DB: Where are you?
PN: In Los Angeles, where I was invited to appear on The Dr. Jason Show (Chazz Live). I’m also going to meet with our producers.
DB: What makes your health show different?
PN: I am host of Ask Dr. Nandi, which is an hour-long show where we help people be their own health hero with tips and advice. The idea is there are so many diets and fitness regimens, so we sort through everything. Our show is syndicated to 85 million homes in the U.S. and to 80 countries.
DB: Where do you tape the show?
PN: The bulk of everything is done (in metro Detroit). We started in 2011, and we are an independent production company. What happened was I was traveling in California, and one of the founding producers asked if I could talk with one of his partners who had pancreatic cancer. So I said, “Of course.” After we talked, the producer was struck by my delivery and he asked if I could provide advice on TV? I agreed because it was an opportunity to leave a bigger footprint on this planet.
DB: Didn’t they want to film in L.A.?
PN: Yes, but I insisted we do it in metro Detroit. So we brought some of the producers here and showed them (the region’s production) facilities, and they met our team, and they were amazed we had so many assets. Since we started taping in early 2012, we’ve done 164 shows and won two (Michigan) Emmy’s.
DB: What’s next?
PN: I still practice medicine full time, so there’s a lot going on. The last place we filmed was in Farmington Hills, and we’ve also been in Troy and Novi. We hope to film in Detroit, perhaps downtown somewhere if we can find the right space and the right dimensions. Our (studio) audience is around 200 people. We have met with Mayor (Mike) Duggan’s staff, and they are very supportive of what we are doing.
