They Call Us Bruce

In Episode 204, Jeff and Phil welcome director Adele Lim, screenwriters Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, and stars Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu and Sherry Cola -- the team behind the hilarious new comedy JOY RIDE. Recorded the morning after the film's world premiere at South by Southwest in Austin, they talk about The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making Joy Ride -- a discussion that incl...

In Episode 203, Jeff and Phil welcome comedian  Hari Kondabolu , whose latest standup special VACATION BABY is available on YouTube. He talks about how becoming a parent -- during the pandemic -- informed his act, why Father's Day should be observed on a leap year, making peace with Hank Azaria in the aftermath of his documentary The Problem with Apu, and why he's got no love for San Diego. Plus:...

In Episode 202, Jeff and Phil welcome Peter Sohn and Leah Lewis, director and star, respectively, of the new Disney/Pixar animated feature ELEMENTAL. They talk about drawing from Peter's own immigrant family and upbringing to tell a deeply personal story, how even anthropomorphic fire and water can make moving and compelling narrative chemistry, and why computer animation still isn't as simple as...

In Episode 201, with Jeff on vacation, Phil flies solo and welcomes back Gene Luen Yang, author of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, and actor Ben Wang, who stars as Jin Wang in the Disney+ series adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel. They talk about some of the tricky considerations when it came to bringing this beloved book to life, how they updated the story for contemporary television (and contempor...

Jeff and Phil celebrate 200 episodes of They Call Us Bruce by welcoming back some good friends and returning guests from Episode 100: actor Daniel Wu, who stars as the Monkey King in Disney's adaptation of AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, and comedian/filmmaker W. Kamau Bell, whose HBO original documentary 1000% ME: GROWING UP MIXED explores multiracial identity though conversations with kids and families....

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, They Call Us Bruce is putting a spotlight on some of our podcast friends, so we're featuring an episode from Modern Minorities , one of our sister podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Modern Minorities is trying to solve racism… one conversation at a time. Hosted by Asian American friends Sharon and Raman, Modern Minorities features minority voices f...

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, They Call Us Bruce is putting a spotlight on some of our podcast friends, so we're featuring an episode from Asians in Baseball , one of our sister podcasts from the Potluck Podcast Collective. Hosted by Scott Okamoto, Kim Cooper, and Naomi Ko, Asians in Baseball is about … Asians in baseball. Each week, they break down what's notable with the Asian players i...

Jeff and Phil welcome back Tze Chun, showrunner behind not one, but two new shows: the animated prequel series GREMLINS: SECRETS OF THE MOGWAI and the Boots Riley-created absurdist coming-of-age comedy I'M A VIRGO. He talks about spinning new lore from a classic franchise, putting Chinese characters at the center ("unless otherwise noted"), getting to tell "weird" stories about people of color, an...

Jeff and Phil welcome two of the legions of Asian American women of a certain age who were named after journalist Connie Chung: writer Connie Wang , whose New York Times piece "Generation Connie" put a spotlight on this phenomenon, and cartoonist Connie Sun , one of the many namesakes of the trailblazing newswoman who participated in the "Con Con." They talk about this unique sisterhood, the aspir...

Jeff and Phil welcome writer Sarah Kuhn and artist Arielle Jovellanos, whose new original DC young adult graphic novel GIRL TAKING OVER: A LOIS LANE STORY re-imagines Lois Lane as an Asian American teen tackling a summer internship in the big city. They talk about finding your people, putting an Asian American twist on a beloved legacy character, the dreaded drawing of cars and crowds, and re-dire...

Jeff and Phil welcome Shin Yu Pai, award-winning poet, museologist, and host of TEN THOUSAND THINGS, a podcast about modern-day artifacts of Asian American life. They discuss the personal objects and collections that say who we are and where we've been, from Rep. Andy Kim's now-famous blue suit to our precious stuffed loved ones. They also play a special show-and-tell version of The Good, The Bad...

Jeff and Phil welcome amazing sibling duo Alex and Maia Shibutani, two-time Olympic medalist ice dancers and authors of the children's picture book AMAZING: ASIAN AMERICANS AND PACIFIC ISLANDERS WHO INSPIRE US ALL. They discuss their unique journey growing up as brother/sister teammates on the ice, their evolution as role models and community advocates, and The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of workin...

