Not Really Strangers
Discover just how connected the refugee experience is to our everyday lives, and to the social issues that matter to us most. Join host Suzanne Ehlers, Executive Director and CEO of USA for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, as she and her eclectic guests share personal stories and frontline insights. We’re more connected than we may think.
Episodes
15 episodes
Building Better Futures for Refugees: The Power of Education
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, Suzanne Ehlers sits down with two UNHCR DAFI scholarship recipients and leaders of the Tertiary Refugee Student Network (TRSN) — Monicah Malith, a law graduate from South Sudan now completing her Advocat...
Grit, Gathering and Going for It: Maryam Banikarim on Living Life Wherever You Find Yourself
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers sits down with Maryam Banikarim, an Emmy Award-winning storyteller, community builder, and host of The Messy Parts podcast, for a conversation that moves from the streets of Chelsea t...
From Assumption to Curiosity: Susanna Pollack on Immersive Media and the Distance Between Us
Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change and a cross-sector leader with over 25 years of experience in traditional and interactive media, joins host Suzanne Ehlers for a conversation that bridges virtual worlds and lived realities. From <...
Dance or Die: Ahmad Joudeh on Statelessness, Belonging, and the Body as Home
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers sits down with internationally acclaimed ballet dancer, choreographer, author, and humanitarian Ahmad Joudeh. Born stateless in 1990 in Yarmouk, a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus...
Caring in Crisis and Responding to Hate: Dr. Suzanne Barakat’s Story
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers welcomes her "name twin" — Dr. Suzanne Barakat, physician, humanitarian, and a leading voice on refugee health, asylum medicine, and countering Islamophobia. Dr. Barakat, ...
What Actor Kristin Davis Witnessed as Families Flee Sudan’s Brutal War
In the inaugural episode of season two of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers speaks with Kristin Davis, internationally acclaimed actress and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, fresh off a visit to South Sudan to see the organization’s response ...
Building Home, Far From Home: The Power of Education, Family and Refugee Voices with Nabin Dhimal
Today Nabin Dhimal joins Suzanne for the final episode of season one of Not Really Strangers Suzanne originally met Nabin in Geneva at the Global Refugee Forum, where he helped her feel at home and confident in her then-new position as the exec...
Human Rights and Democracy in the Age of AI: A Conversation with Malika Saada Saar
In the latest episode of Not Really Strangers, Suzanne sits down with Malika Saada Saar, a human rights lawyer and tech policy strategist whose career spans grassroots advocacy to leadership roles at Google and YouTube. Malika shares how she fo...
Home in Many Places: Thao Nguyen on Heritage, Art and Connection
Musician Thao Nguyen joins Suzanne this week on Not Really Strangers for a heartfelt conversation about family, heritage and the power of art to process identity and loss. Thao shares her parents’ remarkable journey as Vietnamese refugees, the ...
Dignity in Livelihoods: The Power of Economic Inclusion with Jina Krause-Vilmar
What if the key to a thriving workforce and stronger communities lies in removing barriers that keep refugees from contributing to the full extent of their abilities and gifts? In this episode, Suzanne speaks with Jina Krause-Vilmar about what ...
Why the Refugee Crisis Isn’t Just a Government Problem with Colin Browne
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, Suzanne sits down with Colin Browne—newly appointed board member at USA for UNHCR. His experience as a former global supply chain leader, and someone who’s lived in nine countries, offers a rare behind-t...
Health, Migration and the Power of Imagination with Thoại Ngô
In this episode, host Suzanne Ehlers speaks with Dr. Thoại Ngô, an internationally recognized scientist and the Chair of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University. Thoại’s work lies at the intersection of g...
How Lien Ta Used Her Restaurants to Turn Strangers into Community
I’m deeply honored to have restaurateur and writer Lien Ta on the show today. I found her Instagram during the pandemic and I’m grateful to say that she’s now a friend. In our conversation, Lien shares what it means to her to belong and how we ...
Kat Graham on Family, Resilience, and Advocating for Refugees
In this episode, I talk with actor, musician, and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Kat Graham about her deep personal connection to refugees. Kat shares both sides of her family’s stories of displacement from Liberia to the Holocaust, the moments that...