InfatuAsian Podcast

Emily and Curtis had such a great time chatting with author Weike Wang!  She’s smart, funny, thoughtful and the author of Chemistry: A Novel and Joan is Okay.  She won the PEN/Hemmingway award in 2018 (awarded to noteworthy 1st-time authors), and was recognized as one of the 5 Under 35 authors to keep an eye on by the National Book Foundation (among many other awards)!  We discuss her childhood an...

Who wouldn’t want to live in paradise? This week we talk with someone who was born and raised on O’ahu, and can tell you what it’s really like to live in Hawaii. Chris from YouTube’s Hello From Hawaii channel, answers our questions about island life and the pros and cons of living in America’s most unique state. Learn a lot more by watching Chris’ channel, Hello From Hawaii on YouTube.  Follow him...

This week we are rock’n out with an amazing guitarist out of London, Rikki Lee!  Madison and Curtis had a lot of fun talking about how self-taught Malaysian-born guitarist, Rikki, grew as a musician to become a professional touring guitarist with artists like Priya Ragu and Martin Smith. During the pandemic, Rikki pivoted into a YouTuber, covering legendary songs from rock’s biggest stars. To hear...

This week we Zoom over to France to have a wonderful chat with Linda Nguon, a french language podcaster out of Paris.  Linda started the Banh Mi Podcast because there really wasn’t anything like it in France. On the podcast, Linda talks with all kinds of guests about their love and connection to Asian culture.  She adds subtitles to some of her Instagram reels and has started adding subtitles to s...

Julia shares some of her family’s history of living through the Japanese colonization of Korea from 1910-1945, as we discuss the Apple TV+ adaptation of Pachinko.  Pachinko is a best selling novel written by Korean American author Min Jin Lee in 2017. Hear Curtis and Julia talk about the importance of this show as well as a few complaints, but overall we really liked it and highly recommend it! Th...

Madison and Curtis had such a blast chatting with Miss San Francisco 2022 Catherine Liang! She has the charm and poise of a real-life princess! Hear her journey from an awkward 13-year-old to a contestant in the Miss California Pageant 2022, representing our hometown of San Francisco! See what Catherine is up to @misssanfranciscoco or follow her personal account @catherine_y_liang  on Instagram, a...

Brian Lum from All Arms Around walks us through the process of writing and performing his own music while being a full-time pharmacist and family man. Hear Brian break down some of his songs and give us behind-the-scenes secrets about producing his richly layered original music.   You can listen to All Arms Around on Spotify, or purchase his album at Bandcamp.com (all proceeds go to the Oakland Un...

This week Bellina and Curtis talk to personal finance and side hustle blogger Chloe Choe!  We chat with Chloe about how she got started blogging and some of her favorite ways to invest and generate alternate streams of income through side hustles.  She also talks about how she maximizes her 27 (and counting) credit cards! Disclaimer: our discussion was purely for educational and entertainment purp...

It was a teen take-over episode when Madison and Curtis got to chat with actor Tristan Allerick Chen who voiced the middle school bully Tyler in Disney Pixar’s Turning Red!  Tristan is young, but he’s already got some Hollywood experiences under his belt.  He was such a complete pleasure to talk with as he gave us insights into how he got the role, how he voiced such a convincing bully, as well as...

Phuc Tran’s first book, “Sigh, Gone: A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In”, is a wonderful read.  It details what life was like as a Vietnamese kid thrown into rural America in the ’70s. Bellina and I had a great chat with Phuc about his youth and what he’s up to now.  Highly recommend this book to anyone who has family who immigrated to this country, or who has eve...

Asian desserts/baked goods have long been overlooked by the culinary world, but not anymore!  Caroline and I had a great time chatting with Kat Lieu, founder of Subtle Asian Baking, about her upcoming book: Modern Asian Baking at Home! Hear about Kat’s experience founding the viral Facebook group and Instagram account, as well as how she picked the recipes that went into her book. We also talked a...

***Be Advised: We discuss violent crimes and use strong language in this episode***  Special guest Teddy Teo, host of A Brief Case Podcast, shares about two more cases from Asia, and Curtis tries his hand at the genre with a North American Asian true crime case.  Teddy also plans an AMAZING day for us when we visit Singapore!  Also, hear the story of how Curtis could (should?) have been the heir t...

