Meet You At The Bottom

It's Illini Football Game Week! On the latest episode of Meet You At The Bottom, Illini Football experts Lee Brown and John Kratz return and sit down with Abhinav to provide their thoughts on the Lovie Smith era, the hiring of Brett Bielema as well as give their overall expectations for the players and team for this upcoming season. Similar to years past, Lee and John are as optimistic as ever with the entire group predicting a return to a Bowl Game this season. For all the Illini fans out there, this is a must-listen episode as this is your Illini Football primer to get up to speed before the matchup against Nebraska on August 28th.

In the latest episode of MYATB, Abhinav sits down with Monica Moreno to discuss the future of concerts and large scale events in a post COVID-19 world. Similar to the workplace and education, remote events and concerts became a staple during the pandemic with some experts saying they are here to stay or will be in some sort of a hybrid fashion. Monica is an avid concert goer and works at Eventbrite in Nashville, TN so her thoughts on this subject are always interesting to hear. The two discussed the role of virtual events / concerts during the pandemic, what a hybrid concert looks like and how such events will occur in a post-pandemic world. The future is hard to predict but this episode is a must listen if you like going to big events, concerts or are just curious about our behaviors post-pandemic. Throughout the conversation, Abhinav was sipping on some Blue Moon after a long weekend of activities while Monica kept it classy with a glass of white wine. 

In the latest episode, Abhinav sits down with Ron Lewis to discuss his career endeavors, the newest national holiday, Juneteenth, and reactions to the current social justice reform movement. While Abhinav did not have a libation, Ron was drinking a tallboy of Stella while digging in deep into his personal feelings, thoughts and reactions to all of the events in the last 15+ months. Please see this link if you want to follow Ron's podcast, it is highly recommended: https://www.instagram.com/thewoodtalks_/

Meet You At The Bottom recognizes AAPI Heritage Month - in the latest episode, Abhinav sat down with good friends Chase Arima and Daniel Santos to delve a variety of topics related to Asian Americans. They discussed their upbringings, the composition of Asian Americans, the model minority myth (link below), Asian pride and the recent rise of hate crimes against Asian Americans. In the second half of the episode, the three of them shared some memories from their UAE trip back in 2016. For the cocktails, Dan was sipping on some IPA beer, Chase enjoyed some Allagash White and Abhinav went with some Koval whiskey. 

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2021/05/03/how-the-model-minority-myth-keeps-asian-americans-out-of-management.html

In today's episode, Abhinav sits down with fellow soccer lads Dardan Ibraimi, an Arsenal supporter, and Dave Willson, a Manchester City supporter, to dive into the rise and fall of the proposed European Super League (ESL). A potential ESL has been rumored for many years but it finally came to fruition on April 18th. What transpired afterwards was truly remarkable - 48 hours filled with intense emotions, street protests and statements from politicians, players and former coaches in what seemed like a unified response against the 12 founding teams and their owners. This ultimately led to many of the teams dropping out of the ESL only after 2 days and the whole debacle gave for great conversation as Dardan, Dave and Abhinav discussed the events over many Coronas, Heinekens and Lagunitas beers.

In the latest episode, Abhinav was joined by MYATB pod favorites Nick Buege, Shanu Mathew and Conner Murphy to delve into some of the key events and topics of Q1 2021. The group met in person to record this 2+ hour session as they discussed the COVID-19 vaccine deployment, the Texas Energy crisis, Big Tech / Censorship and NTFs. The episode is quintessential Meet You At The Bottom with 4 friends getting together and having a thought-provoking and enjoyable conversation on some of the biggest current events today. The group "Met At The Bottom" a few different times throughout the episode and enjoyed some wine from New Buffalo, Michigan's Hickory Creek vineyard, bourbon from Chicago's own Koval distillery and what is now a classic cocktail - High Noons. This is Part 2 of the recap and focuses on Big Tech, Censorship and NFTs. Part 1 focused on the COVID-19 vaccine deployment and the Texas Energy crisis.

