Phenoms

MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN

19 • Breakout actor

BY MINDY KALING

When you’re a minority woman with your own show, you gotta represent. It’s a tough job to be in that spotlight, where you are scrutinized for your every action, but it’s exhilarating too. People come up to you at the airport or online and say those three magic words: “I feel seen.” It’s a huge responsibility—and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is exactly the kind of talented young woman who is up to the task.

While she might come off as a carefree teen in her hilarious TikToks and Instagram videos, Maitreyi—who plays the lead role in Never Have I Ever—is a gifted comic actress. She studies her craft and takes it seriously. Moreover, she’s an artist who cares deeply about the material she’s performing, and what it’s saying. She has an activist’s heart and wants to use her platform to help others.

What’s most extraordinary about Maitreyi is that when you’re with her, you think you’re simply talking to a cool, smart teenager, but later, when you see her work onscreen, you realize you were actually interacting with a great artist at the beginning of her journey.

Kaling is an actor, writer and producer and the co-creator of Never Have I Ever

Steve Kornacki

41 • Crunching the numbers

BY RACHEL MADDOW

It’s one of those screws with the + sign on the head, and you don’t have one of those screwdrivers. What do you do? Find a little flathead straight screwdriver and try to fit it into one of the grooves? Maybe that will work? Package needs opening. Hmm. Butter knife? Bottle cap? Teeth!

We’ve all done it. The makeshift, might-work approach.

But there comes a point in life where you come to value the safety and satisfaction of applying the right tool to the job.

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