a Good Refugee Podcast

Hello. Hope February has been treating you well.In the second and concluding part of Gelek’s conversation with Lama Row Owens, they speak about the loss of magic and exploring Indigeneity (01:25); holding space for anger and violence in creating justice and peace (09:05); the weaponization of niceness (20:55); bodies, movement and breathing in the time of a pandemic (22:40); and more.If you missed part one of the conversation, click here.Episode notes* Loss of magic and exploring Indigeneity. [01:25]* Loving our anger. [03:56]* What Black History Month means to Lama Rod. [06:15]* Holding space for anger and violence in creating justice and peace. [09:05]* Discussing police, prison abolition, political systems and institutions in dharma teachings. [15:29]* Weaponization of niceness. [20:55]* Bodies, movement and breathing in the time of a pandemic. [22:40]* Lama Rod’s current and upcoming projects. [26:30]Interview transcriptYou have a chapter towards the end of [Love and Rage] where you speak about the loss of magic. Yeah, that’s part of my Indigenous work right now. This is work that I hope to present in the next couple of years—me connecting more to my African as well as Native American ancestry, and putting all of that in conversation with Tibetan Buddhism. For me, again, it’s a synthesis of what’s being created. I think “Love and Rage” was a good beginning step to demonstrate how I am transitioning into this space. As an American Black person, my Indigenous spiritual practice is hoodoo. Hoodoo derives from the practice of Africans coming on to the West, meeting Christianity, and developing the system of philosophy, ritual magic and so forth. It’s so related to tantra and Vajrayana in Tibetan Buddhism. I wanna understand how I can synthesize that even more so that it’s more authentic for me. I remember years ago, Rinpoche [Norlha] was talking about the magic of Native Americans. He was saying, “Native Americans were so strong that they survived genocide.” It really struck me when he said that. For me, that was just the way he recognized the validity of this community of people. He respected Native American gods and spirits. When Kundun [HHDL] makes his trip to North America, he always makes it a point to also have representatives or emissaries from the local First Nations or the Native communities to meet with them and speak with them. I always find it beautiful how there are these patterns of elemental rituals that’s consistent across hemispheres, cultures and Indigenous communities. I am reminded of, for instance, the whole myth or idea of how Buddhism was propagated by Padmasambhava [in Tibet], and him having to clash with nagas and deities. It’s very fascinating to actually look into those things, and I’m really excited for this project that you are undertaking. The title of the book itself, I was curious about that. When you placed “Love and Rage” in that order, was that intentional?Yeah absolutely. The title came first before the content.Like not “Rage and Love,” but “Love and Rage.” Was that intentional?Yes, because love holds the rage. Love leads. So, when I talk about this conversation between love and rage, it’s not a fight. It’s more about how love is holding the space for our rage to be there. Love is the container that holds everything. If there is no container of love then that rage actually becomes an expression of violence. “My anger is like a living being I am in partnership with.” And then a couple of pages later you say, “Loving our anger invites it into a transformative space where it emerges as the teacher.” That’s so profound. I wonder if you can expand on that a little bit.That’s rooted within the teachings around the manifestation of the guru. How the guru is manifesting in the phenomenal world. One of those manifestations of the guru is through emotions. Once we pay attention to the emotion, the emotion is actually trying to teach us how to be in relationship with it. For so much of our lives, we tend to be overreacting and running away from our emotional reality. But to turn our attention back to something like anger, we begin to hold space for it and to experience it, that experience begins to teach us about the nature of emotion. And of course the nature of emotion is the nature of the mind itself. Once we realize that, the guru emerges in that moment.You’re saying anger can be a vessel that helps take us to the ultimate reality.Well, anything can take us to the ultimate. The nature of the whole phenomenal world is of one essence. So if we recognize the nature of that phenomena—an emotion, an object, an idea, whatever it is—it unlocks the nature of all phenomena, and that opens us right into the ultimate.Does Black History Month hold significance for you?That’s a good question. It doesn’t hold significance for me because I feel like I’m always celebrating my history and culture. It’s not relegated to one month—the shortest month of the year, by the way. I just think that we have to establish a culture where we’re celebrating all the parts of our history; all the different groups and communities that have helped shape the world. We should have knowledge and an appreciation of that. And yes, I understand that there are histories that have been so silenced that we have to create and designate these periods of time to bring attention to it. But I really want to take it to a point where