Modern Minorities

“You have to choose to become Asian American. I went from just being a Korean kid in Silicon Valley to belonging to this community. I want that to mean something.” Phil Yu is best known for AngryAsianMan.com - THE website about Asian American perspectives. But he’s really not as angry as people think? Phil’s a writer, speaker, and host. AngryAsianMan.com is one of the most widely read / longest-ru...

“Why change Robin? It was a no brainer. It happens to a lot of bisexual people, it seemed like natural character development.” Lately all the news has been about Superman’s son Jonathan Kent coming out recently as bi-sexual in the comics - and the not so-nice reception it’s has gotten in the real world (WTF...Louis Lane?!?). But just weeks before that, ROBIN - one of the most recognizable (Queer?)...

“Mixed-race identity presents opportunities and challenges. There's some bad, but there's also some good. So I have to take both.” Remi Adekoya is a Polish-Nigerian living in the UK, and the author of “Biracial Britain: A Different Way of Looking at Race” - and we had a great conversation on biracial identity — growing up, fitting in, standing out...and kids. Born the son of a Nigerian father and...

“I was speaking up to respected people in the industry and telling them they were wrong. But we were getting the story right.” Geraldine Moriba’s a 5-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and advocate — the host and executive producer of “Sounds Like Hate,” a podcast by the Southern Poverty Law Center - documenting how American extremists become radicalized and how some of them change. Ge...

“It's an evolutionary advantage that babies are cute because. if any other person would wake you up that often in the night you'd be upset, but you can do it when it's your kid. I did not know that you could love someone this fully.” The secret is out, Raman’s a new dad (again). But he’s not alone in his new Fatherhood. So are TWO of his oldest friends and collaborators, Andrew Tarvin (Humor Engin...

“Entrepreneurship is messier than people believe. I'm comfortable that I don't know it all, but I can figure it out.” Navin Gupta has an entrepreneurial spirit. Innately curious and motivated to solve problems, he’s founded 3 successful companies in health and wellness - all on the side while making a big (business) impact at big companies. You’ll hear our conversation about a youth spent lost in...

“Listen to my voice, don’t look at me. It’s what got me in the door, but also what never sealed the deal.” Sara Baiyu Porritt is a multi-hyphenate. She’s the Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Omnicom Media Group - but she’s also a recovering pop star - a former R&B songstress-turned-Yogi who may or may not be becoming a podcasting mogul. Born in the rural tropics of China (Xiamen), Sa...

“Waiter, servant, martial artist. Why aren't more Asian-Americans in Hollywood fully-realized characters - just part of the fabric of America?” Brian Yang is an actor and producer committed to telling stories that reflect the underrepresented. But Brian’s path to Hollywood wasn’t the usual one. A west coast kid, he found himself on the east coast working on startups with a young entrepreneur named...

has it (really) been 100 episodes?  We sit down to reflect on what (TF) we have been doing this whole time. what did we like (or hate)? Did we learn anything? What's next...stickers? FrieMMd-of-the-Pod Brandon Dawson (host of the most-excellent Distiller Podcast) turns the mic on US to get in our heads. I mean, someone's gotta tell Raman to stop asking so many questions... LEARN ABOUT SHARON &...

“As people of color in entertainment, the game is just kinda different. Whether you're an architect or a comedian, it doesn't matter.” Gina Brillon is a Puerto Rican actress, comedian, writer, and mom from the Bronx - who’s been performing standup comedy since she was 17 years old. Her comedy special “The Floor is Lava” is available on Amazon Prime Video, and co-hosts a weekly podcast “Mess in Pro...

“If it's lonely at the top, it gets lonely a LOT faster when you're a woman .” Lindsay Kaplan is the Co-founder of Chief - THE female executive membership network. But Lindsay has never felt like she fit in anywhere, being a self-proclaimed loudmouth who “loves weirdos.” She found her joy and success in non-traditional avenues - creating spaces that provide a sense of belonging. Chief’s mission is...

Kamala Khan's superpower is...time management? This week we're mixing it up with ANOTHER bonus episode from Raman's OTHER podcast, Quarantined Comics, where FrieMMds-of-the-pod Ryan Joe + Raman are talking about arguably one of the most important mainstream comics of the past decade - MS.MARVEL - about a Pakistani American superhero. Joining us is our favorite Pakistani American superhero, and Fri...

