“Bold, pragmatic, hilarious”
Aarti Shahani is an award-winning NPR journalist, bestselling author and host of the hit podcast “Art of Power.” She regularly interviews extraordinary leaders such as: President Barack Obama, the CEOs of Microsoft and PepsiCo, "Queer Eye" creator David Collins, democracy activist Stacey Abrams, Grammy and Oscar winning performer Common....and even the judge who sentenced her father to prison. Aarti's own journey is remarkable. She grew up undocumented in Queens, New York. She graduated from Harvard on a full scholarship and became a national voice speaking to millions of Americans at a time from Silicon Valley.
Her first book, which is being developed into a feature film, is "among the finest memoirs written in recent decades—a heartbreaking, hilarious and tender love letter…a vivid, almost cinematic journey that is both beautiful and unforgettable" — Guy Raz, co-creator of How I Built This, TED Radio Hour.
Aarti gives keynotes and interactive trainings on how to use your voice to build power. She has spoken at companies and nonprofits, including Starbucks, Google, Pixar, Capital One, Square and Skoll Foundation.
President Barack Obama was Guest #7 on Aarti’s popular podcast Art of Power. He said he was “happy to get in on the ground floor.”
OFFERING: Finding Open Spaces to Connect, and Build Power
Have you ever screwed up a conversation? Played it back in your head, wincing at moments you shut someone down? Or, if you’re really paying attention, that split second you shut yourself down? Humans have an existential need to connect. And yet, we get in our own way. The great news is: connection is a muscle you can build.
Aarti Shahani, award-winning NPR journalist and bestselling Macmillan author, used to be terrible at it. She thought talking and prosecuting were the same thing. Her North Star was not to learn. It was to be right. Over the years — this will come as a shock — she felt trapped. And she began looking for ways out...for open spaces, in herself and in others.
She has become a master of intimate, unexpected conversations — breakthrough conversations that build trust and challenge at the same time. She’ll teach you to do the same.
How do I quiet the loud voices in my head? Do I have an assumption that really should be a question? What is the passion of the person sitting before me? What is my intention?
Using case studies from her journalism, as well as tenets of mindfulness, Aarti will help you answer these questions for yourself. By learning to listen with radical openness, we find (and create) our power.
Want to learn more? Email tour@aartishahani.com to start the conversation.
TESTIMONIAL Jamie Woolf, Director Culture and Learning, PIXAR
"Aarti is simply captivating. She is such a powerful storyteller. Her talk packed a big emotional punch. And yet her unique journey was super relatable. We've all had to navigate unfair power dynamics and either stay silent, not knowing how or whether to speak up; or speak up in a way we immediately regret. Aarti has been through it and shares her lessons with vivid detail, gripping audio excerpts from real life interviews, and comedy. She’s hilarious. There was so much ground covered in our hour together, I thought about Aarti’s talk the morning after, and the one after that. So did my colleagues. She didn’t just entertain us. She is a true teacher. Her lesson, grounded in deep experience, is: Be bold. Don’t mute yourself. Do it respectfully."
A few of the companies, non-profits and schools who’ve invited Aarti to speak:
On the historic day of Kamala Harris nomination for VP, Aarti Shahani on CNN with Don Lemon
The San Francisco Chronicle (cover story)
That duality — Shahani’s abiding love for an adopted country’s inclusive ideals, and her scorn for those ideals being debased through policies that discriminate against immigrants and the poor — is at the heart of the provocative book she says she “ran away from writing for a number of years.”
The National Immigrant Justice Center, which helps children and families in detention, honored Aarti with a human rights award. Prior recipients included her heroes: journalist Seymour Hersh; former Prez of Ireland Mary Robinson; Dolores Huerta, who organized farmworkers (aka essential workers) alongside Cesar Chavez. Here is Aarti’s 9-minute keynote that interweaves personal experience and public policy.