we don’t need to have a special time to think about these things. That it just happens naturally. That we think about Black folks, Asian American communities, queer history, Native American history… where we just know that. And we don’t. There’s so much history that has been erased.This is different from how some people then take that other approach where they say, “I don’t see race. I’m colour blind.” You’re not saying that at all. You actually have a passage—I can’t find it right now—in your book where you affirm and celebrate the different histories, traditions, lineages that we embody. Yeah, I see differences. I love that. Again, it goes back to the teachings of the mind. I can hold space for everything and notice everything. And I can look at the ways in which I have fixations on certain things. I can examine that. That fixation may also mean prejudice. It may mean resistance to certain things. I can look at that and hold space for it and allow it to be this immense amount of openness. We can hold all the difference in the world but the problem is our relationship to that difference. Is that relationship one of opening and acceptance or is it one of restricting and defining and pushing away?And asserting power.And asserting power, absolutely. Because we’re fixated on our sense of self and ego, right? But there has to be space for it too.Spaciousness is another theme that’s quite prevalent in your book. Early on in your book, you say (in speaking of anger): “In activist communities, our relationship to anger is immature, ill-informed and overly romanticized. We manipulate anger as a false sense of energy and inspiration.” The first image that came to my mind when I read that line is the burning of the 3rd Precinct building of the Minneapolis police department shortly after the killing of George Floyd. For me that was such a powerful, revolutionary emanation of what activism means but also what taking back justice means. Do you think your line and that image are in contradiction?I think that one of the things—and this is a really subtle, nuanced argument—that I’m always trying to push for, particularly with activists, is knowing what you’re doing, and not just reacting. If you’re gonna burn a building down, know that you’re burning it and know that you’re doing this in order to hopefully trigger freedom, liberation. Not just cause you’re pissed off. I know that’s a very nuanced thing. Our holding space for anger and reacting to anger may actually look like the same action. Often I’m trying to avoid violence, but at the same time, sometimes violence has to be expressed in order to reduce greater forms of violence. And so I’m not a 100 percent non-violent person. I think violence can be used skillfully to reduce other kinds of violence and harm. So we have to know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. The use of violence has to be skillful. And of course people push back, but then I use this example of like, if you have a child and someone runs up and grabs your child, are you going to stand there? Are you gonna do whatever you can to get your child back in that moment?We all have the capacity to express violence. Every being on this planet has been violent in some capacity or another. What I’m arguing for is can we skillfully use that violence to reduce other forms of violence when we need to. Dr. King said, “Riot is the language of the unheard.” I think that’s important for us. And then, when something needs to be destroyed, can we critically say, OK we’re going to do this? Not out of hate and anger, but out of this need to be heard; to disrupt certain systems that are increasing harm and violence for others.This is perhaps my own Tibetan neurosis surfacing where I feel like non-violence tends to get weaponized, funnily enough, in how we are meant to come to terms with our traumatization and our oppression. It also operates through respectability politics, where the idea is that if you conduct yourself civilly or in a way that’s appropriate, that somehow it elevates your dissent over others. I think it’s very timely or relevant that you quote Dr. King because I’m reminded of his quote where he says, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension. It is the presence of justice.” That piece, again, gets easily paved over when those in power talk about non-violence or of being peaceful but miss the whole context of justice. And I think that in itself is actually a form of violence.I totally agree. I think in the west, the teachings of non-violence have been so over emphasized because it comes thr

Losar Tashi Delek and Happy Lunar New Year!In this episode, a Good Refugee Podcast speaks with Buddhist teacher, activist and writer Lama Rod Owens on a wide spectrum of topics covering spirituality, silence and power (06:55); how class, race, wealth and justice intersect with Buddhism today (12:35); sexual abuse in dharma spaces (26:56); drawing boundaries between the teacher, student, sangha and social life (29:38); and mental health (40:00).This is part one of the conversation. Listen/read part two here.The full transcript of this interview is posted below, lightly edited for clarity and flow.BioLama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, yoga instructor and authorized Lama, or Buddhist teacher, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism and is considered one of the leaders of his generation