Episode 8: Talking About Migration, Part 1: ‘It’s Complicated’

Immigration is the hottest flashpoint in American politics, but far too often, the conversation skips past the most important question: why do people leave home in the first place? In this first episode of a two-part series, writer and thinker Sohrab Ahmari joins host Matt Levinger for a candid, surprising, and deeply personal conversation about global migration. Drawing on his own journey from revolutionary Iran to rural Utah, Ahmari opens up about the forces that push people across borders, the economic realities often overlooked in partisan debates, and how his own thinking has evolved over a decade of reporting and reflection. Honest, nuanced, and refreshingly un-TV-ready, this episode peels back the layers on one of the toughest issues of our time and sets the stage for a wider exploration of migration’s future in the second part.Host: Matthew Levinger – Host of the America’s Why Podcast and Professor of Practice of International Affairs at the George Washington University.Guest: Sohrab Ahmari – Writer, public intellectual, and U.S. Editor of UnHerd.Explore more of Sohrab Ahmari’s writing at UnHerd:https://unherd.com/author/sohrab-ahmariunherd-com/?edition=usVisit our website to learn more about the America’s Why Project and join the conversation: americaswhyproject.comListen on: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon MusicThe views expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily represent those held by the America's Why Project team or the George Washington University.