The Simpsons has been on the air for over thirty seasons, but not all of the characters have been well received. For example, Apu has generated controversy, with some Hindus and South Asians seeing him negatively as a racist stereotype, and others finding finding him unproblematic. In this episode, Fred Stella, host of the Common Threads podcast, President of The Interfaith Dialogue Association at the Kaufman Interfaith Institute, and member of the National Leadership Council of the Hindu American Foundation, discusses the varied reactions to Apu and how religious communities can respond to satirical depictions in entertainment.
