Global Travel Stories
& Life Beyond Borders

Desi Travelers

Explore podcast episodes featuring South Asian travelers sharing experiences of living abroad, long-term travel, and navigating identity across cultures. Hear perspectives on family expectations, diaspora experiences, and building lives between cultures while traveling the world.

Desi travelers navigate the world through diverse identities shaped by South Asian cultures, histories, and diasporas. In this collection from The Maverick Show, guests with roots in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the broader South Asian diaspora share stories of living abroad, long-term travel, and building lives across cultures. These conversations explore experiences of migration, family expectations, and identity abroad, as well as the ways culture and community shape global movement. Together, these episodes highlight cross-cultural travel, belonging, and what it means to live between cultures.

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142: Fear of a Muslim Planet, Global Islamophobia and the Top 10 Hip Hop MCs of All Time with Arsalan Iftikhar

Arsalan Iftikhar reflects on growing up in a Pakistani immigrant family in Chicago, experiencing racism, and being inspired to pursue a life of anti-racist advocacy work. He talks about his Punjabi cultural heritage, makes Bhangra music recommendations, and shares tips for traveling to Pakistan. He then talks about his experience in South Africa and the…

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183: Teaching in the Slums of Delhi, Scuba Diving with Manta Rays in the Maldives, and the Real Value of Collecting Travel Memories with Mujtaba Saifuddin

Mujtaba Saifuddin takes us on his journey growing up in a Pakistani immigrant family in Los Angeles, becoming an actor, a pilot, and an aerospace professional, before transitioning to becoming a full time digital nomad in his 40s. Matt and Muj reminisce about their most recent trip together and share reflections on El Salvador, Medellin…

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185: Building the World’s Largest Digital Nomad Community and Founding VisaDB to Make Global Mobility Easier for Everyone with Danish Soomro

Danish Soomro takes us on his journey growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, becoming a local entrepreneur, then going to do his MBA in the UK, and eventually becoming a full time digital nomad. He talks about founding “Digital Nomads Around the World” and growing it to the largest community of digital nomads in the world…

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245: How to Attend the World’s Most Epic Cultural Festivals with Ranika Koneru

Ranika Koneru joins Matt from Bulgaria right after her Keynote address at the Bankso Nomad Fest. They talk about Bulgarian wines and how Ranika prepared for her first major public speech. Ranika then reflects on her Indian-American background, identity, experience growing up in Texas, and how her interest in world travel developed. She talks about…

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261: Traveling to Sudan, Uzbekistan, and Seeing the World Through the Lens of a Third Culture Kid with Nusrat Roshni

In Part 2 of this interview, Roshni talks about her experience growing up in the UAE, spending her summers in Bangladesh, and navigating her identity as a third culture kid. She reflects on her the treatment of South Asians (particularly construction workers) in the UAE, as well as her observations going to the UK and…

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288: The Brown Girl’s Guide to Traveling the World Solo with Dr. Nabila Ismail

Learn how to navigate the cultural dynamics of traveling the world full-time as a Pakistani-American digital nomad. Dr. Nabila Ismail joins Matt from Houston and starts off talking about her parent’s experience immigrating from Pakistan to the U.S.. She then opens up about her experience growing up in a homogenous, white area of upstate New…

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354: Navigating Racism, Power Inequality and Turning Immigrant Diaspora Identity into a Superpower with Dr. Anu Taranath

Learn about Indian-American identity, the value of critical pedagogy, and making meaningful connections in West Africa. Dr. Anu Taranath joins Matt from Seattle and they reflect on their time together in NYC at the WITS Travel Creator Summit, including Anu’s keynote panel that centered the genocide in Palestine and got a standing ovation from 600

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382: Indian Diaspora Stories & Lessons from Ghana, Ethiopia and Nomadic Cultures with Priyanka Surio

Learn how global diaspora connections & nomadic traditions can unlock new ways of building community across cultures. Priyanka Surio reflects on growing up in Florida navigating a mixed Indian and Hungarian identity, and how early experiences of not fully belonging shaped her relationship to culture, travel, and self-expression. She shares stories from reconnecting with her

Dive Deeper: Explore by Community:

Hear from Palestinian and other Arab travelers navigating migration and displacement while building community across borders and cultures.

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Hear from East and Southeast Asian travelers living abroad, exploring the world, and building community across cultures and borders.

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Explore how South Asian travelers navigate family expectations, identity, and life between cultures.

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Hear from Muslim travelers about navigating faith, visibility, and global travel across diverse cultural contexts.

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Explore how Latinx travelers navigate language, culture, and belonging across borders and continents.

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Hear from Black travelers living abroad, moving between cultures, and building community across the global diaspora.

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