Free Daily Podcast Summary
Not Really Strangers: Daily Summaries Delivered
by USA for UNHCR
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.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 4 weeks ago12 min
How Food Brings Us Home
In this special episode of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers invites listeners to pull up a chair at the show's own dinner party. Drawing from conversations across two seasons, Suzanne assembles a collage of past guests that reflect on what food means to them: home, memory, identity, and connection. Across the episode, guests share the dishes that define them and that shape how they understand belonging. Together, their stories reveal how something as ordinary as a shared meal can clo...
- Jun 11, 202619 min
What Does it Mean to be a Stranger?
In this special episode, host Suzanne Ehlers revisits one of Not Really Strangers' most enduring questions: what does the word stranger mean to you? Drawing from each conversation across the past two seasons, you will hear a collage-style episode featuring artists, advocates, business leaders, and more — each of them a refugee, the child of a refugee, or someone who has felt called to work alongside refugees. Together, their voices explore how the idea of a stranger shapes the way we move thr...
- Jun 4, 202641 min
How Emma’s Torch is Building Community, One Kitchen at a Time
Recorded on location at Emma's Torch — a restaurant and culinary training center for refugees in Brooklyn, NY with locations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area — Suzanne sits down with staff members Kira O'Brien and Alexander Harris and alumnus Giorgi Tabukashvili to explore what home, belonging, and hospitality mean when displacement is part of the story. Now in its tenth year, Emma's Torch runs an 11-week, fully paid culinary training program for refugees, asylees, and other newcomers....
- May 28, 202631 min
“It’s a Power Question”: On Wakanda, Funding Change, and Compassion Across Oceans with Global Leader Ada Williams Prince
In this episode of Not Really Strangers, host Suzanne Ehlers sits down with global leader and major sci-fi fan Ada Williams Prince to discuss how her career spanning multiple continents has shaped the way she thinks about the best way to fund social change. Ada shares how she first came to feel a personal connection to the issue of forced displacement and why it’s not just a humanitarian crisis – it is also a political crisis, a gender crisis, and a climate crisis. Ada also makes a compelling...
- May 21, 202630 min
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 Advocates Training Program in Nairobi, and Krista Rivas, a Nicaraguan architecture and international relations student finishing her final semester in Mexico City. Together, they explore what home means when you've been displaced, the unexpected ways education...
- May 14, 202639 min
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 to the streets of Tehran, and back again. Maryam, who fled Iran as a child and arrived in the United States in the middle of the hostage crisis, reflects on what it means to build a sense of home when home is not a fixed place. She shares how New York Ci...
- May 7, 202627 min
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 Clouds Over Sidra — the UN's landmark VR film set inside a Syrian refugee camp — to the immersive theater of The Jungle, the award-winning text-based game Bury Me, My Love, and Minecraft Education's use in displaced communities, Susanna illustrates how g...
- Apr 30, 202627 min
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, Ahmad carries a story that is both extraordinary and deeply representative of the millions of people around the world who exist without nationality, without a passport, and without a country that claims them as its own. When Syria's civil war broke ou...
About 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.
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from Not Really Strangers in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's Not Really Strangers daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of Not Really Strangers as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the Not Really Strangers podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official Not Really Strangers product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by USA for UNHCR.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts, any in the catalog. Basic raises that to 15, Pro to 40 and Max to 100. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does Not Really Strangers release new episodes?
Not Really Strangers publishes weekly. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does Not Really Strangers cover?
Not Really Strangers covers topics including News, Business, Culture, Society & Culture, Non-Profit. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting Not Really Strangers summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.