Escape From Plan A

C.S. Taniguchi, Diana, Mark, and Teen talk about the incredible influence that Japanese culture has had in America over a long period of time. From architecture, food and literature, to how we declutter our lives. Why does Japan hold such cultural sway over Americans? And is this a good or bad sign? Intro Music: Isle of Dogs OST Intro Voice Track: Matthew Weiner discussing the Mad Men character Be...

Self-awareness and self-reflection are crucial elements to any good discussion. While Asian guys have legit gripes, that doesn't mean they always express them in the right way or that they're always blameless. Oxford, Filip, Jong, and Mark run an audit of straight Asian male behavior and attitudes to get an assessment of what needs improvement. Intro/Outro Music: "It G Ma" by Keith Ape Intro Voice...

With the skyrocketing popularity of the Subtle Asian Traits Facebook groups and its many offshoots like Subtle Asian Dating and Subtle Curry Traits, the persistent and unresolved gender issues among Asian Americans (and other Asians in Western countries) have inevitably come to the forefront. Oxford, Filip, Sammi, and Jay take a look at the discussions that have been popping up and ask whether the...

With the verdict in the Harvard admissions lawsuit on the horizon, Escape From Plan A goes beyond the legalistic arguments involved to ask some big picture questions. Should Harvard seek racial diversity in its classes? If so, should it be more open about that instead of blaming Asian Americans for lackluster personalities? And why do Asian Americans repeatedly internalize and accept responsibilit...

Teen, Jess, Jong, Oxford, and Mark ponder what every Asian American considers at some point: West Coast, or East Coast? They try to get beyond just who has better fast casual burgers, or London plane vs. palm trees, and into the social nuances of each coast. Things aren't always what they seem. Intro music: "California Love" by Tupac ft. Dr. Dre Intro voice track: The Fung Bros. on East Coast vs....

Though less famous than siblings such as "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke," Studio Ghibli’s "Whisper of the Heart" is nevertheless a masterpiece that explores the intense anxieties young people face when first trying to turn their artistic dreams into actual practice. In this special midweek episode, Oxford and Diana (a comedian/writer) lavish praise on this beautiful film and talk about how...

The idea of "Game" when it comes to dating, romance and plain ol'hooking up is a loaded term, especially in the modern climate of online dating apps and the more recent #MeToo movement. Teen, Jong and Mark discuss many aspects of it by first considering Wesley Yang's 2007 article "Game Theory," and then giving their reactions to the recent statements made by actor Kendrick Sampson at a just held T...

The term “emotional labor” may get thrown around too easily these days, but if you conceptualize Asians’ social role as providers of racial guilt-relief in the West, then what are all the things we do (or more importantly, don’t do) in service of playing that role? From having to assume leadership roles in families because of parents’ language barriers to having to shut up about constant racialize...

Are there benefits to having grown up in a protective Asian enclave? Or is it better to face racial difficulties from a young age to learn how to fight them? Is it better to be a 2nd-gen or 1.5-gen Asian American? With many of the Plan A team members having travelled recently to Asia or Asian-populated parts of America — Teen to China, Jong to Korea, and Oxford to Los Angeles — these 3, along with...

A formative article early in Plan A's history, written by contributor George Qiao, sought to topple the colonialist and racist conceptions of Asian American mental health, and get to the true roots of how mental health touches the Asian American community. Mark welcomes two new guests, Jay (a healthcare professional) and Kerrie (a healthcare graduate student ), and returning guest Diana, to explor...

The term “internalized racism” gets thrown around a lot in Asian American online discussions, but what does it really mean? While the phenomenon of internalized racism is undoubtedly real and has been historically apparent across all racial (usually non-white) groups, would online discussions be more productive if we were more articulate and specific in what we are saying when we use this term? Ox...

Show business, and creative industries in general, are difficult to be successful in for all people. But for minorities, there is an added burden of limited opportunities and community pressures to either not do it at all or be perfect at it. Jess hosts this discussion with two Asian women—Millie (a writer/director) and Quyen (an actress)—and an African American man—David (an actor/writer and firs...

To celebrate Halloween, we're taking a break from our usual neurotic dissections of Asian America and just telling spooky and/or goofy stories! So get your toasted pumpkin seeds and Tootsie Rolls and join Teen, Mark, and Sammi as they swap tales. Intro/Outro Music: Theme from "The Omen" Intro Voice Track: Creepy Little Girl Talking & Singing / Halloween (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrH4jWchep8...

