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Thank you. This is our body politic. I'm Farai Chidea.

What does it take to be accepted into the American mainstream? With xenophobia on the rise,

is that even possible or desirable? And especially if you're a person of color, how do you create a sense of self-acceptance in a world that may not accept you as you are? These are all things on the mind of Wajahat Ali, Daily Beast columnist and co-host of the podcast, Democracy-ish. He's out with a new book titled, Go Back to Where You Came From, and other helpful recommendations on how to become American. It digs into the

double standards he and his family faced as Muslims and Pakistani Americans in the U.S.

I caught up with him on the book and the power that he has claimed as a storyteller.

So you joked on an appearance on MSNBC that your parents named you Wajahat to fit in.

And then, you know, we see this picture of you as a kid, this cute, little chubby kid.

So who was Little Wage and, you know, give us your origin story?

Little Waj was born and raised in the Bay Area, California to Pakistani immigrant parents who just did not give a single F about him integrating or assimilating or blending in.

Named him with Jahad.

Didn't teach him English.

Born and raised in America, because who needs English?

And just one day decide to drop him off at child's hideaway preschool without telling him

where he was going to go, where he discovered his rank in the American hierarchy.

I feel like oftentimes it's school where you learn where you belong, where you learn you're

not the protagonist of America's narrative.

And no one else was brown.

...