Celebrating Black History Month: 2023
Revisit the often-overlooked and intertwined histories of Black and South Asian communities.
The Juggernaut
Kalpana Chawla, First Indian American Woman in Space
On the 20th anniversary of the Columbia space shuttle disaster, we revisit the legacy of the unlikely astronaut, who has inspired generations.
Sadaf Ahsan
Why South Asians Love Jane Austen
Family, marriage, and class collisions. The British writer’s novels seem like the perfect subcontinental literary canon. But not for the reasons you might think.
Madhur Jaffrey, Always the Perfectionist
The chef, actor, and writer showed the West that Indian cooking was worthwhile and Indian women had bite. And she still has several projects up her sleeve.
Mehr Singh
Jemima Khan’s So-Called ‘Love Letter’ to Pakistan
While married to Imran Khan, the British socialite was reviled and beloved. With a new film about her time in her adopted country, where does she stand today?
‘Pathaan’ Marks Shah Rukh Khan’s Glorious Return
The star-driven action flick is well worth the wait. Deepika Padukone and John Abraham take it to the next level.
Snigdha Sur
Camelback Ventures is Bringing South Asian Films to Arizona
State tax credits have spurred a $10 million evergreen fund to invest in South Asian projects in Hollywood, and bring them to the Grand Canyon State.
How India Became a Nation of Eggetarians
The egg’s prominence in the Indian vegetarian diet is a point of contention. The perennial question is: are eggs meat?
Celebrating Lunar New Year: 2023
Revisit stories on the interconnected histories between China, South Korea, and South Asia — from the creation of Indo-Chinese food to anti-Asian U.S. immigration policy to more.
The Mindy Kaling Effect
The release of ‘Velma’ has reignited discussions about how the actor, writer, and producer portrays South Asian characters on screen. But what does the backlash say about us?
As IVF Grows Popular, South Asian Egg Donors Run Low
Asian Americans use in-vitro fertilization more than any other group. As they look to South Asian egg donors to increase IVF success, they often find long wait times and disappointment.
Olivia Bowden
Homeopathy in South Asia: Snake Oil or Salve?
How a German semi-scientific approach to curing disease became big business in the subcontinent.
Not All South Asians Like it Hot
How eating spicy food became so intertwined with South Asian identity, and why it’s time to retire the stereotype.
Opinion: Bollywood Nepo Babies Aren’t the Problem
While offering a needed conversation on privilege, the nepotism discourse in India’s film industries has grown stale. Rather, it demands a closer look at changing the system.
Meher Manda
In Tadka We Trust
Each drop is a sensory universe. Here’s how the technique as old as time came to define South Asian cuisines.
The Bidet is Back. But for Many South Asians, It’s Been a Fixture.
Rooted in Hindu and Islamic traditions, using water to clean oneself after going to the bathroom has been a common practice in the East, but has only recently caught on in the West.
Sanchita Kedia
Subhash Kapoor: Art Dealer by Day, Idol Thief By Night
How the prolific antiquities trafficker hatched a scheme to smuggle hundreds of millions of dollars of Asian artifacts — and succeeded.
Sushmita Pathak
Paisley: The World’s Oldest Form of Cultural Appropriation?
How Europe stole one of the oldest block prints from Indian, Iranian, and Kashmiri weavers — and why everyone from The Beatles to Bollywood donned it.
‘In Search of Bengali Harlem’ is a Pursuit of Belonging
The documentary follows Alauddin Ullah as he traces his family’s past to 1930s New York, where Black, Puerto Rican, and Bengali marriages created a culture of their own.
Khichdi Deserves More than the Sloppy Treatment
It’s time to celebrate the rice and lentil dish synonymous with home comfort, which rarely makes it to restaurant menus and has been appropriated by wellness warriors.
Mallika Basu