Immigrantly

Diya Khanna is the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Manager at Amazon in Seattle. Diya has a Bachelors in Journalism & a Masters of Education in Anti-Racist curriculum. She is truly a global citizen and has lived and worked in Canada, the US, Singapore, Cambodia, India, Myanmar, & Japan. We spoke about diversity, food, and the importance of humility and empathy. Producer & Host: Saadi...

Nik Sharma is a renowned food writer, recipe developer, and photographer with Bombay roots and currently resides in LA. His entry into the food scene was his hit blog, A Brown Table. Since then, he has published two bestselling cookbooks, including The Flavor Equation, just this past October. Nik writes for San Francisco Chronicle, Serious Eats, and Food and Wine Magazine as their food columnist....

Our guest today is sure to bring an expansive perspective on the topic of accent bias. Professor Rahul Chakraborty is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who teaches at California State University, Fullerton, in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. As a linguist, his research has been featured in many scholarly journals, much of which has focused on accent bias's social implicat...

Sharing today, we have Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough and Ekaterina, an alias used by our guest to protect her identity. What about their situation is so unique, you may ask. Well, Karina and Ekaterina have one crucial thing in common - that is their stateless status. Karina has a birth certificate with Odesa as the birthplace, a port once under the USSR. Ekaterina immigrated to the U.S. on a Soviet...

   Shazia Sikander is a self-proclaimed citizen of the world. She is a world-renowned multidisciplinary artist whose career spans over three decades. Her work offers a more inclusive way that addresses geopolitical borders' arbitrariness & radically disrupts assumptions around national, political, & historical boundaries.    The episode is sponsored by Indiana University's Muslim Voices Pr...

Tanvi Misra is a multimedia journalist primarily focused on immigration. Her work has been featured at The Fuller Project, Bloomberg CityLab, CQ Roll Call, The Atlantic, NPR, and BBC. We had the chance to dig deep into the narratives on migration within American political discourse and touch upon how immigrant communities make sense of their layered identity. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan. Cont...

Dating is complicated. But what role does identity play in it? We sat down with Andrew and Ayesha to hear their experiences navigating the dating scene while balancing racial perceptions and cultural/religious expectations. The conversation is humorous, engaging, and informative. Sit back, relax, and prepare to laugh. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan.  Content writer/Associate Producer/Co-host: Sa...

Sahaj Kohli is the brains and energy behind Brown Girl Therapy, a mental health platform that is the first and largest of its kind. What started as a passion project turned into a worldwide community for first and second-generation immigrants who seek a space to understand and affirm their emotional and mental experiences.  Producer & Host: Saadia Khan. Content writer: Yudi Liu/Saadia Khan Edi...

Nilo Tabrizy is a video journalist for the New York Times. Before that, she produced for Vice News and wrote for Al Jazeera. From an interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister on the Nuclear Deal to reporting on family separation at the border, Nilo lends ordinary faces to crucial voices. Nilo’s episodes mindfully expose stories. Although she covers politics and developments within the U.S, she applie...

Sabreet Kang Rajeev is the author of the bestselling memoir, She is a second-generation Indian American. Sabreet is also a full-time social science researcher and is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Baltimore. We spoke about the American dream myth, classism within the South Asian community & the erasure of the blue-collar working class immigrant identity.  

Brandy X Lee is the President of the World Mental Health Coalition and a psychiatrist with Yale University. She has written Op-eds for outlets like the New York Times, the Independent, and Politico. Bandy's NYT Best Selling book "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" describes the dangers that Donald Trump's mental health poses to the nation & individual well-being. We spoke about President Trum...

Wajahat Ali is a Pakistani American journalist, author, public speaker, parent & someone who chooses change over disillusionment; his socio-political commentary is every bit biting and hopeful. We spoke about his Muslim identity, the controversy surrounding his OpEd for The Atlantic, "A Muslim Among Israeli Settlers," & his idea of perception vs. reality.

