Talk about coming full circle.
Three years ago Al-Jazeera English (AJE) took myself & AnushaysPoint.com on air by inviting me to be a guest on their social media driven show, The Stream. The show was really revolutionary and pioneering for its time, giving viewers a forum using social media.
My two appearances, the first just ten days after I gave birth, eventually turned into an offer to screen-test as a possible guest co-host for the show’s co-host, Malika Bilal. I accepted and as luck would have it, scored the gig which allowed me to tape a few times a month with the fabulous, Lisa Fletcher at Al-Jazeera’s Washington Bureau.
Although I was still full-time staff at the Feminist Majority Foundation, Anushay’s Point was gaining traction. Being a regular face on one of Al-Jazeera English’s award-winning shows was great for my digital brand. Working in TV was exciting and tough, but I loved it.
After a year of guest co-hosting, AJE expanded into the American market by launching Al-Jazeera America (AJAM). The Stream split into a US and international version, and AJAM got to work building a network in the US from the ground up.
I left my job and decided to write full-time. It was terrifying and confusing, but I had wanted to be a writer my whole life. That saying, sometimes when one door closes another opens, it’s true. The free-falling feeling is actually pieces of your life falling together.
So it was bitter-sweet and nostalgic to return to Al-Jazeera’s screens after almost exactly two years, this time on AJAM’s new show, Third Rail. Although normally hosted by Imran Garda, who first interviewed me way back when, I got to tape in the New York studio with the iconic, Ali Velshi.
Along with two conservative talking heads, I tackled illegal immigration, Down syndrome abortions, campus sexual assault and equal pay. Watch a clip below of my return to Al-Jazeera here.
It feels good to come #FullCircle.