Pearl Dive Podcast

Welcome to episode 10 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 229)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. Welcome to episode 10 of The Pearl Dive (Pearl Dive episode 229) brought to you by the Asian American Christian History Institute (AACHI) at Fuller Theological Semin...

Welcome to episode 9 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 228)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. In this captivating episode of The Pearl Dive , Dr. David Moe sits down with Reverend Dr. Maung Maung Htwe, pastor of the Overseas Burmese Christian Fellowship (OBCF)...

Welcome to episode 8 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 227)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. In this powerful episode of The Pearl Dive , host Tim Tseng sits down with theology professor, pastoral leader, and doctoral student Naw Eh Phaw to map her incredible...

Welcome to episode 7 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 226)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. In this episode, we dive into the powerful and multi-layered responses of Burmese Christian communities navigating Myanmar’s ongoing political crisis. From the front...

Welcome to episode 6 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 225)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. What happens when a deep-rooted faith travels thousands of miles to a new home? In this episode of Pearl Dive , we venture into the heart of the Burmese Diasporic Chr...

Welcome to episode 5 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 224)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. In this episode, project leaders Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe chart the fascinating and complex history of Burmese immigration to the United States. Together, t...

Welcome to episode 4 of our series discussing the history of Burmese American Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 223)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. In this episode, David Moe joins the podcast to delve into the complex historical and spiritual legacy of Adoniram Judson, a foundational figure in 19th-century Prote...

Welcome to episode 3 of our series discussing the history of Burmese Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 222)! This series is part of Fuller AACHI’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. This episode explores the transformative history of Catholic missions in Burma (Myanmar), tracing a timeline that begins with 16th-century Portuguese traders and Jesuit missio...

Welcome to episode two of our series discussing the history of Burmese Christianity (Pearl Dive episode 221)! This series is part of Fuller’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe. Before the cross or the pagoda ever touched the soil of Burma, the land was alive with the whispers of the Nat . In this episode of Pearl Dive, we travel into the heart of the Bur...

Welcome to episode one of our series discussing the history of Burmese Christianity! This Pearl Dive episode, part of Fuller’s Burma Diaspora Christianity Project led by Dr. Joseph Cheah and Dr. David Moe, explores the intertwined histories of Catholic and Protestant missions in Burma/Myanmar within a predominantly Buddhist context. It traces early 16th-century Portuguese Catholic missions (Franci...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fulleraachi.substack.com

In this high-energy conclusion to our interview with Dr. Scott Wall, we trade the library for the diamond! Did you know the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is home to the largest private softball league in the region, born entirely out of Chinese Christian congregations? Scott breaks down how a league that started with just six teams in 1980 evolved into a massive social ecosystem of over 1,500 players...

Pearl Dive: The Toronto Deep Dive 🌊 In this episode of Pearl Dive , host Daniel sits down with Dr. Scott Wall, a sociologist and pastor, to uncover the “unaccounted for” history of Chinese Canadian Christians in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Moving beyond the textbooks, Scott shares his journey as an “academic pearl diver” who stumbled upon a massive, vibrant network of over 200 churches that e...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fulleraachi.substack.com

In this gripping second half of our deep dive, Daniel and Rev. Dr. Matthew Todd peel back the curtain on the “DNA” of the Chinese Canadian church. If you’ve ever wondered why some churches feel like a “parent’s basement” while others operate like a “duplex,” this is the episode for you. Dr. Todd breaks down the Mickey Mouse model (one head, two distinct ears) and explores the “three-in-one” identi...

Ever wondered how a 16th-century Russian renewal movement ended up thriving in the dim sum hubs of Metro Vancouver? In this episode of The Pearl Dive , our host Daniel plunges into the fascinating history of Chinese Canadian Mennonite Brethren (MB) churches with the “Jacques Cousteau of ethno-religious research,” Rev. Dr. Matthew Todd. From his early days as a 17-year-old volunteer to his deep-div...

Did you know the fastest way to become a Chinese Christian pastor is actually to get an engineering degree? Apparently, the "Engineer-to-Pastor Pipeline" is a real thing, and this week on Pearl Dive , Dr. Justin Tse is here to explain why. Host Daniel Mok (in his brave debut as a podcaster!) chats with Justin about his journey from a California "pastor’s kid" to a UBC student who basically used a...

In this episode of the Pearl Dive podcast, Tim Tseng and Daniel Mach, a Chinese Canadian pastor and seminarian from Calgary, Alberta, talk about Chinese Canadian Christian history. They discuss the unique aspects of Chinese Canadian cuisine, particularly the dish ginger beef, and explored the history of Chinese Christians in Canada. Daniel highlights the need to document and preserve the history o...

In this episode of the Pearl Dive, Tim Tseng sits down with author and educator Marie Chan to discuss her children's book Mamie Takes a Stand: The True Story of Mamie Tape, A Chinese American Girl's Fight for School Rights . They explore the remarkable legal history of Tape v. Hurley (1885), the complex intersection of race, faith, and justice in Chinese American history, and why these stories sti...

The Rev. Jessie Jackson passed away last night. Tim Tseng talks to Rev. Norman Fong, the unofficial pastor of San Francisco’s Chinatown about how Jackson helped ignite the Asian American movement for Justice for Vincent Chin. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fulleraachi.substack.com

The Dive Bar is open! In this episode, Tim Tseng speaks with Alex Jun on his very first week at Fuller’s Asian American Center (June 2026) to reflect on Korean American Christian history, immigration, memory, and racial formation. He also talks about the ways his faith has shaped and has been shaped by life in America. What unfolds is a conversation about how history lives with us in our churches,...

In this episode of the Dive Bar, Tim Tseng and historian David Lai discusses the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and its relevance to Asian American Christians. The conversation, recorded shortly before MLK Day 2026, explores how King’s faith-driven activism can bridge gaps within immigrant and Asian American church communities. David Lai shared insights about King’s life, work, and faith. Th...

The fifth and final episode of Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning gathers pastors, students, and public voices to reflect on the practice and purpose of pilgrimage. Host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Rev. Michele Turek, Dr. Jemar Tisby , and Charlie Sponsel about what it means to become community through remembrance, truth-telling, and solidarity. Their conversation traverses themes of belong...

Episode 4 marks the centennial of Evergreen Baptist Church of Los Angeles (EBCLA), a community whose story has been shaped by Japanese American mass incarceration and whose witness continues through their sponsorship and active participation in the annual Manzanar pilgrimage. Just a couple of weeks ago the church celebrated…. In this episode, host Elise Kaneshiro speaks with Reverend Jason Ashimot...

We trust that you have found the Pilgrimage: Manzanar, Memory, and Meaning podcast series featuring Elise Kaneshiro to be engaging and informative. During the interim between episodes, I would like to present a Dive Bar conversation held with Rev. Dr. Kiem Le on May 30, 2025. Dr. Kim Le, a Vietnamese-American church leader, recounted his personal migration experience and reflected on the 50th anni...