In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, I sit down with Nisha Mody, the relational and trauma-informed coach known online as Healing Hype Girl. Nisha shares her raw journey from a childhood marked by strict expectations and silenced playfulness to navigating codependency in a marriage to an addict, ultimately choosing divorce, childfree living, and reclaiming her voice. Together, we get into the common struggles of South Asian women—living on autopilot, breaking harmful cycles from family...

Be A Tiger is an episode about what it really means to grow up as a South Asian girl who’s told to be strong… while also being told to stay quiet, stay small, and don’t make anyone uncomfortable. In this conversation with award-winning author Kelly Kaur, we step into the world of Letters to Singapore through Simran — this young brown girl who is trying to hold herself together as an immigrant student from Singapore to Calgary in the 80's. As if the adjustment as a new comer isn't enough, Sim...

Before we get into this episode, I want to name something real: there’s a moment in life when grief meets growth. Our guest Shri lived that moment. And today, she’s helping us understand it. Grief has a way of interrupting your life— but life never stops interrupting your grief. My guest today, Shri, knows this intimately. Within 18 months, she lost her father and sister… all while she was pregnant with her daughter. Imagine grief and life entering the room at the same time. That collision ...

In this gup shup, I want to talk about something we don’t talk about enough — rebuilding our relationship with ourselves during perimenopause. Not the charts. Not the protein grams. Not the supplements or the workouts. Those matter — trust me, I’m on top of them. But I’m realizing I’m ready to focus on something deeper: How do I stay in relationship with myself while everything in me is shifting? Mood swings? Check. Brain fog? Check. Zero patience? Check. Crying in the laundry room? Check....

In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, I sit down with Christian Ortiz — Afro-Indigenous social scientist, technologist, and creator of Justice AIGPT — and this conversation hit me on so many levels. Christian grew up as a latchkey kid in 80s/90s Los Angeles and later confronted internalized racism, machismo, and white supremacy in the American South. With a fierce single mother, and a lifetime of asking “why?” shaped a mission bigger than tech: challenging the systems that shape us befo...

Ever feel guilty for not feeling festive? The holidays are sold as sparkle and joy — and honestly, it starts in August the moment the gingerbread hits store shelves. The holiday decor floods every aisle... But for many of us, what follows isn’t joy. It’s guilt — spiraling that we’re falling behind and it’s only mid-summer — overstimulation, pressure to spend, perform, and somehow stay grateful while losing our minds. Maybe it’s the Secret Santa gift that assumes your culture (“Indian chai” fo...

This one made me laugh, pause, and think. I get to sit down and really get to know Calgary comedian and Planet Jerf host Jeff D'Silva—the stories behind his humor, how he sees the world, and the experiences that shaped him. We talk about biracial parenting, Calgary mall culture, and what it was like growing up Pakistani-Canadian in the 80s. I first came across Jeff after hearing his viral South Centre Mall song—the one calling out how white Calgarians “go there to get away from us POC.” It...

Have you ever asked yourself why so many of us first-gens ended up dating or marrying white people? I have! I see now that our immigrant parents’ survival strategies — keeping your head down, working hard, staying small — shaped ours. And for our generation, that survival often meant assimilation, performing the “white version” of ourselves — at work, in friendships, even in love. In this intimate gup shup, I want you to know: you are not alone. Naming what’s happening, sharing o...

Hey everyone, quick question — when was the last time you really talked about periods? Not whispered, not joked about… I mean honest, open, real talk. If that made you pause, this one’s for you — and for the men in our lives too: dads, brothers, partners, sons… anyone who wants to understand better. Dr. Anne invited me to sit down with her as part of her month-long speaker series celebrating her book "The Period Literacy Handbook" turning one — now available as an audiobook — an...

You ever meet someone who reminds you that healing doesn’t always happen in therapy — sometimes it happens in the kitchen? In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, Kiran Randhawa sits down with Bengali home cook, mother, and storyteller Shuraya Bhatti, whose journey from grief to growth will make you rethink what it means to take care of yourself. After losing her father, Shuraya turned to food — not just to cook, but to connect. What started as a way to honor her roots became a space where st...

