Immigrantly

 Here at Immigrantly, I believe in creating a safe space for authentic storytelling. Most stories are built on our platform but sometimes from other sources. And today, we are doing just that. We will share an episode called Coming Home from a podcast we love from the UCLA Labor Center called Re: Work. A group of undocumented youth cross the border from the US into Mexico to cross back and turn th...

My today's guests are a fantastic duo. Lilliana Vazquez is a Puerto Rican and Mexican TV personality, style expert, and interviewer. You may recognize her as a former contributor on the Today show, the former host of E! news, or as a correspondent for Access Daily and Access Hollywood. She is outspoken about the stakes of being a Latina in a field where she is often in the minority.  Her co-host i...

Today, In honor of Black History month and to pay homage to the African contribution to American food, I am re-releasing another gem from the immigrantly vault. It’s my interview with Stephen Satterfield. This conversation profoundly impacted how I view African cuisine in America. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did when it happened and even now as I revisit it with all of you.    Stephen Satterf...

My guest is Micha Cooper Edwards. She is the founder and CEO of Soleil Space and Soleil Entertainment. At her core, Micha is a visionary media entrepreneur—her expertise span over 15 years in media and across many markets. Micha has led international campaigns for iconic brands like NIKE, Jordan, and PepsiCo, as well as social impact efforts and corporate partnerships for Netflix and HBO documenta...

Between “ghosting,” “Icks,” and the question of whether or not to swipe right, the dating world isn’t the same as it used to be. Forty-eight percent of adults aged 18 to 29 have used a dating app before, hoping to find that special thing called love — or maybe just something casual. But how do we feel about swiping left on someone so quickly? And have dating apps actually made it harder to find me...

Immigrantly family, today I’ll be chatting with Mari Uchida. She is a photographer, director, a fiercely creative artist whose work has been seen in the New York Times, Time Out New York, The Lincoln Center of Performing Arts, Broadway World, and other platforms. Her subjects are photographed against varied backdrops, from city streets to the performing stage.  She uses photography to highlight pe...

Today's guest, Dr. Mimi Khuc, is a writer, teacher, and scholar of things unwell, a pedagogy that examines humans' relationship to the world and themselves as one with differential unwellness because of the structures around them. Mimi is a Professor of Asian American studies and disability studies. Presently, she lectures at Georgetown University and is the 2023 Activist in Residence at FLOURISH...

Today's guest is Mangesh Hattikudur. He is a podcaster and co-founder of Kaleidoscope, a podcast production company. He’s also the co-host of the podcast Part-Time Genius, the former senior vice president of iHeartRadio, and the co-founder of the magazine Mental Floss. But it is his more recent podcast that we’ll be talking about today. Toward the end of 2022, Mangesh released Skyline Drive, a pod...

Carmen Rita Wong is a journalist, entrepreneur, and personal finance expert. Once the host of a TV program called On The Money, Carmen has worked with CNN, CBS, and NBC, and she was a financial advice columnist for four different magazines, including Glamour and Good Housekeeping. She is also the author of five books, including the most recent memoir, "Why Didn't You Tell Me"? Carmen's mother was...

Today I’m joined by Amy S Choi and Rebecca Lehrer, co-founders and co-hosts of The Mash-Up American podcast, which features stories and interviews on the things that make us who we are: culture, relationships, and identity. I feel a kindred spirit for these two since Immigrantly bears many similarities. Starting in 2013, The Mash-Up American has been telling stories, from zany ones on ginger being...

Welcome listeners. As some of you may know, our team is taking a much-needed break to rest and recuperate so that we can come back on January 10th, reinvigorated to share some awesome Immigrantly content with all of you. In the meantime, I am sharing a special episode from “Before me”. It is a five-part documentary produced by Self-Evident about journalist Lisa Phu chronicling her mother’s journey...

There is nothing Immigrantly loves more than switching up the narrative--and that's why today, we're sharing some controversial opinions, or "hot-takes," about the holiday season. Before we begin 2023, I wanted to get together with Yudi and Michaela from the Immigrantly team to talk about everything from pumpkin spice flavors to Love Actually. And the best part is, we have some hot takes from you...

