018 – The American Identity – Live from SXSW

Show Notes

Who is American Enough under this Administration?

The Deputy Director of the ACLU, the actor & co-producer of the Netflix-distributed documentary “Meet the Patels”, and the nation’s youngest & openly gay mayor to be shortlisted as a presidential contender, all join Vikrum Aiyer on the podcast stage at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, to examine the American identity.

Guest bios:

Ravi Vasant Patel is an American actor, who recently wrote & directed with his sister, an award-winning autobiographical documentary (distributed by Netflix) Meet the Patels, which examines love & the South Asian immigrant. Fox Searchlight films are currently working with Ravi and his sister on a wide-screen release remake. He is a former investment banker; an Economics and International Studies double major graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill; and his work has been featured alongside Aziz Ansari & John Stamos.

 

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a Harvard-educated Rhodes Scholar and Afghanistan War veteran who’s drawn national attention from media pundits and politicians since becoming the city’s leader at the age of 29 in 2011. He is rumored to be a presidential contender in 2024 but is presently on the path of becoming the 1st openly gay person ever to be elected to state office in Indiana.

 

Jaweer Brown is the Associate Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and has lead the rebranding,  corporate partnerships, and digital outreach overhauls for the ACLU since the election of Trump. She has historical lead reproductive rights campaigns for the ACLU, and lead similar campaigns for Planned Parenthood. She is the daughter of bi-racial parents; a graduate of UC Boulder, Yale, and Emory; was named by In-Style Magazine as one of the top women to watch shaping American life.

 

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What is American Enough?

America's identity is evolving in real time. Immigrants are being scoffed at for looking a certain way and not being "American" enough. Transgender individuals are being determined not "fit enough" to serve in our military. Sexual assault and neo-nazi behavior is being condoned by the Oval Office. The First Amendment is being ridiculed. And, America's moral authority is eroding internationally, begging the question of who is "enough" of an American ally.

Former Obama White House senior advisor and Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary of Commerce, Vikrum Aiyer, is joined by journalists, comedians, politicians, activists, and listeners, to unpack this crucial existential moment for our nation's identity.