Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 7! It's no secret that we love sumo. We even talk about AAPI in Professional Sumo back in  S02E40 . So it was really exciting to get a chance to have a conversation with Ter , the creator of the YouTube channel SumoStew . She's one of our favorite content creators… definitely our favorite who covers sumo. It all comes down to her passion and creativity. Her videos mix...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 6. Father Jun is one of our favorite characters on Warrior… so we were so unbelievably excited to have a conversation with  Perry Yung ! With about 30 acting credits to his name for TV and Film, Perry has also worked on stage and in music. We also love how he merges his activism and beliefs into his acting and music. In this conversation, we talk a little about his lov...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 5! Our conversation this week is with the talented author, Jamie Jo Hoang . Her latest novel, My Father, the Panda Killer is a heartfelt story based on her life. We really enjoyed the book, even the moments that were tough to read… and that's because Hoang's novel focuses on a Vietnamese American family that is dealing with the intergenerational trauma that's a result...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 4. If you're new to our podcast then just know that we occasionally do a series called Most Forgotten Massacres, where we take time to talk about a moment (generally in U.S. history) where racism and discrimination turned to violence against the Asian Pacific American community. The Anti-Filipino Watsonville Riots were one of those moments.   Filipino workers were targ...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 3. As many of you know, we love hockey! Recently, in November 2023, George Chin, a legend of Asian Canadian ice hockey, passed away. He was the star winger on the Chin brothers line along with his brothers Bill and Albert. The Chinese Canadian trio helped their hometown Lucknow team to be highly successful. In this episode, we talk about the life of George Chin and all...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 2! There's a global fascination with the Old West cowboys in America. Did you know that the Hawaiian Paniolo pre-dates the Old West cowboys by several years? The Mexican Vaqueros have even more history. In this episode, we talk about the history of the Paniolo… AKA the Hawaiian Cowboy.   You'll learn about the origin of longhorn cattle in Hawaii; how riding, roping, an...

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 1. Happy New Year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and had fun on New Year's Eve. To launch this new season, we're going back to the thing that's at our core… Asian American History. Our special guests for this conversation are Professor Yoon Pak and Dr. Sharon Lee , two of the key leaders helping with the implementation of the TEAACH Act . The Teaching Equi...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 50. This is it… the final episode of the season… our Season 3 in Review! In this annual tradition, we discuss the episodes where we learned a LOT, ones that upset us to talk about, fun episodes, thought-provoking conversations, conversations that made us laugh, guests we hope people pay more attention to, and our overall favorites. Have a listen and let us know… Did we...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 49. Christmas is a holiday that can be celebrated in a religious or secular way. So how is it celebrated in Asia and the Pacific Islands? In this episode, we discuss some of the unique traditions and foods you might find in countries across Asia, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Some of them are pretty interesting and fun. We spend a little more time talking about...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 48. We loved reading King of the Armadillos , the new novel by poet, graphic novelist, and all-around amazing writer Wendy Chin-Tanner . King of the Armadillos thoughtfully levels-up the coming-of-age story with multi-generational Asian American experiences set in the 1950s… not to mention an authentic look at how Hansen's Disease AKA leprosy impacts individuals, famil...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 47. We're back with more Iconic Asian Candies! Candies from Asia can be an item of pride for Asian American kids, and more and more of these candies are available across the world. In this installment of The History of Iconic Asian Candies, we're talking about Haw Flakes and HI-CHEW. Haw Flakes might not be as well known, but they're an important candy for Chinese Amer...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 46. Do you think you know the story of the Chinese during the California Gold Rush? Even if you think you do, we guarantee that there are some stories and pieces of the history that are lesser known. So today we talk about that era in a little more depth. Other than sharing the origin of the California Gold Rush, we talk about the timeline of Gold Rush events, the arri...