We Want the Airwaves: QPOC Artists on the Rise

124: Adiba Jaigirdar

Bangladeshi Irish novelist Adiba Jaigirdar writes love stories with queer brown girls as protagonists. In this interview, we discuss risk-taking in the publishing industry, racism in Ireland, and do deep dives into three of her novels. We discuss the interracial (Brazilian-Bengali) relationship in The Henna Wars (2020), the interfaith (Hindu-Muslim) relationship Hani & Ishu's Guide to Fake Dating (2021), and representing fatphobia without depressing the audience in The Dos and Donuts of Love (2023).  Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia. Photo by Aleksandria Rudenko. Transcription by Amirah Mizrahi.

123: Abdi Nazemian

Gay Iranian author Abdi Nazemian joins Nia to drop some intergenerational wisdom. We dive deep into his queer young adult novels: Desert Echoes, about addiction and grief; Only This Beautiful Moment, about three generations (two queer) of an Iranian family; and Like A Love Story, about coming of age at the height of the AIDS epidemic. In the process, he explains what it was like growing up in the '80s, why he's grateful to an ex for forcing him out of the closet, and how Madonna saved his life. Transcript available here.

122: Lamya H.

Lamya H., the author of Hijab Butch Blues (she/they) is a bit of an enigma. In the memoir (and this interview), she never reveals which South Asian country she was born in or which Middle Eastern country she grew up in, and Lamya H. is a pen name. However, the book is not sparse on details when it comes to their experiences of racism, sexism, homophobia, and Islamophobia, or in chronicling their attempts to find and/or build progressive queer Muslim community in the U.S. after moving here for college. In this interview, we discuss her love of sports, the power of interracial Muslim friendships, and passages from the Quran around which she structured her story. Read the transcript at scribd.com/artactivistnia. Support the podcast at patreon.com/artactivistnia.

121: Tan Hoang

Comedian Tan Hoang discusses moving from Vietnam to the Philly suburbs at age 9, transitioning at acting school, and how training as an actor made her a better stand-up. She also tells stories of hosting Pride events in small towns, being recognized when she's out with her mom, and being a "peacocky-ass kid" and an aspiring rock star in a dying genre. If you live near Philly, catch her at Tattooed Momedy on the last Tuesday of every month! Photo by Casey O'Donnell. Transcript available at scribd.com/artactivistnia thanks to transcriber Amirah Mizrahi!

120: Jonny Garza Villa

Jonny Garza Villa (they/them), author of three young adult novels, discusses growing up queer and Mexican in a small Texas town, how getting into astrology helped them develop characters, and how pettiness can serve as inspiration. This is a deep dive into their books Fifteen Hundred Miles from the Sun (2021), Ander + Santi Were Here (2023), and Canto Contigo (2024), with a teaser for their forthcoming adult novel Futbolista at the end. Transcript available at scribd.com/artactivistnia thanks to transcriber Amirah Mizrahi!