Anuj sits down with Dr. Yasser Khan - a Canadian opthamologist who was among the first in the world to visit Gaza in the midst of the recent Israel-Hamas war, to help injured civilians and see the dire conditions first hand. Yasser shares his h

#025: Jennifer Boger - "The AI Mirror"

Jan 25th, 2024 1h 56m

Kicking off Season 3, Anuj sits with Dr. Jennifer Boger for an entirely different, human conversation on AI, technology and finding our way in an a rapidly accelerating future. Dr Jennifer Boger has an unrelenting passion to create technologie

#024: "Analog Intelligence"

Dec 31st, 2023 37m 27s

A special episode where Anuj shares his reflections on 2023, ahead of another impromptu conversation with his son about AI ethics, and the struggle between good and bad.

#023: Martin Ryan - "Artificial Intelligence. Real Ethics"

Nov 23rd, 2023 1h 41m

Anuj sits down with Martin Ryan to discuss the moment in time we find ourselves in on the rapidly evolving landscape of AI. Nearly one year since the public launch of Chat GPT, AI has seen an unprecedented level of attention in the public consc

#022: My Son - "No War"

Nov 2nd, 2023 13m 21s

A very special & humbling episode. This morning, Anuj cuddled in bed with his 9-year old son, and had the most human, humbling and honest conversation about the situation in that has broken out in Gaza & Israel since October 7, 2023, and what

#021: Mugabi Byenka - "Beyond Skin"

Oct 4th, 2023 2h

Anuj sat down with poet & author, Mugabi Byenkya. Audio of this conversation was thought lost, however resurrected in the end to share this wide sweeping dialogue. Mugabi shares key experiences from his life living around the world, how his pa

#020: Shree Paradkar - "Casting Light"

May 10th, 2021 59m 24s

Anuj and Shree Paradkar sit down for an unflinching conversation about race and self refection. Shree is a Toronto Star race and gender columnist, and the 2018-2019 recipient of the Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. Shree's writing takes on

#019: G Yamazawa - "Way of The Shogun"

Jun 23rd, 2020 1h

Anuj is joined by G Yamazawa, in this conversation deep into the COVID19 pandemic. G Yamazawa is an innovative rapper, spoken word poet and hip hop artist. Originally out of Durham, North Carolina, G is now based in Los Angeles. G shares a lot

#018: Jeff Teravainen - "Acting Human"

Mar 18th, 2020 1h 38m

In this episode, Anuj sits down with Jeff Teravainen. Jeff is a well-loved actor, voiceover artist, and musician. He's played the role of Lieutenant Anders on SYFY's hit "Dark Matter", as well as roles in SYFY's "12 Monkeys" in Season 2 along w

#017: Sammy Chand - "Genesis Man"

Jan 15th, 2020 1h 32m

Live from DASH Radio studio in Los Angeles, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Sammy Chand. Sammy is the founder of Rukus Avenue Radio, a rapper, producer, record label exec, entrepreneur and man of the people. In this conversation, Anuj and Sammy exp

#016: Barkha Madan - "Lights, Camera, Introspection!"

Dec 12th, 2019 1h 35m

Anuj Rastogi is joined by Barkha Madan at the AwokenWord studio. Barkha Madan is a former Indian model, film actress and film producer who has also appeared in television serials and hosted TV shows in India. Barkha had risen to prominence thro

#015: Shantanu Pujari - "Hip Hop India"

Nov 14th, 2019 1h 24m

Anuj Rastogi reconnects with Shantanu Pujari, a multi-talented artist and fighter. Shantanu is a professional competitive mixed martial arts fighter, yoga instructor, action director for film, activist, b-boy, beatboxer and hip hop label artist

#014: Sangita Patel - "Leading Rainbow"

Sep 26th, 2019 1h 47m

Live in Los Angeles, California (well, Orange County actually) Anuj Rastogi sits down with Sangita Patel, entrepreneur, tech leader and the CEO of LeVar Burton Kids. Sangita shares her jouney in America, finding a place in a world that was only

