As forced displacement numbers continue to rise worldwide, new minds are needed to enter the solution sphere. Join us monthly for conversations about the complexities of forced displacement with researchers, practitioners and artists from across the globe.
This podcast is produced by Boston University’s Center on Forced Displacement.
For more information about research and events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/
Technology-Facilitated Labor Trafficking: Challenges and Progress in Human Rights Law with Julie Dahlstrom
Professor Julie Dahlstrom, Director of the Immigrant Rights and Human Trafficking Program at BU School of Law, discusses the progression and regression of human trafficking law in the United States. From an aspiring neurosurgeon to a humanitarian advocate in Thai detention centers, Dahlstrom draws on her own legal pathway to guide current law students through thoughtful experiential learning programming. She examines how to confront biases in legal education, face the financial realities of public interest careers, and support immigrant populations, namely by leaning on the unique strength found in one’s local community.
For more information on research and CFD events can be found here (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/).
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/).
9 Jun 2026
The Fulbright Experience: Questioning the Purpose of Academia with Maryam Khalil
Maryam Khalil, a CFD research fellow and Fulbright recipient, joins Kate and Sabrina in the studio. She shares how her firsthand experience of the Libyan Revolution informed her research on migration in Southern Europe. From personal anecdotes to academic debates, Khalil offers her fresh takes on motivations in academia, autonomy in death, and finding goodness in one's life.
12 Mar 2026
Never Belonging Can Be Belonging: A Song of Earthroot by Kinh Vu and Aaron Hong
Joining Kate and Sabrina in the studio, Kinh Vu and Aaron Hong discuss the behind-the-scenes of their 2023 documentary Song of Earthroot. The film follows Vu as he rediscovers himself in Vietnam, the place he was born but evacuated from during the American War. Vu, a BU music education professor, and Hong, co-founder of Fourth District Productions, trace their creative decisions and personal challenges. Covering topics from grief to hope, yearning to sexuality, and 3 am dim sum to mall boba, the group explores their experiences of longing and their special moments of belonging.
For more information on research and CFD events can be found here (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/).
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/).
5 Feb 2026
Seven Months in Captivity: Colombian History with Maria Antonia Blandon
Kate and Sabrina sit down with Maria Antonia Blandon, a graduate student fellow at the CFD, to discuss her father’s kidnapping. With his diary in hand, Maria shares her father’s accounts of the grueling guerrilla warfare tactics and her research into this often-avoided, multifaceted history of Colombia. Studying this period to frame her upcoming translation, Maria explores how history, both individual and collective, shows up in today’s challenges. They discuss conflict between political and regional groups, explanations for extremism, and the effectiveness of dismissal as a coping method.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/).
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/).
10 Dec 2025
An Inquisitive Dialogue of Border Lives and Works with Muhummad Zaman, Carrie Preston, and Marina Lažetić
In this episode, Kate and Sabrina sit down with editors Muhammad Zaman, Carrie Preston, and Marina Lažetić to discuss their newest volume, Mexico-US, Serbia-EU: Border Lives and Works. They reflect on the interdisciplinary exploration of how migrants, artists, activists, and researchers navigate, reshape, and define life in global borderlands. Could these parallel challenges possess parallel solutions?
21 Nov 2025
An Interrupted Border Crossing: A Story of Courage and Hope with Dorsa Ghazanfari
Join Kate and Sabrina as they step in the studio for the first time with Dorsa Ghazanfari, a CFD Undergraduate Fellow. Dorsa opens up about her mom’s experience as Baháʼí Post-Iranian Revolution and how it led to an unsuccessful border crossing, which impacts their thought processes today. They dive into state-based religious oppression, finding a welcoming religious community, and channeling generational trauma into motivation.
This episode contains mention of gun violence. Please keep this in mind when deciding if and how you’ll listen.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website:
https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here:
https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/ (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/)
30 Apr 2025
Collaborative Solutions through Academia-Practitioner Partnership
In this episode, Shandra sits down with Marina Lazetic, Director of Programs at CFD, and Alexandra 'Xan' Weber, Chief Advancement Officer and Senior Vice President of the International Institute of New England. They discuss the timely importance of academic and practitioner collaborations in the field of forced displacement, highlighting new initiatives and research both organizations are undertaking together.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here: https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/ (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/)
16 Apr 2025
Understanding Literary Translation with Ibrahim Fawzy
In this episode, Shandra chats with CFD Graduate Fellow Ibrahim Fawzy about the ins and outs of translating Arabic literary texts into English. They dive into how this process intersects with Ibrahim's own experience of moving to the United States, tackling the world of translations on many levels.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here: https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/ (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/)
2 Apr 2025
The Home I Worked To Make: Interview with Author Dr. Wendy Pearlman
In this episode, Shandra sits down with author and scholar Dr. Wendy Pearlman, to chat about her latest book "The Home I Worked to Make: Voices from the New Syrian Diaspora."
