Balancing Current Events & Politics Videos

On my way home from work that week, I decided to stop by to pay my respects to this awful thing that was happening. I was able to take a few of the rocks home as well. Three days later, we were also dismantled. 

The Rise and Fall of BLM Plaza — told through the POV of news reports (all audio courtesy). 

This wasn’t what I expected to be doing at 5:37 AM, two days after my last day on USAGM’s payroll.

But I’m oddly proud to be part of the DOGE casualty list—for standing by journalism rooted in free, unbiased information.

VOA will always hold a place in my soul. I’ll always get to say my journey to America—and my career—was in service of the quiet force behind helping people think freely.

I was officially let go—again.
Even if they wanted to “clean house,” it didn’t have to be like this.
This wasn’t reform. It was reckless.
And when the argument is that simple… you have to wonder:
What’s this really about?

At least now, I get to speak my truth—
something taken from me through silence and threat.
And that? That feels good.

My dad began his career broadcasting truth into India—what people weren’t hearing at home when Indira Gandhi declared Emergency in 1975. It’s what he stood for, what I’ve carried forward, and what VOA is at its core.

Now, as he grows older and more fragile, I hope VOA’s heartbeat remembers us as passing ships—part of its story, not its center—in a journey that began before us, and I hope, beats long after.