Immigration Stories: We The Aliens Podcast

Zara Barrie is a first-generation British-American. I know what you’re thinking. Brits don’t count. Guess what, they do. Even Canadians count as immigrants. We do not discriminate here, not by distance, not by language. A lost home feels the same to everyone.

Zara is the former Senior Sex & Dating writer for Elite Daily. She has penned over three thousand articles.

And recently launched www.CrazyBadBabesClub.com, a wellness publication for bad girls.

Together with Dayna Troisi she hosts the “GirlZ, Interrupted” podcast. It is and I quote “not a wellness podcast but a mental illness podcast.”

According to Zara’s official bio “She identifies as a mascara lesbian and lives beyond her means in New York.”

Zara’s first book came out in May of last year. And I listened to it twice. I never thought I would.

The book is called, GIRL STOP PASSING OUT IN YOUR MAKEUP: THE BAD GIRL’S GUIDE TO GETTING YOUR SHIT TOGETHER.

I thought that my need for wisdom about sex, dating, and mental health was satisfied by Brene Brown and Esther Perel. I really did. Who would have thought that who I actually wanted to listen to was a foul-mouthed New York neurotic lesbian girl?

But she talked to a part of me that hasn’t been talked to in a while. And guess what, I’m pretty sure, you have that part too. Even if you’re a man. You might not like that part of you, you might diminish and even disregard that younger, messier, more confused, and arrogant version of you. But it is still there. And Zara gives it a voice.

Also, Zara is my sister-in-law. And I am super proud.

FIND ZARA BARRIE:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CAWLAdFl-ww/

https://thecrazysadbabesclub.com/author/thedirtybeauty/

FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on TikTok

ASK YOUR FRIENDLY RUSSIAN on TikTok

MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter and Clubhouse addict because you want to be closer to people, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an immigrant-alien, and you know that you and they came to this country to build and contribute, and you can’t stand discrimination and belittling of their lives and contributions - this podcast is for you.

Dr. Otto Yang is a first-generation Taiwanese-American and the associate chief of infectious disease at UCLA.

Dr. Yang has a background in clinical infectious diseases, and his laboratory specializes in immunology and HIV infection. That experience and background put Dr.Yang in a unique position at the beginning of the pandemic - and he has repurposed his lab to study COVID19 and how our immune system responds to it. His research was covered in a somewhat controversial way by The New York Times.

We cover a lot of ground in today’s episode. As usual, we talk about Dr. Yang’s personal journey from growing up as a first-generation Taiwanese American in Tennessee to Harvard and then UCLA. We compare notes on dictatorships. Dr. Yang shared a great primer on the state of affairs in Taiwan, which considering what has been happening in Hong Kong, we should all keep an eye on.

We, of course, talk about Dr.Yang’s research and why he describes himself as, and I quote, “the toilet paper of medicine.” Gwenyth Paltrow and Tom Hanks also make an appearance in that part of the story...

On Thursday, we will be posting part two of the podcast - where we get into the weeds of COVID19. We talk about how the virus spreads, how it works, the variants, the immune system responses, vaccines, and all that good stuff, which we keep learning more and more about every day.

Let us know what you think about the show. Call our Google Voice at (213) 973-3813 and leave a message or email a voice memo to [email protected].

FIND DR. OTTO YANG:

Dr.Yang's UCLA Profile

DONATE TO DR.YANG'S LAB - Garry Shandling Biomedical Future Fund

FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on TikTok

ASK YOUR FRIENDLY RUSSIAN on TikTok

MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter and Clubhouse addict because you want to be closer to people, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an immigrant-alien, and you know that you and they came to this country to build and contribute, and you can’t stand discrimination and belittling of their lives and contributions - this podcast is for you.

My guest is a journalist, activist, and author Asra Nomani. She is a former The Wall Street Journal correspondent. She has written for The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time, People, Salon.com, and many other publications. She taught journalism at Georgetown University. You’ve heard her on NPR and seen her on CNN, Fox News, and Bill Maher’s show talking about Muslim extremism and Muslim reformism. Asra is the co-founder of the Muslim Reform Movement.

Asra was born in India. She was brought to the US as a young child and grew up in a conservative Muslim family. She tells that story in the first part of the interview. She also talks about how she only finally fully integrated into American society in her late 20s with the help of her dear friend and Wall Street Journal colleague - Daniel Pearl.

Asra was also the last person who saw him in Karachi the day when he got kidnapped in January of 2002.

You may remember his name from the news. Daniel Pearl became the first Western journalist to be beheaded by the Pakistani militants.

