The sun’s shining, it’s 80 degrees outside, and your fingers are itching for a mint julep. What better way to spend a lazy afternoon than on your porch or at the lakefront with Radiostan for company? If you haven’t podcast or streamed any shows lately, check out the latest episodes and music at www.radiostan.com.

For Episode #26: Finding Your Bliss, I spoke with writer and actress Meera Simhan and director Shishir Kurup about their play Miss India America, a coming-of-age comedy about growing up in Southern California and finding your voice. Miss India America comes to Chicago July 14-17 at Theater Wit.

For Episode #25: Deep Space Utopia, I interviewed Pushkar Sharma and Sathya Sridharan, two of the three members of the thoroughly entertaining Brownstar Collective about their unique mix of theater, comedy, and verse. If you’re going to be in NYC on August 14, get tickets to their Unification show at Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

For Episode #24: A Messy Democracy, I talked to the new alderman of Chicago’s 47th Ward, Ameya Pawar, about youth, change, and running against a powerful political machine.

For Episode #23: Soul Food, I spoke with journalist, mom, and cookbook author Anupy Singla about home cooking, smelling like curry, and enticing kids to eat their veggies.  You can find her new book, The Indian Slow Cooker, at your local bookstore or online.

As always, email me at tina@radiostan.com if you have questions, comments, or story ideas.

For Radiostan Episode #20, I spoke with a couple from San Francisco who spent a year trying to live aviation-free, traveling across continents and oceans while talking to people exploring solutions to transportation and the climate crisis. During our conversation, they mentioned how for many desis in the U.S., our stories begin in airports. We talked about the challenge of trying to fly less when our families are halfway around the world.

Barnali Ghosh is a landscape architect with a focus on parks and children’s play environments. Anirvan Chatterjee is a tech geek, and the founder of BookFinder.com. Check out their website and blog, Year of No Flying, for more info.

To podcast this Radiostan episode and past shows, visit http://www.radiostan.com.

A college friend from Goa first introduced me to the Portuguese idea of saudade–a yearning for something that’s unattainable and sometimes undefined. This month’s podcast of Radiostan will take you on a meandering journey through jazz, classical Indian music, and its intersections with other forms.

I spoke with Satya Gummuluri, who’s just released her first solo album titled “Seven Blue Seas.” Satya is a composer/vocalist/lyricist from Bombay where she trained in South Indian classical music. She is currently a Chicago local, playing with various Jazz, World and Improvised music groups here in town and in New York, Portugal, and Brazil.

Seven Blue Seas was recorded in collaboration with Scott Anderson and features Helio Alves, Bryan Murray, Matt Geraghty, Adriano Santos, Mauricio Zottarelli, and percussionist Doug Brush. Check out Satya’s website for more info.

To podcast this Radiostan episode and past shows, visit http://www.radiostan.com.

A great weekly show for all of you interested in Asian American politics to check out…

Asia Pacific Forum
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
8:00-9:00 pm EST

WBAI 99.5 FM, New York City
Podcasting and streaming live at Asia Pacific Forum

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NYC Solidarity with Immigrants in Arizona: On July 29th, the State of Arizona is expected to implement the controversial immigration law SB 1070. To stand in solidarity with those fighting the law, groups in New York have organized a march across the Brooklyn Bridge and protest on Thursday, July 29th. We speak with the event organizers, MONAMI MAULIK of Desis Rising Up and Moving and MICHELLE FEI of Immigrant Defense Project, about the solidarity action and how laws like SB 1070 are relevant to immigrant communities here in New York City.

Experimental Prison Units for Muslims and Environmental Activists: The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates two “Communications Management Units”–experimental prison units in Illinois and Indiana designed to isolate prisoners from the general population.  Two-thirds of the prisoners housed there are Muslims who have been banned without explanation from interacting with other prisoners and regular phone calls and visitation. Environmental rights activists are housed there too. RACHEL MEEROPOL, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights, joins us to talk about the recent federal lawsuit she filed against the Federal Bureau of Prisons challenging the CMUs, and the government’s recent attempt to have the suit dismissed.

MI21:  Mother India–the 21st Century Remix: MI21 reimagines and reworks Mother India, the epic Bollywood film that captures the post-colonial Indian psyche, into a performance piece–60 minutes of visual images accompanied live by a DJ and musicians. We’ll talk about the relevance of the film for contemporary audiences and the creative process behind adapting such an iconic film with JOYOJEET PAL and INDY HUNJAN of Kala Phool in advance of the U.S. premiere of MI21 at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Thursday, July 29th.

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This program is brought to you by Silky Shah, Chitra Aiyar, Naureen Shah, and Amna Akbar of the APF Collective.

For last week’s show on Chenoan and US militarism, gentrification in Chinatown, and a “non”Asian-American arts exhibition, click here.

Every Tuesday from 8-9 PM EST, Asia Pacific Forum brings you coverage of Asian American and Asian news, politics, and culture. For more information see Asia Pacific Forum or contact them via info@asiapacificforum.org.