“Emily, We’re Sick!” Why We’re Still Single With Mariam Khan
Mariam Khan is a delightful and invaluable addition to the Montréal comedy scene. She is known for her smooth, deadpan delivery, sassy well-played opinions, and ability to bring laughter to the daily grind of being a person. Her stand-up tells pointed truths about dating, sexism, race, and growing up with immigrant parents. Mariam regularly performs at clubs across the city and has appeared on OffJFL and Gigglefest. She is the co-host of the popular show Better Than Your Therapist and the producer and host of the show, I Don’t Belong Here. But she definitely belonged on This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life. What a splendid episode!
Mariam Khan on Comedy, Dating, Belonging, and Growing Up with Immigrant Parents
How Mariam Got Into Comedy: Her depressing hiatus that followed her debut, how the pandemic triggered a comeback, and why she’ll never stop stand-up again.
Do Mariam’s Parents Love Her Comedy Career? Not exactly. But they don’t hate it either. And they’re great for her jokes.
Growing Up With Immigrant Parents: The highlights and the blowouts. The laughter and the tears. Plus, how our moms just wanted our lives to be perfect. And why we gotta love them anyways.
The Horrors of Online Dating, Part 17: Mariam tells it likes it is and suggests that the problem might actually be us.
I Don’t Belong Here: Why do so many of us feel like this? If everyone feels like this, does that mean we all kind of belong?
Listener Question With “Strictly Auntie Material:” Our letter writer had a baby when she was 14. She gave it up for adoption—to her sister. Her mother thinks she should tell her niece the truth, but she isn’t ready. Mariam and Erica can’t fix it—but Mariam’s way better than your therapist with this one.
Morning Routines With Mariam Khan: Mariam is my first guest to mention a shower and I thought that was notable.
Creative Routines With Mariam Khan: As with all Montréal comedians, the hustle is aspirational!
Cleaning Routines With Mariam Khan: She’s diligent with the vacuum, but she’s got professional house cleaner on her vision board.
Wrecking Ball: Thank you, Miley Cyrus for sponsoring the podcast a second time. We broke records with this one!
And thank you, Mariam! I’m quite sure you solved all my problems and it was a thrill to have you on the show.
Follow Mariam on Instagram @justmariamkhan
Look out for her show, I Don’t Belong Here
Mixing, Ukulele, and Cover Art by Erica J. Schmidt in Montréal, Quebec.
For more on dating (and not dating), check out Erica’s essay, Why I Am Still Single.
And if you loved Mariam’s episode, you will also love Laughs For All With Montreal Comedian, Abby Stonehouse.
Follow Erica on Facebook or Instagram or check out her website at ericajschmidt.com. You can also make her day by sending her a listener question to any of these places.
Listener Question from “Strictly Auntie Material”
Dear Erica (and Mariam),
I’m 30 and I had a baby when I was 14. I chose not to abort, but soon after she was born, I realized that I could not handle having a baby while being a freshman in high school. My older sister (26 at the time, now 42) and her husband cannot have biological children. They adopted my baby when she was three months old and I gave up all my rights to her. It was a difficult decision but it was right for me and her. I no longer see her as my daughter, but as my niece. She does not know that I gave birth to her.
A few days ago, I was having dinner with my mother and she suggested that I tell my niece that I’m her biological mother because she’s 16 now and old enough to understand. I refused. I have a good relationship with my niece and I’m afraid that revealing the truth will ruin our relationship because she might think I abandoned her. I love her as my niece but do not have any maternal feelings for her anymore. She is my sister’s daughter and I don’t want to ruin their family either.
My mother has continued to insist that I tell her because she has a right to know. She’s older than I was when she was born and my mom thinks she’ll understand. I disagree. I was a child then and she’s still a child too. She doesn’t need to know yet. We might tell her someday, but now is not the right time.
Love, Strictly Aunty Material
Thank you to Taes Leavitt (darling big sister, Big Heart Journey, Episode 9 of This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life), Sherwin Tjia (technical and creative advisor, Sherwin’s Quirky Events), and my dearly departed aunt Eileen Gun, whose generous gift helped to fund my new podcast equipment. Thank you so much for listening! Stay tuned for more episodes extra soon. Don’t forget to follow This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life on your favourite podcast platform. And if you enjoyed the episode, I would be immensely grateful if you could share it with a friend and/or leave a kind and enthusiastic rating and review.
This Is Your Strange and Beautiful Life is brought to you by Lil and Bud dog cards, purchasable at ericajschmidt.com/merch. If you would like to sponsor the podcast, I would love to plug your product, service, or project as long as it doesn’t harm any people or their bodies. Please get in touch via my website or Instagram.
