On the surface, a sports league teaming up with a podcast highlighting the experience and narratives of immigrants may seem unusual, but with the NHL celebrating Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, a two-episode collaboration became a great fit, "Immigrantly" host and founder Saadia Khan said.
"When the NHL said they wanted to highlight the efforts of South Asians in hockey through important conversation about hockey, race and inclusion, it was too good an opportunity to pass up," Khan said.
"'Immigrantly' isn't a hockey podcast or even, necessarily, a sports podcast. Our goal is to have rich and meaningful conversations with first- and second-generation immigrants who are, really, change makers. And we want to use these nuanced discussions about their experiences and contributions to deconstruct the stereotypical narratives around immigrants."
As a Muslim woman, an immigrant from Pakistan, and as someone who leads a staff comprised entirely of women of color, discussing race, ethnicity, diversity and inclusion comes naturally to Khan. Her podcast is quickly becoming essential listening for anyone seeking to understand the immigrant experience in North America.
The first episode features APNA hockey founders Lali Toor and Dampy Brar, the NHL Willie O'Ree Community Hero Award recipient.
APNA, which translates to "our" in Punjabi, is the first South Asian-based ice hockey network dedicated to increasing and supporting South Asian participation in the sport. The episode can heard on
Apple Podcasts
or the
Immigrantly website
.
The second episode, to be released on May 18, features Harnarayan Singh and Amrit Gill of Sportsnet's Hockey Night in Canada in Punjabi. Singh and Gill discuss their journey and experiences as people of color in hockey and broadcasting and discuss Harnaryan's new book, "One Game at a Time."
