This episode is close to my heart. One, because the topic of discussion is mental health, and two I will be discussing mental health with my dear friend, Dr. Shireen Stephen. 

Dr. Shireen Stephen has a PhD in Health and Industrial Psychology, and an M.Sc. and MPhil in Applied Psychology. She also has a diploma in Christian Counselling and is a certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner. Her areas of expertise over the past 15 years are in relationship counselling, marital counselling, stress management, anger management, anxiety and panic, grief, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), among others.

She has also written six books focusing on understanding and improving memory. Her latest book is almost done, and it is expected to be out by August 2022!

Links to Dr. Shireen Stephen’s books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Shireen-Stephen/e/B0813H392K

Dr. Shireen Stephen’s Website: https://shireenstephen.com/

You can also follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ThePapaShark_ - and let me know if you liked this episode!

Intro & Outro Music:

Track: Soulmates (Instrumental) — DayFox & BraveLion [Audio Library Release] 

Music provided by Audio Library Plus Watch: https://youtu.be/2GuhUpXSSt0Free 

Download / Stream: https://alplus.io/soulmates-instrumental

Politics! Everyone's favourite topic!

Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst on Twitter) joins me for a discussion on what's in store for the Congress party. What does he think the Congress should do if they are to challenge the BJP electorally, and why does he believe that the upcoming state elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are forgone conclusions?

Music Courtesy: Saral (@olrawnder on Twitter)

Do check out her SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/olrawnder

Back after a break that seemed like an eternity!

In this episode, I am joined by Ritushree Panigrahi, India's first and only transgender woman stand up comedian! Of course Ritushree's body of work is way beyond stand up. She is a lawyer who works in the field of diversity, equality, and inclusion. She has more than a decade of legal expertise in the areas of constitutional, labour, and employment law, as well as business law.

She is also the co-founder of the Outcast Collective which helps organisations become inclusive in their everyday practices, and facilitate an inclusive thought process to harmoniously augment productivity.

As a queer rights activist Ritushree has been involved in several campaigns and problems affecting the LGBTQIA+ community. She routinely contributes to publications such as The Quint, Youth Ki Awaz, and Gaysi, raising awareness about issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.

She spearheaded the "Ungender Forms" movement to make internet platforms more transgender friendly. As a significant community change maker, she was featured in "Makers India."

In this episode of Shark Talk, we begin by talking about Ritushree's journey in stand-up comedy, our love for George Carlin, and the portrayal of queer people in comedy (with an Indian context). We also talk about various important topics like queerphobia, TERFs and how online activism works in the context of queer rights, particularly in relation to the rights of Transexual persons. Finally, she gives some solid advice for parents whose children may come out as queer.

Follow Ritushree on:

Twitter - https://twitter.com/QueerNaari

Instagram - https://instagram.com/QueerNaari

You can also follow me on Twitter - https://twitter.com/ThePapaShark_ - and let me know if you liked this episode!