Immigrantly

Today, Tanvi Misra, an award-winning independent journalist focused on migration, urban policy, and criminal justice, returns to talk about the process and concentrate on her collaborative article “We Have to Survive,” which represents the advocacy found in immigrant communities.  In this article, Tanvi interviewed four women, from community leaders to activists, to paint a portrait of how migrant...

Our today's guest Paula Wood is a multifaceted woman. She's an artist, a mother, a former editor, and an activist. This conversation brings charm and groundedness because Paula is deeply relatable. We talked about the way our proximity to it shapes our understanding of history, whether history and current events have any objectivity to them, collective denial in privileged groups, and the role of...

We are so excited to have Blair Imani join us today. Blair is an author, educator, and influencer living at the intersections of Black, Bisexual, and Muslim identity. She is the author of "Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and the Black American Dream", and "Modern HERstory". Her most recent book, "Read This To Get Smarter", is inspired by her viral 30-sec microlearning series, Smarter In S...

This Thanksgiving, Immigrantly colleagues are bringing you a fusion episode, largely reflection-oriented, on the fun and follies of Thanksgiving. Saadia Khan, Yudi Liu & Kylee Roberts share their relationship with Thanksgiving, what they ascribe to, and how they observe this complicated holiday. Enjoy! Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Cont...

It's a common narrative - for immigrants to compensate for positions below their training and education. The conundrum of being overqualified yet foreign was something Alexandra Mori experienced when she first moved to Vancouver. Now she is a regional vice president of the Bank of Montreal. Saadia and Alexandra speak on this process, what shocked them about their new environment, the learnings and...

Today we are so excited to have Khaled Hosseini on Immigrantly. Khaled Hosseini is the author of the New York Times bestsellers "The Kite Runner," "A Thousand Splendid Suns," and "And the Mountains Echoed."  For this conversation, we are passing the mic to one of our content writers, Aleeza Kazmi. Aleeza is a first-generation Afghan and Pakistani American. Producer & Narrator: Saadia Khan Asso...

Ever made eye contact with someone reading on the subway? Uli Beutter Cohen has. As the creator of Subway Book Review, Uli shares *that* moment that ignited her quest to document people and books. Now her platform, which combines digital, oral, and written storytelling, spans over 20 countries. Uli explains what is behind a book (a reader and author), how books paradoxically offer both escapes and...

Saadia sits down with recurring guest, Saira Rao and her publisher, Jessica Regel, for a very real conversation on the state of social justice issues. To put it simply: No, things have not gotten better. They break down the culture of (white) liberal complicity that comes from having a Democratic president. They discuss whether the term "diversity" has become a meaningless word and explore the dyn...

is a voice-over artist, actor, musician & a podcaster. He is currently the host of podcast, a seven-part podcast series about American-Muslim life post-9/11. This episode is sponsored by Stamps.com Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer: Aleeza Kazmi Editor: Bronte Cook Rabab Music: Qais Essar

Our today's guest  is an actor, writer, and singer.  He recently landed a significant role in the upcoming Netflix series as the anti-hero, Hunter Rose. This opportunity is historic because he is the first Arab Muslim actor to lead in a comic book adaptation. We talked about what this casting means for him, how he has navigated the world of acting, the contradictions in media and theater, & wh...

Jamie Broadnax is the founder of an online community, , which she created in 2012 for self-identifying women nerds of color. Since then, Black Girl Nerds has transformed into a multimedia platform and podcast dedicated to changing the narrative around geek culture for people of color.  We talked about exciting matters such as the perception and reality of nerd culture and how the Bechdel test can...

Hari Kondobalu is our guest today. He is a comedian, writer, podcaster, & filmmaker who is best known for his outspoken 2017 documentary which calls out "The Simpsons" for its controversial portrayal of Indians in its character Apu.  This episode is brought to you by Stamps.com Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content write: Yudi Liu  Editor: Tom Whelan Follow us...

Today, on Immigrantly, we speak with Dharon E. Jones. He is a highly talented musical theatre performer from Brooklyn who played Riff in West Side Story. Jones is also a multifaceted artist, performer, and content creator. His resume includes walking NY Fashion Week, performing beautiful choreography in music videos, and appearing in “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” While his resume is quite impressiv...