of Buddhist teachers. He holds a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School and is a co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger.Lama Rod will be hosting a seven-week online course and practice group based on his book “Love and Rage.” It starts on February 15. Sign up here. lamarod.comInstagramTwitterEpisode notes* Making sense of these times. [02:30]* How “Love and Rage” fits in this moment. [04:20]* Meditations on silence and power. [06:55]* The evolution of activism and dharma from when Lama Rod first began. [11:18]* How class, race, wealth and justice intersect with Buddhism today. [12:35]* Sexual abuse in dharma spaces. [26:56]* Drawing boundaries between the teacher, student, dharma and social life. [29:38]* Seeing the teacher as a mirror to your own wisdom. [32:58]* Understanding mental health from Buddhist, western and Indigenous perspectives. [40:00]Interview transcriptLama Rod thank you so much for joining us. Welcome. Tashi Delek!Thank you so much.Where are you speaking from?I am speaking from Atlanta, where I just relocated to. This is traditionally, historically the land of the Muskogee people and the Cherokee people. But I am originally from Rome, Georgia, so this is like returning home.And how are you doing at this moment?I’m ok. I’m a little tired, but for the most part, mentally I’m feeling clear, open and fluid which is really wonderful.Has it felt like lately there has been a much more ramped up conversation or discourse about existing and how to make sense of these times?Yes, oh absolutely. I think last year the beginning of quarantine and the pandemic really forced people to do intense discernment about exactly what they were doing in their lives. The beginning of the quarantine reminded me of my years in my three-year retreat where everything just kind of shut down and I was just really holding space in one place for an extended period of time. That kind of holding space for me always triggers this deep kind of contemplation and discernment about what my work is. Last year, I think a lot of folks just started waking up and realizing that they had to start making different decisions and choices about how they were living their lives. And of course, on top of that, the world continues. We continue to live within systems and institutions that are creating violence for a lot of different people. So we were having to negotiate racial injustice, economic injustice, climate instability [while] at the same time negotiating a pandemic. A lot of folks started waking up to the reality of these harmful systems.When you first started [Love and Rage], you wrote that there was this moment where you were giving a talk with your co-author of Radical Dharma [Rev. angel Kyodo williams], and there was this Black gentleman who spoke about anger, and that was kind of the genesis which started your writing of Love and Rage. When was this around?2017. Before that I was really avoiding writing a book on anger. I wasn’t really interested. But at that event, where this young Black man was just like, “What do I do with anger? How do I choose happiness?” I really realized that this would be an important teaching to offer. When you locate yourself back to that time in 2017 and how things just unfolded from that point on—understanding of course that so many of the injustices and violent things that we’ve witnessed and experienced have already been happening for many decades—and then this year has been such a collision of all those injustices. And then of course we have the pandemic. As I was reading through the book now, so many of those things were almost prophetic in some ways. Was that a realization that you had to also reckon with?I will say this: my experience as I was writing that book was an experience of feeling as if I—it’s hard to articulate. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I felt like I wasn’t talking about what was happening in the moment of writing the book. And this is why I didn’t really think the book was that interesting. When I wrote it, I was like who’s gonna actually resonate with this because I don’t think it’s actually talking about anything that’s happening now. On top of that, the book was supposed to be out much earlier than last summer [2020]. It was supposed to be out the fall of 2019 and I couldn’t meet the deadlines for getting the drafts in. I kept missing all these deadlines. Classic writer’s dilemma.Exactly. Finally, my publisher was like, you have to get it in at this date or we have to push it back like a year. And so I made that deadline and when the book finally was published a year later, then it kind of landed within this current… well, apocalypse.June 2020.Yeah, I had no idea. Absolutely no idea that 2020 was gonna be the way that it was.Silence, which I know has been an important piece in your practice, is a recurring theme in the book. It also coheres with how many of us have lived in isolation throughout this pandemic. Is that something you’ve meditated on length and spoken to others about?Yeah absolutely. For me, quarantine was something that I knew how to do because of retreat. And quarantine was something the majority of folks didn’t know anything about so I just felt like I was coming home to an old practice. For me, silence is also about stillness. A lot of folks didn’t have the privilege of being in the space that felt still and quiet. Many folks