In the latest episode, Abhinav was joined by MYATB pod favorites Nick Buege, Shanu Mathew and Conner Murphy to delve into some of the key events and topics of Q1 2021. The group met in person to record this 2+ hour session as they discussed the COVID-19 vaccine deployment, the Texas Energy crisis, Big Tech / Censorship and NTFs. The episode is quintessential Meet You At The Bottom with 4 friends getting together and having a thought-provoking and enjoyable conversation on some of the biggest current events today. The group "Met At The Bottom" a few different times throughout the episode and enjoyed some wine from New Buffalo, Michigan's Hickory Creek vineyard, bourbon from Chicago's own Koval distillery and what is now a classic cocktail - High Noons. This is Part 1 of the recap and focuses on the COVID-19 vaccine deployment and the Texas Energy crisis; Part 2 will focus on on Big Tech and NFTs.

Vata! Pitta! Kapha! These are the 3 Ayurvedic Doshas (or mind-body types) that all of us humans have in our inner self. In today's episode, Abhinav sits down with Rachel Jeffries, Co-Founder of SoulFull Veda, to delve into the science of Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the science (or knowledge) of life and dates back millions of years ago to its founding in the Indus Valley. It is highly popular and practiced by millions in the Eastern parts of the world but only recently has begun gaining steam in the United States. Rachel and Abhinav spent time discussing the fundamentals of Ayurveda and Doshas as well as practical applications one can use in their daily lives to improve their mental and physical health. Tune in to this thought-provoking and reflective conversation that will surely lead to some self-analyzation and probably even more questions on Ayurveda. 

For more information on Rachel's journey, her company or other resources on Ayurveda, check out SoulfFull Veda's website: https://soulfullveda.com/

Awards season is officially here! Tune into the latest episode of MYATB to hear from Abhinav and his good friend (and TV expert), Kelly McHugh, as they provide their instant reactions to Sunday's Golden Globes broadcast. In addition, Kelly and Abhinav talk about some of their own personal TV-viewing habits and how (if at all) they changed pre- and post-pandemic. In the second half, the two went through their own version of TV superlatives - make sure to bring your notepad and write down what TV shows to watch and on what streaming platform. Kelly and Abhinav are extreme TV-junkies and if you enjoy TV or trying to pick up some new shows, this is a must-listen episode. Last but not least, Kelly repped a Bay Area Anchor Steam beer while Abhinav went with a large glass of Gewürztraminer. 

In the latest episode of Meet You At The Bottom, Abhinav was joined by his good buddy Brad McCuaig to delve into the sport of Hunting. Brad has been around the sport for over 20 years and provided immense knowledge over the 80+ minute conversation. They spent the first half on Brad's journey with the sport and what a "day-in-the-life" of a hunter looks like, specific to deer and turkey. In the second half, the two spent some time discussing big game hunting, some misconceptions (and flaws) of hunting as well as some advice from Brad for any novice hunters. To keep the discussion as lively as possible, Brad was sipping on a glass of Johnny Walker while Abhinav kept it simple with a Bud Light. 

In the latest MYATB episode, Abhinav is joined by his good friends Andrew Carlson and Sameer Datla as they discussed one of philosophy's oldest questions - "Are humans inherently good or evil?". It was an interesting, thought-provoking conversation and actually led to more questions than answers as the group dissected human nature in the context of morality, day-to-day interactions and modern-day societal elements (i.e., politics, religion, capitalism). To ensure the discussion went smoothly, the group paired the conversation with some classy refreshments - Andrew went with a hometown Wheaton, IL beer, Sameer chose a worldy Sapporo beer and Abhinav kept it simple with a glass (or four) of Basil Hayden's. 

This is the Way! In today's episode, Abhinav is joined by good friend and Star Wars megafan Tyler Hogan to discuss Seasons 1 and 2 of The Mandalorian.  Tyler and Abhinav dissected a few of their favorite episodes in each of the seasons, talked about their favorite moments across the seasons and lastly, discussed what the future of The Mandalorian holds. In the second half, Tyler and Abhinav gave a bit of a preview to a future podcast episode by discussing all of the upcoming shows and movies that are expanding the Star Wars Universe. They kept it simple with Miller Lite and Bud Light throughout the episode but with a twist - every time someone said "MANDO" or "Baby Yoda" or "the Child", Tyler and Abhinav had to take a chug of their beer. 

