The best-of The Newcomers 2025
Thanks again for all the support, reposts, comments, questions, and suggestions.
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2025 has been some year, both from a personal and The Newcomers' point of view. I started the year in crutches. I had undergone surgery to fix my broken knee patella just before the 2024 Christmas holidays.
That was the first time I had ever gone under the knife. I found the speed at which my plans for the holidays and the start of the new year changed to be disorienting. It also had me reevaluating everything, including how I would approach The Newcomers in the new year.
And I did change my approach, or more like I blew everything up to focus on The Newcomers for a bit. I resigned from my job in April and decided to give it a go.
I am back to work again. But the past seven months of unadulterated focus on The Newcomers were so worth it. Because, honestly, folks, I believe this is my life’s work.
This is the final newsletter for 2025, so I thought it would be great to look back on all we published throughout the year and share the ones you all enjoyed the most.
The most read by you
You’ll really enjoy reading and probably listening to part 1 of the guide to Canadian small talk with John Edward McGraw. I think it’s an important topic, and I will work on finishing part 2 once the holidays are over.
We’ve got nine more parts coming, by the way.
The Immigrant's Guide to Canadian Small Talk
Depending on what side of the fence you sit, people often judge friendliness and fit based on how comfortable you seem with casual conversation.
The most listened to episode by you
I'm not really surprised that the episode with Kundan is currently the most listened to of the year so far. Things might change, but that was a great conversation.
One takeaway from the conversation that I think applies to the immigrant journey so much:
Failures reveal blind spots you often can’t see any other way. There are things you know you know. There are things you know you don’t know. And things you don’t know you don’t know. These are our blind spots. Failures force you to confront that third category. Without failures, you plateau. You keep growing horizontally, but you can’t go higher because you can’t see what’s holding you back.
E128: Kundan Joshi on how failures reveal your blind spots
Every crisis you face is a choice between decline and an opportunity to reinvent yourself. It’s easy to wallow in self-pity and accept decline. I know it’s easier said than done, but you can also decide to go in the other direction.
An episode to reflect on as we go into the new year
My episode with Fatemeh Alhosseini, Executive Director at Impakt Foundation, left me with a lot to think about. And I think it’s worth revisiting as we plan for 2026.
We discussed resilience as a function of the system, why personalized support is likely the most effective way to improve immigrant settlement and integration outcomes, and narrative therapy as a tool for cultural immersion.
E80: Fatemeh Alhosseini believes personalized immigrant support has the best outcomes
To celebrate #IWD2025, The Newcomers Podcast will be publishing daily episodes between March 2nd and 8th, celebrating a female immigrant. Join us as we share the stories of some of the many remarkable immigrant heroines.
The most shared and liked story by you
Woop woop. I’m so glad this piece was well-received. Working on The Newcomers has been a labor of love. One that I have enjoyed so much.
And like I say in the piece, the best part of it all for me is “I’ve stopped feeling like the ‘other.’ I now know I’m not the only one grasping for a foothold, trying to hold onto a world I used to know while settling into a new one.”
32 Lessons from 100 Episodes of The Newcomers Podcast
What does it mean to be an immigrant? Hope. Frustration. Fear. Anxiety. Rebirth. A chance to change your fortunes. Opportunity. One lesson I’ve taken from the past 100 episodes is there’s no single knowable answer to the question.
My favorite episode of the year
“We’re having the wrong conversation about immigration.”
That was Shamira Madhany, Managing Director & Deputy Executive Director at World Education Services (WES). And if there’s one person qualified to say that, it’s Shamira.
There are many reasons why you should listen to Shamira’s episode, but here’s my favorite:
“Before granting entry, Canada does a great job of assessing the immigrant’s academic credentials. However, everything goes downhill from there. Employers struggle to interpret foreign work experience. The newcomers are treated like fresh graduates. And we end up with senior engineers driving Uber or doctors working in warehouses.”
E79: Shamira Madhany is working on fixing Canada's annual $50B loss in GDP
To celebrate #IWD2025, The Newcomers Podcast will be publishing daily episodes between March 2nd - 8th celebrating a female immigrant. Come celebrate with us as we tell the stories of some of the many amazing immigrant heroines. Join us as we explore the bitter-sweet world of the immigrant.
Some other pieces and episodes I enjoyed working on
The “Who’s Eligible For…” content series with Westdale and Veronica Sepehr
The Canadian 3-Month Settlement Guide for newcomers without kids with Malikah Maryam
The Ten Commandments of Settling into Canada with Eniola Ashaolu
The Newcomer Archetypes quiz with Keely Cronin of Workspark.
Rania Younes’ episode on migratory grief.
And as for 2026…
It’s looking interesting, folks. I’ve got a lot of beautiful stories lined up. I'm working on some interesting collaborations with some really cool folks. Additionally, it appears that I will be leaving Substack for Beehiiv.
Thank you again. For all the support. For the shares. For the replies, reposts, and engagement on social media. For sending and recommending the publication to fellow immigrants. For subscribing.
Everyone who’s worked with me to publish every single one of the 186 podcast episodes, guides, and docu-stories is grateful that you read and engaged with the content.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. We’ll return to regular programming on January 16th, 2026.
Dozie
