Immigrantly

Dear Immigrantly family, as you know, we are not releasing any new episodes this week; our fall lineup starts next week, August 23rd, with our conversation with Rana Ayyub. Nevertheless, I have exciting and fun audio to share today. In April this year, one of our previous guests and patrons, Paula Wood, hosted a fundraiser for us at her house. At the fundraiser, we asked the guests to define the U...

Today's guest, Thea Pham, shares her journey in discovering and defining what mental health means to her, how it fits in the complicated puzzle of her upbringing, and why she has felt immense emotional and psychological strains being the first generation. As an accomplished biotech entrepreneur, Thea was the youngest in her class to graduate with a Ph. D. in neuroscience at UCLA and currently work...

For Neda Toloui-Semnani, our today's guest, understanding who her parents were and what motivated them to participate in the 1979 Iranian Revolution as young Iranian activists became a crucial step to making sense of her own present. Born to a nation marked by political upheaval and now a Brooklyn-based emmy-winning writer & reporter, Neda is no stranger to the fabrics of social change and the equ...

Today I am sharing another gem from the Immigrantly vault. It’s our conversation with Abubakr Ali. He is an actor, writer, and singer. Last year, he landed a significant role in the upcoming Netflix series Grendel as the anti-hero, Hunter Rose. This opportunity is historic because Abubakr is the first Arab Muslim actor to lead in a comic book adaptation. As he steps into the spotlight, Abubakr was...

Today we have a fellow podcaster in our midst. Ramtin Arablouei is the co-host and co-producer of NPR's podcast Throughline. This show explores history through creative, immersive storytelling designed to reintroduce history to new audiences.  Ramtin embodies this perspective personally and professionally. Born in Iran, he immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a child and later graduated from...

The first time I introduced today's episode was in September 2020, when we recorded the interview on abortion access with Dr. Meera Shah. She is the Chief Medical Officer of Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic in New York and the author of "You're the Only One I have Told: The Stories Behind Abortion." Meera is a tireless advocate for accessible, safe abortions. The episode was released only a few d...

On June 24th, 2022, the hyper-conservative Supreme Court overturned Roe Vs. Wade and took away a woman's constitutional right to abortion. Thirteen states with trigger laws will ban abortion instantly. As a woman & a mother of two girls, I am angry, annoyed, devastated, and more uncertain about the safety of my kids now than ever before. It feels unreal that my daughters will have fewer rights tha...

In September 2021, when the images of border patrol agents whipping a group of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, came to light, national outrage broke out. But as all news cycles go, the rage eventually died out. The publications moved on to other stories, and the social media posts changed.  But the reality is, there was so much more to the story.  What happened to these migrants after they wer...

Thimali Kodikara is the series producer of "Mothers of Invention," hosted by former Irish president Mary Robinson and comedian-writer Maeve Higgins. Their platform uncovers stories of climate justice heroes, focused on Black, Brown, and Indigenous women holding up the microphone to climate action in the boardroom, at marches, with their peers, and beyond. In addition to her podcast, Thimali advise...

Today's guest, Dr. Anthony Ocampo, was raised in Los Angeles as the only son of two Filipino immigrants. He attended Stanford University for Comparative Race and Ethnicity and later received his master's in Modern Thought and Literature. He eventually received his Ph. D. in Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Ocampo focuses on race, immigration, and LGBTQ issues as a writer...

Our guest, Stephen Satterfield, has dedicated his career to organizing, activating, and educating people about the origins and cultures of food.  He founded Whetstone Radio Collective, a food magazine and media company that explores the history of American cuisine through the lens of cultural, socioeconomic, and human connections. Stephen's work disrupts the food canon in more ways than a few: wri...

In honor of May being the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (API), the National Hockey League (NHL) and Immigrantly joined forces to bring you two special episodes celebrating the role of the API community in hockey. Today's guest is Jordan Spence. He is a defenseman for the Los Angeles Kings. Now 21, Jordan picked up the puck at 5 years old, and just recently had his history-making debut...

