Shows
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastCymaSpace: Inclusive Music, Visible SoundAir date: 6/15/2018
https://sarikadmehta.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cymaspace_draft2.mp3
**Read the transcript of the feature: CymaSpace Transcript
CymaSpace is a non-profit performance venue & technology incubator in Portland, Oregon. The organization is dedicated to making the arts accessible to Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities by providing technological accommodations and educational support, through art through cymatics, the science of making sound visible. Located off SE Milwaukie Avenue in Portland, they share the industrial space with other organizations.
The work of CymaSpace has been featured nationally on Jimmy Kimmel Live, as well as at fes...2018-06-1607 min
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastLas Cafeteras: Political Folk for the SoulAir date: 4/30/2018 https://sarikadmehta.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/lascafeteras_intersectionsradio1.mp3
Read the transcript of the episode: 051618 intersections with Las Cafeteras
Las Cafeteras, the Chicano band from LA, and what I like to think of as unapologetic political folk music for the soul! Each of the band-membThey brilliantly mix traditional son jarocho with contemporary issues. Las Cafeteras hail from the Zapatista-inspired EastSide Cafe in East LA. Their first album, It’s Time, treats us to a contemporary take on son jarocho, while their latest album, Tastes Like LA, incorporates more styles and “tastes” of other music.2018-05-1730 min
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastBrenda Rufener: Homeless YouthAir date: 4/30/2018 https://sarikadmehta.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/brendarufener_intersectionsradio.mp3
**Read the transcript of the episode: 051618 intersections with Brenda Rufener
Brenda Rufener’s debut YA novel, Where I Live, follows the story of Linden Rose, a clever and witty teenager who lives at her school in successful secret. Despite this challenge, she still faces typical adolescent issues such as getting ready for the Homecoming dance and studying for the SATs.
One in 30 children in the United States are homeless and oftentimes do not live in areas with shelters or shelters appropriate for women and girl...2018-05-1700 min
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastVieux Farka Touré: Music as National ServicePhoto by Alexander Ryan Torres
Last month, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet and chat with Malian blues guitarist extraordinaire: Vieux Farka Touré. Mali is home to so many outstanding blues and Tuareg artists and Vieux Farka Touré (yep, son of the infamous guitar virtuoso Ali Farka Touré) is in that spectacular group of musicians.
Both Vieux and his father come from a family of proud Malian soldiers, but his father rebelled and pursue a path in music instead. This path came with struggles, and so Ali never wanted his son to pursue music. But...2017-06-0900 minSarika D. Mehta » Podcast#NODAPL: Sarah Young Bear-BrownSarah Young Bear-Brown (taken from Facebook)
One of the longest running stories of 2016 was the protest at Standing Rock, ND – to reroute the Dakota Access Pipeline. This protest gathered indigenous communities, environmentalists and allies from all over the world to support the water protectors – during a contentious presidential campaign.
I spoke with Sarah Young Bear Brown, a Deaf Meskwaki woman from the Tama Settlement in Tama, IA, (oh and check out her awesome vlog on the new ASL sign for “Native American” here) who spent Thanksgiving week at Standing Rock. We spoke just after the Army Corp...2017-01-0100 min
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastImam Daayiee Abdullah: Reconciling Faith and SexualityImam Daayiee Abdullah (from Twitter)
**This is the second episode in a two-part series examining the intersection of sexuality with faith and ethnicity. You can listen to the first episode in the series here.
Daayiee Abdullah is a religious and legal scholar based out of Washington DC. He’s the executive director of MECCA Institute, an online-inclusive progressive seminary. The aim of this is for Muslims around the world to better understand their faith in an inclusive, modern interpretation. He is also one of the rare few openly gay imams in the US and worldwide.
2016-05-1829 minSarika D. Mehta » Podcast#WPSDhungerstrike: Fight for Deaf Children’s EducationGraphic by Adrean Clark
People all over the United States are hunger striking for Deaf children’s education at Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. This program has come under scrutiny due to its low Deaf representation in the school board and their insistence on using Simultaneous Communication (instead of American Sign Language) in the classroom.
But unless you’re connected on their facebook page, it’s possible you didn’t hear about this issue. Surprisingly, the fact that four people fasted for 25+ days did not get much press coverage. Nor did the fact that they’ve...2015-11-1300 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastISLRTC Autonomy Now!: The WINCourtesy of the ISLRTC Autonomy Now! facebook page
First things first: Read, listen to and watch everything here for the back story on the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center and Deaf India’s fight to run this establishment.
Now that you’ve done your homework, I can direct you to the GREAT news: Deaf Indians fought hard for their rights to language, for the right to be Deaf…and won! Prior to his visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally signed the approval that the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center wi...2015-10-0700 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastUS Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Step it UpBack in September, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a call to action: Step it Up. In an effort to encourage a health lifestyle, he’s encouraging us to not only be outside walking more, he’s also working with urban planners to encourage walkable communities.
I spoke to him about what this means for communities of color and people with mobility disabilities – people that often find challenges in accessing walkable communities.
From his office in Washington, I spoke with Dr. Murthy about Step it Up. This interview was featured on the KBOO Evening News for Sep...2015-10-0700 minSarika D. Mehta » Podcast#Katrina10: Interpreter and Language Access
I happened to visit New Orleans in early August for an Interpreting conference. In fact, I was in New Orleans on the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and was treated to a wonderful musical celebration. I had language access, equal rights an recovery on my mind the entire time.
August 29th marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans is still recovering in many ways from the devastation. Ten years ago, language minorities faced a unique set of struggles during evacuation.
