Anand Pandian Asks What Stands Between Us — And What Could Bring Us Together

Anthropologist Anand Pandian joins me to explore the everyday walls—physical, social, and mental—that shape modern American life.

Drawing from his book, Something Between Us, he explains how the boundaries built into our homes, cars, and information sources make it harder to imagine living in community with people who might think differently or come from another place. We talk about what it takes to lower those barriers and create better ways to coexist. Anand also reflects on Ayya’s Accounts: A Ledger of Hope in Modern India, his book about his family’s ancestral homeland told through his grandfather’s harrowing refugee journey.

We revisit Amherst, where he didn’t study anthropology but where he definitely got the bug. He also fondly remembers the rooftop “beach” at Valentine, the professors who shaped him, and the unexpected ways and timing that our intellectual callings announce themselves.

We close with thoughts about the world the next generations will inherit, the ecological futures he’s working to imagine, and the advice he won’t give his teenagers.

To get in touch, email him at pandian@jhu.edu. You’ll find his books on Amazon and other booksellers, and you also can visit his website: https://anand.studio/.