August 10, 2021
NEO-LIBERAL ASSAULT ON AGRICULTURE: RESISTANCE AND THE WAY FORWARD
Farming across the world is coming under increasing neo-liberal assault, and Bangladesh is not beyond its reach. My upcoming guest Farida Akhter is a notable Bangladeshi ecofeminist, development worker, and environmental activist. Farida Apa and I will engage in a critical conversation to understand the neoliberal assault on Bangladesh's agriculture and ways to build resistance against it.
August 4, 2021
INTERNET SAFETY: EXPLORING CYBERSECURITY IN BANGLADESHI CONTEXT
It is high time that we start discussing how we can use digital technologies safely. My upcoming guest Shafiq Bari is an expert in the field of Cybersecurity. We will engage in a Cybersecurity awareness discussion, hoping it will help the everyday technology users of Bangladesh. In the past two weeks, we have seen story after story about a piece of spyware called Pegasus, which many cybersecurity experts have dubbed to be the most advanced and invasive surveillance tool known to the world. Some stories are nightmarish as the idea of privacy and confidentiality flies in our faces against spyware like Pegasus. Some of the world's best experts have confirmed that Pegasus can hack our smartphones with a single text message or missed call. Let's learn to use technology safely to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
July 18, 2021
1971 & SHAHIDUL ZAHIR'S NOVELLA "LIFE AND POLITICAL REALITY"
Prominent Bangladeshi writer Shahidul Zahir is known for his extraordinary prose style and diction. Zahir is considered by many as the founder of post-modern fiction in Bangla literature. Many literary critiques call him the Márquez of Bangladesh for carrying on the legacy of magic-realism with strokes of his own unique surrealist style, deeply imbibing Bangladesh's politics, history, and culture. A maestro storyteller, Shahidul Zahir, who could hypnotize his readers with his literary spells, died of a massive heart attack in 2008 in his prime at 54. CBSJARA is organizing a discussion on July 18 at 9 PM Dhaka time to celebrate Shahidul Zahir's work with notable scholars and literary figures. You are cordially invited to join the conversation.
July 15, 2021
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: ADVENTURES OF A BANGLADESHI AMERICAN
I will engage in a critical and candid conversation with my upcoming guest Dr. Mitch Turjo to explore what it means to chase the American Dream as a Bangladeshi immigrant. As Bangladeshi immigrants in the West, we mostly live our lives with a hyphenated identity. We are not entirely American or Canadian, and we are not just Bangladeshis either. We will explore what does it mean to take a path less traveled for us in the West.