This powerful book, based on hundreds of interviews conducted over a decade, explores the profound question of what home means for those who have been forced to leave everything behind.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here: https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/ (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/)
13 Nov 2024
Academia to Activism: Redefining Research in Afghanistan’s Crisis
In this episode, we hear the story of Ahmed, a 24-year-old Afghan man whose life was at risk during the Taliban's 2021 takeover. Dr. Neelam Raina and Sobia Kapadia share their firsthand experiences as their UK-funded research project, focused on gender, justice and security, took a dangerous turn when colleagues were targeted for their work. Dr. Raina recounts one researcher's escape and how their roles as researchers evolved into complex, life-saving actions. This episode explores the intersection of academic research and crisis, highlighting ethical dilemmas, trauma, and the impact of international development.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
The newest edition of the Critical Forced Displacement Magazine can be found here: https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/ (https://www.criticalforceddisplacement.com/)
16 Oct 2024
From College to Career: Navigating a Path in Forced Displacement Work
In this episode of CFD Conversations, Aidan Kaminer, a former BU Center on Forced Displacement fellow and now Senior Economic Mobility Coordinator at La Colaborativa, shares how his passion for helping migrants shaped his career. From navigating an unclear college path to finding his place in social services, Aidan’s journey offers insight into how staying true to passions can lead to a fulfilling career in forced displacement and social justice.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
18 Sept 2024
Mapping Displacement: The Power of Remote Sensing in Conflict Zones
In this episode, we are joined by Jamon Van Den Hoek, an Associate Professor of Geography at Oregon State University, to explore how satellite remote sensing and geospatial data are used to track and understand the complex causes and effects of forced displacement. He also shares how his lab at OSU is preparing the next generation of researchers as this rapidly growing field continues to evolve.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
Check out OSU's Conflict Ecology lab: https://www.conflict-ecology.org/about (https://www.conflict-ecology.org/about)
21 Feb 2024
Impacts of the Pakistan Floods
In this interview, associate director Carrie Preston, research associate Rana Hussein and student research fellow Janki Bhatt are joined by Naween Mangi, founder of the Ali Hasan Memorial Trust, to discuss the impacts of the 2022 Pakistan floods on communities in rural Sindh.
For more information on Naween Mangi's work, check out her website here (http://naweenmangi.com).
24 Jan 2024
Measuring Impact with CFD Postdoc Selma Hedlund
In this episode we sit down with Selma Hedlund, a CFD postdoc, to discuss her journey into the field of forced displacement, both as a researcher and community organizer, and what it means to have an impact in the field.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
13 Dec 2023
Belgrade Summer School Reflections
In this episode CFD Events and Communications Specialist Baiden Wright sits down with students from the Interdisciplinary Summer School on Forced Displacement held in Belgrade, Serbia to reflect on the experience.
To learn about the upcoming 2024 program click here (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/education/interdisciplinary-summer-school-on-forced-displacement/).
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
15 Nov 2023
Language Barriers in Fieldwork
Today Shandra is joined with Rachel Nolan, an assistant professor of international relations at Boston University, to discuss her experience working with language barriers while doing research in Guatemala.
18 Oct 2023
Border Studies Reflections
In this episode, Shandra is joined with fellow participants of the Border Studies Program. The BSP is a collaboration with the CFD, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and many local non-profit organizations. The students reflect on the preparation course, the spring break trip to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and projects/opportunities that were born from the experience.
Click here (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/education/border-studies-program/border-studies-2023/) for more information on the Border Studies Program.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
20 Sept 2023
Understanding Secondary Trauma
In this episode, Shandra is joined with Kaitlin Roberson, CEO of Cacti Therapeutics. Together they sit down to discuss secondary trauma as well as how to recognize and approach it.
Check out Kaitlins talk from our March Sawyer Seminar hosted with The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1x1Ml7aG96Tchs6XK2dRBJ (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1x1Ml7aG96Tchs6XK2dRBJ)
25 Apr 2023
Bringing New Brains to the Table
In the first episode of the CFD Conversations podcast, director of the Boston University Center on Forced Displacement, Professor Muhammed Zaman and assistant director Professor Carrie Preston sit down with host Shandra Back to chat about the CFD's creation and why bringing together brains from a variety of disciplinary and sectoral perspectives is essential to tackling the rising global crisis of forced displacement.
For more information on research and CFD events, check out our website: https://www.bu.edu/cfd/ (https://www.bu.edu/cfd/)
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