But Where Are You Really From?: An Asian-American Struggle

We've talked about how and why our relationship with our parents is complicated. But as our parents get older, what level of emotional, financial, and logistical support do we owe them in the time they have left? While the topic of eldercare has always been sensitive, being the child of immigrants brings specific challenges into the equation. Despite having lived in the US for most of their ad...

In this episode, we unpack our experiences with creepy men. Creepy men often approach unexpectedly and at times where we are seemingly just going about our daily lives. The "jump scare" appearance of creepy men often happens without consent and can trigger crippling fears around potential sexual violence. But what is it that empowers creepy men to so boldly approach individuals who have...

Do you think the LGBT community is authentically portrayed in modern media - both from a quality representation standpoint, and in quantity of characters and storylines? In this episode, we talk about what authentic representation means to us. Is more representation always good representation, even if the characters are not well written and don't make you feel seen? Is there "too much&quo...

The US seems to be more divided than ever today. Especially when the topic at hand is a sensitive issue that has to do with identity and human rights, it's understandable that people are passionate about their positions. In this episode, we explore a number of controversial topics that have provoked vehement debate and division, and pose the question of whether or not the sensitivity around ea...

So much of your experience as a child influences you as an adult. Having grown up in a typical Asian immigrant family, we felt like we never received the love that we wanted. But how should we carry that experience forward in an evolved way? In this episode, we dive into how we can unlearn childhood trauma. Childhood trauma can express itself in adult behaviors that you don't quite understand....

New York, Tokyo, London, Seoul - what do current modern metropolises have in common, and how does the speed of modernization change the flavor that each city brings to the table? We look at how modernization of cities can change the cultural landscapes that give big cities their personalities. Angela recounts her recent experiences living in Tokyo and Seoul, exploring what these futuristic cities...

How deeply engaged can you be with a country's culture without being fluent in the local language? Can concepts of culture be divorced from language, or will there always be something missing without a linguistic understanding? In discussing our Asian identities, we've always known that we don't quite fit in in the motherland. The local cultural nuances that make you feel that you &quo...

Growing up in an Asian family can feel like you're starved for attention all the time. You can never get the same exact "love" that you see your non-Asian friends at school receive. But looking back, maybe there was love - we just didn't know how to see it at the time. While we were looking for words of praise or a close friend relationship with our parents, they showed their lov...

Angela has been a digital nomad for the past 2 years, and half of that time has been spent abroad in countries where she is quite literally a "foreigner." However, this episode is dedicated to reflecting on her recent experience going back to Taiwan (her family's motherland) as an adult with her husband and non-Taiwanese in-laws, and all the ways she felt like a foreigner despite *al...

We've chatted many times before on the pod about how food has such an intimate connection with culture. Food can evoke so many strong memories and strengthen the feeling of connection with your culture. So as one of the main sources of Asian groceries in the US, what does HMart's meteoric rise in the US mean to us as Asian-Americans? In this episode, we bring you through a brief history of...

Have you heard of ChatGPT, the new AI chatbot that's been taking the world by storm? What exactly is ChatGPT and how is it different from past AI bots? Why is everyone so excited about it? Does it really have the ability to replace people's jobs?! In this episode we break down what ChatGPT is in the simplest, "normal" people terms, discuss the various ways people are using its cr...

What is it about relationships and love that pique so much interest in all of us? We know that our listeners love to hear about topics related to our love lives, but what's so interesting about these topics anyways? In this episode, we chat about the mystery of love and why the idea of love has such a hold on the imagination. We believe our listeners tune in for the realness of the topic, but...

Hot take: the Japanese sci-fi series "Alice in Borderland" is a better version of Squid Game (and came out first!) Netflix's "Alice in Borderland" Season 2 dropped at the end of 2022 and we need to talk about all the wild things that happened. The show is centered around main character Arisu who's stuck in a dystopian world in which the majority of the planet has suddenly disappeared, and he and t...

Gwen Stefani created quite the controversy in the US when she recently doubled down on her claim that she "is Japanese," but for the most part, actual Japanese people and those outside of the US don't understand what all the fuss is about. In this episode, we revisit Gwen Stefani's Harajuku Lovers past and pick apart why claiming Asian culture & identity has different implications for Asians i...

It's the final episode of the "season!" And what better way to close out a holiday season than to talk about quirky things around gifting? Giving gifts is such a fun part of any culture, but it can be governed by many invisible rules you might not be aware of. With our Asian upbringing in mind, we recount typical gift-giving situations amongst our Asian families. From the right gifts to the wrong...

How much do you know about couples counseling or couples therapy besides what you may have seen in trashy reality TV representations? To us, it feels like couples therapy is still a rather taboo subject, despite the idea of individual therapy gaining more mainstream acceptance. So what do you do when your relationship is facing repeated issues that you're not able to solve, but you're embarrassed...

Self-love and self-care go hand-in-hand, but how do we find a way to embrace these concepts authentically?  In thinking about the self-work that we've done, we talk about how self-love and self-care relate. The podcast has always been about our struggles and introspection on the different aspects of our identity - even the parts we aren't fond of. Embracing all the different aspects of who we...

Is there a reliable way to predict what's coming in the future? Sometimes, we just need to look to the past to inform what changes we might see soon!  In The Fourth Turning, authors Neil Howe and William Strauss postulate that four unique generational archetypes govern the changes we see in American history. Each generation's development is informed by the events and social conditions of the...

We're all searching for the "one," but what if there was more than one "one" for you out there? What would it take to work it out with multiple loves in your life?  We've talked about dating and open relationships before, and we're taking it one step further with a discussion on polyamory. Many of you brought up this type of relationship structure on TikTok when we discussed open relationship...

As many of you know, Angela has been living that digital nomad life for the past year and a half.  In this episode, we talk about how the pandemic has opened up remote work possibilities, including how governmental bodies (from countries down to cities) are trying to attract this newly mobile class of workers through generous digital nomad visas to literally paying people to start families to...

Inspired by a viral TikTok video Angela made about her uninsured dental experience in Korea a few months ago, we're discussing some of the ways healthcare is different outside of vs. inside the U.S. As a self-employed freelancer, navigating the world of uninsured life after years of Corporate America-backed insurance plans has been... quite an adjustment! We talk about the cost differences with ho...

Have you ever thought about what racism looks like in other countries, especially Asian countries? We're exploring that this week through the lens of Angela's travel experience in Korea and Japan, as well as stories told by those living in these countries. Racism is a difficult subject to broach in largely homogeneous countries. While there are certain small pockets of non-local workers and expats...

It's spooky season! Are you a fan of All Hallows' Eve? Do you love to watch horror movies and spook yourself with scary stories? If so, this week's titillating episode of Asia-based Reddit horror stories is just for you. Jesse shares his scary story find about a young group of travelers camping in the wrong forest in Japan. Angela follows up with her own frightening tale of a sleepless apartment h...

Do you ever wonder where the soul goes after you die? Do you believe that there is a life between lives that you could experience as your soul-self? This week's episode is focused on learning more about that specific experience - a life between lives regression. Angela walks us through her experience with this type of regression therapy as a step up from our previous discussion with her about her...

Are we in a recession?! Whatever you wanna call it, things sure are expensive right now! In this mini episode, we invite Angela's husband Ramon back on the show to weigh in as someone who follows macroeconomic trends closely. We start by clarifying some confusing economic terms that are flooding the headlines right now: inflation, interest rates, recession, currency devaluation, GDP, and more. We...