Return The Jewels
Return The Jewels
Luv Agrawal
This podcast is an open space for us to explore issues of colonialism and appropriation. Return the Jewels is a reference to the crown jewels which were stolen and appropriated to back a global empire's wealth. On this podcast, we talk with remarkable guests about how we can contextualize the oppressive past to explain the hopeless present. We are building a community and movement to de-sanitize the carefully curated history that constrains us.
Episode 25: The Passion of the Contrarian | Sameer Naseem
For the final episode of season 2, we brought back Return the Jewels' very first guest: Sameer Naseem - talented comedian, marketing guru, and man of many other talents. Sameer always brings a unique perspective to our show, and we talk about podcasting, humility vs. confidence, the line where self-deprecating humor goes from funny to a little too much, contrarianism as a marketing strategy, and more.    We're taking a short break after this episode to come back with some new content for you. In the meantime, subscribe and check out any episodes you may have missed.   P.S. Now's a great time to pick up a Return the Jewels t-shirt - you can even choose the color! https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/ 🎬  TIMESTAMPS  00:00 Intro  04:16 Podcasting  15:20 Genuflecting  21:22 Fun & Enjoyment vs. ROI  23:55 Self-deprecating humor - the thin line  25:57 A Bizarre community of broken individuals  30:54 Contrarianism for Views  36:19 Passion of the Contrarian  37:54 The Race Card  44:45 The Truman Show Podcast  46:24 The Royal Family  52:27 Sameer a Bagel   53:10 Outro/Plugs   🌎 SAMEER'S LINKS  🐦 Sameer on Twitter https://twitter.com/Sameermon 📸 Funhouse Comedy Zoom Show: https://www.instagram.com/funhousecomedy/  #podcasting #contrarianism #theracecard #trumanshow #royalfamily #comedy
Mar 17, 2021
54 min
Episode 24: "People with no beliefs have all the opinions" | Danish Maqbool
This week's episode is kinda weird. We get a little bit introspective about the direction of our personal brands and why. Danish Maqbool, who you may remember from Episode 11, have probably seen on the show Ramy, or maybe you remember him from MLG back in the day joined us to discuss these very weird thoughts. We got into branding, purpose, narrative crafting, the impulse to share, how and why we forge opinions, and so much more. Please like and share this video with everyone you know. We appreciate you helping us grow.   Find Danish on all social media @DMaq1
Mar 10, 2021
1 hr 23 min
Episode 23: The Yoga Industrial Complex | Sonal Aggarwal
We brought back Sonal Aggarwal for another great episode where we touched on a lot of different topics. Sonal is one of the most interesting people we know, and on this episode we talked about: growing up in the Midwest, moving to India for classical music training, some funny stories from Goa & Italy, the billion dollar yoga industry in which brown people are severely underrepresented, and a lot more.   🎬 TIMESTAMPS:  00:00:00 Intro  00:09:01 Indian Classical Music Training  00:11:47 Pandemic Zoom Comedy  00:15:00 Tokenized or Fetishized  00:35:55 The Michaels - Jackson/Jordan  00:40:31 Queer-baiting Articles  00:43:40 Yamaha Scooter vs. Enfield Bullet  00:49:23 WHERE'S THE KOHINOOR?!?   00:50:01 The Yoga Industrial Complex   00:57:08 Dahler Mehndi, the original meme  01:05:23 White Yoga Instructors vs. Black Yoga Instructors  01:08:39 Sonal's Plugs   SONAL'S LINKS:  📺 Code-Switched the Series https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJzr4xnSVQxvLEhzjOVGgxw 📸 Sonal's IG https://www.instagram.com/sonalmedia/ 📸 Zoom Comedy Show https://www.instagram.com/gimmethelightcomedyshow/  SUPPORT US:  🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/    STAY IN TOUCH:  📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/  #codeswitched #comedy #michaeljackson #goa #italy #chicago #indiana #michaeljackson #michaeljordan #queerbaiting #enfieldbullet #kohinoordiamond #yoga #dahlermehndi
Mar 3, 2021
1 hr 10 min
Episode 22: Imagine if Alexa Unionized | Lily Chun
