Trading Places

Aida Alami’s mother, Khadija Ouannane, was a Moroccan exchange student in the midwestern state of Wisconsin in 1969. It was a life-changing year for Khadija, and she kept in touch with her American family for many years. But that all fell apart after the attacks of September 11th. Aida picks up the story from there, and tries to piece together her mother’s past. Then, we check in with a Syrian refugee family who’ve resettled in California and are feeling a post-Paris chill. Plus: a brief history of America’s hostility to a previous generation of Mediterranean migrants— Italians.

Also: a father and son find a way to compromise in real life and in the new Pixar short, ‘Sanjay’s Super Team’. And the story of Vahagni— a Los Angeles-based Armenian flamenco guitarist.

Image: A school yearbook photo of Khadija Ouannane and her American host family in Wisconsin. (Courtesy of Aida Alami)