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

"No, but what's your REAL name?!" Have you ever been asked that question by someone who didn't believe your English name was your "real" name because you're Asian? We have!  This week we discuss what it was like growing up with both English and Chinese names, what our Chinese names are and what they mean, the process our parents went through of choosing them back in the motherland with the he...

No, neither of your podcast hosts is imminently about to have a baby! ...but, as we get older and move into different stages of life (i.e., getting married, friends having kids), it's certainly something we're thinking about.  With that said, we have vastly different opinions on if we will have kids and for what reasons. Listen in as we discuss our different perspectives on the matter, as wel...

Can you turn a job as a model into a career across many industries and nonprofits? In this episode, we are joined by Pritika Swarup who has done exactly that! Pritika is an international fashion model, Founder/CEO of Prakti Beauty, and global ambassador for Operation Smile. We kick off the discussion by asking Pritika about her experience in fashion, and how being a visible minority in the industr...

Raise your hand if you had to learn how to date virtually via Zoom/FaceTime because of the pandemic! In this episode, we interrogate... err, interview... Angela's good friend Michael about what his experience was like dating over Zoom during the height of the pandemic, and how that compared with "real" (IRL) dating. We can all imagine the drawbacks that virtual dating can create, but tune in to he...

What do we find when we quiet the mind and look inside ourselves?    With so much hustle and bustle on the daily, it's hard to take time and really listen to our inner selves. But once you do get in touch with your inner thoughts and feelings, what do you do? Co-host Angela returns from a ten-day silent meditation retreat to help answer this question.    What does a silent medi...

Let it s-NO, let it s-NO, let it s-NO! The holidays are here but cheer is somewhat missing!  The holiday season has always been a mixed bag for us. There's so much being thrown at you about how to feel, what you should be doing, and the enjoyment you should be having. The reality is that many people might not be feeling the holiday glow. And feeling apart from that can make the season's greet...

Have you ever tried special K? And no, we're not talking about the cereal!    Growing up, we've been told in many ways that drugs are inherently dangerous and harmful. But having experienced some substances first hand, we've come to the conclusion that some drugs can actually be beneficial. Some can help you deal with trauma, while others can just add more fun to your weekend.  &nbs...

How risk-seeking vs. risk-averse are you?  As we've gotten older, we've generally trended towards being more risk-averse, being scared or unwilling to put in the effort to try new things. However, after respectively going through our mid-life crises within the past few years, we've been rejuvenated and inspired to take on new risks to change course in our lives. For example, did you know that...

We know, we know, we're late in discussing Squid Game... but we still think it's a worthwhile topic to discuss because of all the different levels of influence the show has had on making "foreign" content mainstream for a global audience. We speculate on why we think it was such a runaway success and why it resonated with so many people across all different global/cultural backgrounds despite simi...

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all of our US-based friends! ​⁣ In this episode, we bring back friend of the pod, rapper/producer/performer Lil Waterboi to discuss the holiday from a Canadian perspective. ⁣ ​⁣ ​First of all, did my fellow self-centered Americans even know that the US is not the only country with Thanksgiving?! There are actually 17 (!!) around the world, and Canada's is a month...

We're baaaaack! Did you miss us?  For the first time in our podcast's history, Jesse and Angela are actually recording in the same physical location, so we're trying out new stuff and re-introducing ourselves to all you dear listeners! We're playing everyone's favorite classic.... ice breakers! But frankly, they may be some of the most random ice breakers we've ever answered. Gotta love the i...

20 years have passed since the horrendous events of 9/11. It feels like ages ago, and at the same time, just like yesterday. For most of us, thinking back on 9/11 brings back sad memories of a vulnerable time for our nation. However, for Arab-Americans, those feelings go even further because there is a clear delineation between life before and life after 9/11 in terms of how welcome and accepted t...

