Great south Asian-themed podcasts to listen to

There are over 1,000,000 podcasts in the world so it’s great that a number of these cater to a south Asian audience. In this article, we look at some of the best. With everything from career advice, inspiring life stories from exceptional individuals and personal anecdotes from LGBTQI+ south Asians, to conversations on cricket, being a member of the Pakistani diaspora and the hilarity of the struggles of being a south Asian comedian, there’s something for everyone. 

Brown Boss

This exceptional career podcast, bought to you by us here at BAWM, features interviews with successful British Asians and in particular, women, from a variety of different professions. Often, what holds people of colour, of any age, back from pursuing certain career paths is not seeing someone who looks like them working and succeeding in the field. We aim to change that and to inspire you to make your dreams come true no matter your race or ethnicity, by talking to trailblazers from the community about how they got into their line of work, why they do it, what their experience has been like doing it as a person of colour and any advice they have for others looking to do the same thing or something similar. 

We talk about their successes and failures, career highlights and disappointments as well as what they would change if they could do it again. So far we’ve spoken to a government employee working to make the judiciary more diverse, an activist who took the British government to court, a 16-year old entrepreneur raising awareness about slavery and a charity founder who started an organisation for LGBTQI+ Muslims in the UK, to name but a few. Light and funny but relatable and real, this inspiring and motivating podcast is not one to miss.

Queering Desi

This necessary podcast, hosted by the brilliant New York Times writer, Priya Arora, features interviews with south Asian LGBTQI+ individuals from all around the world. Guests on the show talk about their journey, what it means to be true to yourself and in some cases, the work and activism they are doing. Not only is the podcast a window into the experience of being a minority within a minority, it’s also a great way to learn about unique individuals making a difference in the world by living their truth. And Arora, as an amiable host who shares her own stories and experiences in conversation with her guests, makes for a refreshing change from the typical question-answer format. 

Her and her guests talk everything from coming out stories and the fears and cultural and religious expectations that proceeded that, familial and community acceptance and mental health and activism to drag, pride and south Asian LGBTQI+ representation in popular culture and the media. There have also been a few south Asian parents of LGBTQI+ children, who have come on and shared their experience and their advice for other parents. On occasion, Arora has even welcomed a few famous guests including Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor and The Great British Back-Off contestant, Rav Bansal. 

Facial Recognition Comedy

This brilliant and funny podcast has a wonderful origin story - Fizaa Dosani, a female south Asian American comedian, upon becoming tired of people confusing her for two other female south Asian American comedians, (Zahra Ali and Pallavi Gunalan) and by extension, the Hollywood myth that “there can only be one” type of minority entertainer per project - created a booklet to help people tell them apart. It became so popular that from it sprung a stand-up show and this podcast. 

Nothing is off-limits in this clever and hilarious show, from generational trauma from the Kashmir territorial conflict to wondering how regular users of cosmetic fillers are coping without injections during quarantine, the ladies talk about current events, popular culture, being women of colour and their experience of comedy, and conduct interviews with guests, who often, are also comedians. It’s a fun, vibrant and different show and a great look into the world of comedy.

South Asian Stories

This high-production-quality, global-perspective podcast, hosted by Sameer Desai is great for when you want a long, thought-provoking listen. Each hour-long episode features an interview with an exceptional south Asian person talking about their successes and failures and most importantly, what makes them who they are. From neuroscientists and ex-FBI agents to actors and chefs, the interviewees are all empowered and successful individuals who have chosen their own path in life.

The host, Desai, has a wonderful, humble and sweet charm that makes his guests feel comfortable and happy to open up. One recent episode that particularly highlights the necessity of hearing such stories is with Wardah Khalid, a policy analyst, activist, and speaker on U.S. foreign policy. During the episode she discusses her role in strengthening Muslim-American engagement with Congress and illustrates the wonderful work and necessary change that can happen when there is diversity.

Photo by Mohammad Metri on Unsplash

The Doosra

Sport can unify people. For the south Asian community, this sport is often cricket. So this podcast is all about cricket and the love for it across different south Asian communities. In this weekly show, hosts Isha Guha, an ex-England cricketer and World Cup winner in the One-Day and T20 format and a three time Ashes winner, and Aatif Nawaz, a cricket-loving actor, comedian and presenter, talk to different south asian guests about current matches, players and teams and what’s happening in the game on a national and international level, all through a south Asian perspective. 

On the podcast you can hear from local cricket team players and die-hard fans from the communities as well as big guests like Shahid Afridi and Yuvraj Singh. The pair talk to players about their careers and discuss and dissect matches. Having Guha’s perspective as a female south Asian ex-cricketer sets the show apart and its great to see them talk about women’s cricket matches and interview female cricketers too.

Brown Game Strong

Created and hosted by two self-proclaimed normal, non-badass south Asian women; Asha Modha and Mitali Dargani, this podcast is all about life from a south Asian female perspective. Their insistence on the pilot episode itself, that they are normal and that there is nothing particularly badass about them endears them to you and makes them relatable. The pair are also good friends and so there is an easy flow and comraderie that is enjoyable to listen to.

Uniquely, for this type of podcast, the topics are all current and very applicable to a number of people instead of the usual stereotypical themes marketed at south asian women, particularly from the diaspora. By sharing their personal experiences and thoughts on each topic, Modha and Dargani help one another and therefore the listener understand what they’ve been through and what some possible resolutions are, going forward. The most recent episode, Difficult Conversations, is a great example of this.

Pak-Cord

Pad-Cord is all about life for the Pakistani diaspora. This podcast is full of unassuming and genuine conversations with normal people about everything from health and fitness during Ramadan and how younger second and third generation migrant Pakistanis should view politics in Pakistan, to Desis and depression, and online dating on muslim dating sites like Muzmatch. 

The podcast doesn’t take itself too seriously which creates a warm and welcoming environment for the listener. Despite this, the host, Habib, who founded the podcast, is very committed to his vision of bringing the Pakistani diaspora together and so the show has a real community feel to it. Habib and his guests often break out into Urdu, which adds to the authenticity of the conversations and is fun to listen to if you understand the language.

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