Why does a Harvard Medical School scientist miss home the most when he's hungry?

Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan left Chennai for Boston with a Harvard tag and a suitcase full of spice he couldn't find near Harvard. We talk teeth, temples, Tamil, and what he's eaten today.

This one is rice, spice, and a lot of heart.

WHAT WE COVER ON THE CUTTING BOARD:

00:00 Why a Harvard scientist was tired of smart-people podcasts 00:42 I butcher his name. He fixes it. (Saravanan 101) 02:15 Chennai → Boston: He left everything for the Harvard tag 04:10 Why dentistry? "My sister made it look cool… until I got in" 06:30 WHAT HAVE YOU EATEN TODAY? Rice, spice, and missing home 08:20 No Indians near Harvard Med, so he found the temple 09:30 Caste is your last name — Gen Z says "we care about vibe" 11:00 "Is mother alive? Is child alive? We never ask are you OK" - maternal mental health 12:30 Pandemic phone calls for oxygen beds → art → NYC billboard 13:30 How to say goodbye: Vanakkam to Aloha

Guest: Dr. Saravanan Thangarajan - Dentist, Artist, Harvard Medical School Researcher Host: Matthew — 50 Tastes Of Gray with Matthew

#Harvard #harvardmedicalschool #tamil #chennai #boston #dentist #maternalmentalhealth #indianfood #vanakkam #aloha #50TastesOfGray #WhatHaveYouEatenToday #immigrantstory #temple

Sara Causey joins host Matthew Gray of 50 Tastes Of Gray for an unscripted conversation about authenticity, creativity, art, and building a life that feels genuinely hers. A biographer, author, and artist, Causey explains why she rejected the conventional path to success, how she lets creative projects evolve, and why meaningful work often requires stepping beyond what feels safe. In this episode: Causey defines “eccentricity of purpose” as living authentically instead of conforming to expectations. She distinguishes between eccentricity as a marketing brand and eccentricity as a lived reality, including the willingness to be misunderstood. Causey recounts reaching a corner office at age 39 and realizing that the promised corporate-ladder victory felt hollow. She discusses regret, reinvention, and the importance of choosing differently with the time that remains. Her fascination with Richard Burton led to imaginative ideas centered on cinematic grandeur, spectacle, and artistic collaboration. Causey explains how she lets each writing project determine its own form, genre, audience, and voice. She argues that creative growth is not about hustle culture, but about challenging yourself and occasionally feeling scared by your own work. Her book Simply DAG: The Private Man in a Public and Dangerous Office uses an intimate first-person perspective to place readers inside Dag’s negotiations, bomb threats, and moments of danger. She shares how reader feedback confirmed that the book created a powerful sense of personal connection with Dag. The conversation closes with Swedish food, cloudberries, pickled herring, and the value of unscripted conversations. 0:00 What "eccentric on purpose" actually means — and why faking it will kill you 0:52 Real eccentric vs. brand eccentric — lipstick, beret, and the biographer they can't accept 1:55 The corner office at 39 that felt like a pyrrhic victory 2:52 Regret is a trap — don't die with your music still inside you 4:28 Modern cinema is digital vomit — and why Richard Burton still ruins me 5:50 My rebellion against sameness — bring back the robes, the gold, the spectacle 7:21 I let the Muse tell me — stop holding your art in a death grip 8:56 If you feel safe in your art, you're doing it wrong 10:03 Simply DAG scared me — challenging the gatekeepers 10:56 The Simply DAG elevator pitch — you're not reading history, you're IN it 13:25 Screw the scripted interview — real conversation keeps your brain alive Sara Causey Contact Info: Website: https://saracausey.com Books: https://saracausey.com/my-books Podcast: The Causey Consulting Podcast LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sara-causey/ "Decoding the Unicorn" on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DSCS5PZT Follow Matthew Gray: 50 Tastes Of Gray — Broadcasting from Honolulu. One guest. No rules. New episodes weekly. 50TastesOfGray@gmail.com Instagram: @50tastesofgray Facebook: facebook.com/50TastesOfGrayPodcast LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-gray-hawaii Substack: 50TastesOfGray.substack.com YouTube: @50TastesOfGray #introvert #careerchange #highlysensitiveperson

What if numbness isn't apathy — but overload?

In this episode of 50 Tastes of Gray, I sit down with writer and journalist Maria Cassano (The Good Girl Recovery Guide, upcoming memoir Numb, Party of One - Feb 2027) for an honest conversation about depersonalization, derealization, and the cost of being the "good girl."

Maria shares what it was like to feel gone for years, why people-pleasing and hyper-empathy can tip the nervous system into shutdown, and how everyday rituals — coffee, boundaries, and yes, magic shell — became tools for coming back.

We get into:

The real lived experience of depersonalization vs. the clinical definition Good Girl Recovery: unlearning performative care Boundaries as a nervous system practice, not just a concept Finding safety and pleasure in small sensory rituals Reclaiming "I'm Good Now" without pretending you were never hurt Maria's writing: The Good Girl Recovery Guide on Substack — https://mariacassano.substack.com/

If you’ve ever felt numb, checked out, or “too much” and “not enough” at the same time — this one is for you.