Immigrantly - podcast cover

Immigrantly

Saadia Khan | Immigrantly Mediaimmigrantlypod.com
Immigrantly is an award-winning podcast that challenges the rulebook on immigrant stories. Hosted by Saadia Khan, a rights activist, social entrepreneur, and unapologetic truth-seeker, this show unpacks the complexities of identity, race, and belonging through unfiltered conversations with artists, academics, culture shifters, and everyday disruptors. Whether unpacking generational trauma, challenging labels, or exploring cultural mashups, Immigrantly invites you to rethink what it means to belong in today’s world. Real people. Real talk. No clichés. Just stories that hit different. To join this fun, thoughtful, and inclusive community, simply subscribe! Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Editorial Review: Shei Yu Content Writers: Michaela Strauther, Bobak Afshari, Rainier Harris, Adiba Hussain & Saadia Khan Sound Design & Content Editor: Haziq Ahmad Farid, Paroma Chakravarty, Steve Martin, Lou Raskin Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson Other Music: Epidemic Sound Follow us on IG @immigrantlypods Twitter @Immigrantly_pod TikTok @Immigrantly YouTube: @immigrantlypods Subscribe to our Patreon Immigrantly podcast is an Immigrantly Media production. For advertising inquiries, please email at info@immigrantlypod.com
Last refreshed:
Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.
Download Metacast podcast app
Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app
Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Outward And Inward Conversations with Zohran Mamdani (July 2020)

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠⁠ In this special re-release, host Saadia Khan sits down with Zohran Kwame Mamdani, recorded back in 2020, just after his groundbreaking win in the Democratic primary for New York State Assembly. At the time, Zohran was...

Jul 01, 202540 min

Plot Twists, Politics & Love Stories

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠⁠⁠ Host Saadia Khan sits down with writer and historian Nishant Batsha to unpack how a pre-med dropout became a fiction powerhouse. From tracing Indian indenture across Fiji and Trinidad to crafting love stories set agains...

Jun 24, 202557 minEp. 315

Reverse Immigration, Siestas & Sound Design

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠⁠⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠⁠ This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc. Stop putting off those doctor appointments and visit http://Zocdoc.com/Immigrantly to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. What happens when a digital nomad, a podcas...

Jun 17, 202551 minEp. 314

Inheriting Narratives (July 2024)

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠⁠⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠⁠ This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc. Stop putting off those doctor appointments and visit http://Zocdoc.com/Immigrantly to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. A quick note before we start. For Immigrant...

Jun 10, 202549 min

Food Is Never Just Food

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠ This episode is brought to you by Zocdoc. Stop putting off those doctor appointments and visit http://Zocdoc.com/Immigrantly to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today. We love to romanticize food as a universal co...

Jun 03, 202555 minEp. 313

So Many Stars, So Many Ways to Be Free

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below ⁠https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe What does it mean to belong when your identity defies borders, binaries, and expectations? In this powerful episode, Uruguayan American author and cultural force Caro De Robertis joins host Saadia Khan to explore the deeply p...

May 20, 202549 minEp. 312

Two Passports and A Punchline

Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter Hyphenly; it's our no-fluff love letter with hot takes, heartfelt stories, and all the feels of living in between cultures. Come for the nuance, stay for the vibes! Link below https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe This week on Immigrantly, Saadia KhanI sits down with the brilliant and hilarious Derek Mitchell. He is a comedian, actor, and creator of @letsdoubledutch. Derek’s lived all over Chicago, Amsterdam, and London, and he’s bringi...

May 13, 202554 minEp. 311

Autopsies, Fame, and Scandal: Inside the Life of Thomas Noguchi

What happens when a Japanese immigrant becomes Hollywood’s most powerful and controversial coroner? In this gripping conversation, Saadia sits down with historian and author Anne Soon Choi to unpack the life of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, LA’s former Chief Medical Examiner and the man behind some of the most infamous autopsies in American history—Marilyn Monroe, Robert F. Kennedy, and Natalie Wood, to name a few. But this story isn’t just about celebrity deaths. It’s about race, politics, media spectacl...

