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Globally Ranked Podcast

The Immigrant Experience
in America

Hosted by Simone W. Johnson-Smith

Real stories. Real strategies. For first-gen immigrants, third culture people, and globally mobile professionals navigating life between worlds — including the unspoken rules nobody warned you about.

New episodes every week. Audio wherever you listen. Full video on YouTube.

200+Episodes
100+Countries
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The Immigrant Experience in America Podcast
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About the Podcast

The conversations
you’ve been needing

This podcast focuses on the lived reality of immigration — the financial confusion, the identity strain, the cultural clash, the career pressure, and the quiet longing to belong somewhere fully.

Each episode features honest conversations with immigrants, third culture people, and globally mobile professionals sharing what no one talks about — and the strategies that actually helped them thrive. The work is grounded in a Christian faith-based framework and centered in compassion, purpose, and inner healing.

And every episode ends with The Cultural Faux Pas Moment — because sometimes the best way to decode the unspoken rules is to laugh at the moment you discovered them the hard way.

Watch on YouTube → Apple Podcasts
Topics We Cover
🌏
Cultural Identity & BelongingNavigating the collectivist/individualist clash, code-switching, and finding where you truly belong — in both worlds.
💰
Financial Clarity & Wealth BuildingDecoding U.S. financial systems, managing family remittances, and building wealth across borders without the guilt.
🚀
Career & LeadershipUnwritten rules of U.S. career advancement, leveraging your global experience, and getting paid what you’re worth.
💒
Mental Wellness & Inner HealingThe emotional and spiritual cost of immigration — burnout, isolation, identity loss — and the path back to yourself. Guided by a Christian faith-based framework centered in compassion and purpose.
👥
Unspoken Rules & Cultural Faux PasThe things nobody tells you before you arrive — decoded with honesty, insight, and a healthy dose of humor.
Signature Segment

🙄 The Cultural Faux Pas Moment

Every episode of The Immigrant Experience in America ends the same way: with a real, cringe-worthy cultural misstep that an immigrant, third culture person, or globally mobile professional actually experienced navigating life between worlds.

Because the title of the book isn’t Decoding America by accident. The unspoken rules of this country — at work, at dinner tables, in elevators, in job interviews — are everywhere. And the fastest way to learn them is often the most humbling: by accidentally breaking them.

🙄

What is a Cultural Faux Pas?

A cultural faux pas is a social blunder that happens when you apply the rules from one cultural world in a context where completely different rules apply — and nobody warned you. From bringing the wrong thing to a potluck, to misreading office small talk, to accidentally oversharing in a job interview, these moments are universal, human, and — in retrospect — hilarious.

Simone closes every episode by sharing one. Guests share theirs. And the community submits their own. It’s the segment listeners say they look forward to most.

Office Culture Job Interviews Social Situations Financial Moments Family Dynamics Workplace Norms

Got a faux pas story of your own? We want to hear it. Book a free 30-minute session to share it on the podcast, or tag us on social with #DecodingAmericaFauxPas.

Share Your Story →
Featured Episodes

Start listening

Not sure where to begin? These are some of the most-listened episodes — each one tackling something real that immigrants face every day.

EP 01
Decoding America: What No One Tells You Before You Arrive Simone shares the framework behind the book and the three things every immigrant needs to decode to truly thrive in the U.S.
IdentityFinanceCareer
▶
 Popular
The Overgiving Trap: Why Immigrants Send Too Much Money Home A raw conversation about guilt-driven financial decisions, family expectations, and how to break the cycle without breaking the relationship.
FinanceFamilyBoundaries
▶
 Popular
Code-Switching to Survive vs. Code-Switching to Thrive The difference between exhausting adaptation and intentional code-switching — and how to reclaim your identity in the process.
IdentityCultureBelonging
▶
 Popular
Third Culture Kids Grown Up: When You Never Fully Belonged Anywhere What it means to find belonging when you’ve always lived in the in-between — and why that’s actually your greatest strength.
Third CultureBelongingIdentity
▶
 Faux Pas
🙄 The Faux Pas Files: Our Most Cringe-Worthy Cultural Moments A fan-favorite compilation episode — listeners’ most hilarious and relatable cultural missteps, decoded with compassion and plenty of laughter.
Faux PasUnspoken RulesCulture
▶
Listen to All Episodes →
Simone W. Johnson-Smith
Your Host

Simone W.
Johnson-Smith

Former U.S. Diplomat • Author • Certified Coach • Intercultural Strategist

Simone started this podcast because she was having conversations in private that deserved to be public — honest, specific, culturally intelligent conversations about what it actually takes to navigate life in the United States as an immigrant.

As a bilingual Jamaican-American with over 15 years in public service and postings in Mexico, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Cuba, she brings more than expertise to every episode. She brings lived experience — including academic studies in migration, a deep understanding of cultural integration, and more than a few personal faux pas moments of her own.

She is the author of the award-winning Decoding America & Coming Home to Yourself, the founder of The Bridge Concepts, LLC, and the creator of the Thrive Abroad coaching program. She provides culturally sensitive, Christian faith-based tools that support career advancement, financial empowerment, inner healing, and overall well-being among immigrant communities.

Read Full Bio → Work With Simone →
Global Community

A community of immigrants
thriving worldwide

Every week, listeners across the globe tune in for real conversations about what it means to thrive between cultures. Join a community that finally gets it.

100+
Countries Listening
200+
Episodes Published
Weekly
New Episodes
★ 5.0
Listener Rating
🎧 Apple Podcasts ● Spotify Amazon Music ▶ YouTube
Be a Guest

Share your story
on the podcast

Simone is always looking for guests whose stories, expertise, and lived experiences will resonate with the immigrant community. And yes — we will ask for your faux pas moment at the end.

The best guests are those who have navigated the immigrant experience with honesty — including the hard parts — and have something practical and real to share.

✓
You are or have been an immigrant, third culture person, or globally mobile professional
✓
You have a story, strategy, or expertise relevant to the immigrant community
✓
You’re willing to speak honestly — not just share a polished success story
✓
You have a cultural faux pas story ready — because every episode ends with one
✓
You have a stable internet connection and can record remotely
Book a Guest Session →

Quick Guest Application

Fill in the form and Simone’s team will be in touch within 5 business days.

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