How “Big Brother”’s Hannah Chaddha Helped Make Show History
This season of "Big Brother" was the show's most racially diverse. But for the show to crown its first Black winner, contestants of color had to form a secret alliance.
Christine Champagne
How Ajay Bhatt, Co-Inventor of the USB Port, Became a Rockstar
Twenty-five years ago, the universal port changed computing as we know it — but the inventors never profited. We interviewed him to find out why that was intentional.
Sneha Mehta
East Indian Sugar: The Sweeter of Two Evils
The search for sugar that wasn’t produced by slave labor led the British to another faraway colony: India. But was Indian sugar ever free?
Sukhada Tatke
“Enjoy Enjaami”: How a Tamil Song Led to a Public Outcry About Caste
A magazine cover by Rolling Stone India and a Times Square billboard sparked public outrage over Dalit erasure.
Zinara Rathnayake
How Food Has Sparked Protests Throughout History
Indian farmers today, who are fighting against new corporate-friendly farm bills, follow a long line of revolutionaries who used food as a means of protest.
Meher Mirza
Where are the Women in India's Labor Force?
Female workforce participation in the country has been declining since the 1990s, and fell to a record low of 15.5% last year. So, as the Indian economy has grown, why has it shut out its women?
Sarita Santoshini
Why Kamal Haasan's “Hey Ram” Tries — and Fails — to Rewrite History
In the daring historical drama, the actor and filmmaker poses the question, “What if a man could be dissuaded from assassinating Gandhi?”
Meher Manda
How Ice Heated Up Trade Between India and America
This quirky blip in the history of global trade — when merchants would ship ice from Boston to Bombay — teaches us what happens when globalization and unfettered demand mix.
Alizeh Kohari
In Poet Natasha Rao’s "Latitude," Nature is Sublime
The debut collection — winner of the First Book Prize — is a meditation of the natural world, full of “Krishna-skin skies” and “snow that melts to milk.”
Shrai Popat
Dating Shows Still Have a Type. And It’s Not Us.
Love Island and The Bachelor keep casting South Asians — and cutting them out of the love story. How long will we let it slide?
Trisha Gopal
South Asians in Therapy: Challenging Norms and Taboos
As therapy becomes more mainstream and accessible, a new generation is reclaiming their mental health.
Aarti Virani
Prateek Kuhad Isn’t Obsessed With Being “Different”
We spoke to the singer-songwriter, whose fans include Barack Obama, about what hasn’t changed with fame.
Akhil Sood
How 'Made in India' Made us Thirsty Forever
We talked to Milind Soman and Ken Ghosh about how their now-iconic music video ushered in a sexual awakening for an entire generation in mid-1990s India.
Bedatri D. Choudhury
The Cultural Appropriation of Dalit Music
For Dalit artists, performances are tools of cultural resistance. But many have glamorized and sanitized this history.
Prashant Ingole
How Gen Z is Fighting for Afghanistan’s Future
A generation of Afghans born after 9/11 have no memory of life under Taliban rule. They are now speaking up and pushing back.
Ruchi Kumar
How a New Generation in India is Reclaiming Gin
Once a remnant of colonial times and consumed primarily by an older generation, gin is now enjoying a revival as cool, young, and uniquely Indian.
Sharanya Deepak
The Rise of Anti-Pakistan Bollywood
Patriotic movies used to evoke national unity. Today, films such as “BellBottom,” “Bhuj,” and “Shershaah” focus on settling scores with Pakistan.
Poulomi Das
The Rise and Fall (and Rebirth) of the U.K.'s Daytime Dance Parties
In the 1980s and 1990s, South Asians created a community around daytime raves in the U.K. Now, a new generation is trying to reignite that same magic.
Dhruva Balram
In “Mogul Mowgli,” the Beat Breaks Down
In director Bassam Tariq’s first narrative film, Riz Ahmed’s Zed struggles with his immigrant identity and rap career while an autoimmune disease attacks his body.
The Sri Lankan Hopper is Going Global
The quintessential island snack is making its way around the world, appearing on menus from the U.K. to Australia and beyond.