Immigrantly Podcast

Immigrantly
Immigrantly
  • 4.3 (178)
  • Personal Journals
  • Weekly

Who gets to define America? Immigrantly is Saadia Khan's weekly attempt to answer that — with artists, academics, cultural disruptors, and people whose ordinary lives contain something extraordinary. Saadia has worked in human rights, built a media company, and spent twelve years becoming an American — which is a long time to think about a question most people never ask. We go past the surface to the messy beauty of belonging. Identity is powerful, but unchecked it becomes an ego trap — so every episode sits with the nuance, the humor, and the contradictions of what it means to be from somewhere and of somewhere else. Real talk, never flattened. New episodes every Tuesday. 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 Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us! Don’t forget to subscribe! Follow Saadia Khan on IG @itssaadiak Follow us on IG @immigrantlypods Twitter @Immigrantly_pod TikTok @immigrantly Immigrantly is an Immigrantly Media production. For advertising inquiries, please email info@immigrantlypod.com

IMMIGRANTLY UNINTERRUPTED

Uninterrupted listening from all our shows

$3.99/mo or $29.99/yr after trial

  1. 3d ago

    Three Midterms and a Text Message

    It's Election Day, and Saadia Khan is going to vote. A few days ago, a text message told her she had voted in the last three midterms. It made her think about why she keeps showing up when she feels so disillusioned. In this solo episode, Saadia looks back at 2018 and 2022 to see what showing up actually changed. Then she looks at this year, when campaigns have gone after Muslim candidates more openly than ever. If you can vote today, go. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial Review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound I Cover art for the Series: Sarah DiMichele Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Three Midterms and a Text Message

  2. Oct 20

    Electorally Ep. 2 | Taiwan: Every Ballot, Out Loud

    On January 13, 2024, Taiwan voted for a president. Polls closed at 4 p.m. Poll workers then took out every paper ballot, held it up for the room to see, and read the name out loud. There are no voting machines and no absentee ballots. You vote in person where your household is registered, which is why thousands of Taiwanese Americans flew home to do it. By that evening, the island knew who had won. William Lai took 40 percent, the first time one party has won three presidential terms in a row since Taiwan began direct elections in 1996. The same day, his party lost its majority in the legislature. Saadia Khan talks with Brian Hioe, a Taipei-based journalist and founding editor of New Bloom, a magazine covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan. In this episode:Why Taiwan counts by hand, in public, on purposeWhat it means that there is no mail-in or absentee voting, and who gets left outFamilies who take their parents on vacation during election week so the votes cancel outWhy the DPP is the progressive party and the KMT the conservative one, and why China is still the real dividing lineWhich democracy looks more fragile right now, Taiwan’s or America’s? Follow Brian Hioe on X, Bluesky, and Threads: search Brian Hioe. New Bloom is at newbloommag.net. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial Review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound I Cover art for the Series: Sarah DiMichele Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Electorally Ep. 2 | Taiwan: Every Ballot, Out Loud

  3. Oct 13

    Electorally Ep. 1 | Pakistan: The Winners Who Didn’t Win

    On the morning of February 8, 2024, Pakistan went to vote, and the government switched off mobile phone service across the country. Weeks earlier, the Supreme Court had ruled that Imran Khan's party, PTI, could not use its election symbol, a cricket bat. Khan himself was in jail, convicted in three cases in the last ten days before the vote. When the results came in, candidates backed by his party had won more seats than anyone else. They still didn't form the government. Saadia Khan talks with Anas Mallick, an Islamabad-based journalist who covers diplomacy, militancy and conflict. Anas spent years as Pakistan bureau chief for the Indian news channel WION, explaining Pakistan to India every day. He is now Pakistan bureau chief for AsiaOne News and writes for Daily Times. He has interviewed both Imran Khan and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. In this episode: What it's like to report an election when the phones go dead Why Pakistani ballots have pictures, and what it meant to lose the bat How Form 45 and Form 47 became the center of the rigging fight The Rawalpindi official who confessed to rigging, then took it back How you win the most seats and still end up in opposition Why women registered in record numbers but turned out at lower rates than men What the diaspora gets wrong about elections back home What the US could learn from Pakistan's election day, and what would make a Pakistani voter laugh at ours. Follow Anas Mallick on X and Instagram: @AnasMallick You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial Review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound I Cover art for the Series: Sarah DiMichele Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    Electorally Ep. 1 | Pakistan: The Winners Who Didn’t Win

  4. Oct 6

    The Walkout and the Veto: Who Really Decides at the UN

    At this year's UN General Assembly, whole delegations walked out as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the podium. Two days earlier, President Trump told the world he could make a deal with Iran or "annihilate the Islamic Republic," and called on countries to quit the International Criminal Court. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, denied a U.S. visa for the second year in a row, had to address the Assembly by video. In this solo episode, Saadia Khan asks what that building is actually for. She goes back to 1945 and a Charter that opens with "We the peoples," and to the veto that let the United States kill a Gaza ceasefire resolution backed by fourteen of the fifteen members of the Security Council. Then she takes you into the corridors she walked for four years with a UN badge, working on Resolution 1325, the promise that women who live through a war should help decide how it ends. She follows what happened to the Afghan women she met there, and asks why, a quarter century later, women are still just 7 percent of peace negotiators. Underneath it all is one question: in that building, who actually gets to decide, and who only gets to watch? You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial Review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Sep 29

    Why Intuition Matters More Than You Think (Sept 2025)

