I still can’t help thinking of NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani as “Mira Nair’s son” more than anything else. This week’s RWB newsletter is on Mamdani's filmmaker mom and how I cold-emailed her production company for years: redwhiteandbrown.substack.com/p/why-zohran...

Good morning and a happy new year to all! youtu.be/LE_FhEfvdwY?...

As we enter a new year, I appreciate these wise words that cynicism is exhausting and “hopeful skepticism” is a far better way to live. changewithmaya.substack.com/p/cynicism-i...

And now it's on the NYT top 10 books list of the year! www.nytimes.com/2025/12/02/b...

CNN on the recent wave of hate toward Indian Americans: www.cnn.com/2025/11/16/u...

Pelosi is retiring. So it's shaping up to be a challenge between Scott Wiener and Saikat Chakrabarti.

The latest Red, White and Brown issue: redwhiteandbrown.substack.com/p/zohran-mam...

Maybe everyone will finally learn how to say it right? If you can say Schwarzenegger, you can definitely say: MUM-DHA-NEE

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral race, NBC News projects. nbcnews.to/4nIzNUC

As voters in NYC make a decision on Zohran Mamdani as their likely next mayor this week, voters in San Francisco have another Brown guy shaking up the political status quo into 2026. My interview with Saikat Chakrabarti (@saikatforcongress.bsky.social): redwhiteandbrown.substack.com/p/the-brown-...

Before Zohran Mamdani became a state legislator, he helped South Asian New Yorkers who were in danger of losing their homes because of tax liens and job losses. Via @mihirzaveri.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/n...

I love this essay, exploring the complexity of Indian Americans both embracing and pushing back against a westernized crowd favorite.

Reading Rainbow is coming back and definitely the demographic most excited is ages 30-42. bookriot.com/new-host-of-...

“War ravaged Portland” wapo.st/4pL60N2

"A wave of South Asian diasporic artists, writers and filmmakers ... have taken up stories of how and why their ancestors ended up in unexpected places around the world, and the cultures they experienced and created there." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/a...

More fallout from the $100K H-1B fee. The @nytimes.com on how some startups are responding: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/t...

Bay Area #earthquake … highly recommend the MyShake app. Got a kind of dystopian verbal warning/notification that woke me up about 10 seconds before shaking began in SF but it worked.

This is the book I've been most eagerly anticipating all year... can't wait to read Kiran Desai's new novel when it publishes in a couple weeks... www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/b...

I am officially I-can’t-believe-this-has-to-be-explained-in-a-news-article old.

“Becoming a single dad by choice can be empowering. It means not waiting for a partner to complete your life, knowing what you want to prioritize, actively creating the life you want, even if it’s not what anyone expected of you.” www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

"Another property has been used for the past few years as a private school for 14 children, even though that is not an allowable use of a house in the neighborhood under city code. Six adults, including four teachers, worked there this past school year." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/u...

"There is the delicate matter of ridding the jet of any hidden electronic listening devices that U.S. officials suspect may be embedded in the walls." www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/u...

It has been 10 years since I tried peas in guacamole — and survived: medium.com/@vigneshr/i-...

Settle the word debate: Is it a BBQ/barbecue OR a cookout?

Start your Monday with 30 seconds of bliss… youtube.com/shorts/mvo6s...

This dog supports local news. #dogs #goldenretrieverlife #goldenretriever #englishcreamgoldenretriever #journalism #supportlocalnews

“Piper, noooo.” The name Piper rose in popularity for U.S. girl babies born in the 2010s, peaking in 2016, and then has been subsiding in the 2020s — according to Social Security data. With the cultural moments #WhiteLotus had has this year, I wonder if more American babies will be named Piper.

Many headlines have focused on Trump's #tariffs as taxes on foreign car companies, when in reality it's a tax on almost every car company, including American brands. Many Hondas are more "American" than Jeeps. Many Subarus and Nissans are more "American" than GMs: www.axios.com/2025/03/27/t...

One of Americans' most-loved body-on-frame SUVs is the Toyota 4Runner, which 4Runner owners often proudly say is solid and lasts for decades because Toyota has long made them in Japan with high-quality standards. (The latest-generation 2025 4Runner is built in Toyota's Tahara plant in Japan.)

One of Laddoo's favorite hobbies is sunbathing — especially on sunny San Francisco spring days.

"It is worth noting that Donald Trump, as a candidate for president (and as president), repeatedly and vociferously demanded that Hillary Clinton be imprisoned for using a private email server for official business when she was secretary of state."

“The N.I.H. pays for large clinical trials in fields like cancer, heart disease and diabetes that have changed medical practice and saved lives.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/h...

Despite persistently high grocery prices... Spotted at the Diamond Heights Safeway in SF on a weeknight last week: All the pasture-raised eggs were sold out, while the cheapest eggs were almost fully stocked. sfstandard.com/2025/03/22/g...

The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is what the U.S. had used for locking up Japanese Americans in detention camps during World War II.

Unique Zillow find of the week: This cathedral-style house in Denver with crazy ceilings and rows of windows.

Here in Tesla-filled San Francisco, starting to see buyers-remorse stickers on Teslas. This driver had a bumper sticker: “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy”

Spotted in San Francisco this weekend: Tesla sedan with a piece of paper taped on it that read, “Sell Your Swasticar” www.cnbc.com/amp/2025/03/...

Using my “personal liberties” to repost this

Elon Musk’s business empire is built on $38 billion… in government funding. wapo.st/41uIOJ4

Since launching six months ago, the media newsletter Status has grown to nearly 75,000 subscribers and is on track to hit $1 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2025: www.status.news/p/the-status...

These 13 U.S. states send MORE money to the federal government than they receive back: California Colorado Connecticut Illinois Massachusetts Minnesota Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New York state Utah Washington state Wyoming www.axios.com/2025/02/12/s...

The Associated Press has sued Trump administration officials after being blocked from presidential events: www.cnn.com/2025/02/21/m...

Textbook definition of “conflict of interest”: “A small government team regulating the sort of autonomous cars that Elon Musk says represent the future of Tesla, his car company, is getting cut nearly in half by the Musk-led U.S. Doge Service.” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Dogs remain the best beings on this planet. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...

Three former FCC chairs who served under Democratic AND Republican presidents are criticizing the organization’s current chairman for actions they warn are direct attacks on the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. www.thewrap.com/3-former-fcc...

A former director of the NIH writes a dire warning about the future of scientific discovery in America: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/o...

Initially: $7 million was apportioned to Musk's DOGE agency, which is allegedly “nearly twice the annual salaries and expenses budget of the White House.” Now: "DOGE's spending more than doubled from $6.75 million to $14.4 million between January 30 and February 8." www.yahoo.com/news/doge-tr...

"Vaccination rates have been declining nationwide since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and now sit below 93 percent." Measles outbreak hits Texas town: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/s...

Politicians: I promise to lower inflation. Inflation: www.cnn.com/2025/02/12/b...

Trump on Musk: "He's not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it. He's so into it." Musk: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/11/u...