AAUC Podcast

Our latest episode features an insightful interview with Bill Watanabe, a Japanese American whose birthplace was a Nevada Internment Camp in the 1940s during World War II. Bill has devoted his life to the preservation and promotion of Los Angeles' Little Tokyo, a commitment spanning from the 1950s to the present day. His story serves as a powerful testament to the importance of ethnic communit...

Please join us for a powerful and heartbreaking interview with Arash Azizzada, Co-Founder & Co-Director of the nonprofit "Afghans for a Better Tomorrow". Arash provides us with a unique history and perspective on the almost continuous war that has engulfed Afghanistan for the last 45 years. He details the arduous and dangerous circumstances of both the recently arrived Afghan America...

With the uncertain times in 2024 and going forward, the best we can do for our AAPI community is to strengthen ourselves through collaboration. According to Cindy Tsai, interim president of Committee 100, we can achieve this by A, appreciating, B, Be Brave in confronting conflicts and C, celebrating each other’s success. Let this ABC be our guide in achieving diversity, unity and equality for our...

Recently, there has been a movement and national debate throughout the United States regarding the merit of Ethnic Studies in K-12 and post-secondary schools. In this episode, we interview three University of Washington students, Iris, Tyler, and Frederick, who have studied Asian American Studies under the supervision of Professor Connie So. They describe the impact and meaning of Ethnic Studies f...

" There is a saying that an injustice to one is an injustice to all. No one is truly equal and free until everyone is equal and free." - Helen Zia. Helen Zia is a second-generation Chinese American activist and journalist. She was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine. Award-winning writer and social justice activist, Helen Zia was a key spokesper...

For over 30 years, Madalene Mielke of Southeast Asian heritage, has been at the forefront of politically organizing the Asian American and other communities of color along with women throughout the country. Initially starting her political carrier working for the DNC in the mid "90s, Madalene quickly became recognized as a fundraising and political campaign authority in the early 2000's e...

AAUC's Podcast this May examines a nationally growing trend regarding legislation that attempts to refute what's known as the "caste system". Our interview with Suhag Shukla, a Constitutional law authority, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Hindu America in Foundation, provides a revealing and in-depth examination and explanation of the origin and history of "caste&qu...

This month's episode is truly fascinating. It is about KaYing Yang's evolving self-identity while at the same time having a stellar carrier as a national/international non-profit leader and activist. Hear how arriving in the late '70's in the mid-US as a 7-year-old Hmong refugee child, KaYing had an innate sense of justice and community that lead her to the pinnacle the non-profit...

Perhaps one of the most threatening exclusionary efforts by a State in the last 80-100 years, the Texas Legislature is considering at least 3 bills that exclude the rights of people solely based upon their country of origin. Please join our interview with Alice Yi and Ling Luo, two Texas community leaders who, along with their allies, have confronted and opposed this legislation that many say hark...

Gun violence throughout the country continues to increase. Tragically just last week two shootings struck AAPI communities in California,  Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, in addition to a third event in Oakland, all within 72 hours. And although the Oakland event did not specifically involve Asian Americans, they and everyone else living there have been organizing the community attempting to...

For our final episode for 2022, we end the year having Vivek Pandit join us as our guest. Vivek is a second generation South Asian and a 2020 graduate of Brown University who recently started a national consulting firm for job placement of college graduates. But much more than that, Vivek has become a voice for Gen Z as exemplified by his recent TED Talks Podcast where he described his unique and...

When you hear the story of Ambassador Sichan Siv, a survivor of the Cambodian killing fields, you truly will be inspired. After arriving in America in 1976 with only $2.00 dollars in his pocket, Ambassador Siv picketed apples, drove taxis, obtained a Masters Degree from Columbia University and then serves in President George H. W. Bush's White House in all of only 13 years. He went on to serve in...

Even though AAPI are well represented in the legal profession, there are very few of them in the judiciary system as judges. This Month we host Oregon Multnomah County Judge Chanpone Sinlapasai, the first Laotian Judge in the State of Oregon and perhaps in the country. Hear Judge Chanpone described her family's and heritage's inspiration for her in becoming a lawyer and recently appointed as a cir...

Individually, AAPIs are quite successful in many different professions. However, we have long been stereotyped as the “perpetual foreigners” and the silent, passive minority. It is the great awakening to see ourselves as an integral part of American society that we all belong here. We should not be silent anymore and wholeheartedly take on our civic responsibility and actively engage in civic affa...

Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities are not monolithic and should not be treated as such. Through the works of AAPI Data we learn that within the AAPI communities there are racial differences, conflicts and concerns. It is important that we learn how to use these data to influence decision making, to achieve equal rights and protection from violence, and to leverage it to achieve ou...

Listen to the power couple Ron and Maeley Tom, you will understand why the lobbying skill set and experience is crucial for Asian Americans. Our community often lacks the skill set to advocate for our issues before the powerful decision makers to initiate beneficial changes. We also need such skills in advancing our own career as well. Mrs. Maeley Tom held the highest appointed offices in the Cali...

How little do we know and appreciate our Pacific Islander community having a culture of discovery and resourcefulness and are known as warriors willing to fight for the things that matter to them. Joe Enlet our podcast guest in this episode is the consulate general of Micronesia in Oregon. He reminded us that Pacific Islander is included in many organization names which have no Pacific Islander re...

Successful Community and Political Activism is the cumulation of decades of dedications to the welfare of the community. In this month of Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage month, we have invited two exemplary Asian American trail blazers of Hmong Heritage to share their journeys and successful community building experiences with our audience. Our outstanding guests are Bo Th...

Education is dear in the heart of every immigrant as the way to gain social mobility. Joel Wong and Dennis Wu describe SFCause's huge success in organizing, networking and developing strategies that contributed to the overwhelming results earlier this year ousting 3 very controversial San Francisco School Board members. Hear the fascinating story of Willie Brown and how he inspired the Asian...

In this episode, we focus on the challenges of political engagement for the API community, including language proficiency and general apathy. The use of data revealed the significant and unquestionable progress recently made in addressing those problems. APIAVote conducting their American voter survey every two years is a huge and essential tool for existing API candidates.  Our guest for thi...

The focus of this podcast is on the importance of data and data collection in impacting public policy. Our guest for this episode is Suhag Shukla, a co-founder and current Executive Director of the Hindu American Foundation or HAF. HAF is a member of the Asian American Unity Coalition. It has successfully organized and expanded its work and impact here in America since its inception 20 years ago....

In this episode, our host and board member, Rajeev Singh, conducted a fascinating interview with Norman Chen, the new Chief Executive Officer of the Asian American foundation TAAF. TAAF has quickly emerged as a very successful leader of the community by securing $1.1 billion for AAPI funding. Let's join Rajeev and Norman and hear his unique story of Asian American self-identity and the goals and a...

In this December episode, we focus on what are the roles of the ethnic media? How can ethnic media and TV stations survive and thrive in this hostile environment of consolidation and decreasing advertisement revenue? What can the community do to encourage our youth to embrace and Grove the industry?  We are very fortunate today to have a social entrepreneur and journalist Mr. Rafi Kapoor, own...

In this November episode, we focus on our ethnic media and how it helps shape our collective American Dream. What makes up ethnic media? What work do they do? How it helps build a better future for our community? We are very fortunate today to have three distinguished guests, Ms. Diana Ding, founder of DDTV in the Silicon Valley. Mr. Steven Lu, founder of Asian Media Access located in Minneapolis,...