Ifrah Mansour is no stranger to conflict.<\/p>\n
A Somali refugee and current resident of Minneapolis, the multimedia artist and activist draws on her lived experiences to create work that explores trauma, displacement, and resilience. But like so many of the guests on Freedom to Thrive, an award-winning podcast produced by the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Mansour doesn\u2019t want to focus only on trauma; she also wants to celebrate the unexpected beauty she\u2019s found during difficult experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the beautiful things about tragedies is that it activates hearts, and courageous people are born,\u201d she says. For example, Mansour has noticed more Minnesotans than ever are reaching out to help the vulnerable, after the anti-immigrant crackdowns carried out by the Department of Homeland Security. \u201cThey are bringing food, they\u2019re bringing extra clothes, they\u2019re walking with people, and it\u2019s just really beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hector Flores, co-founder of the Las Cafeteras and host of Freedom to Thrive, agrees with her. A child of immigrants himself, he has also seen how hope and hardship often live side by side.<\/p>\n
Flores comes from a family with mixed status and is highly aware of the challenges immigrants and refugees in his community face, and how they\u2019re affected by people\u2019s misconceptions. \u201cPeople want to know about trauma all the time, but we\u2019re more than just undocumented,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re artists, singers, creatives \u2026 there\u2019s so much richness in the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
At its core, Flores\u2019 comment is exactly what the Freedom to Thrive podcast is all about: Celebrating immigrants as complex, dynamic individuals, and challenging the dominant narrative that too often reduces them to symbols of hardship.<\/p>\n
Launched in 2024, Freedom to Thrive explores heritage, resilience, community, and the ways art and comedy can spark social change. Now in its second season, the podcast continues to feature conversations with immigrants, policymakers, artists, musicians, activists, and more. Recent guests have included comedian Mo Amer, Grammy Award-winning singer Lila Downs, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen.<\/p>\n
Where the first season focused on individual stories of identity and belonging, Flores says his goal for season two, where he joins as host, is to \u201ctake it to the next level\u201d \u2014 using storytelling to highlight \u201cthe fact that we\u2019re more similar than different.\u201d<\/p>\n
One recent podcast episode drives this point home. In December, Flores interviewed Bryan Andrews, a rising country music star and rural Missouri native who frequently uses his platform to speak about issues affecting immigrant families. At the heart of his message and his songwriting, Andrews says, is the idea that small-town Americans and the rest of the country, including immigrants, have more in common than they realize.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where you\u2019re from,\u201d Andrews says on the podcast. \u201cWe\u2019re all trying to make a living and we\u2019re tired of getting railroaded by corporate greed or by politicians who don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rural Americans, Andrews says, are often stereotyped as racist and misogynistic but \u201cthe overwhelming majority of people in my home town have love in their hearts.\u201d Media stereotypes often amplify differences and divide, he says, but at the end of the day, \u201cwe\u2019re all in this together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Flores, who was raised in a working-class immigrant neighborhood in East Los Angeles, had similar thoughts. He says he often sees its residents stereotyped as wealthy, consumerist, and status obsessed. \u201cThat exists, but that\u2019s not my life, that\u2019s not my community,\u201d he says. Like small-town Americans, people in the city \u201cjust want to work hard and take care of their families. We all want the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the podcast tackles some heavy issues, each episode\u2019s ultimate focus is how personal and collective struggles can be healed through art, driving home a message of hope and resilience:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mansour\u2019s episode about her experiences in Minnesota is just one of many examples. Flores asks her,<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat gives you hope for the people creating a home here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe love I feel from other Minnesotans. It is trumping any hate we\u2019re experiencing,\u201d she replies.<\/p>\n
CTA: Stream all episodes now on the Freedom to Thrive YouTube channel<\/a> or the website, here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The podcast has been nominated for a Webby in the \u201cBelonging & Inclusion<\/a>\u201d category. You can vote for it to win until Thursday, April 16!<\/p>\n