Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 29!  Today we're joined by a true icon in the world of academia— Professor Gordon H. Chang . A celebrated historian, Professor Chang is both the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities and a Professor of History at Stanford University. He's also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. We're honored to speak with him about his latest book War, Race, and C...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 28!  In this episode, we sit down with Michael Luo , the award-winning journalist, editor, and author of Strangers in the Land: Exclusion, Belonging, and the Epic Story of the Chinese in America . Currently an executive editor at The New Yorker, Michael writes extensively on politics, religion, and Asian American issues. Before joining The New Yorker, he spent over a d...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 27!  We have been known to be obsessed with true crime stories. So we were really excited to read L.A. Coroner: Thomas Noguchi and Death in Hollywood by Professor Anne Soon Choi and published by Third State Books . And we were even more excited when Anne visited us as a guest.   Professor Choi is the Interim Associate Director of Online Pedagogy and Learning for the Fa...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 26!  With the fall of Saigon happening about 50 years ago, it's important to recognize related additional moments in the history of Asians and Asian Americans. We're talking about the Secret War in Laos which was closely tied to the Vietnam War. This will be Part 1 of 2 on the topic. Laos is in Southeast Asia, a key region that the U.S. worried about during the Cold Wa...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 25!  We're back with Part 2 of our conversation with the very talented Olivia Cheng . Last week, in Part 1 of the conversation , we mainly focused on Olivia's acting career. In this episode, we pivot to her work behind the camera as a writer, director, and producer.   Olivia shares how she was motivated to write and direct her short film Dinner with Dex , which starred...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 24!  In this episode, we have Part 1 of a Conversation with Olivia Cheng , a storyteller known predominantly for her acting, but beginning to make waves with her writing, directing, and producing.   Originally from Edmonton, Olivia's acting credits include playing Mei Lin in Marco Polo on Netflix, Ah Toy in Warrior on Cinemax and HBO, Charlotte in See on Apple TV+, Mas...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 23! It's hard to find any other apparel that signifies vacation more than a Hawaiian shirt AKA an Aloha shirt. It's not just a symbol of going on vacation, for some it means being part of the ska community, hanging out at a tiki bar, relaxing at get togethers, and even just dressing up for "casual Friday." But what is the origin and background of the Aloha shirt, how d...

Photo credit for Bobo: Kristine Cofsky Photography Photo credit for Jeremy: Studio Aviva Welcome to Season 5, Episode 22!  It's a 2-for-1 episode! Today we have a two of the stars of the re-imagination of The Wedding Banquet, Bobo Le and Jeremy Hoffman. This modernized version of the Ang Lee's classic film is written and directed by Andrew Ahn.   Bobo and Jeremy both come from creative backgrounds...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 21!  We're really honored to have today's guest Georgette Bhathena, the Chief Programs Officer at The Asian American Foundation . She's here to talk to us about the 2025 STAATUS Index , AKA (Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the United States). Georgette has extensive work experience in the philanthropy and grant-making sector. Prior to joining TAAF, they worked at...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 20!  The Titanic sank over 110 years ago, but people are still fascinated with the disaster. This is especially true when there are new stories that come out about The RMS Titanic that are relatable or pique our curiosity. Hearing about the eight Chinese nationals who were on the Titanic as passengers and the six who survived is one of those moments where we learned so...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 19!  Health and wellbeing are so important to people who want to live a more productive and fulfilling life. So it's such a thrill that today's guest is Michelle Jungmin Bang who is an award-winning eco-entrepreneur, Chivas Venture Social Impact Fellow, and Harvard Business School graduate who spent 16 years living in Asia as a Korean-American from New York City. She i...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 18!   We're back with Part two of A Conversation with Actor and Daily Show Correspondent Troy Iwata . This very talented singer and actor joined us last episode to talk about deciding on entertainment as his passion, performing on Broadway on Be More Chill, being on the feel good Netflix holiday series Dash & Lily , getting selected as a correspondent on The Daily Show...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 17!  The Daily Show is one of our favorite shows for so many reasons… hilarious segments, a diverse cast, and awesome writing are just a few reasons. The Daily Show is also where so many people have been introduced to the very talented Troy Iwata .   