LOCAL GODZ

After 28 episodes, Season 2 of LOCAL GODZ has come to a thrilling conclusion! What did Marco and James think about the 2026 season overall, which conversations stuck out the most to them, why does the podcast exist in the first place, and what to look out for in Season 3? Besides being grateful for the opportunity, the guys reflect on the theme of celebrating creative individuals daring to make an...

TOKiMONSTA is a Grammy-nominated producer, DJ, and a pioneer in the early 2010s Los Angeles beat scene. Born and raised in Torrance, California, Jennifer Lee (as she was known back then) embodied the eclectic, slightly rebellious, and innovative spirit of the South Bay that would one day make her a global music star. TOKi reflects on life 10 years after her Moyamoya diagnosis and the 2 brain surge...

Megan Lee has done it all. Starting out as a child actor from The Valley, to breakout covers on YouTube, to being scouted by MBC to compete in Star Audition - The Great Birth (위대한 탄생), signed as a trainee to Soul Shop Entertainment by Kim Tae-woo (김태우), then returning to America to star in Nickelodeon's Make It Pop, Megan has lived many lifetimes across the American and Korean entertai...

Tyson Park is a freshman running back for the University of Southern California, a college athletic powerhouse and bonafide football blue blood with 11 National Championships, 8 Heisman Trophy winners, the most Number 1 overall NFL draft picks of any school, 14 Pro Football Hall of Famers, and over 540 total pro players in its history. Tyson talks about growing up in Austin, Texas, making the move...

Madison Riese, aka MUSUBI, is a DJ and producer making waves across America, from Los Angeles to New York. Originally from San Francisco, with parents who have a deep connection to Hawaiʻi and Polynesian culture, MUSUBI talks about her unique Chinese-Burmese-Japanese ethnic mix, her background in Tahitian dance, the unique challenges of being a female DJ, producing her own tracks, and whether or n...

A pioneering voice in the hip-hop subgenre of jazz-hop, Kero One is a rapper, producer, and DJ who helped popularize chill-beats in the United States and beyond. From digging the crates in the Bay Area as a young adult, to releasing his debut 12" Check the Blueprints to overnight success back in 2003, Kero talks about touring Japan, meeting Nujabes, what is a lofi, and creating his own lane i...

SEDUZA is a DJ, producer, and the CEO and Kaptain of Kitty Klub, the feline-themed global dance party you definitely want to be a part of. Hailing from Fontana, California, SEDUZA shares how growing up with a Filipino Chinese background and exploring a wide range of interests at the University of California, Santa Barbara helped shape her unique perspectives as an event producer and entrepreneur,...

Bambu DePistola is a father, community organizer, and rapper with deep roots in LA, Oakland, and the Filipino community. Renowned as "one of the most well-respected indie musicians in the US" by NPR and ABS-CBN, Bambu makes music that inspires and pushes people to organize. Bambu talks about how his rough and tumble upbringing in LA, his childhood love of skateboarding and hip-hop, and h...

Actor, model, and co-host of the very popular Home Room podcast with Jonnie Park aka Dumbfoundead, Steffie Baik talks about her Korean Brazilian American background, living bi-coastal in New York and LA, breaking into modeling via cosmetics, her passion for makeup and beauty, and the importance of therapy for Koreans (and really all Asian Americans).Get 15% off all purchases by using our code HIDD...

Singer-songwriter Luke Chiang has come a long way from his high school band in Phoenix, Arizona. Raised in the musical tradition of church and contemporary worship, Luke's exposure to Korean alternative R&B singers like DEAN and Crush, as well as Daniel Caesar, helped mold a unique sound that is making its mark on the indie pop music scene, with hundreds of millions of streams across platf...

David Zhao is an entrepreneur and investor who is best known for being one of the founders of Chubby Group, the wildly popular family of restaurants serving premium beef, seafood, and even milk tea at their stylish and trendy restaurants all over the United States. From Chubby Cattle to X Pot to Niku X to Chubby Bowls, David Zhao talks about how his background in sports, his love of bringing peopl...

Desmond Chiam is in the vanguard of the obnoxiously talented and good-looking army of Asian Australians that are taking American actors' jobs throughout entertainment. Besides memorable roles on Mortal Kombat II, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Joy Ride, With Love, Partner Track, Reef Break, and The Shannara Chronicles, Desmond shares his passion for Australia and Singapore, how love led to...

