Cultureful: Global Identity & Intergenerational Stories

In this episode, Jess Lin interviews Taryn, a third-generation Mexican American from Woodland, California and a Returned U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer. Taryn shares powerful stories about her grandparents’ migration from Mexico, their resilience as farmworkers, and the traditions that shaped her family’s life in California’s Central Valley.

She reflects on her grandpa Eloy’s journey crossing the border, his time in the Marines, and his role in the Woodland community. On her father’s side, she recalls her grandpa Ramon’s determination as an orphan who built a thriving almond farm and helped start the Davis Farmers Market. Alongside these stories, Taryn remembers her grandmothers’ influence, her parents’ experiences growing up in agricultural towns, and the cultural traditions that continue today.

This is Part 1 of 2. Stay tuned for the continuation of Taryn’s story and reflections on identity, culture, and belonging.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/L0I4HrQ9rP4

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In Part 4 of Aisha’s story, we follow her into adulthood as she marries her husband and begins a new chapter back in Pakistan. She shares the culture shock of adjusting to a different city, trying to break glass ceilings, and the challenges of navigating career and motherhood. Aisha also reflects on her identity as a Muslim feminist, how she celebrates Eid, and what it means to find home across cultures and geographies. This episode explores themes of marriage, motherhood, gender roles, Pakistani culture, feminism, and the evolving search for belonging.

Full episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/LkI_GqB_Ci4

Follow Aisha:

On Instagram @aishafsarwari and @heart_tantrums
On X @AishaFSarwari
On Youtube @aishasarwari2134 

Her memoir is called Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumours and can be ordered on from Hurst Publishers at https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/aisha-sarwari/ 

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

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📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

Episode photo credit: Asher Imtiaz https://www.asherimtiaz.com/

In Part 3 of Aisha’s story, we follow her journey through adolescence and young adulthood as she navigates loss, family, and identity. After losing her father during childhood—a central figure in her life and a source of deep love—Aisha grapples with childhood grief, searches for a sense of home, and learns to code-switch between different cultural contexts and varying expressions of Islam across Muslim communities. This episode explores themes of growing up, father-daughter love, childhood bereavement, feminism, belonging, and the complexities of Pakistani American and Muslim identity.

Full episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/nVBFYxkMvPs

Follow Aisha:

On Instagram @aishafsarwari and @heart_tantrums
On X @AishaFSarwari
On Youtube @aishasarwari2134 

Her memoir is called Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumours and can be ordered on from Hurst Publishers at https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/aisha-sarwari/ 

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

🌐 Our Hub: Linktr.ee

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📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

💖 Support the Show: Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

In this second part of our 4-part conversation, Aisha Sarwari shares vivid stories of her childhood in Uganda as the youngest in her family. She recalls her mother sewing dupattas for her and her sister, the blooming dahlias in their garden, and the deep love she felt for her father. Aisha reflects on her lifelong connection to nature, her gratitude for growing up surrounded by it, and what it meant to be a minority in Uganda in the shadow of historical events like the expulsion of Asians. Through her lens as part of the Pakistani diaspora in Africa, Aisha offers a personal glimpse into family bonds, cultural identity, and resilience.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PUcwG6PPWHo

If you haven’t listened to Part 1, start there to catch the beginning of Aisha’s story.

Follow Aisha:

On Instagram @aishafsarwari and @heart_tantrums
On X @AishaFSarwari
On Youtube @aishasarwari2134 

Her memoir is called Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumours and can be ordered on from Hurst Publishers at https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/aisha-sarwari/ 

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

🌐 Our Hub: Linktr.ee

📩 Host Notes & Reflections: Newsletter Sign-up

📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

💖 Support the Show: Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

In the Season 2 premiere of Cultureful, host Jess Lin talks with Aisha Sarwari, a 43-year-old Pakistani American women's rights activist, author and public speaker, and corporate communications expert, and public speaker based in Atlanta.

Aisha shares about her family’s multi-generational migration story—from India to Uganda and Kenya and eventually to Pakistan and the U.S.—intertwining personal history with major events like India’s Partition and the expulsion of Asians from Uganda. In this episode, she reflects on her parents’ backgrounds and communities.  

This is the first of a four-part conversation full of insight, complexity, nuance, and heart.

Watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OpffD_p_NZg

Follow Aisha:

On Instagram @aishafsarwari https://instagram.com/aishafsarwari  
and @heart_tantrums https://instagram.com/heart_tantrums
On X @AishaFSarwari https://x.com/AishaFSarwari

On Youtube @aishasarwari2134 https://youtube.com/@aishasarwari2134?si=q-4af45REWM201X9 

Her memoir is called Heart Tantrums and Brain Tumours and can be ordered on from Hurst Publishers at https://www.hurstpublishers.com/profile/aisha-sarwari/ 

Support the show

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

🌐 Our Hub: Linktr.ee

📩 Host Notes & Reflections: Newsletter Sign-up

📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

💖 Support the Show: Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

Trailer for Season 2, which drops THIS TUESDAY, July 29th, 2025! 

Interviews of epic family migration stories, exploring identity and love, and much more.  Spanning cultures, geographies, and intersecting with historical moments like India's partition.

Subscribe now and catch new episodes every other Tuesday.

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

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📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

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📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

In the Season 1 finale of Cultureful, host Jess Lin talks with Stefanee Clontz, a 44-year-old Filipino and Spanish American working mom and Director of Operations at Hydra+, a medical spa in Atlanta.

Stefanee shares what she calls her “Michael Jackson childhood,” her evolving connection to her Asian American identity, and how that connection has grown over time.  She also opens up about the balance of not only work and family, but also finding time for herself.

Thanks for listening to Season 1. Stay tuned—Season 2 is coming soon.

Watch the video on Youtube https://youtu.be/WL2T5pvHkt8

Follow Stefanee on instagram @stefaneeclontz or Hydra+ @thehydraplus

Her podcast is called “Does this Podcast Make Me Sound Fat”

Support the show

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

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📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

Join Jess Lin in Part 2 of her conversation with Denetra, as they discuss her son DeAndre's life journey from high school graduation to battling cancer. Denetra opens up about DeAndre's work and love life, his fight with osteosarcoma, and the impacts of his illness. She also shares her own experience with grief, healing, and how she channels her energy into projects like Smiley Connections LLC to support other parents who have lost children. Listen to Denetra's story and learn about her efforts to pass a bill for more bereavement leave in Georgia, as well as her dream of organizing a healing retreat for grieving parents.

Watch this podcast on Youtube: 

      https://youtu.be/mueMkRh8YPk

Find out more about Denetra’s work: 

      https://smileyconnectionsllc.org/

Donate to the On the Road to Healing Retreat:

      https://gofund.me/0899b5e4

Denetra's TikTok: smileyconnectionsllc

Denetra's Instagram: @smileyconnections

In loving memory of DeAndre Thompson

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📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

In honor of Women's History Month, host Jess Lin sits down with Denetra Smiley, a 54-year-old African American medical coder from the Gullah Geechee community, now living in Acworth, Georgia. Denetra shares her personal story, her son DeAndre's story, and her path through grief and healing after DeAndre’s passed from cancer.  Denetra speaks candidly about her childhood, the importance of her cultural roots, the example of her parents’ marriage, her experiences raising two sons, and the founding of her support group- Parents who have lost a child/children support group on Facebook, and her business: Smiley Connections LLC, which assists parents who have lost a child. This is part one of a two-part conversation, with the second part dropping next week. Watch the video recording on YouTube, along with shared photos for a more immersive experience.

Watch this podcast on Youtube: 

      https://youtu.be/e1w5YTYnrE0?si=22UgQ0YZaT4SmFPn

Find out more about Denetra’s work: 

      https://smileyconnectionsllc.org/

Donate to the On the Road to Healing Retreat:

      https://gofund.me/0899b5e4

Denetra's TikTok: smileyconnectionsllc

Denetra's Instagram: @smileyconnections

In loving memory of DeAndre Thompson

Support the show

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

🌐 Our Hub: Linktr.ee

📩 Host Notes & Reflections: Newsletter Sign-up

📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

💖 Support the Show: Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful

In this episode of Cultureful, host Jess Lin continues her conversation with Tina, exploring her experience with intercultural marriage and raising multicultural children. Tina, a Taiwanese Chinese American woman, discusses the cultural differences between her upbringing and her Russian Ukrainian American husband's family. The episode covers how Tina navigated these differences, the challenges of blending their cultural backgrounds, and their parenting styles, which focus on positive discipline, financial literacy, and fostering a love of learning. Tina also shares insights into her family's daily routines, the influence of grandparents, and their efforts to maintain cultural heritage through language and traditions. The episode concludes with Tina's aspirations for urban homesteading and her hopes for creating a compassionate and empathetic world.

Support the show

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Join the Cultureful Neighborhood:

🌐 Our Hub: Linktr.ee

📩 Host Notes & Reflections: Newsletter Sign-up

📺 Watch on YouTube:  YouTube Channel

💖 Support the Show: Buy me a coffee on Ko-fi

📸 Connect and Comment on Instagram: @thecultureful