Troy is, of course, also known for several other things that include his roles as Langston on the feel good Netflix holi...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 16!  April 30, 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. So we're excited that our conversation today is with Vicky Nguyen , an award-winning NBC News Daily anchor and Senior Consumer Investigative Correspondent. She can be seen regularly on The TODAY Show, NBC Nightly News, and NBC News NOW. And that's not all! Her latest work is the touching and inspirin...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 15!  When it comes to Supreme Court decisions that impacted the classroom, most people know about Brown v Board of Education. A lesser known landmark decision was also very impactful in schools across the U.S. We're talking about Lau v Nichols… a case that influenced the interpretation of Title VI and how U.S. schools needed to support second language learners to succe...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 14!  Our guest today is Chef Saeng Douangdara. He's a food content creator, social media star, and soon-to-be cookbook author. Saeng specializes in Lao cuisine. A first-generation Lao American, he left a job in counseling to pursue his passion for teaching Lao cuisine.   A trip back to Laos helped him reconnect with his roots and learn more about both the history and c...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 13!  Have you heard of Walter Tin Kit Achiu? He was the first Native Hawaiian and first Asian American to play in the National Football League. Although his career was groundbreaking, he's largely been forgotten over time.   In this episode, we talk about his life, his football career, and what he did after he finished playing with the NFL's Dayton Triangles (yes… that...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 12!  Today's conversation is with the amazing storyteller, activist, performer, and co-founder of the multicultural storytelling theater group Eth-Noh-Tec . Along with her real-life partner Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, Nancy co-founded Eth-Noh-Tec with a commitment to the preservation, revival, and performance of Asian and Asian American stories.   Nancy's latest work is the...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 11!   We love dumplings, and we're not alone in that opinion. We're talking about asian dumplings… boiled, steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried, there are a variety of dumplings all across Asia, and they are not only delicious but represent culture, family, and history. In this episode, we discuss the history of dumplings, some different types across Asia, and some notabl...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 10!  This is Part 2 of Another Conversation with Award-Winning Comic Book Artist and Writer Sarah Myer. Last week (S05E09) we brought you part 1 . In this episode, we continue to focus on Cheer Up, Michael! , and Sarah shares how they researched for the series, gives us a few spoilers for future chapters of the story, talks about the transformation of Don, and so much...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 9!  Our returning guest is Sarah Myer , the amazing, award-winning comic book artist and writer who is probably best known for her critically acclaimed and recognized graphic memoir, Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story , published by First Second Books .   However, they show their skills on so many other titles as well, including as the main artist on Teenage Mutan...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 8!  Today's episode impacts AANHPI communities, but it's not necessarily solely focuses on our history. We're going to talk about The History of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This is an extremely scary topic to some people… especially the leaders of the Republican Party in the U.S. If you believe what they rant about, DEI is at the heart of unqualified candidates,...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 7!  Today's guest is Fajer Saeed Ebrahim, a Senior Policy Manager at the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, AKA NAPAWF . If you're a longtime listener, then you'll remember we were fortunate enough to bring in Sydelle Barreto, the Policy Manager NAPAWF to talk about Clocking Inequality back on Season 4, Episode 39 ! NAPAWF has been hard at work with their l...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 6!  Today we're talking about food (one of our favorite recurring themes). Specifically we're going to talk about Egg Foo Young, a popular staple in Chinese American restaurants for generations. Egg Foo Young may not be as popular now as it used to be, but it still has a special place in the history of the Chinese diaspora. In this episode, we discuss the Cantonese dis...

Welcome to Season 5, Episode 5!  If you didn't hear the last episode, then go do it! S05E04 is Part 1 of this conversation with Peter Tao, one of the co-founders of the award-winning architectural design firm in St. Louis, TAO + LEE Associates, Inc.   In this episode, we continue our conversation with Peter, AKA  The Accidental Historian , and we talk more about how his family has supported his jo...