May 06, 202550 minEp. 310

Redefining Home: The Journey Back to Mexico (August 2024)

Subscribe to Hyphenly, our latest newsletter, for a chance to win a gift card ⁠: https://immigrantlys-newsletter.beehiiv.com/subscribe⁠ While host Saadia Khan recovers from laryngitis, Immigrantly brings back a standout episode from August 2024 featuring journalists Antonia Cerejido and Lorena Ríos. Originally recorded in the lead-up to the 2024 elections, this conversation explores politics, identity, and the storytelling power that shapes public discourse. Though some references to candidates ...

Apr 29, 202542 min

The Stories We Whisper, The Sounds We Miss

What does it mean to lean into your culture while living in a place that flattens it? In this richly textured episode, Saadia Khan sits down with Sudanese-American journalist and host of The Stoop, Hana Baba, for a wide-ranging conversation on identity, diaspora, and the soundscapes of belonging. From the cacophony of Sudanese weddings to the quiet codes of immigrant survival in the U.S., Hana explores the power of folk tales, scent, and sound as tools of cultural preservation and personal heali...

Apr 22, 202553 minEp. 309

Speaking Imperfectly, Belonging Fully

Do you speak more than one language—but feel truly fluent in none? You’re not alone. In this deeply personal and thought-provoking episode, Saadia Khan is joined by Angela Lin, founder of Real You Mandarin, to explore how language shapes our identities, relationships, and sense of belonging. Angela, a Taiwanese American polyglot, believes language learning should center on cultural connection—not grammatical perfection. We unpack what it means to “feel” fluent, how multilinguals navigate identit...

Apr 15, 202546 minEp. 308

From Spinning Beats to Saving Earth (May 2024)

April is Earth Month — a time to reflect on the state of our planet, address urgent environmental issues, strategize action, and hold ourselves and others accountable. In that spirit, we’re bringing back an essential conversation from the Immigrantly vault. This episode with futurist and climate optimist Amer Jandali originally aired on May 28, 2024. Some references may sound a bit dated, but the message is as fresh and relevant as ever. Join us as we create new intellectual engagement for our a...

Apr 08, 202543 min

Designed to Exclude: How Policy Shaped the Fate of Mexican Immigrants in Texas

What if the barriers to success weren’t personal but structural, intentional, and decades in the making? In this episode of Immigrantly, host Saadia Khan sits down with demographers Jennifer Hook and James Bachmeier, authors of a groundbreaking new book, Texas-Style Exclusion: Mexican Americans and the Legacy of Limited Opportunity, that traces how Mexican immigrant families in Texas were systematically excluded from public education and opportunity throughout the 20th century—and how those poli...

Apr 01, 202553 minEp. 307

Too Foreign for Home, Too Foreign for Here

Identity isn’t always a box you check; it’s a journey. In this episode of Immigrantly, host Saadia Khan sits down with Beatriz Nour, the creator of Inbetweenish, a podcast that unpacks the complexities of belonging across cultures, languages, and traditions. Beatriz shares her personal story of navigating three cultures, four languages, and two religions, reflecting on the struggles and privileges of being in between. From growing up as a minority in Egypt to questioning her Arab identity and re...

Mar 25, 202543 minEp. 306

Writing Like Nobody’s Watching

What happens when we step outside our own understanding of identity and embrace the messy, beautiful, and sometimes contradictory stories that shape us? In this episode of Immigrantly, host Saadia Khan sits down with writer and television executive Nayantara Roy to explore the intersections of storytelling, belonging, and cultural memory. From navigating multiple worlds as an immigrant to uncovering the power of secrets in fiction, Nayantara shares insights from her acclaimed novel, The Magnific...

