Indian American Stories shares honest, thoughtful conversations with Indian Americans about their lives, careers, and identities. Hosted by high school students, each episode explores the small moments and big decisions that shape who we are. You will love listening to these stories. <br/><br/><a href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">indianamericanstories.substack.com</a>
Indian American Stories Podcast
Claim This Podcastby Hear stories of ordinary Indian Americans who've done some extraordinary things.
12 episodes
Updated Daily
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
8
Podcast Authority
BetaPoorBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality15
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YouTube0
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Podcast Overview
Indian American Stories shares honest, thoughtful conversations with Indian Americans about their lives, careers, and identities. Hosted by high school students, each episode explores the small moments and big decisions that shape who we are. You will love listening to these stories. <br/><br/><a href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">indianamericanstories.substack.com</a>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
5/14/2025
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Recent Episodes
January 14, 2026
What Does Success Actually Mean — Meet Dr. Murali Naidu
<p>About Dr. Murali Naidu:</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/muralinaidu/">Dr. Murali Naidu</a> is CEO of San Ramon Regional Medical Center and a former physician. He’s led hospitals through some of the hardest moments in healthcare, especially during COVID, and he’s also deeply involved in education as a trustee at Head-Royce School. What really stood out to me about Dr. Naidu is how he thinks about leadership—not just as running systems, but as taking care of people, whether that’s patients, students, or entire communities. We talked about healthcare, AI, risk-taking, being Indian American, and how to define success without boxing yourself in. This was one of those conversations that makes you think bigger about what you can actually do with your life.</p><p>What was most fun about this conversation:</p><p>Honestly, the most fun part was how grounded he was. He’s literally running a hospital, but he talks like someone who genuinely just cares about people doing well. Hearing about how hospitals had to set up tents in parking lots overnight during COVID was wild, but what stuck with me was how much respect he had for nurses, janitors, and everyone who showed up every day when the rest of the world stayed home. Also, his answers never felt rehearsed. It felt like he was actually thinking in real time, which made the conversation feel very real.</p><p>What I was inspired by:</p><p>I was really inspired by how he talked about success. He kept coming back to this idea that if you do something well and actually care about it, the money usually follows. But if you chase money first, that doesn’t always work out. That felt especially relevant as someone in high school where everything feels like it’s about college, jobs, and outcomes. I also liked how open he was about switching paths.</p><p>What many of us Americans can relate with:</p><p>A lot of what he said applies way beyond Indian American families. The pressure to define success as money or prestige. Feeling like you’re supposed to pick one path early and never change it. Being judged based on how you look, your name, or your background. Even the idea of feeling like you don’t fully belong anywhere, not here, not there, that’s something a lot of people feel, whether they’re second generation Americans or not. His point about being okay with making the wrong choice and pivoting later felt very American in the best way.</p><p>What I will think more about:</p><p>He said something that stuck with me: instead of squeezing yourself into a job that already exists, try to imagine what you actually want your day-to-day life to look like and then go find or create that role. That idea feels kind of scary but also freeing. It made me rethink how rigid we are when we talk about careers, especially in high school. Also, his hope that AI could bring doctors back to the bedside instead of turning healthcare into even more paperwork made me think about how technology should serve people, instead of replacing them.</p><p>How this conversation connects to others on the podcast:</p><p>What I liked about this episode is how naturally it connected to almost every other conversation I’ve had on this podcast. Like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-gagan-biyani-ceo-of-maven-co?r=5onwyp"><strong>Gagan Biyani</strong></a>, Dr. Naidu shared the idea of not letting one job title or career path define your whole life. Both of them talked about success as something you shape over time, not something you lock in at 18. The idea of designing your own role instead of squeezing yourself into one felt very aligned with Gagan’s story.</p><p>His emphasis on care and humanity in work reminded me a lot of <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-nirav-pandya-professor-of?r=5onwyp"><strong>Dr. Nirav Pandya</strong></a>. Even though one works in hospital leadership and the other in sports medicine, both talked about medicine as something deeply human, not just technical. They both pushed back against the idea that being good at your job means being cold or robotic.