Return The Jewels

For the final episode of season 2, we brought back Return the Jewels' very first guest: Sameer Naseem - talented comedian, marketing guru, and man of many other talents. Sameer always brings a unique perspective to our show, and we talk about podcasting, humility vs. confidence, the line where self-deprecating humor goes from funny to a little too much, contrarianism as a marketing strategy, and more.   

We're taking a short break after this episode to come back with some new content for you. In the meantime, subscribe and check out any episodes you may have missed.  

P.S. Now's a great time to pick up a Return the Jewels t-shirt - you can even choose the color! https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/

🎬  TIMESTAMPS 

00:00 Intro 

04:16 Podcasting 

15:20 Genuflecting 

21:22 Fun & Enjoyment vs. ROI 

23:55 Self-deprecating humor - the thin line 

25:57 A Bizarre community of broken individuals 

30:54 Contrarianism for Views 

36:19 Passion of the Contrarian 

37:54 The Race Card 

44:45 The Truman Show Podcast 

46:24 The Royal Family 

52:27 Sameer a Bagel  

53:10 Outro/Plugs  

🌎 SAMEER'S LINKS 

🐦 Sameer on Twitter https://twitter.com/Sameermon

📸 Funhouse Comedy Zoom Show: https://www.instagram.com/funhousecomedy/

 #podcasting #contrarianism #theracecard #trumanshow #royalfamily #comedy

This week's episode is kinda weird. We get a little bit introspective about the direction of our personal brands and why. Danish Maqbool, who you may remember from Episode 11, have probably seen on the show Ramy, or maybe you remember him from MLG back in the day joined us to discuss these very weird thoughts. We got into branding, purpose, narrative crafting, the impulse to share, how and why we forge opinions, and so much more. Please like and share this video with everyone you know. We appreciate you helping us grow.   Find Danish on all social media @DMaq1

We brought back Sonal Aggarwal for another great episode where we touched on a lot of different topics. Sonal is one of the most interesting people we know, and on this episode we talked about: growing up in the Midwest, moving to India for classical music training, some funny stories from Goa & Italy, the billion dollar yoga industry in which brown people are severely underrepresented, and a lot more.  

🎬 TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00:00 Intro 

00:09:01 Indian Classical Music Training 

00:11:47 Pandemic Zoom Comedy 

00:15:00 Tokenized or Fetishized 

00:35:55 The Michaels - Jackson/Jordan 

00:40:31 Queer-baiting Articles 

00:43:40 Yamaha Scooter vs. Enfield Bullet 

00:49:23 WHERE'S THE KOHINOOR?!?  

00:50:01 The Yoga Industrial Complex  

00:57:08 Dahler Mehndi, the original meme 

01:05:23 White Yoga Instructors vs. Black Yoga Instructors 

01:08:39 Sonal's Plugs  

SONAL'S LINKS: 

📺 Code-Switched the Series https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJzr4xnSVQxvLEhzjOVGgxw

📸 Sonal's IG https://www.instagram.com/sonalmedia/

📸 Zoom Comedy Show https://www.instagram.com/gimmethelightcomedyshow/ 

SUPPORT US:  🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/   

STAY IN TOUCH:  📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

 #codeswitched #comedy #michaeljackson #goa #italy #chicago #indiana #michaeljackson #michaeljordan #queerbaiting #enfieldbullet #kohinoordiamond #yoga #dahlermehndi

Super fun episode today with Lily Chun! This episode consisted of a couple of martinis as well as a great conversation about the concept of the model minority, the whitewashing of school curriculums, pandemic life in New York, antifa, socialism, capitalism, fascism, Alexa, and so much more.

🎬 TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00:00 Intro 

00:01:45 Confidence comes from keeping promises to yourself 

00:04:18 Introducing Lily 

00:06:51 Growing Up as the other 

00:09:14 Model Minority 

00:15:44 Tiger Mom 

00:26:41 Racism is a part of capitalism 

00:31:12 What can we do about these problems? 

00:36:03 Unlearning Whitewashed Curriculum 

00:42:45 The ANTIFA Bogeyman / Journalism being pushed to the right 

00:50:30 What is Capitalism? 

00:55:15 People would rather have fascism than socialism 

01:07:16 Tokenized or Fetishized? 

01:15:23 NY [Pandemic] State of Mind 

01:39:36 What advice would you give to 20-year old Lily? 