Mar 18, 202548 minEp. 305

Hearing 'No' Like An Immigrant

How do you go from fleeing your home country to building a Luxury Fashion Empire? Dr. Neri Karra did just that—without the fluff, the nonsense, or selling out. In this episode of Immigrantly, I sit down with Neri to talk about how she built a global brand, teaches at Oxford, and still finds time to write about immigrant entrepreneurship experiences in her book "Pioneers: Eight Principles of Business Longevity from Immigrant Entrepreneurs." We’re unpacking The wild journey from refugee camp to fa...

Mar 11, 202554 minEp. 304

Riding Along with Kareem Rahma: Creating 'Keep The Meter Running' and More (April 2023)

I am excited to re-drop one of my favorite episodes featuring the incredible Kareem Rahma! When we first recorded this chat, Kareem was all about "Keep the Meter Running." Now, he's taken his journey to new heights with "Subway Takes." It's a series of short videos created by Kareem Rahma that offer his opinions on brands and pop culture, and he is gearing up to launch his very own podcast. This conversation is packed with unexpected twists and insights that you'll love. So, dive in now, and be ...

Mar 04, 202541 min

Helicopters, Justice & Magic Tricks??

What does serving in the U.S. military while challenging its norms mean? In this episode of Immigrantly, Saadia Khan sits down with Lieutenant Julie Roland, an active-duty naval aviator and law school graduate who advocates for systemic change. Julie takes us behind the scenes of military life, its hierarchies, recruitment strategies, and the challenges of gender equity in a male-dominated space. She also shares her insights on reimagining military recruitment to address sexual assault, the comp...

Feb 25, 202550 minEp. 303

Lost & Found: Search for A Soviet Guardian Angel

What happens when a family story takes you on an unexpected journey? In this episode of Immigrantly, I sit down with Jake Warren, founder of Message Heard and the creator of Finding Natasha, a profoundly personal podcast about tracking down the woman who saved his mother’s life decades ago in the Soviet Union. Jake’s mother, a young British ballerina, had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to train in Russia. But her dream quickly turned into a nightmare when she fell gravely ill, abandoned in an ...

Feb 18, 20251 hr 1 minEp. 302

Birthright, Borders & Bullsh*t!

This episode is sponsored by Bilt Rewards- go to JoinBilt.com/Immigrantly to get started What happens when a country built by immigrants starts redefining who belongs? In this episode, I sit down with Claudia Yoli Ferla, a Venezuelan-born Latina and the Executive Director of Move Texas to discuss the latest political chaos surrounding immigration, voting rights, and civic engagement. From the new administration's executive orders threatening birthright citizenship to mass deportations, we tackle...

Feb 11, 202553 minEp. 301

Forgotten Stories

This episode is sponsored by Bilt Rewards- go to JoinBilt.com/Immigrantly to get started Some stories demand to be told. This one, in particular, struck me deeply. I sat down with Nancy Wang, a storyteller, artist, and author of Red Altar, to talk about her ancestors—Chinese immigrants who helped build California’s fishing industry against all odds. Their ingenuity, their fight against racist laws, and their sheer will to survive felt eerily familiar. As we spoke, I found myself reflecting on th...

Feb 04, 202551 minEp. 300

What's Your Legacy?

This year, we’ve tackled deep emotions and intricate journeys of faith, and today, we’re diving into the profound yet personal concept of legacy. Legacy—it sounds monumental, right? But does it have to be? For me, crafting a legacy sometimes feels like another overwhelming to-do list. Yet, what if the legacy isn’t about grandeur but embracing our stories and connections in the here and now? That’s where today’s guest, Shawna Wells, comes in! Shawna is the brilliant mind behind Legacy, Lyrics &am...

Jan 28, 202554 minEp. 299

When a Christian Minister and a Muslim Podcaster Walk Into a Studio…

Talking about religion makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because I practice a faith that’s often misunderstood in this country. But in this episode, I decided to face that discomfort head-on. I sat down with Minister Lydia Sohn, a progressive Christian leader and writer, to have an honest, vulnerable, and surprisingly fun conversation about faith, identity, and shared humanity. We talked about big questions: How do we reconcile religion with doubt? Can faith coexist with progressiveness? And ho...

