Immigrantly
Saadia Khan | Immigrantly Media
Join Saadia Khan on Immigrantly, the award-winning podcast that dives deep into immigrant narratives and the messy beauty of identity, race, and belonging in America today. Each week, Saadia, a human rights activist, social entrepreneur, and proud cat mom, hosts unfiltered conversations with diverse voices: artists, academics, cultural disruptors, and everyday people with extraordinary cultural stories.At Immigrantly, we go beyond surface-level diversity to explore how culture, immigration, and inclusion shape real lives. We believe identity is powerful, but when unchecked, it can become an ego trap. That’s why every episode unpacks the nuance, humor, and contradictions of what it means to belong.Inclusive storytelling. Immigrant perspectives. Real talk—never flattened.To join this fun, thoughtful, and inclusive community, 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 @immigrantlypodsTwitter @Immigrantly_podTikTok @ImmigrantlyYouTube: @immigrantlypodsSubscribe to our PatreonImmigrantly podcast is an Immigrantly Media production.For advertising inquiries, please email at info@immigrantlypod.com
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 @immigrantlypodsTwitter @Immigrantly_podTikTok @ImmigrantlyYouTube: @immigrantlypodsSubscribe to our PatreonImmigrantly podcast is an Immigrantly Media production.For advertising inquiries, please email at info@immigrantlypod.com
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 27, 2019 • 30min
Three Immigrant stories
Saadia Khan changes the format for this episode. She introduces three immigrant stories. Each immigrant shares their experiences in the US in their own words from a different vantage point. You will hear from them what it's like to be an immigrant in the US. Each perspective is unique in that it unravels the complexities of being an immigrant through the lens of the narrator without any leading questions or any set direction.
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Mar 20, 2019 • 34min
America is a Salad
Sanjana Bhatnagar and Stephanie Munn are high school students and Students for Refugees (SFR) representatives. S.F.R. is working to raise funds to support educational facilities and individual student programs in affected countries as well as supporting local refugees. There are a broad range of things that SFR engages in, but their primary goal is to get students involved in helping refugees. SFR works in three areas: resettlement, advocacy/education, and fundraising In addition to SFR, they advocate for refugees by supporting other initiatives. Sanjana is associated with the Syria fund and Stephanie is planning a Walk A Mile in My Shoes refugee experience. We talk about all these topics in our interview.
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Mar 13, 2019 • 34min
My Immigrant Mother
Saadia Khan talks Susan Muaddi Darraj, a Palestinian American. Susan talks about her experiences as a child of immigrants and how her dual identity has shaped her life. Susan is an Associate Professor of English at Hartford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. Susan is also a Lecturer in the Johns Hopkins University’s MA in Writing program. In 2014, her short story collection, A Curious Land: Stories from Home won several awards and accolades. Her previous short story collection, The Inheritance of Exile, was published in 2007 is a compilation of stories about daughters born in the US and their immigrant mothers.
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Mar 6, 2019 • 35min
Let's get to know each other
Samira Sadeque is a New York-based Bangladeshi journalist and poet focusing on migration, the refugee crisis, gender, and mental health. She completed her M.S. in Journalism from Columbia Journalism School in 2017. Samira began her journalism career in Dhaka, Bangladesh, covering the 2013 factory collapse, the country's ethnic and religious minorities, and its LGBT community. Her work appears in Reuters, NPR, Al Jazeera, Quartz, The Lily, and the Dhaka Tribune among other publications. Her story was nominated for a 2018 South Asian Journalists Association award. She is the Editor-in-chief of the Bangladeshi Identity Project, a media platform for the Bangladeshi diaspora
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Feb 27, 2019 • 44min
Because I sucked at it...
Saadia Khan talks to Suzie Afridi. She is a Palestinian American stand up comedian. She was born and raised in Jericho, in the West Bank. Her dad was a Welder, and her mom was a farmer. When she was fourteen, her family immigrated to San Jose, California. She attended San Jose State University. Suzie is an accountant by profession, but she realized she was terrible at her job and decided to pursue another career. She lives in Manhattan with her husband and kid. Suzie talks about her journey to America, why she chose to do stand up comedy and her life as a Palestinian American.
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Feb 20, 2019 • 54min
Immigrants make America great
Saadia Khan talks to Tahmina Watson about pressing immigration issues. Tahmina is a nationally acclaimed immigration attorney and the founder of Watson Immigration Law, in Seattle, Washington. She was a barrister in London before immigrating to America. Tahmina is also the author of “The Startup Visa: Key to Job Growth & Economic Prosperity in America.” In addition to appearing on CNN, Forbes and other media platforms, she is the host of “Tahmina Talks Immigration” a radio show turned podcast available on iTunes. Recently, Tahmina helped co-found a non-profit, the Washington Immigrant Defense Network- WIDEN as a result of the current administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy. WIDEN, funds and facilitates legal representation in the immigration courtroom.
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Feb 13, 2019 • 42min
Where the East and the West meet
Saadia Khan reminisces about her trip to Turkey as she interviews Melike Ayan. Melike is originally from Turkey. She is the New York Correspondent for Bloomberg HT Television where she provides in-depth coverage and analysis of major economic and business trends, including in-depth reporting on global corporations. Additionally, Ayan established her own company, Mel Strategies, which specializes in media relations and crisis communications Become a supporter of this podcast:
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Feb 6, 2019 • 42min
My Grandmother's legacy
Saadia Khan talks to Lisa Genn. Lisa was born in Russia, she and her parents left Moscow in December 1989 on the verge of the collapse of the Soviet Union in hopes of resettling in America under a program for bringing Soviet Jews to the United States as refugees. Lisa is a lawyer by profession but has worked on human rights issues throughout her career. She is a city girl who spends most of her time in Manhattan but now lives in Westchester County in NY with her husband and two young children.
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Jan 30, 2019 • 42min
I am a Bridge
Saadia Khan talks to Edafe Okporo, an LGBTQ refugee from Nigeria. He is a fierce advocate for Human rights specifically those of LGBTQ community in NY and around the globe including West Africa. His passion to help others like him stems from his struggle which propels him to stand up for the defenseless. Currently, Edafe is the Director of RDJ Refugee Shelter. He is the author of BED 26: A Memoir of an African Man's Asylum in the United States. He also serves as a Board Member of First Friends of New Jersey and New York
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Jan 23, 2019 • 43min
I am a Survivor
Saadia Khan talks to Reshad Ahmedi, an immigrant from Afghanistan. Reshad worked for ten years on U.S.-funded re-construction projects in Afghanistan, until insurgents targeted him for his affiliation with the United States. Reshad is in the US on a Special Immigration Visa (SIV) to the United States. He is now an Assistant Project Manager at a local Tectonic Engineering & Surveying. Reshad is also an Ambassador of the Westchester Refugee Initiative, helping to spread the word about refugees.
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