 LILY'S COMICS & ANIMATIONS: 

📸 https://www.instagram.com/lillionairebunclub/ 

SUPPORT US: 

 🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/   

STAY IN TOUCH: 

 📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

 #modelminority #capitalism #pandemiclife #whitewashing #1619project #racism #socialism #fascism #tigermom #karlmarx #jeffbezos #newyork #antifa #alexa

This was a great conversation between me and comedian Bassam Shawl, host of the Wokemenistan Podcast. We got into corporate lobbying, the Kruger Dunning Effect, perspective crafting, Kashmiri politics, finding love, and so much more! This is a long one but the conversation is very engaging! 

Bassam: 

🎧 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wokemanistan/id1549579649

📸 https://www.instagram.com/wokemanistan/ 

SUPPORT US:  

🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/  

 STAY IN TOUCH:  

📸 Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

Today's show is a particularly fun one - our guest is my first* college roommate, Madhav Saxena. Madhav creates websites for a digital marketing agency, so we talk about the battle for internet privacy going on between Apple and Facebook, but we also go on to discuss the farmers protest, code switching, logical chains, and strategic framing. Oh, we also get into Gully Rap as well as the new Netflix film, White Tiger.

🎬 TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00:00 Intro 

00:02:54 Meena Harris 

00:04:55 The Name 

00:10:15 College - 4 Little Indians 

00:12:15 COVID - Essential Worker PTSD 

00:14:52 Coming to America 

00:17:49 What Do You Do? 

00:20:10 Apple vs. Facebook - Privacy Battles 

00:28:30 Toxic Masculinity 

00:34:16 Naked Mole Rats are Racist 

00:36:12 Code-Switching 

00:51:45 Our New Boiled Potato Food Truck 

00:55:00 Cultural Authenticity 

00:58:26 Bollywood Baba 

01:02:42 Appropriation or Appreciation - Gully Rap 

01:08:50 Hip-hop and Civil Disobedience - the Farmers Protests 

01:14:30 White Tiger 

01:19:54 Farmers Protests 

01:29:25 Logical Fallacies & Misinformation 

01:42:47 Trump's Participation Trophy 

01:48:20 How Do You Reframe the Narrative? 

01:52:30 Outro

SUPPORT US: 🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/  

STAY IN TOUCH: 📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

Further Reading/Viewing

 📖 Where did Hyderabad get its name? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Hyderabad#Founding_of_Hyderabad

 📖 Apple vs. Facebook: https://thehustle.co/%F0%9F%A5%8A-apple-vs-facebook/ 

📖 https://scroll.in/latest/985789/after-rihanna-climate-activist-greta-thunberg-extends-support-to-farmer-protests 

📺 Bollywood Baba (Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Ji Insan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scuWiXG5bh8

We're welcoming February with a great episode featuring our friend, Hass. Hass is a huge sneakerhead and digital media professional in NY, and is the creator/host of a new podcast called "My First Kicks". We get into everything: his background, health insurance, appropriation-appreciation, grinding to get what you want, and of course, kicks!

MY FIRST KICKS PODCAST 

🎧 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/my-first-kicks/id1539283255

📸  https://www.instagram.com/myfirstkickspod/

SUPPORT US: 

🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/

📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

Our 18th episode is here and we're super excited to welcome Lekha Sunkara Deere, MD. Lekha is an old friend from college, and we get into a lot of really interesting topics like her experiences as a pulmonary medicine fellow on the front lines in New Orleans during the peak of the pandemic in the area, becoming a mother during her fellowship, getting respect from both patients and other medical professionals, moving to Mississippi at 9, and of course, THE VACCINE. Timestamps and links below!

🎬 TIMESTAMPS: 

00:00:00 Intro 

00:05:15 Diversity in Mississippi 

00:09:36 Moving to Mississippi at 9 

00:13:20 Diversity in Higher Education 

00:16:38 The Brain Drain 

00:18:26 Race in Medicine 

00:25:10 Power Mom - the Work Life Balance 

00:30:32 Tokenized or Fetishized 

00:37:15 The Pragmatic Indian 

00:40:55 Pandemic Trauma on Medical Workers 

00:45:29 Facing Your Own Mortality 

00:47:00 Does Trauma Affect Children? 

00:54:08 Women's Authority is Constantly Questioned 

00:57:51 Should I Get Vaccinated? 

01:05:55 Do Patients Lie? 

