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 Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content Writer & Host: Aleeza Kazmi Editor: Bronte Cook Rabab Music: Qais Essar     

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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 life lessons, and why they are foolproof, the one medium of connection where there is always a solution. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer: Yudi Liu  Editor: Bronte Cook Follow us on Twitter and IG

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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 dynamics of representation within the publishing industry. This episode is sponsored by Stamps.com Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content write: Sarah Doh Editor: Bronte Cook Music Credit: Just Dance, Follow us on Twitter @immigrantly_pod and IG @immigrantlypod.com

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

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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, & what it means to partake and challenge these social norms. This episode is brought to you by Talem Consulting.    This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Head to to get 10% off of your first month.      Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content write: Yudi Liu  Editor: Tom Whelan Follow us on Twitter @immigrantly_pod and IG @immigrantlypod.com

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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 be expanded to include women of color. This episode is sponsored by Stamps.com. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer: Yudi Liu Editor: Tom Whelan  

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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 on Twitter @immigrantly_pod and IG @immigrantlypod.com

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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 impressive, we mainly discussed the world of theatre and the importance of storytelling on stage. This episode is sponsored by PODGO. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer: Sarah Doh Editor: Bronte Cook

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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 grit. made its debut this August month.  This episode is sponsored by PODGO. Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Associate Producer & Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer: Yudi Liu Editor: Tom Whelan 

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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 exciting lineup of guests, including Broadway stars, authors, and movie directors, to help us find the answers. But before we dive into this new theme, we thought we should look back at how we have explored media representation on Immigrantly in the past. This episode is sponsored by Misen. Be sure to click on the link "https://bit.ly/3mWH8UT" to get your Misen knife! Producer & Host: Saadia Khan Content Editor: Kylee Roberts Content writer/Editor: Sarah Doh, Yudi Liu & Aleeza Kazmi Editor: Bronte Cook

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