Some people find it odd that when we win anything in this game, we give praise back unto God. Well in somebody else's game any triumph makes us feel blessed. When it's your game, you make the rules, everything comes easy. All your friends are in key positions, so when you decide you don't want to play anymore you never leave empty-handed. Can somebody say ‘golden parachute’? Well, it's not your ga...

Monique Truong is an award-winning author - but she’s really a Southern girl twice over, having been born in South Vietnam and lived in the American South. Her 3 acclaimed novels are all must-reads - The Book of Salt (2003), Bitter in the Mouth (2010), and The Sweetest Fruits (2019). You can also find her writing on food and writing all over the mainstream - and foodie - media. And just so none of...

“Growing up I didn't think of Rock & Roll as like a white space - it’s far reaching and can unite people.” Siddharth (Sidd) Masand is an Indo-Canadian engineer-turned-YouTuber, fascinated with the music of the 70's, 80's, and 90's and its influence on culture. In just one year, he turned his YouTube channel, Rock N' Roll True Stories, to a 6-figure income with nearly 100,000 subscribers. Growi...

“How physicians look at race and sexuality, has to become a deliberate practice — because stereotypes are shortcuts, and shortcuts lead to bad care.” Dr. Jonathan “JT” Tolentino is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Miami. Beyond being an accomplished physician and professor, JT is passionate about working with the underserved and vulnerable LGBTQ+ communi...

“Our show is an American podcast...” “...and yet, because we look the way we look, we’re seen as an Asian podcast...and I think that ties into everything we're talking about right now.” For this Fourth of July - we thought we’d share a decidedly AMERICAN conversation Sharon & Raman joined on ANOTHER podcast. Recently, friend-of-the-Pod Matt Story had us on “What’s Your Story” - his most excell...

While another Pride month has come and gone, there is always a lot of work to be done. Steven Wakabayashi - host of the Yellow Glitter podcast (and frieMMd of the Pod) - is doing this work. On a recent episode of his show, him and longtime friend Derek Tran had a really insightful, thought provoking conversation about rainbow-washing, performative allyship, and showing up authentically. It really...

“People would bring their harmoniums and just come and sing and play. Music was always around me — it's part of the backdrop of life.” Growing up in London, Radhika grew up around music - at all hours of the day. Whether it be late night family parties singing bhajans (Indian devotionals) or Bollywood classics - with some of the Indian musical greats - to training and (obsessing) over classical mu...

This Father’s Day has some of us feeling old, because it’s always been about OUR dads...not just us. While we talked to our guest’s Moms for Mother’s Day, we decided to talk to a few Modern Minority Dads - about their fathers, and how they father. Beyond our favorite Indian American (Raman), we got a little help from our fellow father friends: Serge Thony, a modern Black father in LA (as well as a...

“It made me think about how our sense of identity really gets mixed up in names that other people give to us.” She was named Bich Minh Nguyen, but now goes by the name Beth...because, in her own words published in The New Yorker, “America Ruined My Name For Me.” Having a name that is hard to pronounce and rooted in your heritage presents unique and difficult challenges, and it’s an all-too-common...

“We got ourselves into this - on the left and the right. People want to be safe - so we're proposing something different and better.” Svante Myrick is the mayor of Ithaca, NY - a role he’s held since 2012 - when he became the town’s youngest Mayor, and the first Mayor of color. Svante has become one of the nation’s earliest elected leaders to put forward one of the most ambitious, concrete plans t...

“Suddenly the world opens up - you meet people living a completely different life. So we picked up everything, left everything behind and moved.” Minjae Ormes is a digital, tech, and entertainment veteran - she's the CMO of Visible - one of Fast Company’s most innovative companies. Minjae's worked for YouTube and Ogilvy - working on campaigns for Disney, National Geographic, and the Tribeca Film I...

To continue celebrating AAPI Heritage Month, we’ve partnered with Red Envelope Stories - a new platform getting a lot of coverage - where Asian Americans share their personal stories - many of which grapple with the modern Asian diasporic identity. Joining us to hear - and talk about - some of these Red Envelope Stories is co-founder Michelle Liu, a student at Brown University. If you enjoy hearin...

Chinatown, San Francisco - the 1870s. Everybody was Kung-fu fighting (ok, not everyone, but a LOT of people). Raman’s been trying to convince Sharon for MONTHS that she needs to watch WARRIOR - the hit show on HBO Max originally created by BRUCE LEE, executive-produced by his daughter, Shannon Lee (no relation to Sharon), and Fast & Furious director Justin Lin. WARRIOR is a period piece that g...