Host meets host! Host of Down to Brown, Lahari Rao chats with Mitali Dargani, host of London-based Brown Game Strong, to review Prince Harry's book, Spare. They examine how Prince Harry, a man who is building a global platform to vouch for racial equity and media toxicity, delivered his value proposition in his book. We approach it from a lens of 2 women who's ethnic and nationalities fuse India, British, Spanish, and American identities. We ask universal questions around intentionality, family trauma/patterns, forging your own path, global history, etc.

Don't let the cultural "taboo" fool you - menstrual health is women's health and Gita Vellanki's solution for women through Neeshi

2023/02/09

Gita Vellanki is the founder and CEO of Neeshi. Working with medical experts and doctors, Neeshi uses natural superfoods at the right ratio can help you balance your hormones naturally to result in no heavy periods & ridding cramps naturally. Lahari Rao asks Gita how her upbringing and identity brought her to this path of helping women live healthier lives, common stories she hears, and how menstrual health and health are the same.

Janani Ramachandran, Councilmember Oakland District 4 on political activism, recognizing privilege & using global perspective to drive participation in our local activities

2023/01/26

Janani Ramachandran is City Councilmember for Oakland, district 4. She is the youngest member to be sworn into this position in Oakland, as well as the first South Asian and queer woman of color. Janani talks to host Lahari Rao about how her global upbringing between India and the US informed her perspective to take action locally. As someone who strives to be the voice for the voiceless, Janani has exposure to the trials that face both countries, and shares her thoughts on how South Asians can become more involved and why it is so important. Show notes: (1) California’s 2022-2023 Asian population (2) California legislature LGBTQ+ representation (3) Gun violence in America 2022

Can we do better in 2023, than 2022 did for feminism, Lahari Rao asks

2023/01/12

Host of Down to Brown, Lahari Rao, returns after 5 months to address her thoughts on 2022 and what it meant for women and women of color - that it blew. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade and trends that women saw in business, media, and politics...she thinks we can do better in 2023. Lahari talks about a Down to Brown 2023 that focuses on women coming together to find their true voices and selves - whether it's their bodies, minds, or spirits.

We need to talk about domestic abuse + violence in South Asian communities (Kavita Mehra of Sakhi, Gayle Paul MFT)

2022/07/28

[TRIGGER WARNING ]In the wake of Sania Khan's tragic murder, Lahari Rao, host of Down to Brown focuses on domestic violence and abuse, and its silent prominence within the South Asian community. In the first 40 minutes, she talks to psychologist Gayle Paul, MFT, to understand the psyche of domestic abuse situations and how the victim experiences it. They cover ways to safely support a friend or loved one going through this. https://gaylepaul.com Next, she speaks with Kavita Mehra, executive director of Sakhi, to dive into why domestic abuse and violence IS truly a South Asian problem, and why our community needs to participate in broader conversations around gun violence in the US. Sakhi is committed to serving survivors through a combination of efforts including—but not limited to—direct services, advocacy and organizing, technical assistance, and community outreach. (https://www.sakhi.org). Follow Down to Brown on IG @downtobrown_

The Mainstream Rise of Ayurveda, Is it Here to Stay? (Lisa Mattam, Sahajan)

2022/07/08

What exactly is Ayurveda? Who has the right to practice it? Teach it? Lahari Rao talks to CEO and founder of Sahajan, Lisa Mattam. Lisa shares what she knows about Ayurveda, how she founded Sahajan, and her journey to celebrate this South Asian wellness practice on a global stage. They also get into the potential risks of popularizing Ayurveda, and "who" is truly an expert in it. You won't want to miss this conversation!

Sex. Let's get real about it, Brown sisters (Sonalee Rashatwar)

2022/04/28

Down to Brown host Lahari Rao talks to the fabulous, superfat queer bisexual non-binary sex therapist Sonalee Rashatwar (they/he) !! They cover fatphobia, sexual trauma that exists in South Asian communities, what colonization has to do with the way we feel about bodies and sex, gender and sexual fluidity, how some people love sex and others are meh…aka everything! This episode we replace the chup chup rapid fire round to ask audience submitted questions at the end. Listen and follow Down to Brown on IG @downtobrown_

Pregnancy loss, joy, & peace (Namrata Rohack)

2022/03/23

Lahari reflects on what she's learned and unlearned about the podcast's intention and impact. Tune in at 07:00:00 to meet Namrata Rohack, our special guest today. Namrata lives in Jacksonville, FL with her husband and two cats. As she went through her journey to become pregnant, she learned so much about herself. She learned what mattered to her, how not to be a people pleaser and find joy in her life. Through her journey of becoming pregnant, she realized she wanted to help women who have been in her position (trying to get pregnant, loss of a pregnancy, and pregnancy after loss) and created her company Tranquil Lotus Yoga. Through her company, she uses Yoga tools to help people bring some peace to their life. Follow @downtobrown_ on Instagram!

Lionsgate first ever Inclusive Marketing team: Does Hollywood * really * care about inclusion? (Kamala Avila-Salmon and Mana Yamaguchi)

2022/03/01

Kamala Avila-Salmon is the first ever Head of Inclusive Content for Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Kamala and Mana Yamaguchi, VP for Inclusive Marketing and Business Strategy for the same team, join Lahari it talk about what their team at Lionsgate is doing to address the gaps between authentic and inclusive storytelling in movies. We ask tough questions: does Hollywood really care about POC storylines? Should we "just be happy" with tokenized representation? What does it mean to show a full story about a character? How will we talk about multiracial stories one day? Join us to hear all the wisdom from Kamala and Mana, and don't miss our blast of a rapid fire round (Chup Chup round) at the end! Follow the podcast on IG @downtobrown_

Podcast reviews

Read Down to Brown podcast reviews

5 out of 5

14 reviews

★★★★★

Dr. D Coaches to Success 2023/04/06

This podcast is impactful and worth listening to!

What a great range of topics. I love how inclusive the show is and how the goal is to honor all aspects of being an American Desi in the most compassi...

★★★★★

Mvkmvkmvk2110 2022/05/30

Love it!

Great podcast, smart host who I like listening to

★★★★★

sapana kulkarni 2021/04/09

So relatable!

I love this podcast— as an Indian American, I find the story telling and information so on point!

★★★★★

StevieL89 2021/03/02

Honest, open, and funny

I love Down to Brown! It’s a really thoughtful look into so many different aspects of our society I’d never really thought about. Highly recommend if ...

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