Ray Suarez on his new book ‘We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century’

Episode notes

You may have heard Ray Suarez on Bullseye before. He was last a guest in 2016, when we did a live show in Washington DC. More recently, you might have heard him hosting the show. He’s interviewed all kinds of folks for us: Bonnie Raitt, Rick Steves and even Desus & Mero.

Every time he comes on the show, no matter which side of the table he’s on, it’s a thrill. Ray is a genuine legend with a nearly fifty year run as a journalist. He’s worked for ABC, CNN, CBS, you name it. He was also a correspondent on the PBS NewsHour and a host of the NPR classic Talk of the Nation.

Lately, Ray has been spending a lot of time abroad. He lectures at the New York University campus in Shanghai. During his time abroad, he’s been thinking a lot about what it means to be an immigrant. Both China and the U.S. – two countries with very different attitudes about immigration and citizenship.

So he did what he does best. He talked to people. People who came from every corner of the world all in search of the same thing: a stable life, a stable job, a better future for their kids. He compiled those stories in a terrific new book called We Are Home: Becoming American in the 21st Century.