miseducAsian Podcast

In this episode, the three of us catch up on: All things World Cup, the incredible vibes from all around, but especially from Korean and Mexican fans, and some history on Asians in Mexico (0:24) Is this the Asian in sports golden age? (9:00) A trip to Asia, Jazz Fest, a month in Mexico, and other recent happenings (17:38) Why we love sports (31:59)

In Part 2 of our conversation with Hanseul Kang, we pick up where we left off, going deeper into the experiences that shaped her into the leader she is today. We get into: Hanseul's story of finding out she was undocumented at 16, and how that shaped her identity, drive, path through high school and college, and why she shared her story publicly (0:26) Filial piety, shame, religion, and tradi...

In this long awaited episode, we chat with Hanseul Kang, former Assistant Dean and Executive Director of The Broad Center at the Yale School of Management, and former State Superintendent at OSSE. We get into: Hanseul's experience as a Broad Resident and early days with Brian and the rest of their cohort (0:36) Being a different type of leader, leaning into visible and public leadership, and...

We take a look back at the EPIC World Series run by our beloved LA Dodgers, what the win meant for city, what the team means to us, and why it is special to root for a team with a strong Asian presence on and off the field. 

In this episode, we sit down with Sarah Akhtar, a partner at Transcend and strategic leader in school redesign. We discuss: Sarah's journey with her name (2:42) Embracing other parts of her identity and traditions (24:16) Experiences in education, as a student, an educator, leader, and school designer (46:40)

In this episode, we have an in-depth conversation with Michael Matsuda, the Superintendent of Anaheim Union High School District. 02:11 Personal History and Challenges 19:08 Journey into Education and Leadership 28:27 Unexpected Connections and Mentorship 29:44 Navigating Leadership and Identity 41:25 Innovating Education and Embracing AI

We chat with Violet Chin, a filmmaker, storyteller, activist, and currently the Youth Governor of California. We discuss: Generational perspectives on social media and curating identity (1:57) The role of social media on identity and creating community (11:54) Exploring mixed heritage and cultural identity and not fitting into boxes (21:15) Being a young filmmaker, aspirations for supporting diver...

In this episode we chat with special guest Jin-Soo Huh, a partner at The Learning Accelerator , with extensive experience in education and innovation. We discuss:  Jin-Soo's Jeopardy experience (3:12) Growing up in Rancho Cucamonga, his parents' influence on his cultural identity, and life at Duke (5:10) Gay and Asian intersectionality, coming out stories, and the journey telling his par...

In this episode, we are live and in-person at The Broad Center at Yale School of Management Forum 2025, with special guest, Akemi Kochiyama. Akemi is a scholar-activist, community builder, and Co-Director of the Yuri Kochiyama Solidarity Project , whose mission is to carry on the work and legacy of her grandmother, Yuri Kochiyama.   We soak in the moment of doing our first recording in front of a...

In this episode, we chat with the creators of a new musical, Rise to the Top , Weiko Lin and Christopher Wong. The story follows a young immigrant from Hong Kong who achieves the American dream as a celebrity chef on top of his culinary empire while grappling to fit into Americana at great sacrifice. Today's intro music is a clip from a song called "I Stand With You" (0:00) We discu...

In this episode, we connect with Cady Ching, CEO of Summit Public Schools , and discuss: Her complex cultural identity, family's history, being raised in Hawaii, and why it's important to be specific about who we are (2:03) How teaching at Summit kept her in California, her journey as an educator and leader, and the truly remarkable process of how she became CEO (19:22) A shared vision f...

In this episode, we chat with singer-songwriter, Joseph Tseng, and why he left his education career behind to pursue music full-time.  Why he goes by Joseph Tseng as an artist, his relationship with his names, and we discover Tommy's namesake (2:35) Our relationship with racialized identities, what we hope to share and learn in sharing our identities (14:46) Joseph and his family's origi...

In this episode, we chat with Marshall Cho , head coach of the World Select team at the 2024 Nike Hoop Summit, and former varsity boys' basketball coach of Lake Oswego High School.   Marshall shares his journey from Jeju, South Korea to Springfield, Oregon, NYC, Mozambique, and back again. (1:59) We talk about his career path, starting as a TFA teacher in NYC to becoming a basketball coach, h...