*Trigger Warning* This episode contains strong language and some gory details.  One of the most popular podcasts are those showcasing true crime!  Today Jen and I will be chatting with Teddy, the mysterious and entertaining host of A Brief Case Podcast an Asian true crime show based in Singapore.  We will discuss our theories about why true crime is so popular and go over a few cases that Teddy ha...

Many times our conversations don't stop when I end the episode.  Often the guests are more relaxed after we "end" the official recording.  Here are a few minutes of us chatting and saying our good-byes, then Madi and I stick around to do our producers debrief.    I hope you enjoy these!  Let me know via email what you think of these, is the behind-the-scenes stuff too boring? You can write us at i...

Colleen Quen is a fashion legend right in our hometown!  We had a blast spending some time chatting with Colleen about her journey as a fashion designer, and so much more. Joining us again from Australia is our friend and fashion entrepreneur Roxane of the Asian Soup Podcast. Super Producer Madison is with us again enjoying the wise advice from her new fairy godmother, Colleen!  I guarantee you’ll...

On today’s episode, we are talking with my former student Kevin, who started out selling freshwater aquarium shrimp out of his garage, and turned it into a multimillion-dollar company by the time he was 24!  In a more informal style chat, Kevin and I talk about building a small business from scratch.  Hear how Kevin parlayed that experience into becoming the Director of Product Launch for the numb...

Trying something new.  Super Producer Madison and I often have chats after our guests leave.  I usually tack them on after the music plays.  This time I decided to post this separately for those who enjoy hearing us chat about this episode, upcoming episodes, and a little behind the scenes. I hope you enjoy listening to these chats as much as I do! MUSIC!  This is also the debut of our acoustic ve...

Producer Madison and I had a great time chatting with Adam from YouTube’s Die Hard Fishing!  Adam’s channel really gained traction during shelter in place as many people were looking for things to do during quarantine. Fishing has deep Asian roots here in California and elsewhere. Listen to hear about Adam’s journey from a corporate job in Silicon Valley to hitting the waves in a kayak.  Even Madi...

This week we're talking about our favorite subject, science! Research scientist Rosanna and 2nd year Ph. D. student Angeline talk with me about their journeys into their chosen fields. We also talk about some scientists old and new who have made a difference to our understanding of the natural world. As well as give a shout-out to some Asian scientists who have made an impact on our lives! Thanks...

If you've ever done Crossfit in Xi'an China, there's a good chance your coach is descended from Coach Matt!  In 2015 Matt and his wife Tina opened Flying Tigers Crossfit, the first gym of its type in the Chinese city of Xi'an. Hear what it took to bring that vision to fruition as well as other random side topics we digressed into.  Recorded in January 2022. Thanks to Coach Matt Allen for chatting...

What goes better with Valentine's Day than some zombie mayhem!?! Jennifer, Nadira, and I discuss Netflix's hit drama All of Us Are Dead, which takes place at a dysfunctional Korean high school. The 3 of us pick zombie survival teams from the show's characters... whose team would you run with?  As always you can write to us at Infatuasianpodcast@gmail.com and please follow us @theinfatuasianpodcast...

Part Two of our chat with Top Chef star Chef Shirley Chung and food industry expert Caryl Chinn! This week we dig deeper into what it’s like to work with and be a celebrity chef.  Caryl tells the story about the first time she met Chef Gordon Ramsay and Shirley gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to compete with other amazing chefs on Bravo’s Top Chef, where she finished in the top 3 twice and...

Foodie Talk with Two Food Insiders Caryl Chinn and Top Chef Shirley Chung!  Hear the origin story of my sister Caryl, who has worked with pretty much all the celebrity chefs we know and love. She was Bon Appetit magazine’s first food event planner in the 90’s when the food media industry blew up. Coming along with us is the amazingly effervescent Chef Shirley Chung!  Shirley had us rolling on the...

A Special Lunar New Year Side Dish!  Xin Nian Kaui Le Everyone!  We hope you have a very prosperous new year!  This is a movie I’ve loved since the moment I saw it.  And it zooms in on a love story marked by the Lunar New Year.  Some love stories center on couples who are so right and yet so wrong for each other.  That’s the case for these two strangers, who become friends, who become lovers, who...

Episode 19 Creator and Executive Producer Miranda Kwok talks with us about The Cleaning Lady!  Fox’s #1-Rated drama features a Cambodian/Filipina lead character whose strength, intelligence, and sheer determination are a force to be reckoned with. Hear Miranda talk about some of the subtle but very deliberate choices she made to maintain as much authenticity as possible.  Everything from the sound...