Apr 28, 2020
Dennis chats via Skype with author, actor and activist Maulik Pancholy about his debut novel The Best at It, which tells the story of Rahul Kapoor, an Indian-American sixth grader in suburban Indiana who sets out to become the best at something. He talks about where the idea to write the book came from, the bidding war that erupted when the book went to publishers, the parameters he faced when it comes to talking about LGBT issues in books for young people and getting emotional while recording the audio book. He also talks about his whirlwind national book tour, the kids who would open up to him when he visited their schools and sparking an anti-gay backlash at one school in Ohio. Other topics include: serving on President Obama's Advisory Commission on Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, his favorite memories of 30 Rock, living in LA right after college, getting engaged at the Taj Mahal and going to Russia with his high school math team.