Simran Jeet Singh — The Light We Give - with Rabia Chaudry and Wajahat Ali

As a boy growing up in South Texas, Simran Jeet Singh and his brothers confronted racism daily: at school, in their neighborhood, playing sports, and later in college and beyond. Despite the prejudice and hate he faced, this self-described “turban-wearing, brown-skinned, beard-loving Sikh” refused to give in to negativity. Instead, Singh delved deep into the Sikh teachings that he grew up with and embraced the lessons to seek the good in every person and situation and to find positive ways to direct his energy. These Sikh tenets of love and service to others have empowered him to forge a life of connection and a commitment to justice that have made him a national figure in the areas of equity, inclusion, and social justice.

The Light We Give lays out how we can learn to integrate ethical living to achieve personal happiness and a happier life. It speaks to those who are inspired to take on positive change but don’t know where to begin. To those who crave the chance to be empathetic but are afraid of looking vulnerable. To those who seek the courage to confront hatred with love and compassion. Singh reaches beyond his comfort zone to practice this deeper form of living and explores how everyone can learn the insights and skills that have kept him engaged and led him to commit to activism without becoming consumed by anger, self-pity, or burnout.

Part memoir, part spiritual journey, The Light We Give is a transformative book of hope that shows how each of us can turn away from fear and uncertainty and move toward renewal and positive change.

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Dr. Simran Jeet Singh is Executive Director of the Aspen Institute’s Program on Religion & Society and author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life (Riverhead, Penguin Random House). Recognized among TIME Magazine’s sixteen people fighting for a more equal America, he is a Soros Equality Fellow with the Open Society Foundations, Senior Adviser on Equity and Inclusion for YSC Consulting, and a Visiting Professor at Union Seminary. Simran is a regular contributor to TIME, CNN, and The Washington Post, a monthly columnist for Religion News Service, and the author of the bestselling children’s book Fauja Singh Keeps Going. He lives with his family in New York City.

Dr. Singh is joined in conversation with, Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and NY Times bestselling author of "Adnan's Story" and author of the upcoming book "Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir about Food, Fat, and Family". She is also the Executive Producer of HBO’s 2019 The Case Against Adnan Syed, a four part, Emmy-nominated docuseries about the murder conviction of her friend, Adnan Syed. Rabia is co-producer and co-host of “Undisclosed,” a wrongful conviction podcast with over 400 million downloads. “Undisclosed” features a team of lawyers who re-investigate decades-old murder cases in an attempt to exonerate the falsely accused. She is also producer and host of the podcasts "The 45th", "The Hidden Djinn", and "Nighty Night". As an International Security Fellow with the US Institute of Peace (USIP), Rabia developed and led an international research project on religion and extremism, measuring ideological attitudes of students in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and prior to USIP Rabia was with the New America Foundation as an international security Fellow and practiced immigration and civil rights law for over a decade.

Wajahat Ali, a New York Times contributing op-ed writer, public speaker, recovering attorney, and tired dad of two cute kids. His work has appeared in Atlantic, Washington Post, Guardian, and ?New York Review of Books. He lives in the Washington, DC, area.

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