01:08:14 How to Combat Stigma of Bad Doctors 

01:19:32 The Vaccine Experience 

01:22:49 Garbage PPE 

01:24:56 GET VACCINATED

FURTHER READING: 

📖 The Garbage Bags - https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nurse-at-brooklyn-hospital-on-coronavirus-protective-clothing-its-a-garbage-bag-its-like-something-out-of-the-twlight-zone-2020-04-07

📖 The Early Pandemic in New Orleans - https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/us/coronavirus-louisiana-new-orleans.html 

SUPPORT US: 

🛒 Check out our merch: https://return-the-jewels.myteespring.co/ 

STAY IN TOUCH: 

📸  Return the Jewels IG: https://www.instagram.com/returnthejewels/

This week we have a bombastic fantastic episode for you. I had the opportunity to sit down with stand up comedian, writer, actor, Cannabis Shaman, and one of my favorite people, Ramon Rivas. If you know Ramon, then you know he has a lot of important stuff to say. We touched on Ramon's work helping build the Cleveland comedy scene, his experience growing up as a minority in the Midwest, generational trauma, hustling during a pandemic, and a ton more. Check out the episode description on youtube for timestamps, links to Ramon's website and various projects, as well as a link to support us by ordering some Return the Jewels merch!

Returnthejewels.com

#ReturntheJewels #AndreDThompson #BrooklynSanta

 It's our 16th episode and we have our first recurring guest. This is a great conversation with Andre D. Thompson. You can watch his earlier episode (#3) on this channel. 

 We talked about the precision of language and the responsiblitiy that inherently comes from a position of influence. Dre crafts arguments and plays with language for his profession because he's a writer and stand up comedian. We addressed issues of anxiety, confidence, marginalization, persecution complexes, and having an interventionist disposition. 

Timestamps located below.   

Please like, share, and subscribe. We appreciate all your support in helping us grow! 

 Timestamps: 

 00:00 - Intro

 03:31 - What's up, Dre? 

08:05 - Anxiety Comes From Not Doing 

12:01 - Other People's Insecurities 

17:35 -  Self Victimhood/Persecution Complex in First-Gen 

21:30 - I Don't f--- with Victim Anything 

23:00 - Toolkit - How do you catch self-pity? 

27:10 - The Dre Test - am i the victim here? does this help me? 

29:48 - Should I Shut the F**k Up? 

33:42 - OJ Simpson 

38:45 - You want to be a piece of s**t or not? 

43:19 - Policing Language 

48:18 - Living Righteously & Being Humble 

50:46 - You Eat too much, You Start Farting 

52:12 - Everybody Needs to Relax 

54:13 - Outro 

57:14 - Plugs

Welcome back! It’s a new year, a new season, a new thumbnail, and we have a new friend. Join us in convo with stand-up comedian and billionaire expert Yogi Paliwal.

We had a great conversation on this one and covered so many things. Did you know that people are smart in other languages, or that some minorities codeswitch as a form of self care? We wondered to what extent do people of color curb their feelings in order to adapt to their environments. Is Pav Bhaji an appropriated food? Do you think that billionaires live the American dream or traffick in it? Obviously we didn’t have all the answers on this episode, but watching it will be worthwhile.

The Appropriation or Appreciation segment this time is Coldplay’s Hymn for the Weekend featuring Beyonce. Leave us your thoughts on it in the comments.

You can find more about Yogi on his website YogiPaliwal.com and follow him on social media @YogiPaliwal

Also check out his podcast about billionaires called Grubstakers. Find it on all audio platforms and @grubstakerspod on social media. 

Please like, share, and comment on this video. We appreciate all your support

This is our final episode of the year and we have quite the holiday treat for you. The most famous Nimesh Patel joined us for a deep conversation. 

Nimesh is quickly becoming a household name in standup comedy. He is a true hypothesis tester with his approach to content creation, and that has manifested a very bountiful and promising career for him in the entertainment industry. Nimesh just recently came on board A Little Late with Lilly Singh as a writer. Nimesh is actively pushing the needle forward for brown representation and that's reflected in his actions and words. 

 This conversation took a very interesting took a very interesting turn from narrative crafting in representation to unseen mental health issues to the ongoing and developing trauma of our family in healthcare.   