What does following your passion look like? How many aspiring actresses, dancers, writers, podcasters and artists have been told that their powers won’t make them any money? How many of them stop chasing their creative dreams altogether? Well, my next guest did the very thing that many people would be terrified of doing. Today, I'm interviewing Maya Fuji, a Japanese American artist who dropped out...

My today's guest is Gerson Lanza. Born and raised in Honduras, Gerson is a tap dancer and an educator. He is pursuing his Master of Fine Arts in Dance at the University of Maryland. And earlier this year, he finished the coveted Strathmore Artist in Residence Program as part of the Class of 2022. Gerson and I spoke about his passion for tap dancing, the less-known history of tap dancing, and how w...

Music has been an integral part of my life; from classical and popular music to rock, you will find an entire gamut on my Spotify playlist. Whenever I feel sad or happy, worried or excited, I put on my favorite track to either calm myself down or lift myself. I don’t know about you, but music has this innate quality that allows people to get in touch with their inner and complicated emotions. It's...

How do we harness the power of authentic storytelling to recreate narratives about immigrants? I sat down with Liz Robbins, the director of journalism partnerships at "Define American," to discuss this and other pertinent questions. We also talked about a recent report she co-authored with Sarah E Lowe and Victoria Bouloubasis —“Reimagining Immigrant News: North Carolina’s Case for the Nation.” Th...

Before turning off your phone for a Thanksgiving digital detox or because the turkey requires your undivided intention, spend a moment with the Immigrantly team and me. Today's episode is on the history of yams and their genetically unrelated, culturally conflated counterpart — sweet potatoes. I'm joined by our content writers, Michaela Strauther and Yudi Liu, as we reflect on the joys and quirks...

 Why is it that we stumble when we discuss sexuality? It should be a joyous topic rather than one fraught with shame, confusion, and invisibility. Even as we get more shows and movies attempting to tackle stigmas around sexuality and identity, non-white and immigrant communities are often left out of this representation. My today's guest, Dr. Varuna Srinivasan, a sexual health professional, and qu...

Today's episode addresses why voting is not just a right that individuals should exercise; it is also a democratic measure of collective accountability. I sit down with…myself and confront my fears and hopes this election season. While progress is never consistent nor linear, this episode examines how Trump's presidency and the subsequent shifts in the political climate have brought into view exis...

Hey Immigrantly family! As we are working hard to get you some excellent content in the coming days, I also recognize we have some new listeners. Therefore, I thought, why not share something incredible from the Immigrantly vault? And I couldn’t think of a better episode than my interview with Marla Louissaint. This interview was first published in August 2021, over a year ago. In the interview, y...

Ruby Jaffrey is a talented, contemporary calligraphy artist who has exhibited her artwork worldwide, including in London, LA, New York, and Karachi. Like many of us who rely on art for expression and play, Ruby describes hers as celebrations of color, spirituality, faith, and stylistic zeitgeist.    Ruby specializes in Arabic script and modern Islamic art. Visual art, calligraphy, and architecture...

Our guest, Vanessa Chavarriaga Posada, is a Colombian-American athlete, activist, and environmental sociologist who is always on the move. From the freezing valleys of Alaska to the cloud forests of Colombia, Vanessa spends her days' hiking, skiing, mountaineering, running, and ice skating through beautiful landscapes.  But at the same time, her travels go beyond mere wanderlust. Through her work...

Our guest is Israa Nasir, a psychotherapist, and mental health educator. She is the founder of Well. Guide, a digital mental wellness brand on Instagram. Situated at the cross-section of technology and mental healthcare, Israa specializes in applying her knowledge of working with intersectional identities to improve the framing and delivery of mental healthcare to BIPOC individuals. Israa and I ta...

Our guest today is an expert on self-expression-Taiwanese-born Romana Lai, a renowned editorial makeup artist who has worked with many of the fashion industry’s leading names and publications, including Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. In addition, she has worked on shows for New York Fashion Week, French Connection, FCUK, and many others. She is also a published author: her book ‘New York Style’ is a w...

Today's guest Michelle Li is a broadcaster, founder of the "Very Asian Movement" &  Foundation and author of the upcoming book ‘A Very Asian Guide to Korean Food’. The "Very Asian movement" initially started as a hashtag in which other members of the Asian diaspora share solidarity with Michelle and united in a means of sharing Asian pride. Michelle's book is another response to the initial bi...