By The Jilted Indian Podcast
We recorded this in the second week of January but safe to say now, it didn’t take long for 2020 to suck. Still, we jilted Indians power through by talking about what we want to focus on doing in 2020, along with lifting up the brown people in politics we are hella excited about. It isn’t all rainbows, we had to throw out about 20 minutes of rants and make concise our shade tree segment.
Listen to Season 3, Bonus Episode 5 Here:
Show Notes Here:
It’s a new decade…and the same dumpster fires from 2019 followed.
- Crying at work? Check.
- Full Moon? Check.
- Potential War? Double Check.
Doing something different this time and putting the good stuff up front in the show notes since the current events stuff is at the very least, a downer.
BROWN PEOPLE ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE
This is a couple of years old, but it shows when the trend was noted since the 2018 mid-terms. Wonder what inspired it? Hey speaking of, are you registered to vote? Check your status at vote.org
Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui is currently serving her second term on the Cambridge City Council, and first as Mayor of Cambridge. Mayor Siddiqui immigrated to the United States from Karachi, Pakistan at the age of two, along with her parents and twin brother.
Lulu Seikaly is running a campaign focused on women’s rights, access affordable healthcare, and curbing gun violence.
Sri Preston Kulkarni, formerly of the Foreign Service, is running for Congress in Texas in TX-22. There are 18 candidates vying for the republican nominee (incumbent Pete Olson is retiring), making TX-22 a toss-up district in 2020.
BROWN ART TO CONSUME IN 2020
Mira Royal Detective the first Disney Junior animated series featuring Indian customs and characters; and it is a who’s who of Desi actors
Hannah Simone is sold her father – daughter comedy pilot. Per her social media, Hannah wrote and directed her project.
Sarayu Blue (neé Rao) is now a detective on “Medical Police” and both “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” sequels.
Dev Patel is the titular “David Copperfield” in Armando Iannucci’s color-blind adaptation. Puja regrets the outloud aggressive lusting of Dev Patel in the past, but at the same time doesn’t guarantee it won’t happen again.
Hasan Minhaj schooling people on properly pronouncing names all names
Raveena Aurora– is a desi soul singer and you have to check out her tiny desk concert
The reboot of “Party of Five” on free-form focuses on a Latinx family who lost their parents via deportation/immigration removal feedback has been good.
Mindy Kaling been up to some things a Netflix , her new series drops in 2020. Check out her actors on actors (for Variety) with Constance Wu.
As Kumail Nanjiani and his abs are prepping for Marvel’s “Eternals” his other project is a rom-com with Issa Rae:
ANJU’S BOOK LIST
Anju read the most out of all the jilted indians in 2019, here is her booklist
1. In The Stacks – Scott Lynch (novella)
2. Leviathan Wakes– James S. A. Corey
3. Kaleidoscope– Kristen Ashley
4. Nimona– Noelle Stevenson (graphic novel)
5. Riverbend Road– RaeAnne Thayne
6. Snowfall On Havenpoint– RaeAnne Thayne
7. Monstress Vol. 3 – Marjorie Liu (graphic novel)
8. Wolves And Daggers – Melanie Karsak
9. Agatha H. & The Airship City– Phil & Kaja Foglio
10. Good Time CowboyGood Time Cowboy– Maisey Yates
11. Hard Riding Cowboy– Maisey Yates (novella)
12. Everly – Kay P. Dawson
13. Snowed In With The Cowboy – Maisey Yates
14. Some Girls Lie– Amy Andrews
15. The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern
16. The Little Village Of Happiness – Holly Martin
17. Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows – Balli Kaur Jaswal
18. Mark– Irish Winters
And hard transition to current events…
POLITICS AND WORLD EVENTS
Yeah – the very stable genius did a very unstable and stupid thing…and ordered the killing of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The national security team has been described as aggressive and ineffective at curbing the President.