</p><p>Dr. Naidu’s thoughts on leadership and redefining success also echoed themes from <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-neha-gupta-deputy-director-1c1?r=5onwyp"><strong>Dr. Neha Gupta</strong></a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-rajni-mandal-on-civic-action?r=5onwyp"><strong>Dr. Rajni Mandal</strong></a>, especially around resisting narrow expectations placed on Indian Americans. All three talked about ambition without burnout, and how success doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your values or your sense of self.</p><p>When he talked about community and responsibility, I kept thinking about <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/social-media-is-just-a-simulation?r=5onwyp"><strong>Divya Venn</strong></a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/social-media-up-close-with-sy-choudhury?r=5onwyp"><strong>Sy Choudhury</strong></a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/your-real-edge-is-being-yourself?r=5onwyp"><strong>Maulik Bhansali</strong></a>. They’ve all spoken about giving back, whether through public service, entrepreneurship, or community building. Dr. Naidu’s work in both healthcare and education fits right into that same mindset of using your position to help others grow.</p><p>His reflections on identity and being caught between worlds connected strongly with <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/stories-can-shape-policy-with-prashanthi?r=5onwyp"><strong>Prashanthi Raman</strong></a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/leading-without-fear-meet-oakland?r=5onwyp"><strong>Janani Ramachandran</strong></a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/beyond-the-model-minority-myth-meet?r=5onwyp"><strong>Visraant Iyer</strong></a>. The feeling of not fully belonging in one box, culturally or professionally, came up in all of those conversations. What stood out here was how calmly and honestly Dr. Naidu talked about it, not as a crisis, but as something you learn to live with and even use as strength.</p><p>And finally, his focus on care, prevention, and long-term thinking felt very aligned with <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/care-culture-and-community-meet-dr?r=5onwyp"><strong>Dr. Rupa Badlani</strong></a>. Both of them talked about systems, healthcare, and responsibility in a way that felt grounded and people-first, not flashy or preachy.</p><p>Across all these episodes, the shared theme keeps coming back to this: <strong>you don’t have to be one thing. </strong></p><p><strong>You can be Indian and American. </strong></p><p><strong>Analytical and empathetic. </strong></p><p><strong>Ambitious and grounded.</strong> </p><p>This conversation with Dr. Naidu tied together a lot of the ideas this podcast has been circling around from the beginning.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">indianamericanstories.substack.com</a>
January 2, 2026
Care, Culture, and Community – Meet Dr. Rupa Badlani
<p><strong>About Dr. Rupa Badlani:</strong></p><p>Dr. Rupa Badlani is a Bay Area native and a dermatologist at Kaiser Permanente Oakland. She grew up in the Berkeley Hills, went to Head-Royce for middle school, studied at UC Berkeley, went to UC Irvine for medical school, and did her dermatology residency at UCSF where she also served as chief resident. Now she lives in Orinda with her husband and their three kids. At work, she focuses on medical dermatology, everything from acne and eczema to melanoma and other skin cancers. Outside of work, most of her time goes into parenting, community, and staying connected to the people around her.</p><p><strong>What was most fun about this conversation:</strong></p><p>The most fun part was how normal and grounded she was about everything. She talked about being a doctor without making it sound dramatic or flashy. The way she described remembering details about her patients lives, asking about their kids, and getting life advice from people twice her age made the whole doctor patient relationship feel very human. I also liked hearing about her college experience at Berkeley and how overwhelming but freeing it was. The part about having no one wake you up for an 8 am class felt extremely real.</p><p><strong>What I was inspired by:</strong></p><p>I was really inspired by how much pride she takes in consistency. She is not chasing prestige anymore. She cares about showing up every day, doing good work, and building long term relationships with patients and with her kids. Her story about wanting to match into UCSF and her dad asking her “why not you” really stuck with me. It was not about arrogance. It was about not disqualifying yourself before you even try. That mindset feels powerful and also very practical.</p><p><strong>What many of us Americans can relate with:</strong></p><p>A lot of this conversation felt universal, even beyond the Indian American experience. Feeling more comfortable once you get to college and find people who look like you. Learning time management the hard way. Balancing work, family, and trying not to drop the ball on everything at once. Also the idea that your parents pushed you hard because they wanted stability for you, even if it felt rigid at the time. That tension between structure and freedom is something a lot of people grow up with.</p><p><strong>What I will think more about:</strong></p><p>I keep thinking about how culture changes with each generation. Dr. Badlani talked about how Indian culture naturally gets diluted over time and how now it takes intentional effort to pass it on to her kids. Things like Diwali presentations at school or cultural dances do not just happen automatically anymore. It made me think about what parts of culture are worth protecting and how much effort it actually takes to keep them alive without forcing them.