About the show
AwokenWord is a long-form, conversation style podcast hosted by writer, poet, and music composer, Anuj Rastogi. Through nuanced and thoughtful dialogue with an incredible array of guests, Anuj explores the worlds of society, culture, art, music, science, current events and all things that comprise the human experience.
"I want to challenge and evolve ideas, intuitions and convictions. This world, is quite simply, nuts, and often terrifying. Yet, this same world is incredibly beautiful, inspiring and mesmerizing. I want to get to know people who are interesting, who hold varied opinions and have life experiences different than my own.
This podcast is my humble attempt to bring goodness, unique conversation and inspiration to the beach of human experience. This podcast is my love letter to the world, and to what it means to be human."
~ Anuj Rastogi
AwokenWord on social media
Episodes
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#028: Matt Hoh - "The Fight for Peace"
April 4th, 2025 | Season 3 | 1 hr 47 mins
conversation, empire, gaza, history, human, humanity, love, peace, politics, russia, society, ukraine, war, world
Anuj sits down with Captain Matthew Hoh, former US Marine and now Fellow with the Eisenhower Media Network. Matt's personal journey has literally moved through war, to trying to take on the machine of war making. While Matt is prominent as a writer, podcast and media guest for sharing his informed perspectives on current affairs, this conversation is a deeper look into Matt the man, and the personal journey that led him to be who he is today.
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#027: Uzma Rizvi - "Living History"
October 20th, 2024 | Season 3 | 1 hr 29 mins
ancient civilizations, anthropology, archaeology, art, gaza, harappa, history, humanity, indus valley, love, mohenjo daro
Anuj sits down with Dr. Uzma Rizvi - an anthropological archaeologist to explore a fascinating journey through her field, and the history of one of the world's oldest civilizations, in the Indus Valley. Uzma shares many stories and insights into the way in which archaeologists study and piece together the past, and how she uniquely works with many contemporary disciplines to both understand the past, and also connect it to our present moment.
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#026: Dr. Yasser Khan - "Humanitarian in Gaza"
February 5th, 2024 | Season 3 | 1 hr 48 mins
conversation, gaza, healing, history, human, humanitarian, humanity, interview, israel, khan yunis, love, palestine, society, war, world
Anuj sits down with Dr. Yasser Khan - a Canadian ophthalmologist who was among the first in the world to visit Gaza in the midst of the recent Israel-Hamas war, to help injured civilians and see the dire conditions first hand. Yasser shares his humbling experiences and perspectives on being a humanitarian, in one of the most important conversations yet on AwokenWord.
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#025: Jennifer Boger - "The AI Mirror"
January 25th, 2024 | Season 3 | 1 hr 56 mins
ai, artificial intelligence, capitalism, chat gpt, environmental social governance, esg, future, humanity, open ai, social media, technology
Kicking off Season 3, Anuj sits with Dr. Jennifer Boger for an entirely different, human conversation on AI, technology and finding our way in an a rapidly accelerating future.