Jan 21, 202552 minEp. 298

Immigrantly 2025: Working through the Arc of the Emotions with Anita Rao

This episode is sponsored by Bilt Rewards-go to JoinBilt.com/Immigrantly to get started Start the year with powerful insights! In this episode, I reflect on Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire (catchy or cop-out?) and chat with Anita Rao, host of Embodied. We explore working through emotions instead of discharging them and building emotional intelligence; we talk about Anita embracing her mixed-race identity and rethinking how we judge immigrant parents. It’s an unfiltered, inspiring conversat...

Jan 14, 202552 minEp. 297

Ponchos, Panther, and Purpose: Bambadjan Bamba Redefines Belonging

Can you believe it? This is the final Immigrantly episode of 2024! As I reflect on this incredible year, I’m grateful for the meaningful stories and conversations we’ve shared. Together, we’ve leaned into curiosity, allyship, and learning, and I can’t wait to bring you even more inspiring voices in 2025. Mark your calendars—our first episode of the new year drops on January 14th! But before we step into the future, I’m thrilled to end the year with an unforgettable guest, Bambadjan Bamba. You ma...

Dec 24, 202453 minEp. 296

I Just Want A Show

Today’s guest is Julio Salgado. Through his bold and unapologetic work, Julio challenges the status quo and uplifts voices that are too often silenced. As a queer, undocumented creator, he uses his art to reimagine visibility, joy, and resistance. In this conversation, we connected on our immigrant experiences, love for art, and his beautiful, poetic way of describing the U.S. If you’re feeling the weight of the year or just looking for a spark of inspiration, this episode is for you. Join me as...

Dec 17, 202451 minEp. 295

Tearing Down Tribes: Aymann Ismail on Love, Religion, and Legacy

Today, I'm thrilled to reconnect with Aymann Ismail, award-winning journalist and the visionary behind the PBS documentary American Muslims: A History Revealed. Beyond the groundbreaking stories from the series, our conversation takes a deeply personal turn. Aymann opens up about his new book, 'Becoming Baba,' which explores his journey of self-discovery, his experiences with dating, and how they've shaped his perspectives on love and identity. We also discuss the values he hopes to instill in h...

Dec 10, 202456 minEp. 294

Sobriety, Identity & Cat Chats

I’m so excited to share my conversation with Adam Macias on this episode of Immigrantly. Adam is a comedian, writer, and podcaster whose sobriety journey is just one fascinating chapter in his story. We talked about everything—from how he uses humor to connect with people to his thoughts on Joe Rogan and Andrew Tate and how young men today navigate their identities in such interesting and complex ways. Oh, and did I mention we bonded over our mutual love for cats? Adam’s got one, too, and we cou...

Dec 03, 202445 minEp. 293

Feed Drop: Turkeys, Touchdowns, and Tradition: John Madden’s Thanksgiving Legacy-Sportly Thanksgiving Special

Today, I am bringing you something a little different. As we gather with loved ones to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I am excited to share a special episode from Sportly, one of our sibling podcasts here at Immigrantly Media. Thanksgiving is more than just turkey and pie—it’s about family, connection, and tradition. And for many, Thanksgiving Day football has become a quintessential part of the celebration. In this episode, Sportly dives into why football holds such a special place in the ho...

Nov 26, 202421 min

AI at the Border

In this compelling episode of Immigrantly, we’re joined by Petra Molnar, a renowned lawyer and anthropologist whose work sits at the intersection of migration, technology, and human rights. As Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab at York University and a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Petra critically examines the role of AI and other technologies in reshaping migration experiences. She’s the co-creator of the Migration and Technology Monitor, ...

Nov 19, 202451 minEp. 292
For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android