</p><p><strong>How this conversation connects to others on the podcast:</strong></p><p>This episode connected to a lot of past conversations in interesting ways. </p><p>Like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-nirav-pandya-professor-of?r=5onwyp">Dr. Nirav Pandya</a>, Dr. Badlani talked about growing up in mostly white spaces and later finding comfort and confidence in more diverse environments. </p><p>Similar to <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-gagan-biyani-ceo-of-maven-co?r=5onwyp">Gagan Biyani</a>, she spoke about learning independence in college and figuring things out without much hand holding. </p><p>Her emphasis on work ethic and education echoed what <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-neha-gupta-deputy-director-1c1?r=5onwyp">Dr. Neha Gupta</a> talked about with immigrant parents setting high expectations without always explaining the emotional side of it. </p><p>Even her parenting approach felt aligned with other guests who talked about blending Indian structure with American flexibility instead of choosing one over the other.</p><p>Overall, this conversation felt like another piece of the same bigger story. Different careers, different personalities, but the same questions about identity, ambition, family, and what a good life actually looks like.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">indianamericanstories.substack.com</a>
November 11, 2025
Beyond the Model Minority Myth — Meet Visraant Iyer
<p><strong>About Visraant Iyer:</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/visraant-iyer/">Visraant Iyer</a> is the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Urban Innovation for the City of Oakland, where he helps make local government work better through design thinking and civic tech. Before that, he worked in startups, presidential campaigns, and national voter engagement efforts. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, and now lives in Oakland, where he still finds time to play basketball, watch movies, and think deeply about how cities can actually serve people better.</p><p><strong>What was most fun about this conversation:</strong></p><p>Honestly, it was how wide-ranging it got. One minute we were talking about city planning, and the next we were talking about identity, assimilation, and growing up brown in the suburbs. I liked how he described biking around as a kid, exploring different neighborhoods, and realizing early on that everyone sees the world a little differently—and that’s okay. It felt like hearing how curiosity can shape a whole life.</p><p><strong>What I was inspired by:</strong></p><p>Visraant’s whole idea of problem definition really stuck with me. He said people often jump to “fixing” without fully understanding the real issue, and that curiosity—asking “why?” over and over—is the most underrated leadership skill. It made me think that being smart isn’t about having all the answers, but about asking better questions.</p><p><strong>What many of us Americans can relate with:</strong></p><p>That feeling of being seen as both “a success story” and “an outsider.” He talked about how Indian Americans went from being praised as the “model minority” to being treated as a threat once there were more of us. It’s like success became suspicious instead of inspiring. He explained how that shift isn’t just about race but about power and belonging, and how people’s comfort with your success can change depending on how visible you are. A lot of us have probably felt that switch happen in subtle ways, even at school or work.</p><p><strong>What I will think more about:</strong></p><p>He said something I keep replaying: “If you’re kind only when it’s convenient, you’re not being kind.” That line kind of sums up his whole outlook. He doesn’t want to spend life fighting hate online—he wants to build, to serve, and to live with integrity even when things feel tense or unfair. And when he talked about how the “model minority” label turns from praise to resentment once a community becomes too visible, it made me think about how fragile acceptance can be and how much strength it takes to just stay grounded in who you are.</p><p><strong>How this connects to other guests:</strong></p><p>Like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-gagan-biyani-ceo-of-maven-co?r=5onwyp">Gagan Biyani</a>, he wrestles with what it means to belong to two cultures without having to pick one. Like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-nirav-pandya-professor-of?r=5onwyp">Dr. Nirav Pandya</a>, he sees pride in identity as something that grows with self-acceptance. With <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/meet-dr-neha-gupta-deputy-director-1c1?r=5onwyp">Dr. Neha Gupta</a>, he shares the idea that culture is full of invisible norms you only notice when you don’t fit them. And like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/your-real-edge-is-being-yourself?r=5onwyp">Maulik Bhansali</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/stories-can-shape-policy-with-prashanthi?r=5onwyp">Prashanthi Raman</a>, he talks about the courage of being authentic in rooms where you might not totally “fit.” And like <a target="_blank" href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com/p/leading-without-fear-meet-oakland?r=5onwyp">Janani Ramachandran</a>, he reminds us that caring about community, whether through public service, politics, or just everyday kindness, is one of the most powerful ways to belong.</p><p>Together, all these stories are really about the same thing: how Indian Americans are learning to define belonging for themselves instead of waiting for permission.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://indianamericanstories.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">indianamericanstories.substack.com</a>
12 total episodes available
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