Jeff and Phil welcome Vivian Yoon, host and writer of the podcast K-Pop Dreaming from LAist Studios, a journey through the rise and history of K-pop in the United States, mapped against Vivian's own coming-of-age as a second generation Korean American in Los Angeles. They talk about some of the unknown stories behind K-pop's ascent, how diasporic Korean identity has always been in conversation wit...

Jeff and Phil welcome back the Bruce Crew, perennial favorite guests Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of DIASPORA, to slice, dice and discuss the Netflix series BEEF. They talk about the evolution and future of Asian American storytelling, the seductive appeal of the worship leader oppa, and what happens when Asian American character are allowed to be their whole, messy, sp...

Jeff and Phil welcome Susie An and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, hosts of WBEZ Chicago's Shoes Off: A Sexy Asians Podcast. They talk about scheming up the podcast as a shameless, naked excuse to talk to sexy Asians; the public radio hoops they had to jump through to get it made; and why listeners in search of "bold sexual discourse" might be disappointed. And of course, they discuss The Good, The Bad, and...

Recorded the day after the 95th Academy Awards, Jeff and Phil welcome perennial favorite guests Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of DIASPORA to debrief and discuss a historic night at the Oscars, for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Daniels -- and Asians in general.

Jeff and Phil welcome Yoko Okumura, Midori Francis and Jolene Purdy, the director and stars, respectively, of the horror/thriller UNSEEN. They discuss the challenges of crafting a story about two people connecting via FaceTime; the unique storytelling dynamic that occurs when a movie, not originally conceived as an Asian American story, is told by a director and two leads who happen to be Japanese...

Jeff and Phil revisit the film EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, now in the thick of awards season and on the cusp of Oscars glory, with an epic super-sized compilation of their previous conversations with Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Daniel Kwan, and of course, Michelle Yeoh -- who now all happen to be Academy Award nominees.

Jeff and Phil welcome Eric Nguyen and Scott Burman, creators of WHITE SAVIOR, a hilarious comic book spoof of white savior stories (à la The Last Samurai, The Great Wall). They talk about their creative partnership, the unique confidence of white guys, and why the time was right for a samurai skewering of this tired and tiring narrative trope.

Jeff and Phil break format and take a moment to react to the mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. This one's kind of raw.

Jeff and Phil welcome filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty, writer/director of the hit thriller SEARCHING, and writer/producer of its follow-up feature MISSING. He talks about why 2018's Searching is now a period piece, the seemingly simple but actually super-complicated process of telling a story that unfolds entirely on screens, and why he and the team are not in any rush (for now) to make a third movie in...

Jeff and Phil welcome the new year with one last look back at the year that was, in the kind of super-sized conversation they only reserve for two of their perennially favorite guests: Rebecca Sun of The Hollywood Reporter and Dino-Ray Ramos of Diaspora. They discuss personal developments, the tired and tiring buzzwords of diversity, and finally falling to COVID-19. They also go three rounds of a...

Jeff and Phil welcome former intelligence officer, security expert, writer/producer and amateur chef(!) Rodney Faraon. In the final episode of an extremely tumultuous year, they discuss a wide range of topics, including Twitter's sad plunge into the toilet, the mishandling of top secret secrets, what it's like to have your CIA career inspire a TV series starring Katherine Heigl, and why risotto is...

Jeff and Phil welcome singer-songwriter Elizabeth Chan, the world's only full-time recording artist dedicated to original Christmas music -- and still, legally, the "Queen of Christmas." She talks about her prolific output of Christmas music -- an album a year for the past twelve years and counting --  her trademark victory over Mariah Carey to keep the crown, and what it's like to have the holida...

Jeff and Phil welcome champion pool player Jeanette Lee, subject of the ESPN documentary 30 FOR 30: JEANETTE LEE VS., and director Ursula Liang. They discuss the career and legacy of the "Black Widow" in professional billiards and beyond, overcoming pain and pressure from all sides when life knocks you down, and approaching the pool table with confidence, swagger, and your whole, authentic, black-...