    This is a rerun of Saadia's conversation with Mory Fontanez. Saadia found Mory on Instagram after Mory posted a video about her family in Iran during the June 2025 strikes. With the US now seven months into a new war with Iran, we're bringing this episode back. Mory is an intuitive life and leadership coach, a former crisis manager, and the author of Higher Self: Reclaiming the Power of Your Intuition. She and Saadia talk about whether fear and intuition can work together, why Eastern and Western cultures treat intuition so differently, and how CEOs are starting to use gut feelings in business. Saadia pushes back, and by the end she decides to try something new. Also from Immigrantly: 9/11 at 25 is now out in full, all three episodes. Start with Guantánamo. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. Sep 22

    Can Art Rewire Your Brain? (March 2026)

    This week Saadia Khan brings back one of her favorite conversations of the year. Ramzi Fawaz has just relaunched his podcast, Nerd From the Future, for a second season, and the first new episode is out now. Ramzi is a professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the author of The New Mutants and Queer Forms. His next book argues that the humanities can work like psychedelic therapy, using art, literature, and media instead of drugs to change how students see the world. When Saadia and Ramzi first spoke, everyone was panicking about young people. Why are they lonely, why are they cheating with ChatGPT, why are they drifting toward the manosphere. Almost none of those takes were coming from humanities professors, and Ramzi thinks that is a massive mistake. They also get into friendship as loving betrayal, resentment as something you negotiate rather than banish, and why the most abundant society in history has not made anyone happy. Also from Immigrantly: 9/11 at 25 is now out in full, all three episodes. Start with Guantánamo. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Sep 15

    9/11 at 25: Salam Al-Marayati on the Patriot Act, CVE, and 38 Years of Muslim Advocacy

    Three days before the 25th anniversary of September 11th, New York City released 170,000 pages of its own 9/11 records, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani made September 11th an official citywide day of remembrance and service. The first Muslim mayor of New York is doing more 9/11 accountability work than any mayor before him. Does that protect Muslims, or put them on trial again? In the final episode of Immigrantly's 9/11 at 25 series, host Saadia Khan sits down with Salam Al-Marayati, co-founder and president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). He was walking to the White House for a meeting with President George W. Bush on the morning of September 11, 2001, and has spent 38 years being called the reasonable Muslim by the government and the government's Muslim by his own community. Saadia asks the questions Muslim leaders rarely get asked on the record. Why did MPAC take part in Countering Violent Extremism programs, and does he regret Safe Spaces? Why does the US government list only Muslim groups as terrorists? Does the good Muslim narrative buy the community anything? Do Muslims have to show up every September? Al-Marayati argues that war, not Islam, is the real national security problem, and that human security has to replace the trillion-dollar version. This conversation covers the Patriot Act, post-9/11 surveillance, CVE, blowback, Islamophobia in 2026, and the Mamdani 9/11 records release. Find MPAC at mpac.org and on Instagram at MPAC National and MPAC Hollywood Bureau You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. Sep 8

    9/11 at 25: A Firefighter's Daughter on the Mamdani Petition, Guantánamo, and the Script of Grief

    More than 95,000 people have signed a petition asking the organizers of the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero to reconsider whether Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York City, should attend. Liz Miller's answer has traveled further than most: "Mayor Mamdani is not a terrorist." Elizabeth Miller (Liz) was six when her father, FDNY firefighter Douglas Miller of Rescue 5, went into the South Tower and did not come home. Today she is the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of 9/11 family members who have spent more than two decades being called naive, unpatriotic, and worse for opposing torture, the death penalty, and the wars fought in their loved ones' names. In this episode of Immigrantly's 9/11 at 25 series, Saadia Khan talks with Liz about the letter she wrote to President Bush at age 11, her six trips to Guantánamo Bay to observe the 9/11 military commission, her friendship with a former detainee who was held for 14 years and never charged, and why she does not believe the trial will happen on the date the judge just set. They also talk about the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, where Liz once worked, and what it leaves out of the national story: the surveillance, the hate crimes, and the wars that followed. Two people with very different reasons to dread the first eleven days of September, and a conversation about who is allowed to grieve, who is expected to, and who gets called a hero. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It’s our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It’s thoughtful. It’s challenging. And honestly, it’s the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you’re ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See All (408)

Trailers

Shows with Subscription Benefits

IMMIGRANTLY UNINTERRUPTED

Uninterrupted listening from all our shows

$3.99/mo or $29.99/yr after trial

View Subscription FAQs

Hosts & Guests

4.3
out of 5
178 Ratings

About

Who gets to define America? Immigrantly is Saadia Khan's weekly attempt to answer that — with artists, academics, cultural disruptors, and people whose ordinary lives contain something extraordinary. Saadia has worked in human rights, built a media company, and spent twelve years becoming an American — which is a long time to think about a question most people never ask. We go past the surface to the messy beauty of belonging. Identity is powerful, but unchecked it becomes an ego trap — so every episode sits with the nuance, the humor, and the contradictions of what it means to be from somewhere and of somewhere else. Real talk, never flattened. New episodes every Tuesday. 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 Please share the love and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify to help more people find us! Don’t forget to subscribe! Follow Saadia Khan on IG @itssaadiak Follow us on IG @immigrantlypods Twitter @Immigrantly_pod TikTok @immigrantly Immigrantly is an Immigrantly Media production. For advertising inquiries, please email info@immigrantlypod.com

Information

More From Immigrantly

You Might Also Like