Join Kiran Randhawa as she sits down with Mano Mishra, a community leader, yoga teacher, and advocate for women’s health and immigrant voices. Mano shares her journey from Uttar Pradesh, India, to building a new life in Calgary—facing isolation, career setbacks, and the challenges of starting over. Through her story, Mano reveals how volunteering, yoga, and a commitment to kindness helped her overcome depression and create supportive spaces for women navigating menopause, mental health, and l...

Send us a text In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, host Kiran Randhawa sits down with community consultant, speaker, and Catalyst podcast host Nike Aurea for a deep dive into what it truly means to build and belong in community—beyond convenience and into real responsibility. As a first-generation daughter of West African immigrants, Nike shares how her upbringing in Atlanta shaped her unapologetic approach to advocacy and self-advocacy. "I always knew where I was from. I always knew about ...

Send us a text Join host Kiran Randhawa on Middle Fingers Up for a heartfelt conversation with Shagun Sharma, registered psychotherapist and founder of Lotus Pathways. In this episode, Shagun shares her journey from a curious six-year-old in downtown Toronto's Cabbagetown neighborhood—where she first witnessed the realities of homelessness and mental health struggles—to becoming a trailblazer in culturally sensitive therapy. "I wanted to be a therapist since I was six years old," ...

Send us a text In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, host Kiran Randhawa sits down with Kam Bassier—fitness and life coach, father, husband, and self-proclaimed student of life—to unpack the emotional and physical toll of burnout and the radical power of rest. Kam’s story begins in Guyana, shaped by intergenerational trauma, hustle culture, and the immigrant grind. But what makes this conversation unforgettable is Kam’s vulnerability and wisdom as he reflects on his journey from survival mode...

Send us a text In this episode of Middle Fingers Up, host Kiran Randhawa sits down with multi-award-winning author and speaker Kalyani Pardeshi to unpack the hidden layers of self-bullying, inner critics, and the emotional legacy of growing up in immigrant households. From confronting toxic family dynamics to redefining success and self-worth, Kalyani shares raw, relatable stories and transformative insights that challenge cultural norms and empower listeners to reclaim their mental wellness....

Send us a text This isn’t just another parenting conversation. It’s a raw, honest look at what happens when the triggers of childhood meet the triggers of parenting. In this episode, I sit down with Shuraya Akhter Bhatti—a Bengali home cook, curry class entertainer, and soulful storyteller with a gift for making the hard stuff human. Through the beautiful metaphor of a tiffin, we unpack the emotional layers we all carry: trauma, transition, and the healing work we owe ourselves and our kids...

Send us a text "At Least It’s Not Worse…” — Why We Rush Gratitude and Skip Our Feelings We’ve all done it. Someone shares they’re struggling, and we say:“Well, at least it’s not…” But what are we actually doing when we say that? In this Gup Shup, I’m unpacking how this reflex comes from both our brains and our cultures — and how it might be doing more harm than good. -Why we rush to be grateful - How the brain tries to protect us - What we miss when we skip feelings -And why we’re gi...

Send us a text I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said that—“I’m so tired… but I didn’t even do that much today.” And for so many of us, especially in immigrant communities, that kind of tiredness isn’t physical—it’s emotional. It’s what happens when we’re constantly absorbing other people’s moods, guilt, frustration, disappointment… and calling it caring. We talk about physical boundaries—saying no, doing less, taking space. But we rarely talk about emotional boundaries. The ...

Send us a text Healing as South Asians often means navigating a mental health system shaped by whiteness — one that often fails to see us. After parting ways with a white friend who is also a therapist, I began questioning: is it that we resist help, or that the help we’re offered was never built for us? And here’s the harder truth: many working within this system — including people of colour — don’t fully recognize how deeply whiteness shapes the frameworks we call “care.” Too often, this sy...

Send us a text It’s just you and me in this It’s Good To Gup Shup segment — a space for reflection, reclamation, and real talk. This episode was sparked by Sinners, a film that made me feel seen in someone else’s story. And that whisper of huge validation? It stayed in my bones. From Late Bloomer and Mo to Monkey Man, we’re talking about the daily contradictions of being brown in a white world. We’re finally putting language to those gut feelings. When stories no longer ask for permission — w...