# 395: Seeing Life Through a Different Lens: Zaakirah Muhammad on Disability, Belonging & Travel in Africa

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa.md
Podcast: [The Maverick Show: Global Travel Stories & Life Beyond Borders](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199)
Published: 2026-06-29T04:15:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.themaverickshow.com/podcast/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa/
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdrl.fm/d71ecc/prefix.up.audio/s/traffic.megaphone.fm/SUATE9660859508.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199/episodes/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa
Duration seconds: 3648

## Resource

Learn how photography, resilience & travel to Africa helped Zaakirah navigate disability and find connection worldwide. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE Zaakirah Muhammad shares the remarkable story of how a photograph taken when she was an infant helped detect a rare eye cancer and ultimately save her life. She reflects on how photography became her creative outlet, how her first international trip to Costa Rica sparked a lifelong passion for travel, and why extended stays in countries like Ghana and Kenya transformed her understanding of identity, community and belonging. Zaakirah discusses traveling through Africa as a disabled person, spending a year living in Kenya with her mother, reconnecting with the continent through DNA ancestry research, and navigating the world as a Black Muslim woman. She also shares insights on accessibility, cultural immersion, Afrobeats, entrepreneurship, and how travel can help us better understand both ourselves and the places we visit. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that’s not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversat…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199/episodes/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-maverick-show-global-travel-stories-life-beyond-borders-1151199/395-seeing-life-through-a-different-lens-zaakirah-muhammad-on-disability-belonging-travel-in-africa.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.