For the Thursday KBOO Evening News, I spoke wi...2015-08-2906 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastChitra Viraraghavan: The AmericansChitra Viraraghavan is the author of her debut novel, The Americans. This is the story of Tara, a single Indian woman in her mid-30s who travels to America to look after her teenage niece while her sister Kamala is dealing with her autistic son’s treatment. Woven expertly together, The Americans tells the stories of 11 people whose lives span the country from Louisville to Chicago to Los Angeles to Portland to Boston. And all of their stories connect back to Tara.
Chitra hails from Chennai, and came to the US for her book tour in Boston, Portl...2015-08-1200 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastRooshey Hasnain: #ADA25 and EmploymentRooshey Hasnain is a scholar in the department of Asian American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but her work centers on people with disabilities.
As a researcher, educator, and clinical professor with the Department of Disability and Human Development and the Asian American Studies Program (ASAM) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Dr. Hasnain is dedicated to understanding the lives, challenges, and strengths of people with disabilities and mental health issues, especially with Asians, refugees and immigrants.
Currently she directs the ASAM Community Engagement Project, funded by the U.S. De...2015-07-1100 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastKiran Ahluwalia’s Sanata: StillnessTwo-time Juno award winning modern Indian music singer Kiran Ahluwalia has a new album, Sanata: Stillness. It features lovely songs composed by Kiran with accompanying rhythms by her husband, renowned jazz guitarist, Rez Abbasi. While Kiran was previously steeped in fusing contemporary styles with the ancient tradition of ghazals, she’s evolved into composing her own lyrics and fusing Saharan desert blues.
Kiran has joined me on KBOO twice before: previously on APA Compass and again on Stage & Studio during her debut performance in Portland. She joined me again for Stage & Studio, live on the phone from Ne...2015-06-2027 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastISLRTC Autonomy Now!Air date: 4/22/2015:
https://sarikadmehta.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/kboo_islrtc_podcast.mp3
You can read the transcript here: ISLRTCTranscript
logo by Bilal Chinoy
India’s Deaf Community is fighting for their independence! This is a story that is near and dear to me.
The Indian Sign Language Research and Training Center (ISLRTC) is an academic institution whose original intent was to promote Indian Sign Language and Deaf culture. A future goal of this center is to influence policy, hopefully even change the negative perception of deaf India. Beyond that, as a center, it vali...2015-04-2400 min
Sarika D. Mehta » PodcastCece Bell: El DeafoLately I’ve had the great fortunate of interviewing deaf folks for radio and it has been awesome. Here’s another one to add to the list!
I have to admit, when I heard the title El Deafo, I just had to check out the book. This is a graphic novel memoir of Cece Bell’s elementary school years, in her own witty voice!
Cece Bell lost her hearing at four and half and became intimately acquainted with the Phonic Ear hearing aid – which was more like a box contraption for a little kid. This afforded he...2015-04-1031 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastAasif Mandvi: No Land’s ManActor and writer, Aasif Mandvi, has a strong background in theatre and film, but gained recent fame as “Senior Muslim Correspondent” on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his role in the movie, Million Dollar Arm. He is also wrote and performed the award-winning one-man show, Sakina’s Restaurant, which was turned into the film, Today’s Special.
From Mandvi’s book,”If you’re an Indo-Muslim-British-American actor who has spent more time in bars than in mosques, it’s a little tough to explain who you are or where you’re from.” Mandvi was born in Mumbai, India...2014-12-1000 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastJohn Oliver: Comedy and NewsComedian John Oliver rose to fame as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, especially last summer while he took over as the host. He just completed the first season of his own show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, which airs on HBO. While some argue that he has joined his colleagues’ in the ranks of satirical news, other sources claim he has well-surpassed them as a successful satire comedian. He vehemently states that he doesn’t care for journalism, rather the news is a prop for comedy.
His show inevitably educates viewers on nati...2014-11-2200 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastLa Santa Cecilia: Cumbia with a Social Justice TwistLa Santa Cecilia‘s soulful music mixes cumbia, klezmer, rock (and more!) with politics, a love for Los Angeles, and romance. Their second album, “Treinta Días” won the Grammy for best Latin Rock album and they have a new album out, “Someday New”. Their cover of Strawberry Fields Forever pays homage to workers who pick strawberries, and their music video for El Hielo – ICE speaks directly to the difficult and antiquated immigration policies affecting the 11 million undocumented immigrations living in this country.
I had the opportunity to speak with percussionist Miguel Ramirez and accordionist Pepe Carlos from La Santa...2014-10-2328 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastDeaf South Asian Americans: Smita’s StorySmita Kothari was born and brought up in Mumbai, India. She finished her college degrees in Business and in Education in India, never having had interpreters. Smita moved here two years ago after getting married, and has fantastic stories in comparing how mainstream society regards her, as a deaf Indian American woman, both in India and in the US.
This is another video in a series of stories I’m collecting, documenting the experiences of the Deaf South Asian American community in Washington, DC. These stories are a part of the permanent collection with the South Asian Amer...2013-07-1000 minSarika D. Mehta » PodcastColored Pencils: Making ChangeAir Date: 10/2/2012 on KBOO, 10/6/2012 on KZME:
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I recently began producing work for Dmae Roberts and MediaRites Productions. My first piece, which aired on KBOO’s Stage & Studio, featured Colored Pencils as part of Dmae’s Making Change series. Making Change is about people who are working toward social and cultural change through literary and artistic ways, in their communities.
Photo by Richard Jensen
Colored Pencils, founded by Nim Xuto and Polo Catalani, started off as small community events featuring immigrant artists and has grown to be...2012-10-1000 min