Have you heard of the "lie flat" or "tang ping" movement in China? It's a movement among young people that first cropped up in April 2021 largely in reaction to China's infamous 9/9/6 culture (working from 9am-9pm, 6 days/week), and has since been reported on widely by western and eastern media.  Young people are rejecting the ideas they've been sold on what makes for success and happiness -...

We've spent a lot of time investigating our own perspectives of what it means to be Asian American. But what does being Asian American mean to other Asians across the world, and how does the larger Asian diaspora think of race and identity? We're joined this week by Cherrie from With Chinese Characteristics podcast to dive into this topic. We kick off the episode by asking Cherrie to explain her e...

The idea of "saving face" is so foundational to Chinese and broader Asian culture that it's often difficult to accurately describe in English words and within a western context. Shame? Disgrace? The opposite of bringing honor to your family/community?  How do you explain the importance and impact of such an underlying, community-first concept to a "me first" western society?  In this epi...

Acupuncture, gua sha, ashwaganda - as a lot of East/South Asian medicine become more popularized in western society, we wanted to discuss what happens when East meets West. This week we discuss Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and "traditional" aka western medicine with special guest, Dr. Sandeepa Mullady, an Indian-American neurologist who is trained in western medicine but who is very spiri...

Dating can be a minefield of expectations, both from yourself and from your culture. This week we're exploring what it means to date outside the race, and why we would want to (hint, hint: societal pressures growing up telling us what was attractive played a huge part). While our parents had expectations of who we should be courting, the reality of not living in our motherland is that those expect...

We always like to end on a sweet treat, but why not dedicate an entire episode to one? This week we're talking about boba or bubble tea - the delicious dessert imported from our motherland Taiwan. Prepare for a history lesson, as we open the episode with a look into how boba came to be and how it found its way to the United States. As such a ubiquitous treat, we discuss how this tasty snack is act...

Sorry y'all, we're not talking about XLBs (xiao long baos) today - in fact, we're talking about the Taiwanese universal health care system and the colloquially referred to "jian bao," which is the health insurance card every Taiwanese citizen carries to get access to these services. We introduce how Taiwan was able to reform their health care system in the 90s to provide universal health care, wha...

Have you ever wondered what your college degree has done for you? Well, so have we! It has been such a contentious topic that we decided to turn it into an episode! This week we're talking all about college education - our personal experiences as well as our perspective on how our parents viewed it. We discuss the investment versus payoff of matriculating at a name-brand school, both from an under...

Would you like to play a game....about Asian TV and cinema?  This week we're bringing you a fun new game show format co-hosted by Raymond Luu and Renee Ya from Reel Asian Podcast! We compete in a semi-free-for-all, semi-team-based game where we answer questions regarding all things Asian-American pop culture as it relates to celebrities, fun facts behind popular films, and plots from Asian TV...

In honor of 4th of July, we wanted to examine where we are as a nation and if there's still hope for all of us to come back together after a very divisive past 4+ years...  We discuss an often underrepresented (up to half) of the country that self-identify as independents, moderates, and/or centrists, and how a lack of strong identification with either extreme of the political spectrum has le...

Arranged marriages are often thought of as an archaic relic of the past. But what impact does the cultural and historical relevance of this practice have on the marriages of today? This week, we'll attempt to answer this question with our special guest, Shibani Joshi. Shibani is an accomplished business and technology journalist, lecturer, and professional speaker, and is an Indian-American who ha...

Frank Striegl is Founder of 5AM Ramen and Tokyo Ramen Tours. We discuss what it was like growing up as a bi-racial Filipino-American in Japan, how he found his place within Japanese society, why he is obsessed with ramen and built a business centered around it, and how the pandemic has given him a unique opportunity to think creatively about his business and other ways he can share the joy of rame...

We are now entering the third decade of our lives - that's right, yours truly(s) are both in their thirties now. But what's the big deal about the big three-oh anyways? In our opener to season 4 (!), we take a look at what it means to be in our thirties. We discuss some of the most anxiety-inducing topics associated with this decade, from job choices to personal life decisions. Listen to the expec...