Not Really Strangers – Details, episodes & analysis

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Not Really Strangers

UNHCR

Business

Society & Culture

News

Frequency: 1 episode/26d. Total Eps: 18

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.

Recent rankings

Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.

Apple Podcasts

🇺🇸 USA - nonProfit
24/06/2026
#88
🇺🇸 USA - nonProfit
23/06/2026
#39
🇩🇪 Germany - nonProfit
19/06/2026
#79
🇩🇪 Germany - nonProfit
18/06/2026
#51
🇩🇪 Germany - nonProfit
17/06/2026
#69
🇺🇸 USA - nonProfit
16/06/2026
#78
🇬🇧 Great Britain - nonProfit
02/06/2026
#60
🇬🇧 Great Britain - nonProfit
31/05/2026
#88
🇺🇸 USA - nonProfit
31/05/2026
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - nonProfit
30/05/2026
#72

Spotify

No recent rankings available

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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https://www.unrefugees.org/not-really-strangers-podcast/
4 shares
https://give.unrefugees.org/180117core_mainpg_p_3000/?_gl=1
4 shares
https://popcouncil.org/hub/girl-center/
1 share

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RSS feed quality

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Score global : 58%

Publication history

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Year

Latest published episodes

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Introducing: Not Really Strangers

Thursday, July 31, 2025 • Duration 01:20

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.

The podcast will be launching this fall, subscribe now to never miss an update!

Resources:

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How Lien Ta Used Her Restaurants to Turn Strangers into Community

Season 1 · Episode 2

Thursday, October 2, 2025 • Duration 55:41

I’m deeply honored to have restaurateur and writer Lien Ta on the show today. I found her Instagram during the pandemic and I’m grateful to say that she’s now a friend. In our conversation, Lien shares what it means to her to belong and how we build spaces that help others feel they belong too. We talk about her parents' harrowing journey as Vietnamese refugees and how this has impacted their family through generations. Lien shares how connection emerged as her most essential value, one that shaped her life in hospitality and continues to guide her next chapter. We also explore what it means to be a “stranger,” and how the simple act of asking a question or noticing a detail can bridge worlds. This conversation highlights grief and generosity, family legacy and found community, plus the courage it takes to see and be seen and the powerful trust that grows in between.

Topics:

Lien’s childhood dreams of cozy sitcom bedrooms and how this helped her create a sanctuary for herself in Silver Lake, believing that home can be something we construct for ourselves, often for the first time.
Lien’s family’s escape from Vietnam, fleeing by boat, then their time in Thai refugee camps, and their eventual resettlement in the U.S.
How, through therapy, Lien rediscovered her core values after burnout during the pandemic and why connection now anchors her relationships, career, and creativity.
From All Day Baby to Here’s Looking At You, Lien opens up about the intentional ways she designed her spaces to be spaces where strangers become community.
What the hospitality and restaurant industries have taught Lien about trust, grief, and generosity – especially after loss.

Resources:

Health, Migration and the Power of Imagination with Thoại Ngô

Season 1 · Episode 3

Thursday, October 16, 2025 • Duration 37:43

In this episode, host Suzanne Ehlers speaks with Dr. Thoại Ngô, an internationally recognized scientist and the Chair of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University. Thoại’s work lies at the intersection of global public health, gender equality and sustainable development, and he has dedicated his career to improving health and social outcomes for young people and marginalized communities around the world. From founding the GIRL Center at the Population Council to launching the Adolescent Data Hub, his leadership has shaped how the global community understands and responds to issues like adolescent well-being, climate justice and migration. In this conversation, Thoại shares both his professional expertise and his personal story as a former refugee from Vietnam, reminding us how resilience, imagination and community can dissolve distance and build a more just future.

Topics Discussed:

Thoại’s personal story of being displaced from Vietnam at age 12 and resettling in the U.S.
How home can be both a place and a web of relationships, stretching between New York City and Vietnam
The intersection of public health, forced displacement and climate migration
Why migration should be seen as a solution, not a threat, to global challenges like aging populations and labor shortages
Faith communities and the surprising role they’ve played in refugee resettlement and welcome
Thoại’s reflections on “stranger” as an opportunity for curiosity, connection, and discovery

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Podcast show notes

Not Really Strangers – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Not Really Strangers – Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

Other4

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

Similar podcasts and content

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other4

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