His murder was filmed and parts of it were shown on TV.

This happened just months after 9/11. Life split into before and after. Especially for many journalists all over the world for whom it became crystal clear that the Geneva convention is not going to be protecting them in this war. And their press ID or vest is actually making them a target.

Daniel Pearl became a symbol of courage and standing up to extremism and antisemitism.

Let us know what you think about the show. Call our Google Voice at (213) 973-3813 and leave a message or email a voice memo to [email protected].

FIND ASRA:

https://asrainvestigates.substack.com/ and on Twitter @AsraNomani

FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on TikTok

MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions that immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read The Atlantic and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter addict but are contemplating TikTok, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an alien and you know that they came to this country to build and contribute - this podcast is for you.

The Year’s End Episode, it’s a mix of a recap and touching base with the guests of the podcast.

Francis Cholle’s book Squircle became a Wall Street Journal bestseller.

Kinga Philipps was featured on the EPIX show ENSLAVED that is set to broadcast all over the world.

Inbal Lessner’s show SEDUCED: Inside The NXIVM Cult beat HBO's The Vow with critics.

Che Guerrero released a new comedy album.

Sandra Zanella is about to publish a book and move to Dubai.

Sara Stanizai has grown her business in the middle of the pandemic.

Horacio Marquinez has completed the filming of 2020Americans.

Find this week’s contributors:

Francis Cholle (@francischolle), book Squircle.

Kinga Philipps (@kingaphilipps), the ENSLAVED docuseries.

Inbal Lessner (@inballessner) the SEDUCED: Inside The NXIVM Cult docuseries.

Che Guerrero: @cheguerrero88

Sandra Zanella: @mymindfulmomlife

Sara Stanizai: https://www.prospecttherapy.com/ and on Instagram @prospecttherapy

Horacio Marquinez: @2020Americans

Hector Herrera: http://hectorvoice.com/ & @wolf.frank9

SEND US YOUR THOUGHTS:

Call our Google Voice at (213) 973-3813 and leave a message or email a voice memo to [email protected].

FIND US:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and on TikTok

Music: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions that immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read The Atlantic and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter addict but are contemplating TikTok, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an alien and you know that they came to this country to build and contribute - this podcast is for you.

My guest this week is Camila Russo, a Chilean-American financial journalist. She cut her teeth at Bloomberg News. And in 2020 she founded The Defiant, a crypto news platform. She has also written a book, the first history of Ethereum, called The Infinite Machine.

In this Part 2 of the conversation, Camila and I talk about how she made the transition from writing about the traditional markets to covering crypto and how she has since placed her bets on decentralized finance.

Check out Part 1 of my conversation with Camila - where we talk about her journey coming to the US. And please remember that none of this is financial advice.

FIND CAMILA:

https://thedefiant.io/

https://twitter.com/camirusso

Get her book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07X8HS2WC/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

FIND WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

www.WeTheAliensPod.com

YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and on Clubhouse

Email to [email protected]

ASK YOUR FRIENDLY RUSSIAN on TikTok

MUSIC: "My country" courtesy of Ben Bostick www.benbostick.com

ABOUT WE THE ALIENS PODCAST:

We The Aliens podcast hosts conversations with IMMIGRANTS from all over the world who came to the US and found their path to the American Dream. No matter what their status is - undocumented, DACA recipient, permanent resident (green card holder), naturalized citizen - all are welcome here. We talk about the challenges of leaving the home country, finding the legal path, finding a way to belong in the new world, building a career, finding love, and sustaining the family traditions. We talk about IMMIGRATION as a process of growth and self-discovery, adaptation, overcoming cultural shocks, and fighting racial and ethnic stereotypes. We talk about the great contributions that immigrants make to the American economy, culture, science, and society. We also feature stories of the first-gens, FIRST GENERATION American-born, the third culture kids, who have their own set of struggles growing in between the cultures of their parents' home country and America. We talk about their battle to find their identity and carve their path while redefining what American is. We talk about philosophy, psychology, culture, language, and history. We also talk about the news of the day, things that we all worry about - but in the context of the immigrant perspective. If you love NPR, This American Life, The Daily, and Pod Save America, if you read Forbes, LA Times, The Atlantic, and New York Times, if you watch John Oliver, Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, and/or Trevor Noah, if you are a Twitter and Clubhouse addict because you want to be closer to people, if you, your spouse, your parent, or your grandma is an immigrant-alien and you know that you and they came to this country to build and contribute, and you can’t stand discrimination and belittling of their lives and contributions - this podcast is for you.