Taking stock of the last 100 days
I never thought I'd be in the virtual event business, but here we are.
Happy Father’s Day! This newsletter is produced w/ Zach Peterson (@zachprague).
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Usually, I start this newsletter with a rundown of where to find me, how to watch one of our shows, and how to work with my team. This time, I’m taking a bit of liberty, and going a bit deeper on the last 3-4 months.
First and foremost, we just aired our 100th episode of my daily live show - and on Juneteenth, no less. We’ve broadcast every day, from lockdown in New York City, for the last 100 days, in an effort to bring you the facts, some history, ways of coping with isolation and tragedy, and so much more.
So, THANK YOU. Thank you to everyone who’s joined in, been on the show, suggested a guest, been a sponsor, watched even one episode, and just generally supported this effort. We started with no audience, no money, and no plans for anything like this. We knew that good, informed conversation matters. We knew that accurate information saves lives. And, we knew that we could build a community around these simple principles.
The truth is, my daily show has been a lifeline that's saved me, keeping me sane in ways you cannot imagine. Beyond the personal connections I’ve made - not to mention simply staying busy - all of this has completely changed the way I work. My Digimentors team is now producing shows for others (eg, check out The News Project Live), as well as virtual events for dozens of clients - something we had never focused on until March of this year.
A perfect example - we ran the production of Vikas Pota’s T4, the world’s largest gathering of teachers - 100,000 educators and 25 speakers in 88 countries, in English, Spanish, Arabic. Pulling off something like this six months ago? I’m not sure we could’ve done it (reply to this email and we’ll help you too! Events of all sizes welcome).
It’s been a lot of trial and error, a lot of late nights and early mornings, and a lot of hard work. It’s also been moving, exhilarating, and inspiring. These are truly unique times we live in - historic, if often for wrong and tragic reasons. Am blessed to be busy when there’s so much economic and other pain happening everywhere.
So, the most heartfelt of thank yous to our producers, Rose Horowitz (@rosehorowitz31) and Vandana Menon (@vandana_menon), for being with me every step of the way. They are now part of our Digimentors team - and are working on several virtual events and shows with me, including our new spinoff medical show, She's On Call, hosted every Sunday by two surgeons who have been on our shows multiple times: Dr. Sujana Chandrasekhar (@DrSujanaENT) and Dr. Marina Kurian (@MarinaKurian). Please watch Sundays, 11 am-noon ET (set yourself a reminder for today). Big thanks to our friends at Scroll.in, one of India’s best independent news, culture and analysis websites, for simulcasting She’s On Call and the daily program. More on our other shows, #NYTReadalong (Sundays, 8:30-10:30 am ET) and Coping w/ Covid19: A Helpful, Hopeful Call-in Show (Saturdays noon-2 pm ET on WBAI 99.5 FM) below.
- Sree
Free Social Media Certification - From Me!
I recently joined Muck Rack as an adviser to help their mission of building better tools for all comms professionals, And one of the first things we are doing is meant to help thousands of folks around the world raise their social media skills: a FREE certification course in social media. My colleague Linda Bernstein (@wordwhacker) and I put it together - w/ help from the Muck Rack team, including Mike Schneider (@schneider_says); Srushti Hebbar (@srushtih) & Steffen Kaplan (@spinitsocial) - and thousands are getting trained right now. You can sign up at mrack.co/sreesocial. It’s all Netflix-style, so you can learn at your own pace. Please share with your friends and family - all ages 13-103, professions, experience, etc, welcome. #MRAsocial
Read Something
🏛 What’s happening in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York is remarkable. This statement from the SDNY office is, I think, unprecedented (please weigh in, lawyers and legal historians!). It certainly has nothing to do with Geoffrey Berman’s investigations into President Trump’s associates. Nothing at all…
✊🏿 “Minnesota nice” is a thing, but don’t let it fool you. The state has some of the highest inequality between Black and White residents in the country. Its neighboring states are near the top of the list as well. Read “Minnesota’s unrest is decades in the making. Most Americans just forgot that black Midwesterners exist” - by Malaika Jabali @ Vox.
Listen to Something
It’s never too late to learn something new - and, chances are, you didn’t learn about 1921 in Tulsa in school. Here’s an episode of American History Tellers that’s a very good place to start on the Greenwood Massacre. Despite our government’s best efforts, we know about what happened there. Listen here or on all major podcast platforms.
Watch Something
There is still a Covid19 pandemic and the U.S. is handling it with astonishing levels of disregard. Last week, I had two esteemed guests on my live show from the WHO to go through where things stand. Watch the whole episode with Dr. Soumya Swaminathan (@DoctorSoumya), Chief Scientist, and Dr. Sylvie Briand (@SCBriand), Director of the Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department. It’s a must-watch.
Odds & Ends
🗞 My Sunday #NYTReadalong, executive produced by Neil Parekh (@neilparekh): Every Sunday I read the print edition of the NYT live. Today is Father’s Day and our #NYTReadalong guest will be Tom Jolly (@tomjolly), Print Editor of the NYT! Please join us 8:30-10ish am ET.
Watch the full episode:
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Speaking of Father’s Day, here’s a cool opportunity: Get a father or father figure in your life a spot on our FD promotion. Great way to pay tribute and you’ll have a permanent video of your special gift. We did this for Mother’s Day with great success.
Just go to http://digimentors.link/fathersday (not too late to participate for the Sunday 9 pm ET show).
The Sunday #NYTReadalong is sponsored by Muck Rack, Magic Bus USA and Strategy Focused Group. Interested in sponsorship opportunities? Email sree@sree.net and neil@neilparekh.org.
🎧 NEW! Every Saturday, I host a call-in show on WBAI 99.5FM (@wbai) - "Coping with Covid19" - focused on being helpful, hopeful, and focusing on the pandemic's effects on society’s most vulnerable - the workers, the poor, the marginalized - and talk to ordinary citizens & experts on how we can emerge stronger.
Listen live Saturdays from 12-2pm EST, or later. And, of course, call in or tweet questions for us using the #wbaisree hashtag! Listen to an early episode here!
📺 A reminder to watch my Daily Global Covid19 Show. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn something every time. We’ve had nearly 100 shows and we’re coming up on 200 guests. Check out the archive and please subscribe to my YouTube channel. And/or sign up for my WhatsApp alerts list (it’s not your typical WhatsApp group, just a text when I’m live!). We are in partnership with Scroll.in, one of India’s best news and culture websites.
Recent highlights:
👀 Did we miss anything? Make a mistake? Do you have an idea for anything we’re up to? Let us know! Let’s collaborate