#WordplayWednesdays by AA

We are hitting a massive milestone for Episode 18 of the podcast. Traditionally, 18 is a debut—a grand cotillion where you're presented to society in a poofy gown while everyone pretends you have your life together. But since we're taking over Aruga Apartments by Rockwell with our biggest guest lineup in AA history, our version of a debut is locking a bunch of poets and Gen Zs in a room to...

What happens when writers stare down the forks in the road? For Episode 17, we're coming to you live from our favorite sanctuary at Aruga Apartments by Rockwell to unpack the unpredictable weight of 'choices'. This session is all about the paths we choose and the wreckage we leave behind, so join in the fun and eavesdrop on our conversation! Stay articulate, stay anonymous.

Back in May, we went live with our event, Stripped , and laid our rawest, bleeding truths out on-stage. In this episode, we're bringing that same energy back to the studio. We're digging deep into the wreckage of survival, the ghosts we've had to outgrow, and how we finally learned to turn our darkest memories into unyielding weapons. Trigger Warning: This episode contains open discuss...

From drunken courage to spiritual surrender. 🍻🙏 We sat down with Mike Ocampo (guitar and vocals) and Gino Manglicmot (bass and back-up vocals) of local band, Ube , for a soul-baring conversation on the hidden stories behind their tracks. We dive into the quiet agony of being torpe, loving someone beyond their surface-level shine, navigating shifting seasons in life, and the ultimate relief of le...

What do you do with the fire you lock inside? In this episode of #WordplayWednesdays by AA, we sit down with guest poet Stephen Alcaldeza to talk about repressed anger—and how turning those internal eruptions into art might just be the best therapy out there. Joined by Nike, Weewo, and Chai, we unpack Stephen's heavy-hitting piece, explore how humans process frustration, and debate whether ang...

What does it actually mean to "get lucky" in the modern dating scene? Here's some behind-the-scenes truth: Episode 13 really lived up to its not-so-lucky number. We shot this episode twice , battled technical failures, endured chaotic scheduling, and fought our way to the finish line. What you're listening to is a salvaged, high-energy, 40-minute storm of pure spontaneity. Squeez...

For Episode 12, we're coming to you live from an exclusive, highly confidential, rent-free venue—we decided to turn Weewo's couch into a therapy lounge. In this episode, we tackle the heavy but necessary topic of mental health. We dive deep into how we use art (among other things) as an elixir to soothe our souls and how it anchors us to the most significant and chaotic chapters of our liv...

In this episode of #WordplayWednesdays, Weewo shoots his shot, Nike submerges us into the deep waters of human inhibitions, and Chai closes out the night by turning a death threat into raw poetic survival. Pour yourself a freshly pulled espresso shot — or whatever your chosen Poetry Potion is — and dive into the human experiences behind the prose. Special thanks to our venue partner, Hoody Cafe ,...

In Episode 10 of #WordplayWednesdays, the AA crew is taking over Luigi's Pizza in BF Homes for a pizza therapy session. We're joined by our friend Nina LIVE and returning legend, John. Over slices and beers, we're unpacking the irony of how we, as humans, are often the architects of the very chaos we try to escape. In this episode: Luigi's Origins: Luigi himself joins us to share t...

Do you need to be a full-time, famous author to call yourself a writer? Absolutely not. In Episode 9 of #WordplayWednesdays, Chai, Nike, and Weewo sit down with Nicole Fuentes. Nicole is Chai's old college friend from UA&P, a corporate marketer navigating married life in Sydney, and a brilliantly talented author who published a heavy, psychological thriller called "Keeping Her In The...

What happens when you mix a Palanca-winning playwright, three eager writers, and discussions around unrequited love, the universe, and religion, among others? You get an episode that's as deep as a heritage archive and as bold as a stage performance. This week, Weewo, Nike, and Chai are joined by a very special guest: multi-Palanca Award Winner, Juan Ekis. He's the mind behind the revoluti...

We went full Indiana Jones and dug up a time capsule from Casa... two years worth of letters were tucked away for a decade and only opened up in 2026. If you were there at Casa between 2013-2015, maybe one of the notes we'll read are yours. Make sure to listen to the full, drunk-driven episode to find out! But if you weren't there, we're reviving the Casa vibes as we get raw and naked...

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ This episode contains discussions regarding physical and sexual abuse, drug use, self-harm, and mental health struggles. Listener discretion is strongly advised. Courage isn't always a roar. Sometimes, it's the quiet, uncomfortable truth of a survivor. In honor of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor), we invited artist and former actress Angelina Kanapi to the show. We e...

Is there really a gap between Gen Z and Millennials, or are we all just screaming into the same void? This week on #WordplayWednesdays, Chai, Nike, Weewo, and Mike are joined by Wacky Lachica of The South Spoken Collective. Chai and Wacky share two powerful, politically-charged pieces that prove that whether it's 2016 or 2026, the struggle against a system that fails its people remains a unive...

Normally, we meet you here every other Wednesday. But sometimes, the world cracks open like it did at Hawkins, and the conversation simply cannot wait for the middle of the week. Today is Friday, March 13th. While the internet jokes about bad luck and superstitions, we are bearing witness to a very real, waking horror. The conflict in the other side of the world has entered its second week. Betwee...

In the age of infinite content, what happens to the human soul? In Episode 3 of #WordplayWednesdays, we sit down with Joel Aldor of The South Spoken Collective to peel back the layers of the AI hype cycle. With a background in both IT and poetry, Joel joins the AA crew to discuss the tension between generative AI and the lived experience that defines Filipino artistry. We're diving deep into:...

It's the anniversary of EDSA 2, but we're not here for a history lesson. In this episode, Nike, Wo, and Chai are joined by Mike of Tatay TV at Hoody Cafe to dissect the power of the people. From internal revolutions and personal geography to the "un-pluggable" power of immortalizing the Filipino millennial experience on the blockchain, this episode is about the wars we fight with...

"I used to listen to songs while working 'cause I think about you. Now I can't listen to songs while working 'cause I think about you." What happens when a memory becomes a "no-fly zone"? In this pilot episode of #WW by AA, we return to our roots. Recorded just in time for Valentine's Day, host Chai sits down with Articulates Anonymous founders Nike and Weewo, a...