Show Notes
Hop aboard the magical Culture Train for a brand new adventure, then switch tracks and climb into a real-life 18-wheeler as we hit the highway with our new friend, Mr. Avie 🚚
In this episode, Culture Kids travel across the United States to discover the important role truck drivers play in keeping communities connected. From delivering food and supplies to traveling long distances across the country, we learn how these everyday heroes help make sure families everywhere have what they need.
Along the way, we explore:
What it’s like to drive a semi-truck (and why it has 18 wheels!)
How truck drivers plan long journeys and stay safe on the road
Why truck drivers are essential to communities across the world
Why there are so many Sikh drivers in America
How music—like Punjabi music—helps people stay connected to their culture
What Sikhism is, and how it shapes Mr. Avie’s life and work
How people from many different backgrounds and traditions help keep our world moving
This episode is a beautiful reminder that behind the things we use every day, there are real people, with stories, cultures, and journeys of their own.
The Sikh Coalition is the nation's largest Sikh civil rights organization. For 25 years, they have worked to help Sikhs who face discrimination or mistreatment. You can learn more about them at www.sikhcoalition.org, and see some of the work they've done specifically for Sikh and Punjabi truckers at thesikh.co/truckers.
Instagram: @sikhcoalition
Twitter: @sikh_coalition
Roadies
Avie Nagra, a military veteran and experienced trucker, founded Roadies Inc in 2014 and has grown it from one truck to a fleet of over 100 trucks and 150 trailers, building a team committed to excellence in logistics.
Credits:
Executive Producer: Kristen Kim
Producer: Nimarta Narang
Hosts: Kristen & Asher Kim
Guest Host: Avie Nagra
Audio Engineer: Robin Lai
Academic Consultant: Elisha Li
Nonprofit Consultant: Emil Kang
Sound FX Elements: Envato Elements
More from Culture Kids
Did you know candy corn was once called “Chicken Feed”? This Halloween, hop aboard the Culture Train for a sweet journey through American history! Kristen and Asher travel back in time to a Pennsylvania farm in the 1880s to discover why so much of America’s corn was grown for animals, not dinner plates. Then they visit a bustling Cincinnati candy shop around 1900, where kids bought candy corn by the penny.
Are bats and snakes really as spooky as they seem? Hop back aboard the magical Culture Train with Kristen, Asher, and Arden as we return to our Spooky Forest Adventure for Halloween!
In this episode, the Culture Train sails to Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, to meet Mark from the Polynesian Voyaging Society and step aboard Hōkūleʻa, a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe. Kids learn how the Hawaiian Islands formed, what it means to sail using wayfinding (ancient, non-instrument navigation using the stars, sun, wind, and waves), and why this tradition still matters today.
Culture Kids heads to the bottom of the world this episode, Antarctica! Join Mom and Asher as they explore towering icebergs, meet emperor penguins and a very sleepy Weddell seal, then dive nearly two miles beneath the frozen Weddell Sea to uncover one of the greatest shipwreck discoveries in modern history: Ernest Shackleton's Endurance, lost for over 100 years and found perfectly preserved on the ocean floor in 2022.
Asher and Mom visit family friend Miral Sattar, whose roots stretch from Pakistan to Burma to Persia, for a hands-on lesson in how food becomes a love language across cultures. Kids will learn about Rooh Afza rose milk, crispy beef samosas, Burmese khow suey noodles, the tradition of chai hospitality, and creamy pistachio kulfi, all while discovering why sharing a meal is one of the most universal ways people show they care.