You won’t believe who we got this season.
🔥 From the SEC to the Oscars: Our Season 8 Midpoint
Season 8: Halfway Home 🎧
Five trailblazers. Five journeys. Five reasons to keep listening.
Hey, trailblazers — it’s Simi — and welcome back to South Asian Trailblazers! This season, we said go big or go home. Every single episode is now on video, available to watch on YouTube. I’ll make it easy and take you there:
My villain origin story:
“You’re so funny.”
Thanks, my readers got this far in the newsletter, but didn’t watch the episode <3 Okay, enough of that, here’s a recap of this season so far — like you needed more convincing!
🎶 EP 1: Jay Sean, Artist & Record Label Executive
From med school to Billboard No. 1s. 🎙️ Mic Drop Moment:
Jay Sean gets real about taking risks, his ‘Rocky moment,’ and launching 3AM Entertainment to elevate the next generation of South Asian artists:
🧑🏽⚖️ EP 2: Gurbir Grewal, Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement
From getting bullied after 9/11 to leading enforcement at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) —🎙️ Mic Drop Moment:
A live episode with a senior government leader — recorded with the South Asian Bar Association of New York and Morrison Foerster:
🎬 EP 3: South Asians at the Oscars
With Mindy Kaling, Charithra Chandran, Manish Dayal, and the Deli Boys. 🎙️ Mic Drop Moments — too many to count:
“A sign of a good actor — but also maybe a bit of a trap — is when people think you are your character.” — Charithra Chandran (Bridgerton)
“I come from a gas station family like my character in Deli Boys. The only difference is [my character] Raj just wants to do drugs. I just wanted to be an actor.” — Saagar Shaikh (Deli Boys)
“My kids see brown people on TV every day. I didn’t grow up with that. They don’t like anything I do — but they see it, and that’s what matters.” — Manish Dayal (90120, The Resident)
Go behind the scenes of Hollywood’s South Asian celebration at the 2025 Academy Awards.
🇺🇸 EP 4: Dilawar Syed, U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Former Deputy Administrator
America’s then-highest-ranking Muslim official.🎙️ Mic Drop Moment:
From Silicon Valley to the State Department, Dilawar talks how small businesses can win in the age of AI, getting access to capital, and why he had to win his confirmation battle:
🧠 EP 5: Sandeep Acharya, Founder and CEO of Octave Health — revolutionizing mental health
Cancer survivor. Tech founder. Mental health reformer. 🎙️ Mic Drop Moment:
A powerful conversation on leadership, healing, and building a company that centers care:
🚨 What’s Next?
More unapologetic South Asian excellence. But if we tell the stories, we need you to hear them.
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Season 8 returns in a few weeks. Are you ready?