Dispersion: A podcast that navigates identity, home, and belonging through storytelling

In 2012, medical student Tareq Hadhad’s family home and chocolate factory in Syria were destroyed. His family fled the country and became refugees in Lebanon. After three years, they arrived in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Today, Hadhad is a successful entrepreneur and the owner of Peace by Chocolate, a company built on the bonds of family, community, and a desire to give back.

In a season three episode of Dispersion, the Zoryan Institute's podcast about diaspora experiences in Canada, Hadhad recounts how he and his family settled in a new place vastly different from their hometown of Damascus, Syria. The episode, titled “Everybody Loves Chocolate,” describes Hadhad’s journey not only as a newcomer to Canada but also as someone navigating the process of finding support in community, embracing new opportunities, and overcoming challenges and uncertainty. His story mirrors many others featured on Dispersion—stories of finding new beginnings and opportunities away from the homeland and as part of the diaspora. As Hadhad explains in the episode: “One of my favourite inspirations, since I came to Canada, is a friend of mine, a Canadian friend, who would tell me, ‘You know that we are born human beings with legs, not with roots like trees, for a reason.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because we have the opportunity to move. If we don’t find an opportunity, we can go and create one.’”

The podcast centres its episodes around important theories, topics, and diaspora experiences, navigating identity, home, and belonging while challenging stereotypes and discrimination. Shortly after the launch of its first season, Dispersion was ranked as one of the leading educational podcasts worldwide, with many professors incorporating it into their classrooms. One such professor is Dr. Sushan Karapetian, director of USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, who uses Dispersion as an educational tool. She says, “I used the episode [‘The Generational Cappuccino’] as required course material to jumpstart a conversation on the Armenian diaspora(s) and just how heterogeneous it is. The pairing of father and daughter, different generations, gender dynamics, upbringings, and so on, were just so ripe for discussion… My students had such visceral reactions, which sparked an excellent class conversation.”

Season one, episode two,‘The Generational Cappuccino,’ features Zoryan Institute’s president K.M. Greg Sarkissian, in conversation with his daughter, Talar Sarkissian, about the generational differences of growing up in the diaspora. The two discuss their identities as members of the Armenian diaspora, delving into the complexities of being multi-generational diasporans and their understanding of the concept of ‘home.’ Mr. Sarkissian explains in the episode: “I am an Armenian by choice. At the end of the day, if my father was 100 percent Armenian, and I am 50 percent Armenian, maybe Talar is 25% Armenian... All of us are some sort of cappuccino, but the coffee and milk levels change.” The episode is emblematic of Dispersion, addressing the differences and similarities that unite diaspora groups globally.

Each episode of the podcast is grounded in an article from the Diaspora journal, providing a foundation for conversations that bridge the gap between academic and non-academic audiences alike. The Diaspora journal captures a world where borders are transgressed and elastic, boundaries are fractured and permeable, and identities are increasingly fluid and adaptable. Including literature from the social sciences strengthens the podcast's ability to make meaningful contributions to ongoing conversations about mobility, mobilization, and transnationalism, reorienting traditional accounts of home, homeland, host state, and diaspora.

Despite the cultural, linguistic, religious, and geographical differences between various diasporic communities, Dispersion truly represents Canada’s cultural mosaic. It makes a brave foray into the changing and often complicated dialogue of diasporan experiences, offering Canadians from all manners of diaspora the opportunity to find commonalities and better understand their differences. The podcast allows the wider public to engage in diaspora studies through storytelling and documenting lived experiences. Dispersion serves as a platform for the kinds of conversations needed in today’s increasingly polarized world.

Dispersion is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Acast. ֎