A podcast that shares the stories of people who grew up in a culture outside of their parents' culture.
Tim discusses growing up between the U.S. and Nigeria. He tells us how he balances being both a physician and an accomplished music composer, why Nigerians tend to have such high levels of self-confidence, and gives his opinion on the contentious cultural debate over which African country has the best jollof rice.
In this episode of Culture in Between, Hasan Kubba, author of The Unfair Advantage, describes his upbringing as a child of Iraqi immigrants in London. He tells us the differences between the immigrant experience in the UK vs. the US, why he views his parentsâ decision to move to England as his unfair advantage, and how he ended up pursuing entrepreneurship after initially wanting to become a doctor.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Jaygima shares her unique upbringing as the daughter of an ambassador from Sierra Leone. She describes living in three different countries over the course of her formative years, why she answers the question of where she is from differently based on who she is speaking with, and why she thinks Sierra Leone has the best beaches in Africa.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Randa tells us about growing up in Philadelphia with Lebanese parents. She also explains how she transitioned from studying applied mathematics at Harvard to pursuing a graduate degree in vocal performance, teaches us the correct Arabic pronunciation of âfalafelâ (as well as her name), and describes how she became trilingual.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Jason tells us all about growing up with Peruvian parents in Miami. He fills us in on why he doesnât enjoy visiting Peru in the summer, the adjustments he had to make when he first moved to the U.S. as a young child, and why he feels like he can get along with people from any culture.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Marc shares his experience as a Haitian-American. He describes the vibrancy of life in the Little Haiti neighborhood in Miami, why no one leaves hungry from a Haitian dinner (post-dinner, anyone?), and why voodoo is not actually an integral part of the culture despite existing stereotypes.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Christine Job, host of the podcast Flourish in the Foreign, joins us to talk about her Trinidadian roots. She tells us about the unique ways that she honors her ancestors, the difference between the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, and why Caribbeans (especially Caribbean women) have a tendency to just get on with things, regardless of hardships.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Chris describes growing up in Dallas with Filipino parents. Chris tells us why his parents were disappointed when he started working at Google, the reason his father actually discouraged him from going into the medical field, and why Jollibee is more to Filipinos than just a fast food chain.
Season 3 is here! In this special first episode of our new season, we will be talking about five of our favorite movies that feature stories about growing up between cultures. We will tell you all about the plot (no spoilers though!), cultural themes, and our favorite moments for each movie.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Angelica tells us all about how she adapted to life in the U.S. after moving to Miami from Indonesia with her family at ten years old. She talks about why she always found it hard to speak up in class as a student in America, shares the Indonesian saying that her father uses whenever she hasnât called him for a few days, and explains the benefits of being trilingual.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Amelia tells us all about growing up in Northern Virginia with a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. She shares some of the humorous ways her mom has mispronounced English words, explains why she canât understand Bad Bunny lyrics despite being fluent in Spanish herself, and expresses her love for the many Puerto Rican and Dominican dishes containing plantains.
In this episode of Culture In Between, David tells us all about growing up with Cuban parents. He fills us in on why the Cuban Spanish accent is so recognizable, what itâs like to experience rolling blackouts in Cuba, and why itâs sometimes hard to receive much sympathy from his parents
In this episode of Culture In Between, Maggie shares the harrowing tale of her motherâs escape from Vietnam during the Vietnam War. She also tells us why bĂĄnh mi is the perfect lunch food and how her perspective of Americaâs role in Vietnamese history differs from her familyâs.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Alex joins us to talk about growing up in Miami with a Greek father and a Cuban mother. She describes a funny moment when her Cuban Spanish was misunderstood by her Argentinian clients, explains why she appreciates the spirit of collectivism that she has experienced while visiting her fatherâs Greek village, and details the heartwarming way that her parents met.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Cepee Tabibian, founder of She Hit Refresh, joins us to talk about growing up in Texas with an Iranian father and a Colombian mother. She shares with us how she felt about her unique name growing up and the ways in which Iranian culture and Colombian culture are not as different as one might think. She also describes the struggle that she faced between living up to her parentsâ expectations and following her entrepreneurial spirit as well as how becoming an immigrant herself has helped her appreciate certain aspects of her parentsâ lives even more than before.
Season 2 is here! In this special first episode of our new season, we will be talking about five of our favorite books that feature stories about growing up between cultures. We will tell you all about the plot (no spoilers though!), cultural themes, our favorite moment, and our favorite quote for each book. If youâre looking for your next vacation read for the summer or are just desperate for recommendations, we are here to help!
In our final episode of Season 1, we have a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion about growing up Indian-American with Anuj. He tells us about missing out on girlfriends due to beliefs around being born at the wrong time of day, why he hates being asked where he is from, and expresses his appreciation for the Indian representation in the hit Netflix show âNever Have I Ever.â
In this episode of Culture In Between, Alex shares his story about the complexities and joys of growing up with a Lebanese father and a Jamaican mother of Lebanese descent. He explains his journey toward ultimately identifying as Arab rather than White, why he has mixed feelings as a ânon-Black person of colorâ whenever he goes back to Jamaica, and how homophobic sentiments in his parentsâ home countries have kept him from feeling truly integrated into either culture. This episode also features another shoutout to cross-cultural icon Shakira, who also has a Lebanese background.
In this episode of Culture In Between, June tells us all about how he adapted to life in the U.S. after moving from Seoul to San Francisco with his family at nine years old. He talks about why he has always liked to challenge his motherâs expectations of him, why he respects Psy more than recent K-pop idols, and how he learned English while playing street basketball.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Joanne (a.k.a. âSalsa Mamiâ on social media) shares her memories of being raised in a military family by parents who made sure to impart their Puerto Rican culture to her and her siblings wherever they went. She tells us about whether or not her family in Puerto Rico identifies as American and how she learned more Spanish than her older siblings out of necessity.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Keshan joins us to talk about his upbringing in the âLittle Guyanaâ neighborhood in Queens, New York. He also tells us about his experience visiting his grandparentsâ home in the Guyanese jungle, gives his input on the âcurry chickenâ vs. âchicken curryâ debate, and explains why Guyana is generally considered a Caribbean country despite being located in South America.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Tammi tells us about the stories that her parents shared about what life was like for them in their home country and what she feels gets lost in the intense popularization of Korean entertainment. She also talks about how knowing the Korean language helped her understand her heritage and deepened her relationships with her family back in Korea.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Juan joins us to talk about feeling like he needed to hide his Colombian heritage during his childhood in Boca Raton, Florida before ultimately striving to embrace it more as he got older. He also tells us about why heâs grateful that his parents only spoke Spanish with him growing up, having to combat negative stereotypes about Colombia, and his love for Shakira.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Becca describes her unique upbringing in a small village in the Philippines while her parents were American missionaries there. Becca tells us many stories about growing up in the country from birth to age 19, including her love of Filipino foods and the mishaps she found herself in due to not understanding American culture during her few brief stints going to school in the U.S.
In this episode of Culture In Between, Ashleigh shares what it was like growing up in Portland, Oregon with an Australian dad. She chats with us about celebrating Australia Day, identifying as an Australian from an early age, being a college student for a year Down Under, and whether or not all of the wildlife in Australia actually does want to kill you.
In this inaugural episode of the Culture In Between podcast, the hosts Alyssa and Brianna introduce themselves and talk about their Jamaican heritage. They also discuss how recent SNL skits about immigrant parents inspired the idea behind the podcast, why they believe talking about growing up between cultures is important, and what listeners can expect in future episodes. Welcome!
