TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'm DOING

Once again, I want to truly thank you for listening to this right now and for sharing this with your friends and family. If you’re enjoying these episodes, then a kind review and rating is always appreciated, and thanks also for following us on social media @drabhaydandekar. Now, I’ve always understood that the ultimate civic trust belongs with the individuals who represent us, steering policy and solidifying future directions. In the US, the Indian American and South Asian American population have grown tremendously, and the expectation of a civic trust through those we elect to office is a vital companion to this, not just at the local level, but at the national level. In 1957, Representative Dalip Singh Saundh became the first Indian American elected to Congress, and since then there have been 7 more members of Congress who are Indian Americans. And as May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, it’s a great time to highlight the importance of why this matters in government, so I was grateful to share a conversation with United States Congressman from California 17th district, Ro Khanna. Ro was born in Philadelphia as the son of immigrant parents and the grandson of an Indian freedom fighter.. After getting his law degree at Yale, Ro worked in President Obama’s administration as deputy assistant secretary of commerce. He then moved to California and taught economics at Stanford and practiced law in the heart of Silicon Valley, getting a front row seat to the tech industry and garnering more expertise as he authored books on entrepreneurship and manufacturing. After an unsuccessful bid for congress in 2014, he successfully won the race for California’s 17th district in 2016 and is now serving his 4th term. Ro has been a progressive leader on a range of issues, from climate and tech to labor and term limits to health care and stopping gun violence. He serves on a number of committees and is the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. Now, it’s not a secret that Congress and the US government can sometimes appear to be…well… paralyzed by politics and a lack of cooperation, so it was so nice to catch up with Ro as he was walking back from a vote on Capitol Hill to his office and get a real snapshot of the temperature and tone of his service as an elected official representing his district, his party, and his own vision. Our conversation was pretty broad, touching on his views on economic patriotism to manufacturing and tech to current and future senators from California and being an Indian American in 2023. But to set the stage, I was reminded that we were simply two Bay Area dads who happened to be basketball fans…

Thanks so much, Ro. An important reminder to please register to vote wherever you are. Go to Vote.Gov for more information. Till next time, I’m Abhay Dandekar.