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 45! The growth of Hip Hop and Rap was a worldwide phenomena back in the 1980s and 1990s, and the Philippines were one of the countries at the forefront. In fact, Pinoy Hip Hop with Filipinos and Filipino Americans has been an impact in the genre for decades now. In this episode, we talk about the growth of Hip Hop and who some of the most influential Pinoy Hip Hop and...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 44! A lot of people have a sweet tooth. That's why candy is so popular across the world. Candies don't just satisfy a sweet fix… they can be a childhood memory or a cultural symbol. In today's episode we talk about the history of iconic Asian Candy. First we share information on sweeteners in food with honey and refined sugar, but then we focus on White Rabbit Candy an...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 43! Whenever Veterans Day comes around, we think about the different veterans of Asian Pacific Islander descent. Naturally, we reflect on the Japanese Americans who fought for the freedom and ideals of our country during World War II despite the incarceration of so many Japanese Americans during that time. Veterans played a key role in attaining redress and reparations...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 42. Welcome to installation 7 of our series on the Tong Wars. In this episode, we talk about the end of the Fourth Tong War in New York and some of the lasting impact of the tongs to this day. How did the Fourth Tong War end? Do Tong's still exist? These are questions we answer in this episode. If you're interested in reading about the New York Tong Wars in detail, we...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 41! Today we're excited to share a conversation with Nidhi Chanani . She's a freelance illustrator, cartoonist, and writer who was born in Calcutta, India and raised in Southern California. Her illustrations are beautiful and contain a certain level of whimsy that we love. In addition to working with various groups like Disney Parks, she has published several graphic n...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 40! Chinatowns have been around in the U.S. since the middle 1800s, but not all of them survived the racism, xenophobia, and discrimination that was rampant throughout the 1800s and 1900s. In this episode, we discuss the environment that resulted in several Chinatowns being destroyed. We spend time sharing the events that happened in the Chinatowns in Antioch and Santa...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 39! We were so excited to get a chance to have a conversation with Curtis Chin . Curtis is an award-winning Writer, Producer, Director, and Activist. His debut book Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant is published by Little, Brown and Company and will be available on October 17, 2023. The memoir is filled with humor and heart-warming moments centere...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 38. This is another ICYMI Encore Episode that we want to make sure people listen to. Today we're re-posting The History of Nuclear Weapons Testing in the Pacific Islands. On June 30, 1946, about 77 years ago, the United States began nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Islands. The approximately 20 years of testing was predominantly executed in the Marshall Islands a...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 37. We're taking a couple weeks off for vacation, so we're posting a few ICYMI Encore Episodes. Today we're re-posting The History of Stereotypical Chinatown Architecture from Season 2, Episode 58. Most Chinatowns across the world have similar structural elements: pagodas, specific colors, terra cotta tiles, and more. So how did this happen? It might surprise you that...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 36. Today's conversation is with the amazing Professor Elise Wang . We're fascinated by conspiracy theories and how people twist themselves into logical knots to believe them. This led us to Dr. Wang's   very informative and engaging TEDx Talk on Why Some Conspiracy Theories Just Won't Die . She is an Assistant Professor at Cal State Fullerton with focus areas that inc...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 35. Today we talk about The History of the Hmong in America. The Hmong are a people without a country. An ethnic, indigenous minority that are believed to have originated in southern China, the Hmong diaspora are international but are predominantly in China, Laos, Vietnam, the US, and Thailand. We share the origins of the Hmong as well as their migration to the US afte...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 34. Today we have a conversation with author, illustrator, and amazing artist, Sally Deng . She creates pieces on a variety of meaningful topics for The New Yorker, NPR, Hermés, and the Asia Society (just to name a few). Her award-winning work can be found in various publications, in gallery showings, and on her website. In our conversation, she shares a little about h...

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 33. If you assumed that white rice came from Asia, then you'd be right. But do you know the history of rice cultivation and domestication? It may have happened 8000 or more years ago. How did it spread across Asia and the rest of the world? When was rice introduced in America? In this episode we explore the History of Rice Cultivation and give you cool facts about how...