In honor of May being the Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (API), the National Hockey League (NHL) and Immigrantly joined forces to bring you two special episodes celebrating the role of the API community in hockey. Today's guest is Aisha Visram. She is Head Trainer for the L.A. Kings' American Hockey League affiliate in Ontario, California. On January 13, 2022, the Los Angeles Kings scor...

Today we are sharing an episode from "Bad Table Manners," a podcast that pushes the boundaries of food storytelling in South Asia, produced by our friends at Whetstone Radio Collective. Enjoy! Thanks to the cool-ification of Indian food, traditional ingredients from the subcontinent, like turmeric and ghee, are now repackaged and resold in Western and Westernized markets as if they were “new” disc...

Sports are undoubtedly one of the most prominent cultural phenomena in the US. They enjoy tremendous popularity and are considered a means to promote fair play, teamwork & camaraderie. But how have our perceptions of the games and players evolved? What does it mean to be a South Asian Basketball player on the court? How do race and identity intersect within the sports realm? And what does it mean...

Our guest is Josefa Velasquez, a senior reporter for The City, a digital publication focused on the New York area. Josefa has been featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, Business Insider, New York Magazine, and Politico, to name a few.  We're bringing her onto this season of Immigrantly because she co-wrote a recent article with fellow city reporter Clifford Michel. Titled "NYC to Pick Up T...

Season 14 of Immigrantly, titled “People’s Choice,” launches today. Our first guest of the season is Ali Noorani, the president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. Prior, he was the director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Advocacy Coalition. As the author of two books, one of which  - "Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants" was recently published, Ali is recogni...

For season 13 finale, our guest is someone who defies the conventional boundaries of musical expression. Arooj Aftab, is a Grammy-winning Pakistani singer, composer, producer, and editor whose music has gained international recognition for its infusion of many genres. Her song, “Mohabbat,” was featured on Barack Obama’s list of favorite songs for the Summer of 2021 & won the 2022 Grammy for "Best...

Our guest today is Maria Akopyan. Maria is a family lawyer, divorce coach, and the founder of Dignified Divorce Coaching. Born in Armenia and immigrated to Los Angeles, California at only ten months old, Maria focuses on helping recently divorced women smoothly transition to a single life in a healthy, positive way. Her work challenges the notion that divorce is lonely and painful. Maria proposes...

Our guest today is Frances Tang, the founder, CEO, of Awkward Essentials, an innovative personal hygiene company. Their most well-known product is called the dripstick, a post-sex cleanup tool that absorbs excess fluid leftover from a partner. During her work in developing this product, Frances immediately became passionate about deconstructing taboo conversations about sex. One of the most exciti...

Dating can be a rocky ride at the best of times, especially in this day and age when narratives and how-tos are thrust upon us by the media, culture, and even friends. It becomes hard to filter what we want out of a relationship from what society expects us to enjoy. And then there is the issue of ignoring narratives that aren't as common or flashy. Today's episode looks at power and privilege wit...

Today's guest, Dr. Bushra Sabri, teaches at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing & is a recognized expert in exposure to violence and psychosocial outcomes caused by experiencing health inequities among minority and immigrant women. She currently leads Its WeWomenPlus, a research study for immigrant women's health, safety, and empowerment funded by the National Institute on Minority Health a...

Today's guest is family in all senses of the word. Tina Khan (A.K.A Shahjehan khan's mom) describes her journey into marriage and how love is nurtured in her life. Tina shares stories of heartbreak, love letters, & socio-cultural distinction in the context of arranged marriage, with great sage and sass. This episode will make you feel all the feels. So let's jump right in!!   One of the most excit...

Our guest today is trailblazing a unique approach towards navigating relationships. Jessica Fern is the author of The book takes its readers into an exploration of the relationship between attachment theory and consensual non-monogamy.      One of the most exciting ways to support us is by becoming a member of our Patreon by going to patreon.com/immigrantly. For the price of an overpriced oat milk...

Did you attend a sex-ed class in middle or high school? If the answer is no, you're not alone. In the United States, only twenty-four states mandate sex education, which leaves nearly half of the country inadequately educated on their sexual health. Justine Ang Fonte, M.Ed, MPH, makes it their mission to provide comprehensive sex-ed, intersecting it with the impacts of colonization, the porn indus...