Domo Vang is the dating coach Silicon Valley didn't know they needed. Raised in Wisconsin and the oldest of five children, Domo combines her background in nursing and in tech to dispense dating advice and produce results that actually work for her clients. Learn how Domo addresses differences in how men and women communicate, red pill ideology, the importance of finding the right mating market...

Despite his striking resemblance to Vegeta, Larry Gao is not a Saiyan; he's a mere mortal like the rest of us. Born in China and raised all over the Bay Area, Larry's road to achieving a real life anime physique started the same way it does for many young men: getting his heart broken by a girl. Learn how Larry channeled his desire for vengeance into a discipline and determination for natu...

Jeff Chang is a giant in the world of journalism and music criticism, writing for NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Village Voice,  Vibe, The Nation, and Mother Jones. An award-winning author, Jeff wrote a definitive history of hip-hop, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation  which won an American Book Award in 2005. Besides his writing, the podcast host and record...

In the world of dance choreography, few names resonate like Brian Puspos. A proud Houston native, Brian is known for his emotionally-driven, highly technical style of dance choreo that interacts smoothly with the lyrics and musicality of the songs he works with. Brian chronicles his origins in dance learning step in Houston, his fortuitous connection to BTS and his heart-warming bromance with Jung...

An icon of the early YouTube music era of the 2000s, Melissa Polinar was part of the pioneering wave of singer-songwriters that made the video sharing platform a launchpad for independent music artists of all backgrounds, especially Asian Americans. Melissa talks about her roots in the Dallas/Fort Worth area of Texas, her experience getting signed and working in Nashville, her breakout success on...

Oliver Wang may be the coolest college professor alive. A faculty member of the Department of Sociology at Cal State, Long Beach, Oliver spent his adolescence developing a unique taste in music that has led to an illustrious writing career, penning reviews and commentary for the likes of NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and KCET. Besides being a podcast host in his own right, co-hosting Maximum Fun&#39...

An international man of mystery, SUPDAWK is Mr. Vietnam Worldwide. From his (alleged) roots in Chicago, to his overnight fame blessing the Internet with viral memes and jokes that could only come from the uniquely Vietnamese diaspora experience, SUPDAWK is the Viet fob gangster uncle your parents warned you about. Learn how SUPDAWK took an iconic Little Saigon immigrant accent and leveraged it int...

Remy Morimoto Park is the Asian of the Future! A third generation Asian American from New Jersey by way of Shanghai, Taipei, Seoul, and Tokyo, Remy shares her background growing up as a third culture kid in Asia and how her unconventional teenage years led to her journey in sobriety. Known online by her handle Veggiekins, Remy shares how a focus on wellness led to her exploring vegan recipes and a...

From being mistaken by JasonTheWeen as a generic OC Asian guy to becoming the personification of the SoCal Asian lifestyle, Eric Ou has already lived many lives in the short time he's been in the public consciousness. From growing up in Los Angeles' Chinatown, to moving to Hacienda Heights, to documenting Asian American adventures in college and beyond, the legend of Eric Ou continues one...

Born in Seattle and raised in the nearby city of Bothell, Johnny Huynh is on the vanguard for the new school of Dark Pop artists. Johnny discusses his Washington upbringing, growing up performing at Vietnamese Buddhist temples, being lead snare on his high school drumline, and how all of those experiences came together when his garage covers of popular songs blew up on TikTok and launched his sing...

A veteran MC and comedian who has appeared and hosted at such legendary venues as The Comedy Store in Hollywood, The Hollywood Improv, and The World Famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood, Paul "PK" Kim is a pillar of Los Angeles' Koreatown and a true OG for Asians in entertainment. In 2000, he created Kollaboration, the most important Asian American talent showcase in the country. PK tal...

Born in Qingdao, Shandong Province, Daisy Wang was raised with an appreciation and admiration for Chinese history and culture... only to be surprised at encountering the opposite when she came to study in America as an adolescent. Daisy talks about what inspired her to create her modern Chinese fashion brand, DAWANG, and how her Shandong roots, her education at the Parsons School of Design, and he...

Men's style guru Jeff Yamazaki breaks down the fundamentals of dressing well as a man, from his own fashion epiphanies as a young adult, to the importance of getting rid of old clothes for a fresh start, and how identifying style role models can help you streamline a wardrobe makeover. Jeff also talks about horology and how timepieces play a key role in men's fashion, how to shop in Japan,...