Kevin Xu of The Model Majority Podcast (modelmajoritypodcast.com) joins Oxford, Jess, and Teen to discuss his views on identity politic's effect on Asian Americans, as well as the importance of the coming November midterms. We try to avoid the standard civics class lecture, and try a more realistic assessment of liberal identity politics, Asian pet issues, and giving half a shit. The Model Majorit...

"The Hate U Give" is the new movie starring Amandla Stenberg that's based on the bestselling YA novel about a Ferguson-like incident where a policeman kills an unarmed young black man. The movie has been universally acclaimed, but it is not without its faults, especially with regards to how much responsibility it places on the black community for police violence. Teen, Oxford, and Millie talk abou...

The Immigrant Time Warp is the phenomenon in which immigrants are locked into the social norms of their native countries at the time they left. Thus, they remain cultural time capsules, often unable to evolve with either their new cultures or their old ones. T.K., creator of the popular website Ask A Korean, has written about this issue on his blog and joins Oxford and returning guest Quyen to tal...

Oriana, Jess and Teen talk about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's historic testimony against Brett Kavanaugh, and the disturbing connection it has with Amy Chua. Intro/Outro music: "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds Intro Voice Track: Dr. Christine Blasey Ford TWITTER: Jess (@cogitatotomato) Teen (@mont_jiang) REFERENCED RESOURCES David Chen's NYT article about Yale Law's obsession with power:...

Twitter may be a mad circus, but there are still real people and real emotions powering that spectacle, which means important things can still be learned from it. What's the meaning behind Joshua Luna's Nerds of Color brouhaha involving (yet again) WMAF? Or the Celeste Ng and Louis Leung mess involving fake male allies and sock puppet accounts? And what does Black Twitter's drama over Briahna Joy...

This is an episode we recorded a couple months back but didn't release. Jess and Teen were discussing the qipao prom photos -- something we're sure nobody wants to revisit. But instead of just the photos, we focused more on the huge media backlash against Asian Americans in the mainstream media, triggered by that most trivial of events: the viral tweet. Some lever must be turning these small thing...

At last, the day has come! Long-time chum of Plan A, Trevor Beaulieu of the podcast Champagne Sharks, comes aboard as a guest to discuss the fascinating parallels in the black and Asian media/activist class, especially in how much they're governed by the laws of mainstream white liberalism. Trevor has also been a guest on leftist shows like Chapo Trap House and The Michael Brooks Show. He has also...

In this grab bag of a Labor Day podcast, the trio of Oxford, Mark, and Sammi (a returning guest from Ep. 36: Difficulties in Asian Women-to-Women Dialogues About WMAF) go from lauding the new John Cho movie "Searching" to eventually getting fed up at how neglected poor Asian Americans are in our current social and political climate. Along the way, we diss the Racist OC Barbie Lawyer and #walkaway...

Well this is timely! In the year that has come and gone since the start of Plan A, we’ve broached topics that have either been ignored or suppressed by the mainstream Asian American community. But it’s one thing to discuss them; it’s another to take positive actions to fix problems. So the question for discontent Asian American guys is: what steps are necessary to finally find a way out of the bog...

Almost all of Asian America has waited with bated breath for Crazy Rich Asians. Plan A has had its skepticism and doubt, but did the movie win them over and reveal that under the surface of every cynic is a romantic who yearns to believe again? Millicent (an NYC-based indie filmmaker) and Quyen (an LA-based activist and actress) join Oxford and Mark as special guests to discuss everything about Cr...

Condemnation and defense of Sarah Jeong has fallen along the familiar fault lines of online culture. She has been portrayed as either a Pol Pot against white people or a Joan of Arc against racist and sexist trolls. But what if she is neither? Jess, Teen, and Oxford discuss how an old instance of performative wokeness (almost certainly intended in jest for a small media-class clique) has now been...

Jess, Mark, and Teen share their impressions of Wong Fu Production's new YouTube series "Yappie." The series explores the inner life of a well-to-do Asian American man in Southern California, and the cheery surface, there is an unmistakable undertone of the modern ennui and loneliness that pervades society. A somewhat more serious talk about depression and anxiety. Intro Voice Track: Edward Norton...