The Making of Manasi Joshi’s Episode

I stumbled upon the story of Manasi Joshi when scrolling through the Paralympics’ Instagram page and checking which athletes they spotlighted via the account’s posts and stories. Manasi had done a social takeover for the day, and she really impressed me for three reasons:

1. She had clearly gone through a lot of adversity, but her attitude was extremely upbeat and positive
2. She was very open and personable
3. She was thoughtful and well spoken

I spent a couple of days researching her and learning about her story via local and international news before reaching out. Once I decided she would be an incredible fit to spotlight, I reached out to her agent to see if she would be interested. Luckily for me, she was.

After our interview, it was clear to me that Manasi’s sister, Nupur played a huge role in her life, so she was next on my list to speak with. As someone who grew up with a sister, I was also acutely aware of the powerful connection between them and wanted to give Nupur the opportunity to be a part of telling her sister’s story. They were clearly a great team and I wanted to give voice to that dynamic.

I realized that most listeners were likely not super familiar with Badminton, so I thought a contribution from a badminton expert would be helpful. Personally, I had little to no experience with the sport, so I spent hours researching the major organizations and institutions involved in regulating and hosting matches. The Badminton World Federation kept popping up in my research as the official governing body.

Lastly, given that Manasi is passionate about disability rights, I sought out experts who could provide context on the history of disability, but also speak to the disability rights movement within sport itself. Ariella Barker and I had been in a class together last spring at the Harvard Kennedy School and I read a recent article on her. In class I always found her extremely articulate, so I reached out to speak with her. She generously introduced me to Candace Cable, who was also featured in Manasi’s episode.

If you would like to learn more about:

• Ariella Barker, learn more here
• Candace Cable, learn more here

Finalized graphics

After finalizing the episode, I went through the script and pulled out a few of the most powerful quotes and turned them into quote cards for marketing purposes. Once again, I shared these for the interviewees’ approvals. Finalized graphics are below; I used these in email and social media communication.

Now what? Manasi has two calls to action for you:
1. Write a quick email to (<5 min) to contact.gstcouncil@gov.in asking to reduce the 5% Goods & Services Tax on prosthetic equipment.

2. Watch the @paralympics and see how incredible these athletes are.

Originally published on Flame bearer – Medium