The Brown Burndown: An Indian American Pop Culture Pod

Rabs and Tars
  • 4.5 (42)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Bimonthly

Two very unqualified Desi college friends and self described haters discuss Indians (and Indian Americans) in Pop Culture.

  1. The Brown Burndown Episode 32: Olympic Bindis, Wuthering Heights, and More

    Mar 20

    The Brown Burndown Episode 32: Olympic Bindis, Wuthering Heights, and More

    March is here, and we are coming in hot with our THIRD episode of 2026! Tune in for a discussions on the triumphs, tragedies, and (most importantly) questionable fashion choices at the Olympics (spoiler: we saw a bindi in the wild out there), Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights (which we have admittedly not read since the mid aughts), and of course, #NickYanka2k26 (duh). As always, send us your thoughts at thebrownburndown@gmail.com :)

    42 min
  2. The Brown Burndown Episode 31: Zarna Garg, South Asians in the White House & Tolstoy

    Feb 17

    The Brown Burndown Episode 31: Zarna Garg, South Asians in the White House & Tolstoy

    We are BACK not ONE WEEK LATER (!!). This episode has everything! Usha Vance, Zarna Garg, Tolstoy (particularly, War and Peace which we are totally actually going to Book Club) and of course, Priyanka and Nick. Not to mention a 10 minute detour on anthropomorphized beanie babies and a discussion of how much dumber we've gotten over our nearly ten years of podcasting together. You can be the judge of that!! Hit us up at thebrownburndown@gmail.com.

    53 min
  3. Celebs Have Thoughts Returns: A Conversation with Pooja Bavishi from Malai!

    Feb 7

    Celebs Have Thoughts Returns: A Conversation with Pooja Bavishi from Malai!

    The Brown Burndown interview series, "Celebs Have Thoughts" is officially back! We are kicking things off with a massive treat (pun intended). In this episode, we sit down with the incredible Pooja Bavishi, the founder and CEO of Malai Ice Cream. We dive into her journey of blending nostalgic South Asian spices with creamy textures to build a cult-favorite dessert brand. From her early days of churning ice cream at home to conquering the dessert world, Pooja shares the sweet (and savory) reality of entrepreneurship. Grab a spoon and tune in :)

    39 min
  4. The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Nickyanka IRL (!), Zohran, and Simone Ashley

    08/12/2025

    The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Nickyanka IRL (!), Zohran, and Simone Ashley

    We're back and have lots to discuss! This episode, we take a leap and go for some hot, on-the-ground, SHOCKING investigative journalism. Tune in for our encounter with Nickyanka IRL, our thoughts on the new F1 film (pour one out for Simone), and some exciting new updates for our pod! And to our loyal listeners following on Substack, stay tuned for a major update there ;)

    34 min
  5. The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Mall Concerts, White Lotus, and Nickyanka Continues

    05/12/2025

    The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Mall Concerts, White Lotus, and Nickyanka Continues

    *BIG NEWS* We're starting a Substack! And we're going to post regularly! Hold us accountable! https://substack.com/@thebrownburndown In this mini-episode, we cover...the history of land ownership in the United States (it's relevant, we promise), White Lotus gossip, Political gossip, Nickyanka gossip (also still relevant!). We'll then yearn for the days of mall concerts in pools...jk, that's now. Stay tuned for our next episode where we give you a live play by play of our IRL (!!!) Nickyanka encounter. As always, thoughts questions concerns to thebrownburndown@gmail.com. xoxo!

    37 min
  6. The Brown Burndown Episode 30: Vote for Kamala Harris!

    11/04/2024

    The Brown Burndown Episode 30: Vote for Kamala Harris!

    We've experienced the mother of all technical difficulties, but as gesture of our commitment to this episode we're running it back one. more. time. Reporting from our first IN PERSON recording session since 2022 (!!!), we’re back to cover our thoughts on the 2024 election, what’s at stake and random musings, political gossip, & what our Roman Empire is. Tune in for all of that and more, and in the meantime, VOTE VOTE VOTE! Hope this gives you some content while you wait in line to vote, as always email us at thebrownburndown@gmail.com!

    40 min
  7. The Brown Burndown Episode 29: Kate Middleton

    09/20/2024

    The Brown Burndown Episode 29: Kate Middleton

    We're back with a sort of relevant again episode from...APRIL. We discuss Princess Kate's cancer diagnosis, alllll the conspiracies, and what the royal family owes us before the convo takes a dark medical turn. Afterwards, we get into the incredibly relevant subjects of: Sex Education Season 4, love lives of billionaires, iPhone upgrades, Lessons in Chemistry, Mean Girls the Musical, and of course, #nickyankawatch2k24. They're still together and so are we! As always, send any questions/thoughts/concerns to thebrownburndown@gmail.com

    55 min
  8. The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Barbenheimer, Sophie Turner and LARRY

    02/12/2024

    The Brown Burndown: Mini Episode - Barbenheimer, Sophie Turner and LARRY

    Happy 2024! To commemorate the new year, we're bringing you an episode...we recorded 5 months ago. And catch the first "lie we told" at the 30 second mark where we announce that it's going to be a "mini" one (spoiler, it's 50 minutes long). Chaos all around! Join us on this time traveling journey where we cover Barbenheimer, Nixon, Sophie Turner, Hasan Minhaj, and (most importantly) LARRY (iykyk). Thanks to everyone for listening to us for 5 (!!!) years, and here's to more episodes over the next five :)

    51 min
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4.5
out of 5
42 Ratings

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Two very unqualified Desi college friends and self described haters discuss Indians (and Indian Americans) in Pop Culture.

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