Our guest today is Anna Qu. She writes to make sense of cultural diasporas and the immigrant experience, including her own. Anna grew up in New York, earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Sarah Lawrence College, & currently resides in Brooklyn. Her work, which has appeared in publications like Poets & Writers and Jezebel, recasts the narratives ascribed to immigrants with honesty and...

In Season 12 of Immigrantly, we explore the narratives that haven’t been widely covered across media. Why are we still coming up short in telling fully inclusive stories? Is it time to pivot away from mighty media giants and start making our own stories? What does representation look like in an increasingly digital age?  These are some of the questions we hope to tackle in Season 12. We have an ex...

Today's guest is Professor Josef Sorett. He is an expert in Religious and African American studies at Columbia University. We talked about the boundaries between secular and sacred, how religion has influenced Black culture from hip hop music to social movements, and why returning to the junctions of religion and culture can be a source of reconciliation and investment in what is common. This epis...

Marla Louissaint, whose performance credentials include “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” and “Kurt Vonnegut’s God Bless You, Mr, Rosewater” sits down with host and producer Saadia, along with Marla's longtime friend & Immigrantly associate producer, Kylee, to reflect on the road to becoming an ex-Jehovah’s Witness and the Founder/President of an abolitionist nonprofit called "Claim Our Spa...

This week on Immigrantly, we explore the relationship between the environment and religion through a physical vessel that is the Church of Holy Communion on West 20th & 6th Ave New York. The episode reviews the Churches many past lives, including a fitness center and an elite nightclub. Through this historical-social lens, Immigrantly is asking the questions we all have considered: what is a r...

Today's guest Nouri Sardar is a Muslim poet, filmmaker, & co-host of the 786 Boulevard podcast. However, he stands as a change agent at the intersection of religion and social justice at a more fundamental level.  This episode is sponsored by Citizenpath. Go to citizenpath.com and use coupon code "Immigrantly" to get 15% off. This episode is sponsored by Db. Click on the link below to get 10%o...

Our today's guest is Faisal Devji. Faisal is a historian who specializes in studies of Islam, globalization, violence, and ethics. He is a professor at St. Antony’s College at the University of Oxford. His multidisciplinary work grounds empirical historical issues in philosophical questions. Some of his published work includes "Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, Morality, Modernity," which explor...

Mira Sethi is an actor and a writer. Sethi has worked as a books editor at The Wall Street Journal. She has written op-eds for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. She regularly appears in mainstream Pakistani drama series on television. Her debut book, ," is a collection of short stories in Pakistan. This episode is sponsored by Citizenpath. Go to citizenpath.com and use...

In partnership with Indiana University's "Muslim Voices Project," the Immigrantly team explores the relationship between spirituality and mental health. One of the writers, Sarah, sat down with two practicing Muslims from very different backgrounds to tackle the question of "What role does God play in your mental health?" The professional opinion of Jabir Tarin complements these conversations. Jab...

In partnership with Indiana University's "Muslim Voices Project," the Immigrantly team explores the relationship between spirituality and mental health. One of the writers, Sarah Doh, sat down with two practicing Muslims from very different backgrounds to tackle the question of "What role does God play in your mental health?" The professional opinion of Jabir Tarin complements these conversations....

Arij Mikati is the Managing Director of Leadership & Culture at the Pillars Fund. She works on creating & supporting opportunities that advance storytelling & cultural change work. For example, the Pillars Fund teamed up with  and the Ford Foundation to create fellowships for Muslim storytellers. Arij’s work and its impact are felt in antiracism, coalition building, and solidarity acti...

Today, we are speaking with the founder of South Bronx Mutual Aid, Ariadna Phillips. Ariadna is a bilingual educator and a seasoned community organizer based in the Bronx, NY. South Bronx Mutual Aid serves the Bronx autonomous free fridge community. The episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Special offer for Immigrantly listeners, get 10% off your first month at The episode is also sponsored by Citi...