Sikh Meets World

Ben Rekhi is an award-winning Sikh filmmaker from northern California. From working with the Coen brothers to producing Hindi horror films, he has made a name for himself in the film industry. His notable past work includes Waterborne (2005) and The Ashram (2018), and most recently, he directed Watch List (2019) in Manila, a crime thriller set in the drug underworld during the time of Rodrigo Duterte's extrajudicial killings. The film was nominated for a Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival.Ben has recently turned to documentaries including his recent film, The Reunited States. The documentary is born from his passion to bridge divides and share the lives of people who were challenging biases. He hopes viewers will walk away from the film knowing that “we all have a role to play in bringing our country back together.” Ben continues to look for opportunities to heal our nation and world through the power of storytelling.

Retired Colonel G.B. Singh is the highest-ranking Sikh to serve in the U.S. Army. As you'll hear in this podcast, he repeatedly demonstrated the tenacity, courage, and eternal optimism of Sikhs while maintaining his peaceful, positive demeanor when confronted with discrimination and ignorance. He successfully fought the pressure to conform to the Turban Ban and stood out for years as the only person with a turban and beard. To combat the ban, he invented safe methods for Sikhs with beards and turbans to use gas masks and helmets. Over time, the ban was lifted and religious exemptions have become more and more common. Today, GB watches his daughter Naureen, a newly-commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, join a military more equitable than the one he joined.In this episode, we hear the story of his military career and his advice on leadership and service for young Sikhs.

On this episode, Valarie Kaur chats with National Sikh Campaign co-founders Gurwin Singh Ahuja and Shawn Singh Ghuman to discuss her cure for our polarized political climate, thoughts on cancel culture, and how young Sikh Americans can pursue activism. The renown filmmaker and activist is also a newly-published author with her new autobiography, See No Stranger, which she discusses on the pod, as well as her Revolutionary Love Project.