This is Part 2 of our chat with Tommy Welch, Regional School Superintendent of Boston Public Schools.  Being one of the only Asian American athletes in high school and college, Japanese American identity through generations  (0:41) How the Tommys started their careers in education, the impact of the lack of representation in education and leadership, and the power of identity-affirming leadership...

In this episode, we chat with Tommy Welch, Regional School Superintendent of Boston Public Schools.  The origin story of the two Tommys, how they met, how they started working together (1:12) Tommy's leadership journey, from school coordinator to founding middle and high schools, to moving and leading in Boston (6:52) The importance of loyalty, trust, and patience in education and leadership...

In this episode, we chat with John Sun, President and CEO of Pacific Charter School Development , a non-profit real estate firm that offers various services for charter school partners.   We talk about our favorite moments from The Brothers Sun, the auntie network, and the cultural significance of Mahjong (2:05) John shares his experience growing up in the Rio Grande Valley and his father's j...

In this episode, we chat with Benjamin Kim Oser, the Director of Camp Naru , whose mission is to equip Korean American youth and future generations to navigate life as individuals and members of the Korean American community with a sense of belonging and rich cultural heritage.  Navigating identity as an adoptee in predominantly white spaces (1:06) Meeting his birth parents, connecting with family...

Back by popular demand, we chat all things food with Hanifa Farooq. The boom of Asian food at non-Asian grocery stores (1:38) Hanifa shares some of the best things she's eaten on her recent travels, eating Asian food in non-Asian countries, and her general approach to maximizing every meal on the road (10:07) 13 places in 48 hours in LA,  the highs and lows of fusion (27:34) Comfort foods fro...

We chat with Mike Su, CEO and Founder of Cooler, a startup looking to redefine the podcast and online community experience. He was recently Director of Yellow, Snap's accelerator program, is currently a board member of Defy Ventures , and most importantly, went to college with our very own Tommy Chang. In this episode, we discuss:   His experience moving from the US to Taiwan and back (3:45)...

In Part 2 of our conversation with Frank Chi, filmmaker, artist, storyteller, and director of 38 at the Garden , we discuss: Finding stories and experiences that resonate across identities and Bend it Like Beckham (0:38) Giving "advice" to the next generation, balancing our dreams and our parents' expectations (9:20)  How Obama's 2004 speech changed Frank's life, his caree...

In this episode, we connect with Frank Chi, filmmaker, artist, storyteller, and director of 38 at the Garden , the award-winning documentary about Jeremy Lin and Linsanity. In part 1 of this 2-part conversation, we discuss: The two "impossible moments" that inspired and transformed his life and career (2:00) The process for making 38 at the Garden, getting Jeremy Lin on board, and the ch...

In this episode, we meet with Yi-Ann Li, a rising senior at the University of Southern California, founding Chapter Co-President of Dear Asian Youth , and newsletter editor for Dear Asian Americans.   About Dear Asian Youth, why she started a chapter at USC, and what she's learned about leadership (2:41) How her love of stories led to majoring in literature and how she broke the news to her p...

The miseducAsian crew is recording from Las Vegas. In this episode we: unpack Asian hustle (1:43) discuss our evolving relationship with the immigrant journey, how it is experienced across generations, and if or when we get to decide that we've arrived (11:57) discuss the new Pixar movie, Elemental, and celebrate the explosion of Asian content  (28:43) share our thoughts on the Supreme Court&...

In part 2, we trade hot takes with Dinesh Shamdasani, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Bad Idea .   reactions to the latest comic book movies and Albert shares his trash take on Michael B Jordan  (0:45)  why Top Gun: Maverick is an all-timer, we share some of our favorite film franchises (5:55) we revisit a cartoon classic, The Land Before Time, and learn why tragic things happen at the beginning...

In this two-part series, we speak with Dinesh Shamdasani, CEO and Chief Creative Officer at Bad Idea , an experimental new comic book publisher. Dinesh co-founded Hivemind, an LA-based production company that produced the acclaimed sci-fi series The Expanse for Amazon Studios and The Witcher for Netflix. He also spent 10 years leading the rebirth of Valiant Entertainment, the best-selling comic bo...