Nimesh has plenty of content for you to check out. You can download and stream his album: Head Nimesh in Charge on all audio platforms. He was the first south asian writer on SNL, and has a hilarious animated series out called Zooidiots where he tackles climate change from a new perspective. Check out his youtube channel Nimesh Patel Comedian for more.   

Find out more about Nimesh on his website www.findingnimesh.com and follow him on social media @findingnimesh

  Check out Nimesh's animated series Zooidiots on his channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72MQx4Qol5M

 Please download this episode and leave us a like and review. 

 We appreciate all your support

This week we have a very special episode for you featuring a good friend and repeat guest of the podcast, Chef Harold Villarosa. He is a force to be reckoned with, a pillar of the community and proven leader of social impact. We had a very heady conversation about the culture of work, the nature of change as a result of the pandemic, diversity at Bon Appetit,  and how to stay relevant in a world of uncertainty. 

This one is a must watch!  This episode is really important because it's more introspective than our other ones. We really delve into questions of identity and purpose.  

Find out more about Chef Harold on his website www.chefharoldvillarosa.com and follow him on social media @chefharoldvillarosa  Also, shoutout to Project Barkada which is tight knit Phil-Am collective doing big things--we talked about it on this episode.  

Check out Harold's latest video on the Bon Appetit channel:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqWf0AIWU6g&t=285s  

Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this video to help us with our metrics!

This week we have a very special episode for you featuring a unique talent and good friend of the podcast, Kunal C. Arora. He is a comedian, writer, and actor of Indian origin from Queens, NY. We had a very heady conversation about K Pop and respect for the divine,  the variance between growing up brown in big cities vs. remote places, hustling for your dreams and much more.  This one is a must listen!

Find out more about Kunal on his website www.alldaykca.com and follow him on social media @alldaykca

Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this video to help us with our metrics!

This week we have a very special episode for you featuring a really good friend of the podcast, Danish Maqbool. He is a comedian, gamer, and actor of Pakistani origin. You may recognize him from the 2nd season of Ramy. We had a very heady conversation about growing up in New Jersey, marrying the worlds of gaming and comedy, systematic emasculation of brown males, and much more.  This one is a must listen!   

Find out more about Danish on his website www.danishmaqbool.com and follow him on social media @dmaq1  

Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this video to help us with our metrics!

Welcome to our 10th episode! This week we have a very special guest for you featuring a really good friend of the podcast, Mark Teodosio. He is a Brooklyn born Filipino American comic book creator, writer and rapper. We had a very heady conversation about cultural identity, the Filipino food movement in NYC, and creating the 1st Filipino superhero and much more.  This one is a must listen!

Find out more about Mark on his instagram and follow him on social media @therealestbayani

Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this video to help us with our metrics!

This week we have a very special episode for you featuring a really good friend of the podcast, Nataly Aukar. She is a Lebanese born comedian, writer and all around great person. We had a very heady conversation about moving to NYC, being on the road, awkward encounters with racist hecklers, and much more.  This one is a must watch!   

Find out more about Nataly on her website www.natalyaukar.com and follow her on social media @natyourcolor  

Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this video to help us with our metrics!

-This week we have a very special episode for you featuring a really good friend of the podcast, Katherine Ella Wood. She is a Juliard trained jazz singer, actress, activist, and all around great person. We had a very heady conversation about artistic discretion, tokenism as a vestige of colonialism, protecting your peace, the significance of Kamala Harris' election, and Katherine shared a lot of musical wisdom. This one is a must listen! 

Find out more about Katherine on her website www.katherineellawood.com and follow her on social media @katherine.ella.wood

 Thank you for your support and patience as we grow this brand to where it should be. Please like, share, and comment on this page to help us with our metrics!

We have the incredible Sonal Aggarwal on this one. Sonal is a multi-talented comedian, actress, podcaster, and free spirit from Chicago.  You can find her in Code-Switched: A comedy-drama about a group of South Asian-Americans juggling love, work, and family in Chicago. We are proud to say that Sonal is a very close friend of the podcast because she gives back to the community and is always doing more. Whether its a series of concerts for kids of every age and every time zones, fundraising for charities, or organizing hula hoop birthday parties...she's there! Please follow her on IG @sonalmedia, listen to her podcast @ranirageradio, and definitely check out her new show @codeswitchedseries   

Don't forget to enjoy our tokenized or fetishized segment on this one: Sonal brings up an interesting take on traveling for spirituality on a budget. Also, we have a new segment on this one: Appreciation or Appropriation, where we discuss the realities of Yoga and awareness.     