Turns out enough, a slim margin of Americans obtusely believe they are world policy experts in this recent ABC poll, and approve this killing. The conflict led to Iran downing a commercial air flight, Ukraine Flight 752. And since recording the pod, possible retaliation against the CIA chief who planned the mission:
This is a concern because it is an election year, and Presidents who ride the patriotism and times of crisis during war usually get re-elected https://medium.com/@wsonn/no-u-s-president-has-ever-blown-re-election-during-wartime-7648e5413638 no for real http://www.theprogressiveprofessor.com/?p=19187
And here at the borders of America, CBP and ICE are detaining Iranians https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/01/07/customs-and-border-patrol-deny-reports-detained-iranian-americans/2830330001/ and https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/27/us/michigan-iranian-student-detained/index.html
The rightward swing of world politics https://theweek.com/articles/804453/why-are-rightwing-populists-winning-everywhere has led to some regressive anti-immigration / nationalism in European Countries.
CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
That dumpster fire referenced above is Literal Fire – Australia is on fire.
Yes, the Koalas, and other species of animal population have been devastated.
- https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2020-01-14/australia-fires-killed-millions-of-animals-kangaroo-island
- http://theconversation.com/fire-almost-wiped-out-rare-species-in-the-australian-alps-feral-horses-are-finishing-the-job-130584
Don’t worry, some pre-historic trees were saved though (they outlived the dinosaurs)
NASA shows the global effects of climate change. What does this all mean? Climate refugees and decreasing resources on a very populous earth = the new apartheid
Yeah, we decided new year’s resolutions are bunk, but we do believe in goals and lifestyle changes. Intentionality, Self-care, [mental] health, and overall wellness are things we focus on all year long. But we do have some thoughts on THINGS TO LEAVE BEHIND IN 2019
Fat/Body Shaming – Lizzo leaves twitter because of trolls; Jillian Michaelstried to get her 15 minutes with some misogynoir and fat-shamed Lizzo on Buzz Feed’s AM to DM Twitter show
Fight or Flight Responses – chronic anxiety and stress can SUCK AN EGG. Are you having conversations with your friends, circle, support system to ensure you aren’t getting overwhelmed? This is your reminder to do so. Don’t be blind or avoidant of the things triggering fear responses.
Taking People for Granted – when crisis hits home, there is a wake-up call moment when you realize what is important to you. Gratitude exercises will be back into our rotation.
THE FIRST SHADE TREE OF 2020
Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Haley – first we debated whether or not we should name the desi wall of shame after her or Piyush “Bobby” Jindal? Nimrata’s recent FOOLERY that (1) a white supremacist RECENTLY besmirched the history of the Confederate Flag and that the Democrats mourn terrorists are laughable, but is it more laughable than this?
Vote Protestors – seriously…you can’t opt out of democracy because your dream candidate wasn’t in the mix. And don’t you dare throw your hat in with Tulsi Gabbard this time around.
India’s Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), don’t understand how India thinks it is going to get away with this, we are covering the motherland in-depth in another episode, so we didn’t go too in-depth here.
Bollywood Celebrities supporting Modi are so under the shade tree. Think Sean Spicer at the Grammy’s…normalizing fascism and oppression isn’t funny.
- https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/modi-rallying-bollywood-support-after-industry-s-divisive-stand-on-caa_in_5e109aabc5b6b5a713bace86
- https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/caa-to-fulfill-old-promises-to-religious-minorities-in-neighbouring-countries-modi/articleshow/73693318.cms
Cut for time, but still worth sharing are the THINGS KEEPING US HAPPY
Netflix Binges of Foreign TV
- Turkey’s “The Gift” https://www.netflix.com/title/81037848
- Spain’s “Elite” (these are not high school problems) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elite_(TV_series) and
- South Korea’s zombie goodness “Kingdom” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_(South_Korean_TV_series)
Reading Margaret Atwood The Handmaid’s Tale (and reading great prose in general)
The movie “Parasite” https://www.insider.com/parasite-movie-review-plot-2019-10 and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco”
THINGS TO PAY ATTENTION TO IN 2020
2020 Census– is your city ready? Are there census forms in multiple language? This impacts federal funding, congressional representatives, and electoral votes.
Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Kamala Harris’s bill regarding having counsel present when being detained at the border.
How your city spends money – do you know where your tax dollars are going?
The Jilted Indian Podcast 