Movement with Meklit Hadero
Episodes
"A Song You Can't Sing Alone, ft. Meklit Hadero
09 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this final episode of season three, Meklit shares the story of Geefata, a traditional song of celebration rooted in her father’s childhood villag...
"Keep That Tradition Alive" ft. Kiki Valera
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
GRAMMY nominated multi-instrumentalist Kiki Valera was born into family of musicians in Cuba. At 16, he was gifted a book gifted that changed his life...
"A Rainstorm of Voices" ft. Sahba Aminikia
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today on Movement, we revisit a story we first recorded in 2021, following Sahba Aminikia - a classically trained Iranian composer, forced to flee the...
"The shaming of the tongue" ft. Laura Elkeslassy
21 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Arabic music filled the air of Laura Elkeslassy’s Moroccan Jewish childhood home in Paris, especially on Fridays before Shabbat. But she didn’t gr...
"We came from the same groove" ft. Cimafunk
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After years of singing backup in Havana, Cuban musician Cimafunk found his own sound by refusing to choose between tradition and innovation. The break...
"Who we are when no one is watching" ft. Ali Sethi
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ali Sethi released a song that got so popular, some claim it had the power to unite two countries at war – but his artistic journey all began with a...
"We make the boom bap" ft. Ana Tijoux
19 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When you don't feel like you belong to the country you were born in, where do you call home? Born to Chilean exiles in France, rapper Ana Tijoux didn'...
“Questioning everything” ft. Lupita Infante
07 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lupita Infante is the granddaughter of Mexican cultural icon, Pedro Infante, but she is also an artist in her own right, carrying legacies from both s...
“I don't tell people I'm a musician” ft. Peter One
21 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Peter One has had two big breaks, decades apart, on different continents. But both times, he has chosen to live a double-life: working as a touring mu...
“Syrians must go back" ft. Omar Offendum
08 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 1900s, the ‘Little Syria’ neighborhood thrived in Lower Manhattan, but today few people know it even existed. Rapper and poet Omar Of...
“I sound like an alien to them” ft. Satomi Matsuzaki
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For Satomi Matsuzaki, the lead singer and bass player in Deerhoof, music has been a humanizing tool in the face of the sometimes dehumanizing experien...
“I can speak to my ancestors through this” ft. Lalin St Juste
10 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lalin St Juste knew, even as a child, that singing was a path towards her own healing. As she grows up, she goes on a journey reclaiming her Haitian h...
"A Really Bad Deal" ft. Annahstasia
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The LA-based folk musician Annahstasia was “discovered” by the music industry when she was just 17, but the backing of a label wasn’t the breakt...
"Why I was spared" ft. Mon Rovîa
14 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How do we turn pain into empathy? Meklit talks with Liberian-American singer Mon Rovîa about his long journey to doing just that.
“I’m ready for that transformation” ft. Dayme Arocena
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daymé Arocena has one of the most stunning voices in music today. But when Meklit heard Daymé's latest album, Alkemi, she could tell something drama...
"Syria is finally free" ft. Hello Psychaleppo
24 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bashar Al Assad, Syria’s brutal dictator, has fled the country -- opening a new and uncertain chapter after more than a decade of Civil War. Meklit ...
"I'm sorry I wasn't here" ft. Diana Gameros
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Diana Gameros was living in the US in 2010 when her home city of Juarez, Mexico became known as one of the most dangerous places on Earth. She was und...
"22 Nights" ft Chhom Nimol -- Live on stage
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chhom Nimol of the band Dengue Fever tells the harrowing story of the 22 night she spent in an immigration detention facility.
"A circle moment" ft. Emel Mathlouthi
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi about the moment that turned her into a viral sensation and the voice of a revolution -- but also ab...
"I've just thrown out the word expectation" ft. Adi Oasis
22 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Adi Oasis released an album and had a baby in the same year -- she thought it would be the end of her music career, but it's been the opposite. Adi an...
"Breaking unbreakable things" ft. Cheakaity Brown
08 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Cheakaity is a DC-based soul singer who was brought into the world with a weighty name: the one who breaks unbreakable things. He talks with Meklit ab...
"Pragmatism and Revolution" ft. Victoria Ruiz
24 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Victoria Ruiz fronts the leftist punk band Downtown Boys, and has spent her career walking the line between pragmatism and idealism -- often in extrem...
"Girls do not enter" ft. June Millington
10 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Fanny was the first all-women band to release a record on a major label, in 1970. Meklit talks with lead guitarist June Millington about the incredibl...
"I've been writing the same song since the first song I wrote" ft. Helado Negro
20 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Helado Negro has released 13 records in 15 years. He joins Meklit to talk about how the immigrant work ethic plays out in the arts, and Meklit wonders...