were kind of bound together in family units and other roommates and other kinds of living arrangements where it felt very crowded and intense and stressful. But even in that kind of stress and crowdedness there’s still this incredible way we can touch into this stillness within all that movement and constriction. So I’ve spent a lot of time meditating on silence itself and trying to understand what silence is. I’m really influenced by the work of Audre Lorde; she talks about silence and the transformation of language. For me what I began to understand is that silence helps me to understand language and all the different ways we communicate.If I may quote a passage from [Love and Rage], you say, “The transformation of silence into language is the migration from captivity into freedom or even the migration from invisibility into visibility. However, freedom and visibility come with the burden of confronting all those who don’t want you to be free or seen.”What I read from that, and understand from you, is you also wrestling with the complexity of silence and how that can also be weaponized on those who are oppressed into being silenced. Can you please expand on that?I think about another quote from Zora Neale Hurston who, among many things, also wrote “Their Eyes Were Watching God” and she has this quote where she says, and I paraphrase, if you don’t speak, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it. So that weaponization of silence is really about how silence is used to erase people and then to replace that erasure with a narrative that’s much more comfortable than the true reality of things. And so, I was doing two things: I was trying to figure out how to move into language as an act of liberation. And secondly, I was trying to figure out in my practice how to use silence to communicate as well. That’s where we talk about the weaponizing of silence. It’s like, yeah we silence people but in my practice I wanted to be empowered in both silence and language. I wanted agency to choose the best way to be in the moment. I think silence, when we’re conscious, intelligent and aware about it, can speak even louder than words or language.I think that’s a very keen insight, especially when you pair silence with power and the notion of agency as well. You cite specific examples in your book of how silence can just be another form of abuse. You also make it a point to mention your root guru Norlha Rinpoche and how all that episode played out. How even in those instances silence is another one of the ways that people not only perpetuate violence but also delusion. Was that a piece that was intentional for you when you speak of silence? Yeah absolutely. I think that also silence is something that when we get to a certain agency, we choose because that silence—in a really complicated, complex situation, particularly in the case with my teacher—was the best choice to make for me personally.Have you noticed changes both in the spaces of activism and the dharma communities from when you were first starting out? Have you noticed any tangible differences, just even in terms of discourse?I think one of the shifts that I’ve noticed is that there are more resources that tend to expand the discourse. More of us are writing and speaking out, which is actually deepening the subject matter of what we’re talking about. So I think this idea of justice and the practice of justice has expanded quite a bit for a lot of sanghas, particularly around inclusivity and sexual misconduct. I think there have been, over the past five years, such intense—I hate to use the word scandal but—real situations in sanghas that have created a lot of harm. From Shambhala t

Are you like many of us who feel trapped in this pandemic paradox where it feels like we have lots of time on our hands and yet unable to make our reading pile lighter? Then this episode is for you! Gelek speaks with writer, friend and fellow Nepali Torontonian Manjushree Thapa to get some insight into her reading projects (03:34), traveling across Colombia in the footsteps of Gabriel García Márquez (08:30), her writing process (26:11) and writing projects (35:15). They also mix in some spirited momo discourse, where Gelek tries to pitch Manjushree on his idea of co-hosting a Netflix show about these delectable Tibetan/Nepali dumplings (17:20).BioManjushree Thapa is a Nepali Canadian essayist, novelist and translator of Nepali literature into English. Her most recent novel “All of Us in Our Own Lives” is a beautiful story of strangers who shape each other’s lives in fateful ways, about Nepalis in Nepal and abroad, about human interconnectedness, about privilege, and about the ethics of international aid. Manjushree’s non-fiction books include a travelogue, a biography, and a collection of editorials and reportage on Nepal’s Maoist war and peace process, including “Forget Kathmandu.” Manjushree currently lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, the irrepressible journalist Daniel Lak.manjushreethapa.comTwitterEpisode notes* Reading as a way to cope with the pandemic. [02:00]* Manjushree’s reading projects: audiobooks, research vs pleasure. [03:34]* First reading project: Chinese literature. [05:25]* Reading Colombian writers and tracing the footsteps of Gabriel García Márquez in Colombia. [08:30]* What would a Manjushree Thapa-themed reading tour look like? [13:24]* Momo discourse! [17:20]* Understanding