Comedian Rajiv Satyal couldn't pick just one thing. How the heck can you do that in a world so big? And when he's JUST SO SMART? The Cincinnati-born, LA-based standup comic conducts holistic conversations with his guests, who hail from fields as diverse as entertainment, politics, business, religion, and tech.
Janina Gavankar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janina_Gavankar) is an actor and musician who has appeared on The L Word, True Blood, The League, and The Gates. She also just starred in the hit movie Best of the Best which recently premiered on Netflix and hit #1 movie in the world on that platform. On top of all of her acting accolades, Janina is also one of those people who seems to have about six completely different careers happening at once. She trained in music, was in a girl group signed to Cash Money Records, became the face of Microsoft's viral Ms. Dewey, and was one of the first actors to get on Twitter.
When Janina and I sat down, I quickly realized that "actor" didn't really cover what we were talking about. We get into why she cares more about being respected for her craft than being famous, and her idea of the "arc of commitment" - knowing when to stop dabbling and really go for something.
We touch on creativity, being afraid to be normal, making music, getting stronger instead of trying to get smaller, and why she thinks everyone should leave people better than they found them. Naturally, we spend a completely reasonable amount of time discussing chai, chocolate, and whether there is such a thing as being a super-taster.
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29 Sept 2026
Vikas Satyal
This week I'm talking to an extremely special guest: my brother Vikas. He works in market research and consulting, has an MBA, and is probably the only person I know who can turn a discussion about college into a detailed analysis of why people waste time.
Since we grew up together, there's a lot of shared history here. We talk about growing up in Fairfield, Ohio, why Cincinnati is "okay" but still feels like home, the movies that shaped all three of us brothers, and the study sessions at our parents' house that were supposedly about school but usually involved snacks, ping-pong, and a lot of hanging out. Vikas also gets surprisingly honest about struggling in college, going back for his MBA, and what he learned from having to prove to himself that he could do it.
And then there's why he's terrible at cooking, why he'd happily spend a million dollars traveling and doing nothing, and why our family's shared obsession with movies has apparently turned into a competitive sport. It was fun getting to know my brother a little differently, even after all these years.
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29 Sept 2026
Lalita Satyal
My guest on this episode is someone I've known my entire life - my mom, Lalita. She taught elementary school for 36 years and, after retiring, somehow decided that sitting around wasn't for her and started teaching Hindi at Miami University. So naturally, I thought I'd bring her on the podcast and find out what she actually thinks about life, work, family, faith, and all the questions I've been asking other people for years.
There's something pretty special about interviewing your mom this way. I knew a lot of her answers already, but hearing her articulate them made me see parts of her life differently. She talks about why family comes first, why she's never really understood the concept of being bored, how she thinks people should choose work they actually enjoy, and why she considers her greatest accomplishment to be seeing her children and students succeed.
One of he most meaningful parts of this conversation comes when she talks about bringing me home from the hospital as a baby and calling it one of the happiest and most miraculous days of her life. That's a pretty good answer to the Groundhog Day question.
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