Super fun episode today with Lily Chun! This episode consisted of a couple of martinis as well as a great conversation about the concept of the model minority, the whitewashing of school curriculums, pandemic life in New York, antifa, socialism, capitalism, fascism, Alexa, and so much more. 🎬 TIMESTAMPS:  00:00:00 Intro  00:01:45 Confidence comes from keeping promises to yourself  00:04:18 Introducing Lily  00:06:51 Growing Up as the other  00:09:14 Model Minority  00:15:44 Tiger Mom  00:26:41 Racism is a part of capitalism  00:31:12 What can we do about these problems?  00:36:03 Unlearning Whitewashed Curriculum  00:42:45 The ANTIFA Bogeyman / Journalism being pushed to the right  00:50:30 What is Capitalism?  00:55:15 People would rather have fascism than socialism  01:07:16 Tokenized or Fetishized?  01:15:23 NY [Pandemic] State of Mind  01:39:36 What advice would you give to 20-year old Lily?   LILY'S COMICS & ANIMATIONS:  📸 https://www.instagram.com/lillionairebunclub/  SUPPORT US:   🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/    STAY IN TOUCH:   📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/  #modelminority #capitalism #pandemiclife #whitewashing #1619project #racism #socialism #fascism #tigermom #karlmarx #jeffbezos #newyork #antifa #alexa
Feb 24, 2021
1 hr 42 min
Episode 21: Kruger-Dunning and Perspective Crafting | Bassam Shawl
This was a great conversation between me and comedian Bassam Shawl, host of the Wokemenistan Podcast. We got into corporate lobbying, the Kruger Dunning Effect, perspective crafting, Kashmiri politics, finding love, and so much more! This is a long one but the conversation is very engaging!  Bassam:  🎧 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wokemanistan/id1549579649 📸 https://www.instagram.com/wokemanistan/  SUPPORT US:   🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/    STAY IN TOUCH:   📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/
Feb 17, 2021
1 hr 44 min
Episode 20: Framers and Shakers | Madhav Saxena
Today's show is a particularly fun one - our guest is my first* college roommate, Madhav Saxena. Madhav creates websites for a digital marketing agency, so we talk about the battle for internet privacy going on between Apple and Facebook, but we also go on to discuss the farmers protest, code switching, logical chains, and strategic framing. Oh, we also get into Gully Rap as well as the new Netflix film, White Tiger. 🎬 TIMESTAMPS:  00:00:00 Intro  00:02:54 Meena Harris  00:04:55 The Name  00:10:15 College - 4 Little Indians  00:12:15 COVID - Essential Worker PTSD  00:14:52 Coming to America  00:17:49 What Do You Do?  00:20:10 Apple vs. Facebook - Privacy Battles  00:28:30 Toxic Masculinity  00:34:16 Naked Mole Rats are Racist  00:36:12 Code-Switching  00:51:45 Our New Boiled Potato Food Truck  00:55:00 Cultural Authenticity  00:58:26 Bollywood Baba  01:02:42 Appropriation or Appreciation - Gully Rap  01:08:50 Hip-hop and Civil Disobedience - the Farmers Protests  01:14:30 White Tiger  01:19:54 Farmers Protests  01:29:25 Logical Fallacies & Misinformation  01:42:47 Trump's Participation Trophy  01:48:20 How Do You Reframe the Narrative?  01:52:30 Outro SUPPORT US: 🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/   STAY IN TOUCH: 📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/ Further Reading/Viewing  📖 Where did Hyderabad get its name? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hyderabad#Founding_of_Hyderabad  📖 Apple vs. Facebook: https://thehustle.co/%F0%9F%A5%8A-apple-vs-facebook/  📖 https://scroll.in/latest/985789/after-rihanna-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-extends-support-to-farmer-protests  📺 Bollywood Baba (Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scuWiXG5bh8
Feb 10, 2021
1 hr 55 min
Episode 19: Identity and Sneakers | Hass
We're welcoming February with a great episode featuring our friend, Hass. Hass is a huge sneakerhead and digital media professional in NY, and is the creator/host of a new podcast called "My First Kicks". We get into everything: his background, health insurance, appropriation-appreciation, grinding to get what you want, and of course, kicks! MY FIRST KICKS PODCAST  🎧 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-first-kicks/id1539283255 📸  https://www.instagram.com/myfirstkickspod/ SUPPORT US:  🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/ 📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/