Manjushree’s love of Proust. [23:35]* Manjushree’s writing process; typing vs writing by hand. [26:11]* Current reading projects: quantum theory, memoirs, poetry... [30:00]* Writing own memoir, about Nepali feminism, pandemic writing setup, and more process. [35:15]* Eden Robinson’s Trickster series and the matter of Indigeneity. [41:26]* Reading tips from Manjushree, plus painting. [48:54]Reading listAll of Us in Our Own Lives - Manjushree ThapaWomen Have No Nationality - Manjushree Thapa (Record Nepal)I Don’t Love You, Toronto: On Books and Cities - Manjushree Thapa (The Millions)Serve the People! - Yan LiankeLiving to Tell the Tale Reader’s Guide - Gabriel García MárquezIn Search of Lost Time Volume V The Captive & The Fugitive - Marcel ProustSon of a Trickster - Eden RobinsonMonkey Beach - Eden RobinsonAdditional linksTrembling Mountain - Kesang Tseten (2016; trailer)Trickster's 2nd season cancelled by CBC (CBC News)The Boyden Controversy is not about Bloodline - Robert Jago (The Walrus)The Real Education of Little Tree - Dana Rubin (Texas Monthly)The White Tiger (2021; Netflix) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Recorded on Jan 23, 2021 (which now feels like a lifetime ago), the GRP cast catch up to give a retrospective on 2020, and their most based and boring predictions for 2021. Everything from the shenanigans that unfolded on Jan 6 and Jan 21 (09:05), Gelek going nude on print (23:50), the biggest disappointments of 2020 (30:00), and what they think will happen in 2021 (49:00).Editor’s note: this episode was recorded prior to the GameStop and reddit/r/wallstreetbets situation, but the hosts of a Good Refugee Podcast were unfortunately not able to forecast that into their stock predictions. We regret this oversight.Episode notes* Choeyang and Tsering’s classes. [03:30]* How we processed the double events of Jan 6 and Jan 21. [09:05]* Tibetan cameo at Trump insurrection. [11:00]* How does the insurrection compare to other major events like 9/11? [14:20]* Tibetans vacationing in Mexico during a pandemic. [19:30]* Gelek’s Love Your Body photoshoot. [23:50]* Biggest disappointment of 2020: Centrist Dems conspiring against Bernie. [30:00]* Biggest disappointment 2: anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers. [34:20]* Biggest disappointment 3: tattoos (lack thereof). [35:30]* 2020’s most pleasant surprise: Zoom learning. [38:16]* Most pleasant surprise 2: gaming. [39:54]* Biggest flex of 2020: bleached hair. [44:36]* Biggest flex 2: squats! [47:42]* 2021 most boring prediction: collapse of bitcoin. [49:00]* Most boring prediction 2: lockdown and masks continue [51:34]* Most boring prediction 3: boring Biden bores on. [52:00]* Take most likely to get us cancelled: supporting another one of Gelek’s projects. [55:00]* Take most likely to get us cancelled 2: new Tibetan Sikyong not having any meaningful effect in the lives of regular Tibetans in exile and in Tibet. [56:56]* Take most likely to get us cancelled 3: lockdown! [59:15]* 2021 stock market prediction: Tesla gonna Tesla. [64:25]* Stock market prediction 2: cannabis high. [66:45]* 2021 wholesome prediction: going back home. [68:55]* Wholesome prediction 2: more solidarity and radical community building. [69:40] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Author and change-maker Annahid Dashtgard chats with Gelek about her life and work confronting racism (00:55), how the oppressed can become oppressors (09:00), healing work among racialized peoples (18:30), the limits of diversity trainings (25:00), adding justice to EDI work (36:22), the upcoming Anima Leadership Conference (40:00), and more.BioANNAHID DASHTGARD is author, change-maker and co-founder of Anima Leadership, a highly respected international consulting company specializing in issues of diversity and inclusion. Annahid has over 25 years of experience designing systemic change initiatives and coordinating programs at local, national and international levels. In her career, she has moved from organizing national political campaigns targeting broad scale change to studying the psychology of individual behaviour. She is the host of the podcast series Soundwaves of Belonging, and the director of two award-winning documentaries, Bye Buy World: The Battle of Seattle and Bread. Her memoir Breaking the Ocean: Race, Rebellion and Reconciliation launched August 2019 to rave reviews. On Jan 21 and 22, Annahid will be hosting Anima Leadership’s Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times Conference.Episode notes* Annahid intro [00:55]* Dismantling Canadian exceptionalism (homegrown white extremism, Proud Boys). [04:40]* How the oppressed can become oppressors. [09:00]* Reconciliation vs accountability [13:40]* Cancel culture and how do you meet in the middle with a white supremacist? [16:45]* Importance of healing work among racialized peoples. [18:30]* Channeling rage against injustice properly. [21:20]* The limits of diversity and representation politics. [25:00]* @arayabaker: racial justice is not about diversity, it’s about overthrowing power. [32:00]* Diversity trainings being used as a checklist by organizations. [34:10]* J.E.D.I.: justice, equity, diversity and inclusion [36:22]* Anima Leadership Conference 2021 [40:00] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Happy New Year! Gelek and Choeyang caught up with Chitue (parliamentary) candidates