Goodness500 idea lab + blog

Priti Radhakrishnan, lover of all things untested.

Hi Priti, who are ya? Grew up in Boston and the Bay Area, and since then have lived in New York, LA, Sydney, Geneva, Delhi, Bangalore, Boston and am now back in New York. Have travelled to many other countries in that time mainly for work that my husband and I do with I-MAK (www.i-mak.org). The non-profit we founded helps increase access to medicines by making sure the patent system works. We have a list of countries we want to travel around (for fun), and our goal for 2009 is to make time for this! I spend my time outside of work doing dance, yoga, pilates, music, writing, knitting, experimenting with cooking, attempting to draw, reading a lot and watching heaps of films.
What place do you call home? New York and California.
What place do you want to visit for the first time? Damascus.
Your inspiration? Folks who struggle with dignity.
A constant challenge? Closing loops.
A moment of triumph? When we hit our target of registering 25,000 new minority bone marrow donors last summer.
Soundtrack to your day? Right now it is http://www.hellabasic.com/side-hustle/.
Superman or Batman? Superman, but that’s because there is nothing cuter than watching a bunch of kids do the Soulja Boy dance.
A good factoid? The use of “barney” to mean “trouble” (barney-rubble-trouble) in Ocean’s 11 is not an example of Cockney rhyming slang, despite popular perception. The term “barney” is a common term in London to mean argument or fight.
What type of person would you like to collaborate with? Someone who can turn legalese into powerful stories.
Currently reading? Persepolis (the graphic novel), Robert Fisk’s book on Lebanon, a book on Fela, Pedro Paramo, & a vegetarian cookbook.
How would you spend $10K to do a ton of good (just in case someone with spare cash is reading)? Challenge another unlawful patent on an HIV drug from a pharmaceutical company that is getting on my LAST nerves with their blatant gaming of the patent system. Your $10k could help save a developing country millions of dollars and more importantly, a lot of lives.
Want to ask for an “internet favor”? We love donated frequent flyer miles, if you’ve got some to spare.
Would you like to plug someone else’s project? ANDA in Puerto Rico run by Rafa – bringing environmental justice to Puerto Rico, its an incredible project.