National Immigration Law Center Freedom to Thrive Podcast

Comedian, actor, and writer Jenny Yang kicks off Season 3 with host Hector Flores for a conversation about her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Comedy Tour. Jenny shares how she's bringing stand-up shows to immigrant-owned grocery stores across the country to raise money for local immigrant rights organizations while making people laugh. She also opens up about the failed IVF cycle that inspired the tour's name, what it was like growing up as the child of Taiwanese immigrants, and why she'd rather build her own stage than wait for Hollywood to build one for her.
Later in the episode, we're joined by Eliana Fernandez, Senior Strategist and Organizer at NILC, who shares what real allyship looks like right now.
Listen and subscribe to NILC's Freedom to Thrive Podcast on Podbean: https://freedomtothrive.podbean.com /  Also available on iTunes, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio.
Note: This content contains details related to deaths that may be upsetting. 

Join us as we wrap up Season 2 of the Freedom To Thrive: Resistance, Justice and Resilience podcast, featuring Grammy Award–winning artist Lila Downs. Host Hector Flores talks with Lila about music, her Indigenous roots, migration, and resistance.
From Oaxaca to Minnesota, Lila reflects on identity, ancestry, and her new album Cambias Mi Mundo (You Change My World), which includes a collaboration with rapper Snow Tha Product.
Later in the episode, Hector is joined by Kica Matos, President of NILC, who breaks down how immigrant rights are being used to undermine our democracy and fuel the rise of authoritarianism, and what we can do to stop it.

Today, award-winning Somali multimedia artist Ifrah Mansour joins our host Hector Flores for a thoughtful conversation about life in Minneapolis during these challenging times. Ifrah reflects on how the community has rallied together to support and protect their Somali neighbors. From surviving civil war and displacement to creating art that shelters memory and healing, Ifrah shares how culture, storytelling, and care help communities live bravely and without fear.

Host Hector Flores is joined by comedian TJ (Tanael Joachim) for a conversation about comedy, immigration, and resilience. TJ reflects on growing up Haitian in America and how humor became both a coping mechanism and a tool for resistance. This episode reminds us that storytelling and laughter can build solidarity, inspire resistance, and fuel hope.

Storytelling is essential for survival. In this episode, host Hector Flores sits down with Pulitzer Prize–winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen to explore refugeedom, trauma, identity, humor, and the power of narrative in the fight against authoritarianism. From the refugee experience to the dangers of “authenticity,” Viet challenges us to tell better stories not just about ourselves, but about who we stand up for.

In this episode of Freedom to Thrive​: Resistance, Justice and Resilience, host Hector Flores is joined by ​​world-renowned artist and activist Dread Scott​. Together, they discuss his work challenging white supremacy, censorship, immigration raids, and state violence. Dread Scott reminds us that courage is contagious and art can help lead us fight.

Civil rights and labor icon Dolores Huerta delivers a masterclass in organizing, voting, collective power, and finding inspiration to keep fighting in dark times. She shares behind the scenes stories of her decades fighting for farmworker justice to protecting democracy. She is a powerful reminder we the people are the spring and WE have the power.

Freedom to Thrive returns with a powerful conversation bridging country music, justice, and community. This week, Hector sits down with rising country artist Bryan Andrews to talk about music, working-class roots, and why speaking up for immigrant families matters now more than ever. We’re also joined by organizer and strategist Eliana Fernandez, who breaks down what communities can do to stay informed, supported, and protected in these times.