Feb 3, 2021
1 hr 30 min
Episode 18: Mississippi's Masala | Dr. Lekha Sunkara Deere, MD
Our 18th episode is here and we're super excited to welcome Lekha Sunkara Deere, MD. Lekha is an old friend from college, and we get into a lot of really interesting topics like her experiences as a pulmonary medicine fellow on the front lines in New Orleans during the peak of the pandemic in the area, becoming a mother during her fellowship, getting respect from both patients and other medical professionals, moving to Mississippi at 9, and of course, THE VACCINE. Timestamps and links below! 🎬 TIMESTAMPS:  00:00:00 Intro  00:05:15 Diversity in Mississippi  00:09:36 Moving to Mississippi at 9  00:13:20 Diversity in Higher Education  00:16:38 The Brain Drain  00:18:26 Race in Medicine  00:25:10 Power Mom - the Work Life Balance  00:30:32 Tokenized or Fetishized  00:37:15 The Pragmatic Indian  00:40:55 Pandemic Trauma on Medical Workers  00:45:29 Facing Your Own Mortality  00:47:00 Does Trauma Affect Children?  00:54:08 Women's Authority is Constantly Questioned  00:57:51 Should I Get Vaccinated?  01:05:55 Do Patients Lie?  01:08:14 How to Combat Stigma of Bad Doctors  01:19:32 The Vaccine Experience  01:22:49 Garbage PPE  01:24:56 GET VACCINATED FURTHER READING:  📖 The Garbage Bags - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nurse-at-brooklyn-hospital-on-coronavirus-protective-clothing-its-a-garbage-bag-its-like-something-out-of-the-twlight-zone-2020-04-07 📖 The Early Pandemic in New Orleans - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/coronavirus-louisiana-new-orleans.html  SUPPORT US:  🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/  STAY IN TOUCH:  📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/
Jan 27, 2021
1 hr 27 min
Episode 17: The Gentle Hustle | Ramon Rivas II
This week we have a bombastic fantastic episode for you. I had the opportunity to sit down with stand up comedian, writer, actor, Cannabis Shaman, and one of my favorite people, Ramon Rivas. If you know Ramon, then you know he has a lot of important stuff to say. We touched on Ramon's work helping build the Cleveland comedy scene, his experience growing up as a minority in the Midwest, generational trauma, hustling during a pandemic, and a ton more. Check out the episode description on youtube for timestamps, links to Ramon's website and various projects, as well as a link to support us by ordering some Return the Jewels merch! Returnthejewels.com
Jan 20, 2021
2 hr 4 min
Episode 16: Should I shut the F*ck Up? | Andre D. Thompson
#ReturntheJewels #AndreDThompson #BrooklynSanta  It's our 16th episode and we have our first recurring guest. This is a great conversation with Andre D. Thompson. You can watch his earlier episode (#3) on this channel.   We talked about the precision of language and the responsiblitiy that inherently comes from a position of influence. Dre crafts arguments and plays with language for his profession because he's a writer and stand up comedian. We addressed issues of anxiety, confidence, marginalization, persecution complexes, and having an interventionist disposition.  Timestamps located below.    Please like, share, and subscribe. We appreciate all your support in helping us grow!   Timestamps:   00:00 - Intro  03:31 - What's up, Dre?  08:05 - Anxiety Comes From Not Doing  12:01 - Other People's Insecurities  17:35 -  Self Victimhood/Persecution Complex in First-Gen  21:30 - I Don't f--- with Victim Anything  23:00 - Toolkit - How do you catch self-pity?  27:10 - The Dre Test - am i the victim here? does this help me?  29:48 - Should I Shut the F**k Up?  33:42 - OJ Simpson  38:45 - You want to be a piece of s**t or not?  43:19 - Policing Language  48:18 - Living Righteously & Being Humble  50:46 - You Eat too much, You Start Farting  52:12 - Everybody Needs to Relax  54:13 - Outro  57:14 - Plugs
Jan 13, 2021
57 min
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