#013: Ashwin Srinivasan - "The Airbender"

Aug 14th, 2019 1h 56m

Live in Mumbai, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Ashwin Srinivasan, one of the most highly sought-after musicians in India. Ashwin is an acclaimed Indian Classical flautist and vocalist, and long-time collaborator with internationally renowned compo

#012: Ali A. Rizvi - "Of Myth & Legends"

Jul 25th, 2019 2h 10m

Anuj sits down with Ali Rizvi back in the AwokenWord studio. Ali is an author, speaker, and musician who grew up in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan before moving to the US, and eventually Canada at the age of 24. Rizvi has been writing extens

#011: Lisa Fitzpatrick - "Open Your Door"

Jun 13th, 2019 1h 23m

Live from SXSW EDU, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Lisa Fitzpatrick, co-founder of the APEX Youth Center based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Lisa shared the stage as the opening keynote in SXSW EDU 2019. Lisa is a past CNN Hero, and her story is a ra

#010: Darius Baxter - "Be The Change"

Apr 14th, 2019 1h 3m

Live from SXSW EDU, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Darius Baxter, co-founder of GOODProjects based in Washington DC. Darius shared the stage as the opening keynote in SXSW EDU 2019. He is an incredibly inspiring leader, and shares his personal jou

#009: Nicki Wells - "The World is Sound"

Mar 13th, 2019 1h 14m

In this episode, Anuj connects with London-based singer, songwriter, composer, producer and multi-genre musical prodigy, Nicki Wells (aka TURYA). Nicki is an internationally acclaimed vocalist, and capable of astonishing fluency across Western

#008: Pardeep Nagra - "The Tiger"

Feb 20th, 2019 2h 4m

In this episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi sits down in studio with Pardeep Singh Nagra, championship boxer, athlete, historian, educator, public speaker and human rights advocate. Pardeep is the Executive Director of the Sikh Heri

#007: Jeff Perera - "Mankind. Kind Men"

Jan 19th, 2019 2h 33m

Anuj Rastogi is sits down with Jeff Perera, public speaker, motivator and leading voice in the evolution of our perceptions of manhood, masculinity and empathy. A well-respected voice, TEDx speaker and writer, Jeff has been devoted to the cause

#006: Dwayne Morgan - "The Race To Pay It Forward"

Dec 27th, 2018 1h 46m

In today's AwokenWord episode, Anuj Rastogi sits down with Dwayne Morgan, one of the country's most prolific event producers, as well as a talented author, speaker and poet. Anuj and Dwayne dive deep into many important territories, from race,

#005: IF The Poet - "Renaissance Reincarnated"

Nov 3rd, 2018 2h 18m

In this episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi talks to Ian French, popularly known as "IF The Poet" and finalist in the 2015 World Slam Poetry championship in Paris. Ian has been the subject of a CBC documentary, and is a respected pe

#004: Roger Christian - "Star Wars & The Alchemy of Cinema"

Nov 2nd, 2018 2h 36m

In today's episode, AwokenWord host Anuj Rastogi speaks with legendary, Academy award-winning Art Director and Filmmaker, Roger Christian. Roger walks through his incredible life's journey from childhood in the UK, to learning the craft of set

#003: Raheel Raza - "Religion & the Real World"

Nov 1st, 2018 1h 28m

In today's episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi speaks with Raheel Raza, author, speaker, and incredibly fierce activist and advocate for reform within the Muslim world. Raheel talks about her experience as a muslim, and a woman push

#002: Raj Sharma - "Home"

Oct 31st, 2018 1h 9m

In this episode of the AwokenWord podcast, Anuj Rastogi talks to Raj Sharma, one of Canada's leading refugee lawyers. Raj talks about his experience as a refugee protection officer, as a refugee and immigration lawyer in the context of the curr