Tenzin Kalsang (Kaysang) and Tenzin Jigdal to talk about the Tibetan elections taking place on Jan 3, 2021. They touch on initial thoughts about the upcoming election (02:10), the issues they want to highlight (9:05), how the Tibetan parliament-in-exile is set up (24:50), a literally earthshaking endorsement from Kaysang (70:25), dismantling the U-Tsang confederacy (77:30), and more.Episode notes* Initial thoughts about the upcoming election. [02:10]* Why did they run in these elections as Chitue candidates? [05:30]* What are some of the biggest issues you wanted to highlight? [9:05] * Perception of Tibetan issues as being monolithic, plus lack of class analysis. [14:10]* General lack of understanding of the parliamentary process. [19:00] * Tibetan parliament-in-exile setup. [24:50] * Is regional allocation (chölka) outdated? [31:05] * What does democracy mean to the two candidates? [39:00] * Religious sects getting 10 seats from the 45 total parliament seats. [44:50] * Rangzen (independence) vs umay lam (middle-way). [59:30] * How unity gets weaponized. [66:00] * Sikyong endorsements plus EARTHQUAKE! [70:25] * Dismantling the U-Tsang confederacy. [77:30] * Respectability and elitist politics and how class and power intersects. [79:00] * Why should Tibetans support you? [85:00]* Closing remarks [89:25]BiosTenzin Kalsang is the co-founder of Drokmo, a feminist resource group working with Tibetan and Himalayan communities on gender justice. She is running for the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, as an U-Tsang candidate.InstagramTenzin Jigdal is running as a parliamentary candidate for one of the Dotoe seats. He’s an international coordinator for the International Tibet Network, and has also served in Tibet Action Institute and Students for a Free Tibet.Instagram This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Happy Holidays! The esteemed professionals and academics at a Good Refugee Pod get into the festive spirit by partaking in the joyous tradition of identifying people with a*****e tendencies. Gelek and Tsering, along with special guest Nishant Upadhyay, pass judgments on a housekeeper terrorized by plush lizard toys (05:25), the U.S. finding $600 for Americans (14:30), dick pic etiquette (22:40), Modi and the farmer protests in India (31:15), and our millennial casanova Martin Shkreli. Bonus discussion on the Bidens and the whole deal about credentials (52:30).Episode Notes* Nishant intro [04:00]* AITA for refusing to make my son get rid of a toy that scares our housekeeper? [05:25]* AITA for giving $600 stimulus checks to struggling Americans? [14:30]* AITA for getting mad at my mom for sending me a dick pic [22:40]* AITA for passing farmer’s bills in India and causing the largest protest ever? [31:15]* AITA for having a crush on a universally reviled pharma-bro [41:10]* Bonus: AITA for talking at any length about the importance of credentials [52:30]* Closing AITA remarks [60:25]BioNishant Upadhyay is an Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. They received their PhD at York University, Toronto in the Graduate Program of Social and Political Thought in 2016.WebsiteLinksAITA for refusing to make my son get rid of a toy that scares our housekeeper?COVID-19 relief package: $600 stimulus checks, $300 bonus for federal unemployment benefits in new dealAITA: my mom sent me a dick pic and is mad I’m mad?Dozens die during India farmers’ protests; Modi offers more talksThe Journalist and the Pharma Bro This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Gelek spoke with artist, educator, friend and troublemaker Susan Blight to get her take on the best films and music to come out of an impossibly bewildering and isolating year. The episode begins with Susan’s participation in Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto [03:00], what films mean to her and her top five selections [9:45], the Michelle Latimer issue [37:00], and finally, Susan’s connection to music and her top five records, plus song of the year [46:00]Episode Notes* Indigenous Fashion Week Toronto [03:00]* Susan’s connection to the world of cinema [9:45]* First film pick: Time [13:40]* maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore [16:00]* PLUCK [18:00]* POSSESSOR [24:00]* êmîcêtôcêt: Many Bloodlines [27:00]* Honorary mention: Mandalorian [28:30]* The importance of supporting Indigenous artists [34:10]* The Michelle Latimer controversy [37:00]* What music means to Susan [46:00]* First album: It Was Good Until It Wasn't - Kehlani [48:20]* Featuring Ty Dolla $ign - Ty Dolla $ign [51:05]* Shore - Fleet Foxes [55:15]* City on Lock - City Girls [57:00]* BLAME IT ON BABY (DELUXE) - DaBaby [58:15]* Song of the year: Laugh Now Cry Later (feat. Lil Durk) [64:40]* Close [66:54]BioSusan Blight (Anishinaabe, Couchiching First Nation) is an interdisciplinary artist working with public art, site-specific intervention, photography, film and social practice. Her solo and collaborative work engages questions of personal and cultural identity and its relationship to space. She is a PhD student in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto and her dissertation examines Anishinaabeg geographies of resistance. In August 2019, Susan joined OCAD University as Delaney Chair in Indigenous Visual Culture and as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences and School of Interdisciplinary Studies.TwitterWebsiteLinksimagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts FestivalIndigenous Fashion Week TorontoSovereign ScreenLanguage and the Land This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Gelek and Choeyang speak with Tenzing Sonam and Tenzin Dolker about the growth and evolution of Tibetan arts in the diaspora ahead of the launch of TibetFilms.com: how they first connected with art [02:04]; censorship as both restricting and liberating inside Tibet [16:20]; lack of institutional and community support for non-traditional Tibetan artists [27:00]; DIFF and TibetFilms.com [36:15]; and much more.Episode notes* Guest intros and how they first connected with art. [02:40]* How their art evolved over the years. [10:00]* Does censorship inside Tibet hinder or boost creativity there? [16:20]* How free are you as an artist outside Tibet? [21:30]* Lack of institutional and community support for non-traditional, non-religious Tibetan arts. [27:00]* How Tibetan artists are supported vs non Tibetan artists. [31:05]* Dolker’s current and future projects. [34:15]* Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF): origin, concept, hosting a festival during a pandemic. [36:15]* Launching TibetFilms.com (Dec 3 - Dec 13). [41:00]* How people can tune into TibetFilms.com and its different offerings. [46:00]* Tenzing’s current and future projects. [55:20]* Situation in Dharamshala. [57:20]BiosTenzing Sonam was born in Darjeeling, India to Tibetan refugee parents.Working through White Crane Films, Tenzing and his wife Ritu Sarin have made more than 20 documentaries, several video installations and two dramatic features. A recurring subject in their work is the issue of Tibet, with which they have been intimately involved: personally, politically and artistically. Through their films, they have attempted to document, question and reflect on the questions of exile, identity, culture and nationalism that confront the Tibetan people.They are the directors of the Dharamshala International Film Festival, one of India’s leading independent film festivals, which they founded in 2012. They are based in Dharamshala.Tenzin Dolker is a Tibetan exile, born and raised in a Tibetan refugee camp in South India. Prior to her work as a photographer, Dolker was a co-founder of Dharamshala Dance Arts where she managed the day-to-day activities of the center and taught Bollywood dance and yoga. She is a vocal advocate and activist in the Tibetan Freedom Movement.Photography gave Dolker a voice to explore, learn, question and accept her space and existence by observing and documenting people, culture and the uncertain quietness of everyday lives. In 2019, Dolker played the lead role in the Tibetan feature film, The Sweet Requiem. She’s currently based in New Orleans.LinksTibetFilms.com (Dec 3 - 13)Dharamshala International Film FestivalWhite Crane FilmsDrung FilmsNangpa la Pass 2006 shooting incident This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

In this sprawling and freewheeling conversation, a Good Refugee Podcast tackles the messy, meandering ways that political and personal identities evolve in the diaspora (03:30), the interplay of politics and religion in Tibetan lives (16:00), revisiting His Holiness’s pretty Dalai Lama joke from 2019 (28:00), Palestine (39:00), and more.Episode notes* What does/how should the Tibetan political identity look like in the diaspora? [03:30]* When did you start being aware of your Tibetan identity? [08:30]* The easy trappings of Tibetan political tropes in a Western setting. [16:00]* Buddhism superiority/sincerity paradox. [26:00]* Revisiting HHDL’s pretty Dalai Lama joke and the immediate aftermath. [28:00]* President of the Central Tibetan Administration visiting Israel in 2018. [39:00]* Concluding thoughts on Tibetan identity, Buddhism, justice, freedom, etc. [44:20]* Final remarks, featuring Korean dramas and hot takes re Attack on Titan. [61:30]Articles of interest:CTA President Dr Lobsang Sangay marks fruitful first visit to Israel - Tibet.net (June 26, 2018)The Dalai Lama on Trump, women and going home - BBC (June 27, 2019) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

A Good Refugee pod welcomes a new co-host: Tenzin Choeyang!In this episode, we speak with Kalaya’an Mendoza about his work as an election defender (8:20); mutual aid and community justice in the time of COVID and state violence (12:20); how Kalaya’an got involved with the Tibetan freedom movement (30:20); weaponization of non-violence (44:00); and much more.Bio: Kalaya’an Mendoza [He/Him/Siya] resides on occupied Lenape territory. He is a Queer, Hard of Hearing Filipino American organizer and human rights activist who has been engaged in nonviolent civil resistance for the past two decades. His work is currently focused on voter protection, community defense and tactical safety and security training in the lead up and aftermath of the 2020 election. He is the co-founder of Across Frontlines, an organization that works alongside frontline human rights defenders to keep their communities safe from state and non state actor violence.InstagramTwitterEpisode notes* Tenzin Choeyang intro. [00:30]* Kalaya’an Mendoza intro. [03:10]* Kala’s work during the U.S. elections. [05:50]* Self-care as an election defender. [08:20]* How is mutual aid operating during this time? [12:20]* How to separate electoral work from the work of decolonization, police abolition, etc. [17:30]* Organizing from a space of abundance vs scarcity. [22:10]* Naruto runs and Avatar bending as resistance. [28:40]* What drew Kala to the Tibetan cause. [30:20]* How to resist the unrelenting rise of neoliberal power as an organizer. [38:30]* Is non-violence civil resistance the best path forward? [44:00]* Kala’s action during Beijing Olympics 2018. [47:15]* Kala’s current projects. [54:05]* How Kala developed practice of self-care and community care. [55:55]LinksAcross FrontlinesInstagram This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

