Asian American History 101

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 40!   We're fans of professional sumo in Japan. It's fun to watch and takes a great amount of skill. There's actually a relatively rich history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders in professional sumo. Although there aren't any impactful AAPI in the sport now, there have been some amazing wrestlers in the past including Konishiki, Akebono, and Mushashimaru, but the...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 39! We love reading… and finding an author who creates more diverse representational stories is always a treat. In this episode's conversation, we welcome Oliver Chin who is not only an author of over 20 titles, but he's also the founder of the publishing house Immedium which really does a great job in promoting diverse stories. His latest work, More Awesome Asian Amer...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 38! We love reading and learning, so it was a treat to get a chance to have a conversation with Daryl Joji Maeda , the Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. His latest book is Like Water: A Cultural History of Bruce Lee . It was a fascinating, well-researched book that takes a deeper look into Bruce Lee, his life, and t...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 37! History books and curriculum are missing a lot of information. There are a plethora of moments that are ignored or not talked about in true depth. Even worse are the times throughout our history that the majority has worked to erase the history, culture, and very existence of groups like Asian Pacific Islanders. Today we begin a series of looks at those moments in...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 36! Kiyoka "Kex" Rhodes is an award-winning filmmaker who expresses her storytelling through writing, producing, and directing. She leverages her creativity by trying to increase more representative stories and opportunities. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Kex Studios , a full-service production company that specializes in film and video, branded content,...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 35!   About 49 years ago, Bruce Lee passed away at the age of 32. Even to this day, Lee is an icon and role model for martial arts, activism, and the Asian Pacific Islander community. With the anniversary of his passing coming up on July 20, we take time to share a little about his life and career. His memory and ideas are still honored by his daughter Shannon Lee and...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 34! This week we talk to Varun Nikore, the executive director of the AAPI Victory Alliance . Founded in 2017 as AAPI Progressive Action, the AAPI Victory Alliance works to build Asian American and Pacific Islander political power across the country by providing education on progressive issues; creating and advocating for policies that affect our communities; and buildi...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 33! On June 30, 1946, about 76 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 around Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll. U.S. researchers, military, and government contaminated the islands and many of its residents with dangerous levels of radiation...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 32! We've admired Chef Dale Talde and his work for years. He's a proud Filipino American who is the chef/owner of the restaurant   Goosefeather and Food Crush Hospitality with his wife Agnes. He's also a deep thinker who believes in more representation and mainstream normalization of Asian Pacific Islanders and our cuisine. He's the author of the cookbook Asian-America...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 31! June 13th marks another anniversary for the landmark Miranda ruling that established rights that are read out when you're arrested. However, there were rulings that influenced the Miranda decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. One such decision was Ziang Sung Wan vs The United States, a chilling case that included a triple murder and some police interrogation tactics...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 30! Jacky Lai is a Canadian actress of Vietnamese descent who starred in A Sugar and Spice Holiday, the first Asian-led Lifetime holiday movie ever. She has also been a part of sci-fi fantasy shows like V Wars and The Shadowhunters. Her latest role is as Rina Kimura, one of the main characters in Eraser: Reborn a reboot of the 1996 movie Eraser. In this episode's conve...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 29! If you're a fan of HBO's show Warrior, like we are, then you're familiar with the prevalence of tongs in Chinatowns in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In this episode, we talk about The Six Companies and the formation of tongs. These tongs didn't originate as illegal or violent groups, but that changed as a result of several factors. We focus on the challenges and...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 28! One reason we do the mid-week conversation series is because we love talking to people about a topic we want to dig into more deeply. In honor of National Donut Day and to provide more depth to the previous episode on The History of Cambodian Doughnut Shops , we had a chance to talk to Jessica Ly Chau and Jennie Fou Lee, cousins and two of the owners of DKs Donuts...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 27! National Doughnut Day is coming soon! It's safe to say that without the Cambodian American community, the world of independent doughnut shops in the U.S. would be very different. How did Cambodian refugees and immigrants end up with over 80% of the doughnut shops in California and Houston? In this episode, we talk about Ted Ngoy, some of the secret to success for C...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 26! Patsy Mink was an Asian Pacific American hero of so many causes. Although she is best known for her work and championing of Title IX, she also supported environmental issues, women's rights, immigrant rights, and more. In today's mid-week interview, we had the pleasure of talking to Judy Tzu-Chun Wu and Wendy Mink, the co-authors of the amazing biography Fierce and...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 25! Most people know Mount Everest is the highest summit above sea level in the world. Did you know that its original name is Chomolungma?   In this episode, we talk about the history of climbing Mount Chomolungma and the role of the Sherpa. We also talk about Tenzing Norgay, the Sherpa who was instrumental in summiting Mount Chomolungma with Edmund Hillary. We begin t...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 24! There's no secret to why Chef Sheldon Simeon was selected as "Fan Favorite" both times he was competing on Top Chef. He's an amazingly down-to-earth person who puts family and community first. He's also an incredible chef who has won multiple awards personally and for the food in his different restaurants like Tin Roof . In this conversation, we talk about his amaz...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 23! Hawai'i Regional Cuisine is the culmination of over a century of the merging of tradition, fresh ingredients, colonialism, Asian immigrants, and more. It's developed into what we think is the most unique and diverse regional cuisine in America. We talk about the various impacts on Hawaiian cuisine that influenced HRC over time as well as the current chefs leading t...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 22! We've had so many wonderful recent conversations with guests, and we don't want it to stop!   So here's another installment in our mid-week interview series. This episode is a conversation with Yvonne Chapman, an actress best known recently as Zhilan, the main antagonist in the CW remake of Kung Fu. Her career also includes recurring roles in the TV shows Family La...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 21! We're back to talk about one of our favorite things… food! This week we focus on The History of Korean Food in America. Which is inspiring for us because we love the flavors of Korean cuisine. One reason we're talking about Korean food is because May 11th marks the anniversary of the name SPAM getting registered. And although Korean food is amazingly diverse and fl...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 20! Here comes another installment in our mid-week interview series. This week, our conversation is with Hiro Kanagawa, a veteran actor and voice over artist you've probably seen or heard over the past 30 years. He's also a writer, so we take time to talk about acting, writing, the changes he's seen over his career, and what he still hopes for. Additionally, we discuss...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 19! There are a lot of Filipino nurses. In fact, the Philippines is the leading exporter of registered nurses across the world. So how did that happen? Spoilers… American Colonialism was a factor. To celebrate National Nurses Day, we take a look into the History of Filipino Nurses and talk about some of the conditions they face with discrimination and racism. If this t...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 18! This is another installment in our special interview series. In this episode, we talk to Brad Jenkins , the President and CEO of the AAPI Victory Fund , the first Super PAC focused on mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in the U.S. We've talked about how representation in media, the boardroom, and athletics are all important. AAPI representation i...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 17! April 17th marked the anniversary of the fall of Phnom Peng, the capitol of Cambodia. So in our main segment, we talk about the history of Cambodia that led to the vast number of Cambodian refugees who came here in the 1970s and 80s. We also briefly reflect on Good Housekeeping online selecting us as as one of the 15 Best Podcasts From AAPI Creators to Add to Your...

Welcome to Season 2, Episode 16! Noodles and rice are two of the most ubiquitous food staples across Asian and Pacific Islander communities. The origin of noodles is debated, but we take a crack to explain a few of the different theories. We also discuss the spread of noodles across Asia and some notable dishes. Before talking about noodles, we begin with a few additional celebrations in the AAPI...