EPISODE · May 14, 2026 · 1H 40M
Determined, Not Stubborn with Dr.Maddy Manchi Nukala
from Portraits of Strength · host Harry, The Anecdotist
Dr. Madhavi Manchi Nukala (Maddy) — Sociologist, Researcher & Human Ethics ManagerWhat does it mean to stay rooted in who you are when life keeps uprooting you? In this episode, Harry sits down with Dr. Madhavi Manchi Nukala ~ sociologist, researcher, fierce advocate for social justice, and self-described "politely persistent" human being. Born into a Telugu-speaking family that moved across India over generations, Maddy now calls Auckland, New Zealand home, where she serves as Human Ethics Manager at the University of Auckland.This conversation is about the quiet, water-like strength it takes to navigate cultures, challenge expectations, and build a life on your own terms , without ever losing sight of who you are.What we talk about:From childhood memories of Ek Do Teen and a head always buried in a book, to kicking math's ass at 92% just to prove she could, Maddy's story is full of those small rebellions that quietly become a life. She shares what it was like growing up across Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai as a kid who could never quite answer "where are you from" — and why she now sees that shapeshifting quality as a superpower.She opens up about the long, lonely road of a PhD at TISS Mumbai, meeting her husband three days before saying yes, shuttling between India and New Zealand for three years to finish her thesis, and what it meant to be the first woman in her family to earn a doctorate. She also takes us inside the world of human research ethics — why AI and indigenous data sovereignty are keeping her up at night, why ethics is the canary in the coal mine, and how you hold empathy and assertiveness side by side when the conversations get hard.And she leaves us with something worth sitting with: strength doesn't have to be loud. Sometimes it looks like water — taking the shape of its container, but quietly eroding everything in its way.Highlights:Growing up across cities in India and never being able to answer "where are you from"Choosing sociology over engineering in a Telugu family, and what that fight looked likeSix years, two countries, a new marriage, and one PhDThe advice that got her through: "Come have a cup of chai, every day"Being the first woman in her family to earn a doctorateNavigating race, gender, and invisibility as an Indian woman in New ZealandWhy AI and Māori data sovereignty are the biggest challenges in research ethics right nowClog dancing on Thursdays and why getting out of your head is serious self-careImposter syndrome, quiet strength, and calling stubbornness what it really is: determinationBooks Maddy loves: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran · The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin · Bad Feminist by Roxane GayConnect with Portraits of Strength: Spotify | YouTube | Instagram @portraits.of.strength.podcast
What this episode covers
Dr. Madhavi Manchi Nukala (Maddy) — Sociologist, Researcher & Human Ethics ManagerWhat does it mean to stay rooted in who you are when life keeps uprooting you? In this episode, Harry sits down with Dr. Madhavi Manchi Nukala ~ sociologist, researcher, fierce advocate for social justice, and self-described "politely persistent" human being. Born into a Telugu-speaking family that moved across India over generations, Maddy now calls Auckland, New Zealand home, where she serves as Human Ethics Manager at the University of Auckland.This conversation is about the quiet, water-like strength it takes to navigate cultures, challenge expectations, and build a life on your own terms , without ever losing sight of who you are.What we talk about:From childhood memories of Ek Do Teen and a head always buried in a book, to kicking math's ass at 92% just to prove she could, Maddy's story is full of those small rebellions that quietly become a life. She shares what it was like growing up across Bangalore, Chennai, and Mumbai as a kid who could never quite answer "where are you from" — and why she now sees that shapeshifting quality as a superpower.She opens up about the long, lonely road of a PhD at TISS Mumbai, meeting her husband three days before saying yes, shuttling between India and New Zealand for three years to finish her thesis, and what it meant to be the first woman in her family to earn a doctorate. She also takes us inside the world of human research ethics — why AI and indigenous data sovereignty are keeping her up at night, why ethics is the canary in the coal mine, and how you hold empathy and assertiveness side by side when the conversations get hard.And she leaves us with something worth sitting with: strength doesn't have to be loud. Sometimes it looks like water — taking the shape of its container, but quietly eroding everything in its way.Highlights:Growing up across cities in India and never being able to answer "where are you from"Choosing sociology over engineering in a Telugu family, and what that fight looked likeSix years, two countries, a new marriage, and one PhDThe advice that got her through: "Come have a cup of chai, every day"Being the first woman in her family to earn a doctorateNavigating race, gender, and invisibility as an Indian woman in New ZealandWhy AI and Māori data sovereignty are the biggest challenges in research ethics right nowClog dancing on Thursdays and why getting out of your head is serious self-careImposter syndrome, quiet strength, and calling stubbornness what it really is: determinationBooks Maddy loves: The Prophet by Khalil Gibran · The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin · Bad Feminist by Roxane GayConnect with Portraits of Strength: Spotify | YouTube | Instagram @portraits.of.strength.podcast
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Determined, Not Stubborn with Dr.Maddy Manchi Nukala
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