Gelek speaks with professor Carole McGranahan about what’s at stake on Nov 3, Trump’s incredible capacity for mendacity (05:00), why Tibetan Americans should think twice about supporting Trump (28:00), China vs the U.S. (40:00), and what’s a good refugee to do going forward (43:00).Bio: Professor Carole McGranahan is an anthropologist and historian of Tibet and the Himalayas, and a professor at the University of Colorado. She conducts research, writes, lectures, and teaches. At any given time, professor McGranahan is probably working on one of the following projects: political asylum and refugee citizenship in the Tibetan diaspora (Canada, France, India, Nepal, Switzerland, and the USA); Tibet, the British empire, and the Pangdatsang family; the self-immolations in Tibet; the CIA and the Chushi Gangdrug resistance army; and, anthropology as theoretical storytelling. She lives in the mountains outside of Boulder, Colorado.carolemcgranahan.comEpisode notes:* State of America heading into Nov 3 election [03:00]* Do Trump’s lies really break from past American presidencies? [05:00]* Is Trump the logical endpoint of America as a settler colonial project? [14:00]* Is a Biden administration really a true, progressive force that people think it will be? [19:00]* Local state elections and voter suppression [23:00]* Tibetans, Trump and Tibetan conservatism [28:00]* American presidents who stood up for Tibet against China [37:00]* What’s so bad about China’s rise to the top? [40:00]* Tibetan refugees and good refugees [43:00]* Final thoughts and go vote (for Biden)! [53:00]Projects in the works:Book on Pangdatsang family.Research project on political asylum and questions of citizenship in the Tibetan diaspora.“The Tibet Reader” book in collaboration with Dechen Pemba (High Peaks Pure Earth), Lama Jabb (Oxford University), Nicole Willock (Old Dominion University) and Dhondup Tashi Rekjong (Northwestern University).Reading:A Presidential Archive of Lies: Racism, Twitter, and a History of the Present,” International Journal of Communication 13, 2019, pp. 3164-3182.“An Anthropology of Lying: Trump and the Political Sociality of Moral Outrage,” American Ethnologist 44(2), 2017, pp. 243-248. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com

A Good Refugee Podcast is your source for news, opinions and questions from troubled (Tibetan) minds. We endeavour to challenge the mainstream imagination of Tibetans (and other refugees) as peaceful, momo-loving mystics—well, many of us are mystical, and we do love momos, but we also want to move beyond the traditional trope of the hardworking immigrant. We want to disturb the conversations about migrants seeking refuge on colonized lands, and imagine how we can help create a just, free and protected Earth for Black, Indigenous and all dispossessed peoples.A Good Refugee Podcast was conceived by Gelek Badheytsang, a Tibetan Canadian who lives in Toronto and dabbles in writing, photography and now, podcasting. Twitter: @gelekbHe is joined by co-host Tsering Yangzom from Cambridge, MA, who is also Tibetan as well as an American (yikes). She is currently completing her masters degree at Harvard Divinity School, where she is studying Tibetan Buddhism, conflict and politics. Twitter: @sayoyobaeFor the first episode, we interview Dechen Tsering and talk to her about why she thinks Tibetans shouldn’t support Trump [16:00], why Biden and Harris represent a lifeline for America [37:00], and why it takes more than a vote to be an active and compassionate citizen [48:00], among many other things.Bio: Dechen Tsering is a public health specialist at the City of Berkeley where she manages multiple health programs and administers grants funded by the City of Berkeley’s tax on sugary beverages, first in the nation. She has worked in international development, philanthropy, women’s and LGBTIQ rights advocacy and health care through Community Health for Asian Americans, Global Fund for Women, Seva Foundation, and Tibetan Delek Hospital. Dechen is the first out-lesbian in the Bay Area Tibetan community and a former president of the Tibetan Association of Northern California. Dechen is a co-founder of ACHA-Himalayan Sisterhood, a volunteer organization empowering survivors of gender-based violence in and outside the US. She is a trained domestic violence counselor and a member of San Francisco’s Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS) volunteer network. For 10 years, Dechen has been an active participant of a statewide gathering Strength collaborative of Asian American advocates against gender-based violence. Dechen is passionate about civic engagement, social justice, human rights and the rights of marginalized communities. Dechen lives in Berkeley, CA with her partner. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit agoodrefugee.substack.com