Trump fired him, but Preet Bharara is still defending the country he loves

Long before he became the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara was a first-generation Indian immigrant, listening to Bollywood music in his childhood home outside of Asbury Park, New Jersey. It’s no surprise that Bruce Springsteen became one of Preet’s heroes – though it was a surprise when ‘The Boss’ gave Preet a personal shoutout at a 2012 concert.

In this episode, Preet talks about his work fighting Wall Street corruption and organized crime, how his family’s American dream unfolded across decades, and his unashamed patriotism in an era when expressing love for America can feel complicated. Plus, Sophie (almost) gets the former prosecutor to sing along to one of their shared seven songs. Here are his songs.

1. Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
2. Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, and Shailendra Singh, “Amar Akbar Anthony”
3. Queen, “Another One Bites the Dust”
4. U2, “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”
5. Daniel Rodriguez, “God Bless America”
6. Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel”
7. Zeshan B, “O Say, Can You See”