We covered a lot of topics in this one from: Sonal's travels to India and South America and her encounters with spiritual guides.  Also, this was a really fun episode that you can watch over and over.    

Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. Let us know your thoughts on this conversation in the comments. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community. #returnthejewels #SonalAggarwal #code-switched

We have the incredible Tanael Joachim on this one. TJ is a man of many talents and is an incredible person with a lot to say. He is a comedian, writer, filmmaker and trader.   His album “Son of Haiti” is currently available on all audio platforms and he has a brand new special called “January 3rd” dropping on Election Day (next Tuesday. Preorder it now but watch it after you vote)! We are proud to say that TJ is a very close friend of the podcast because he stays true to his roots and spreads awareness    

Don't forget to enjoy our tokenized or fetishized segment on this one: TJ brings up an interesting take on Haitians being requested to speak French in bed.     

We covered a lot of topics in this one from:  TJ’s beginnings in Haiti to how moving to America and watching George Carlin influenced his comedy. Also, this was a really fun episode that you can watch over and over.  Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. Let us know your thoughts on this conversation in the comments. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community. #returnthejewels

We have the incredible Chef Francis Maling on this one. Francis is a chef and brand ambassador for a global food service conglomerate.  He has a pop up kitchen called Bad for Business where he introduces Filipino hybrid food to the world. We are proud to say that Chef Francis is a very close friend of the podcast because he stays true to his roots and spreads awareness

Don't forget to enjoy our tokenized or fetishized segment on this one: Francis brings up an interesting take on moving to Queens, NY. Also, we have a new segment on this one: Appreciation or Appropriation, where we discuss the top ramen chef in Japan.

We covered a lot of topics in this one from:

Chef Francis’ beginnings in Queens to how his Filipino identity influences his cooking. Also, this was a really fun episode that you can watch over and over.

Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. Let us know your thoughts on this conversation in the comments. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community. #returnthejewels

We have the incredible Electra Telesford on this one. Electra is a comedian and content consultant. She has operated in an editorial and creative capacity in her professional life for the last decade or so. We are proud to say that Electra is a very close friend of the podcast because she fights for representation in narrative crafting.  Don't forget to enjoy our tokenized or fetishized segment on this one: Electra illuminates the issue of tokenizing creative comedic voices.  We covered alot of topics in this one from Electra's beginnings in Flatbush to how her multicultural identity influences her decision calculi. Also, this was a really fun episode that you can watch over and over.   Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. Let us know your thoughts on this conversation in the comments. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community. #returnthejewels

Welcome to our second episode ever! We have tthe incredible Chef Harold Villarosa on this one. Chef Harold is an industry disruptor and titan in his community. When the world shut down, Harold worked harder than anyone else around him. He uplifted his communities and made sure to feed those who wouldn't be fed otherwise. We are proud to say that Chef Harold is a very close friend of the podcast because he's in the business of changing lives. Although this interview was recorded last month, you will be seeing Chef Harold alot more as he is scheduled to be on air talent for Bon Appetit Magazine and Network. You may have also seen Chef Harold through his extensive work with KultureHub, OFFBeat Kitchen, Kulture Kitch'n Channel, Goinsurgo, and you may have eaten at his personal pop up kitchen Unkle Harold's.  Also don't forget to miss our show's second Tokenized or Fetishized segment! We covered alot of topics in this one from Harold's immigrant beginnings in the South Bronx to his rise as a notable top chef to his work in illuminating the marginalization and oppressive practices in fine dining. Also, Chef Harold has some tough love to give to you all that you must watch.   Specific references from the episode linked in the comments.   Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community.

Welcome to our first episode ever. We have the wonderful Sameer Naseem on this one. He's a comedian, marketing guru, hip hop personality, and most of all he's a very close friend of the podcast. You can find him at his weekly standup show (currently on Zoom) called Funhouse Comedy he hosts with fellow comedian Gabe Pacheco. Also, don't miss our first ever Tokenized or Fetishized segment.

We covered a variety of topics in this interview from Sameer's time Working in the hip hop industry and navigating his career path in comedy to diversity and representation in narratives being a zero sum game and also appropriation in the context of the Ganges River. Oh yeah, and killer catfish.

Specific references linked in the comments.

Please like and share this episode with all your family and friends. We appreciate your support and look forward to your help in building this community.