"We got on the Bad Bunny Bus" ft. Buscabulla
13 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Buscabulla got the kind of lucky break most artists only dream about: the chance to record with the biggest artist in the world. But what happens afte...
"I was reluctant to go" ft. Sid Sriram
06 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sid Sriram wanted to make it big in the American music industry, so when got an opportunity to live and work in India as a singer for hit films, he wa...
“New York is the people that live here” ft. Mafer Bandola
30 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
New York City is a city of immigrants, but right now that ethos and identity is being tested like never before. Meklit talks with Mafer Bandola, a Ven...
“I found refuge in tap dancing” ft. Gerson Lanza
16 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Art is a form of self-expression. A lot of people say that, but for tap dance virtuoso Gerson Lanza it was literally true. Plus a teaser of what's to ...
Coming up on Season 2
09 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Coming up on Season 2
"Returning as Myself" ft. San Cha
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Mexican-American singer San Cha about how she fell in love with Ranchera — a style of music that represented all the cultural valu...
"Bananas and Cilantro" ft. Sasami
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Sasami Ashworth about her acclaimed record “Squeeze,” and how it fits within a larger cycle of creation, restoration and self-di...
"Not Standing Still Anymore" ft. Chhom Nimol (of Dengue Fever)
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Cambodian-American singer Chhom Nimol about her long musical journey from performing on Cambodia’s first televised singing competi...
"Dubai is Like a Big Airport" ft. Cromwell Ojeda
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cromwell Ojeda and his brother grew up in Dubai — two Filipino kids in an expat family — but now his brother is moving to Canada where their famil...
"She's gonna do all of that?" ft. Ghaliaa
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In part two of our series on path breaking artists in the United Arab Emirates, Meklit talks with Syrian singer and producer Ghaliaa about how a compl...
"You're an Expat" ft. Freek
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Mustafa Mohamed Ismail -- AKA Freek -- was 10 years old, he learned that he had no citizenship in the only country he'd ever known. And if he wan...
"Shiny Blue Keys" ft. Tatiana Crespo -- LIVE from Tempe, AZ
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tatiana Crespo introduces us to her accordion Lindo, plus a busking adventure that changed her life. This story was recorded live on stage at Arizona ...
"Between the Tears, So Much Pride" ft. Clarissa Bitar
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with oud virtuoso Clarissa Bitar about the doubts she overcame just to pick up the instrument, and the incredible response from her famil...
"Separating our culture from our trauma" ft. Alsarah
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with an old friend — East African retro-pop singer Alsarah —about drawing inspiration from tradition, and making peace with the word ...
"What's the Freshest Fruit?" ft. Felukah
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Egyptian-American MC Felukah, about how moving to the birthplace of hip-hop transformed her from poet to rapper. More about Feluka...
"Laughter is Freedom" ft. Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with the Belgian-based dance-pop duo of Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul about taking their new record out on the road, and wondering...
"A World In Which I Can Exist" ft. Dakota Camacho
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the island commonly known as “Guam," July 21st is commonly known as "Liberation Day.” But for Dakota Camacho, a Seattle-based artist who traces...
"Sing Every Song Like It's Your Last" ft. Gino Yevdjevich
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Gino Yevdjevich, lead singer of the gypsy punk band Kultur Shock, about the need to create art, especially when the world is at its ...
"Welcome Home Pop" ft. Momma Nikki -- Live from Seattle
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Momma Nikki speaks and sings about a complicated relationship with their father, who immigrated to the US from Haiti. The story was recorded live on s...
"Love at First Sight" ft. Larry & Joe
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Larry Bellorín is a legend of Venezuelan Llanera music; Joe Troop is a bluegrass virtuoso from North Carolina. Meklit talks with this unlikely duo ab...
"Making Weird Normal" ft. NNAMDI
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Nnamdi Ogbonaya about making music that draws the listener in, while at the same time challenging them. His new album is called "Ple...
"Writing a Ritual" ft. Xenia Rubinos
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Xenia Rubinos about finding her way back to the stage after a long and difficult time away. Find all of Xenia’s music at: https:/...
“The Craziest Thing I Ever Did" ft. Jesus Díaz
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Cuban-American percussionist and bandleader Jesus Díaz about his journey from playing homemade drums in Havana to performing on the...
"Explaining One Side to the Other" ft. Oddisee
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Meklit talks with Sudanese-American MC Oddisee about self-doubt and the power of empathy, along with his new album "To What End." Find all of Oddisee...
Trailer
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hear episodes of Movement every other Tuesday, starting April 11th. For about the show and live events, go to movementstories.com