Happy New Year! In the first Meet You At The Bottom episode of 2021, Abhinav is joined by his cousin Lavanya Chimata, a psychotherapist, to discuss mental health in America. Over some Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon, they delved into what mental health and mental illness is, the stigma (and lack of awareness) surrounding the topic and some helpful mental and physical activities that are beneficial in addressing mental health issues. The conversation was not only educational but also engaging and thoughtful as mental health has always been a topic humans are reluctant and fearful to openly discuss but now more than ever it is in need of more awareness and dialogue around it. Hope you enjoy the discussion!

I was joined this week by my friend Patrick Wille in a 2-part conversation series about his journey on becoming a Catholic Priest and his thoughts on the Catholic Faith. In today's episode, we discussed the Catholic Faith and the Church more broadly, especially in relation to some of the key hot-bucket modern issues of our time. In Part 1 of our conversation, we focused on the key moments and experiences that led him to change career paths from a Finance Professional at Boeing to his current path of priesthood. In terms of cocktails, we kept it simple yet elegant and stuck with some refreshing water. I hope you enjoy the episode and if you have not done so already, be sure to catch Part 1 of the conversation on your favorite podcast platform.

I was joined this week by my friend Patrick Wille in a 2-part conversation series about his journey on becoming a Catholic Priest and his thoughts on the Catholic Faith. In today's episode, we focused on the key moments and experiences that led him to change career paths from a Finance Professional at Boeing to his current path of priesthood. We got an an inside look into his decision making process, the reactions from friends & family and also what exactly occurs in terms of steps and studies that are needed to be completed in order to become a Catholic Priest. In Part 2 of our conversation, we discussed the Catholic Faith and the Church more broadly, especially in relation to some of the key hot-bucket modern issues of our time. In terms of cocktails, we kept it simple yet elegant and stuck with some refreshing water. I hope you enjoy the episode and be on the lookout for Part 2 of my conversation with Pat. 

The Fighting Illini Basketball Season is here and the Illini are off to a HOT start! This week, I sat down with Illini Basketball expert and former Orange Krush President, McKennon Biers. We had a great conversation discussing last year's exciting run, key members of this year's roster, success factors and expectations for this season as well as a deep dive into the schedule with some predictions for this year and beyond. For our cocktails, McKennon had a classy, always reliable Bud Light in a commemorative KAMS mug while I enjoyed a Christmas Ale by Great Lakes Brewing Company. For all of the Illini and college basketball fans out there, this is a must-listen episode as this is one of the most anticipated seasons to date and this preview will get you up to speed before the key matchups, including the Top 10 Matchups on 12/2 against Baylor and 12/8 against Duke. Spoiler alert - the Illini are winning the Big Ten and National Championship this year!

In this week's episode, I sat down with my good high school friend, Christy Rolf, for an exciting episode into her career in the world of Interior Design. We touched on multiple aspects of interior design: what the role is, misconceptions on the industry, the need to have an understanding of other disciplines such as construction and architecture and what careers are out there for those interested in the sector. Lastly, Christy gave a very compelling pitch to why it is beneficial to think about hiring an interior designer for your next home or business and she also provided a couple of simple, yet effective tips for any upcoming DIY projects you might have. It's always fun catching up with high school friends and this was even better as I got to learn about a career that quite frankly, I was never exposed to growing up or in my years of education. Most importantly for our cocktails, Christy was enjoying her quarantine-special (Bees Knees) and I was having a glass of cabernet sauvignon from Chateau Ste Michelle. If there is only 1 takeaway from this must-listen conversation, it's the phrase Christy taught me - "More pillows on your bed = everything's good".  If you want to check out some of Christy's and her colleagues' work, here is the website: http://johnsonstudio.com/

