How to Build Everlasting Friendships and Challenge Taboos

September 12, 2025 • Read in 5 minutes

Dear Hyphenly Readers,

Last week, we asked you to join our focus group and help shape the future of our podcasts… and over a thousand of you responded! We’re feeling truly inspired by this community. In times like these, connection matters more than ever, and Hyphenly is here to do just that: celebrate and share immigrant-created art from around the world.

Now, we need your support again, this time, for a little friendly competition. On September 24 at 5 AM EST, our first-ever monthly quiz goes live! Test your knowledge of all things Immigrantly—yes, anything from Michelle Kwan to Michelle Yeoh is fair game.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Three lucky winners will score exciting giveaways.

Today, we’re catching you up with what’s been happening at all the podcasts that make up Immigrantly. Saadia talks to Sangeeta Pillai about challenging cultural taboos in a re-released episode on Immigrantly, Kavitha, our Sportly host, sits down with award-winning journalist and advocate Shireen Ahmed, and Mehak, our Love-ly host, explores the complexities of adult friendships with journalist and author Anna Goldfarb.

IMMIGRANTLY 

Taboos, Sex, And Feminism with Sangeeta Pillai 
Listen on Spotify or Apple

In this re-release from the Immigrantly vault, Saadia Khan sits down with Sangeeta Pillai, activist, writer, and creator of the award-winning Masala Podcast and Soul Sutras. From her journey growing up in Mumbai to building one of the most groundbreaking feminist podcast platforms, Sangeeta opens up about identity, feminism, and what it means to challenge cultural taboos around sex, gender, and South Asian womanhood. Since this conversation, Sangeeta has continued to expand her impact—including the release of her powerful memoir, Bad Daughter.

You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@swkkhan or email her at [email protected] to share your thoughts about the episode.

SPORTLY

Who Gets to Play? Shireen Ahmed on Sports, Equity & Belonging
Listen on Spotify or Apple

In this episode of Sportly, host Kavitha Davidson sits down with award-winning journalist and advocate Shireen Ahmed to explore the intersections of immigrant identity, sports fandom, and equity in athletics. From Hockey Canada’s reckoning to the rise of South Asian basketball, from France’s hijab ban to the growth of women’s sports in Toronto, Shireen shares powerful stories that challenge how we see the games we love.

You can reach the host, Kavitha, at [email protected] 

LOVE-LY

The Secret to Lasting Friendships with Anna Goldfarb
Listen on Spotify and Apple

Mehak explores the complexities of adult friendships with journalist and author Anna Goldfarb, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, The Cut, and more. Anna’s latest book, “Modern Friendship: How to Nurture Our Most Valued Connections,” offers a practical toolkit for building stronger, more intentional relationships.

You can connect with Mehak @whatthemehak on TikTok and @whatthemehak_ on Instagram.

That’s all for this week, Hyphenly readers! Thanks for catching up with us—stay tuned for more stories, conversations, and updates coming your way soon.

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Hyphenly curates the latest news, art, and businesses from immigrants around the world. Have a tip or story we should feature? We’d love to hear from you.