Season 9 launches with our interview with two fantastic guests. Eithne Luibheid & Karma Chavez are the editors of "Queer and Trans Migration: Dynamics of illegalization, Detention, and Deportation," a thought-provoking collection of the personal narratives of queer and trans migrants as well as activists. The interview covers a vast array of issues, including the intersectionality of migration...

With a new Season, Immigrantly is making a promise: we’re going to continue to shine a light on the nuances of this human experience. This time, we're not holding back. We spoke with a wide range of guests including, journalist Wajahat Ali (NYT, The Atlantic,) professors Eithne Luibheid, Karma Chavez, and psychiatrist Bandy X Lee.  Our conversations will continue to push boundaries that address th...

Immigrantly does an anecdotal dive on Christmas from the perspective of the American immigrant. Sit down with us as we hear three different perspectives on this holiday that holds one of the prime seats as a staple of American culture.  Producer & Host Saadia Khan   Associate Producer & Content writer Sarah Doh   Editor Tom Whelan

Our today's guest is Moumita Ahmed. She is a movement organizer, community activist, civic leader, & a candidate for the New York City Council, District 24. Moumita’s campaign is built around ensuring that working families don’t have to make sacrifices to afford things like education, healthcare, and a home. We spoke about a host of issues, including climate change, the NY housing crisis, opti...

Our today's guests are Cristina Rodriguez and Adam Cox. Cristina is a Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2011-2013. She’s also served as a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Adam is the Robert A. Kindler Professor of Law at New York University School of Law, where h...

History is fraught, no doubt. Today on Immigrantly, we seek to draw out its patterns and hold them against the present. In collaboration with Julia Wang and Kathy Lu from and a Professor of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, we unveil immigrant laborers' narratives in the U.S. From the Chinese laborers who built the Transcontinental Railroad to the Mexican migrant workers employed by the Bracero progr...

In collaboration with activist Naelyn Pike (San Carlos Apache Tribe), a spokesperson for Apache Stronghold, an organization that fights to protect Indigenous land, Immigrantly breaks down the truth behind the glorified “Thanksgiving Day” story. We talk about the real history behind this story, along with the themes that play out in the present-day struggle for Indigenous sovereignty. Producer &amp...

Laila Al-Arian is a journalist and the Executive Producer of , a Peabody and Emmy award-winning documentary series covering the US and its role around the world. The conversation mainly focuses on the controversy surrounding the NYTimes Podcast "Caliphate" and how journalists in the US present one-dimensional narratives about marginalized communities esp Muslims.

Krish O Mara has spent decades in public service, including being a clerk for Chief Judge Michael Boudin, advisor for Secretaries of State Clinton and Kerry, & Michelle Obama as the First Lady’s policy director. Her work has largely focused on public and foreign affairs concerning immigration and refugees. That has carried over to her current role as the President and CEO of the Lutheran Immig...

Today, we are sharing a conversation with Vaibhav Jain. Vaibhav is a dental surgeon and public health researcher who grew up in  Delhi, India. He currently works as an independent consultant on global health issues & language access for Asian American minorities, primarily consulting with U.S. Census Bureau and several national, nonpartisan organizations that mobilize Asian Americans and Pacif...

Susanna Barkataki is a renowned yoga speaker, teacher, and therapist. Her mission is to explore and integrate yogic values into our every day and build awareness, equity, and diversity within the yoga community. Susanna Barkataki is the Director of Education for Ignite Yoga and Wellness Institute and the creator of the Honor (don't appropriate) Yoga Summit. 

Imam Khalid Latif is University Chaplain at NYU.  He was the first Muslim chaplain at both NYU and Princeton. He was nominated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to be the youngest chaplain for the NYPD in history. Khalid has consulted with the U.S. State Department, various institutions, corporations, mosques, and other communities worldwide. He is also the co-founder of Honest Chops, the first organic a...

In a time where the current events in America feel like they’re moving us closer to a dystopian reality, it’s hard not to feel frazzled by it all. Our guest today is someone who has spent a lot of time thinking about this. Hari Kunzru is a British-Indian novelist and journalist. He is the author of the novels The Impressionist, Transmission, My Revolutions, Gods Without Men, and White Tears. His m...