For the 2.5 billion fans in the world (and for the many billions who are not), this week's episode takes us inside the world of the second most popular sport in the world - Cricket! I was joined by expert Krish Desai and former player turned podcast host, Paarth Joshi, as we discussed the history and basics of the game, the exciting and unpredictability of year's season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and why the sport has not gained in popularity within the United States. Lastly, we rounded out the conversation talking about Paarth's podcast, The Follow On. In each episode, Paarth and his co-hosts bring you the latest news from the pitch and in-depth analyses from all cricket competitions as well as some great opinions, insights and friendly banter. I highly recommend folks to visit the podcast's website (link below) and give the latest episode a listen as I'm sure you will start following the sport of Cricket instantaneously. Here is the link to the website: https://www.followoncricket.com/podcasts and you can listen to each episode on every major podcast listening platform (Apple Pods, Google Pods, Spotify, etc.). Last but not least and on the minds of every listener, all three of us were enjoying some classic, good ol' American beer throughout the episode - check out the Instagram page for Krish and Paarth's attempt to Meet You At the Bottom. 

With Election Day just around the corner, I sat down with returning guest Parag Dharmavarapu to address the Presidential race and provide some of our thoughts on this year's election cycle. Don't worry, we're not joining the rest of the talking heads and so-called "pundits" out there in discussing the specific campaigns (and the pros & cons of each candidate), but instead we focused on the key regions (and specifically the key counties) that will decide the election come Tuesday night. Although this was a dense, detailed and maybe boring episode, it was a very educational, interesting and thoughtful discussion on the key demographics of each region, what occurred in the 2016 election and what needs to occur for each candidate this time around so the region tilts in their favor. Lastly and most importantly, for our libations this week, I was enjoying a crisp, refreshing Blue Moon while Parag was getting in touch with his Italian roots by sipping on a Limoncello.

Illinois Football is Back! This week, I sat down with Illini Football experts Lee Brown and John Kratz as we dissected each position unit, discussed key strengths and questions for each position and provided our overall expectations for the Illini ahead of this season. In the second half, we were joined by special guest Joe Allegretti as we went through each game on the schedule, provided our thoughts on the players to watch for the opposition, keys for an Illini victory and most importantly, a final score prediction. For all the Illini fans out there, this is a must-listen episode as this is your Illini Football primer to get up to speed before Friday night's matchup. Spoiler alert - one of us has the Illini in the Big Ten Championship.

On a separate and equally exciting note - John Kratz recently founded a company called Museema. Museema is where artists turn their work into unique apparel. Here is the website and I urge all of you to follow / subscribe / sign up http://www.museema.com/. 

Blockchain. Bitcoin. Ethereum. Cryptocurrency. Web 3.0... Join me as I delve into the future with my buddies Nick and Conner. Nick and Conner are experts in this technology and they joined me this week as we discussed the concept of blockchain technology, the practical applications and some of their own personal experiences on the subject. It was a very enlightening and thought-provoking conversation and if anyone has any remote interest in learning more about blockchain, Nick and Conner should be your very first call. Look for both to be back on the pod for multiple episodes on this subject as we only scratched the surface this week. For those curious, Conner was easily taking down a bottle of Rose while Nick was enjoying a crisp, fresh non-alcoholic beer. 

This week, I was joined by my good friend and under-the-radar consumer behavior expert Kelly McCarthy as we discussed the pandemic’s implications on consumer purchasing and eating habits. Kelly kept it classy with some red wine and I was trying to relive the summer days with a fresh Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. Hope you enjoy the episode!

I was joined this week by my good friends Parth and Parag as we discussed our reactions to the 1st Presidential "Debate" from Tuesday night. We reviewed our key takeaways, the media coverage of the event and the subsequent implications on the race moving forward. Cocktails enjoyed were Whiteclaws, Nippon Coolers and Bud Lights for Parth, Parag and myself, respectively. Hope you enjoy the episode! 

This is a podcast where we dive deep into top of mind topics with a variety of guests while we enjoying our favorite cocktails. If you enjoy entertaining and educational conversations and you enjoy the occasional drink or two, this show is for you. Join us every other week as we discuss the current issues on our minds in this crazy new world of ours. 

Website: https://anchor.fm/myatb/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myatb_official/