The IMISCOE Migration Podcast continues its Season 6 with three new episodes that question how migration is defined, represented and experienced: “Defining ‘the migrant’: Interrogating assumptions, dichotomies & their implications”, “Micro-Influencers in Canada’s Immigration Ecosystem” and “For Whom Was Syria Never Safe? Queer Futures Beyond Assad”.
In“Defining ‘the migrant’”, Asya Pisarevskaya speaks with Bridget Anderson, Director of the new Migrant Futures Institute at Goldsmiths, University of London. The episode asks what happens when people have different assumptions about who is considered “a migrant”. Anderson discusses how imaginaries of “migrants” and “nationals” shape distinctions between insiders and outsiders, and how these figures are often misleadingly constructed as opposites. She also reflects on how race, class and other ways of experiencing the world can reveal commonalities across these categories. The episode connects to her wider work on migration, citizenship, mobility controls and methodological de-nationalism, including findings of the Horizon Europe project PRIME: Protecting Irregular Migrants in Europe.
In “Micro-Influencers in Canada’s Immigration Ecosystem”, Silindile Mlilo speaks with Masoud Kianpour, Senior Research Fellow at the Global Migration Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University. Kianpour discusses his research on “migrant micro-influencers”: content creators on YouTube, TikTok and other platforms who share advice about cultural adjustment, immigration laws and bureaucratic systems with new and prospective immigrants to Canada. The episode explores how such influencers can become “life coaches” for diasporic communities, while also facing difficult choices when commenting on politics and immigration systems. Listeners also hear clips from Max Medyk, a social media influencer who grew up in Ukraine and now lives in Canada, where he creates content for immigrants.
In “For Whom Was Syria Never Safe? Queer Futures Beyond Assad”, Lena Richter speaks with Jasmin Lilian Diab, the Director of the Institute for Migration Studies at the Lebanese American University. Her recent paper, which also won the 2026 Best Paper Award from IMISCOE’s Standing Committee on Gender and Sexuality in Migration Studies (“GenSeM”), is about how questions of return and safety are not the same for all refugees. This recent study is specifically about what return means for LGBTQI+ Syrian refugees living in Lebanon, when, for many, Syria was never a safe home, even before the war. Jasmin talks about the constant calculation that many queer Syrians must make in their everyday lives, even out of the country, where “hypervisibility” can risk violence. She also gives examples from her research about how queer refugees build community and imagine futures of dignity and belonging.
Also, we are happy to welcome Marloes Van Damme to the IMISCOE Migration Podcast team as Communication & Programming Coordinator. Marloes works as a research and communication manager at the University of Antwerp, focusing on ethnographic research and the interdisciplinary network on Migration and Global Mobility (MIGLOBA). With a background in project coordination, science communication and international relations, she is passionate about making migration research accessible to diverse audiences. Through the podcast, she hopes to support knowledge exchange and help build meaningful connections between researchers across different networks and fields of expertise.
Stay tuned for more episodes coming up soon!