Proudly Asian

Super Smack, a Filipino-American pop music artist based in Phoenix, Arizona, joins us to talk about his mission to spread love, dreams, and confidence with his cheeky lyrics and groovy beats that are shamelessly Asian-American. He also tells us about his upcoming album, his latest collaboration with AAPI artists including AJ Rafael, and how he created a song about orange chicken. Follow Super Smac...

Andy Wong, the Hong Kong-Australian entrepreneur behind home repair services platform Papabo, joins us to talk about an encounter at McDonald’s that got him started repairing homes for the disadvantaged and elderly in Hong Kong for free. He also talks about the most common home issues he’s fixed and tips for non-Cantonese speakers to work with handymen in Hong Kong. -------------------------------...

Season 4 is here! Oral traditions are an important part of the cultural identity of many Southeast Asian countries, but their ephemeral state leaves them vulnerable for future generations. Malaysian artist-researcher duo Ambi Sun and Sha Roose join us to talk about the oracle deck they are creating “Tales & Oracles of Eleven - Mythology from Southeast Asia”. The oracle deck features 44 legends...

As summer 2023 comes to an end, we also wrap up season 3! On this solo episode, Isabel talks about the memories shared by listeners about iconic Asian street food, what "balls" really means in Asia, and special moments during her annual visit to California including meeting up with a fellow Asian podcaster. ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proud...

For Proudly Asian Food Month, we bring back an oldie but a goodie. Yeshi Jampa and Julie Kleeman - the English-Tibetan husband-and-wife team who co-authored the cookbook “ Taste Tibet : Family Recipes of the Himalayans” - join us to talk about Yeshi’s semi-nomadic childhood in rural Tibet, the shared love of food that brought them together, and Himalayan food culture and practices including mindfu...

Proudly Asian Food Month 2023: Michelle Li , TV anchor and the Very Asian Foundation co-founder, joins us to talk about how she turned a racist voicemail from a viewer that went viral into a triumphant ‘Very Asian’ movement that uplifts AANHPI communities and voices. As a Korean adoptee, Michelle grew up in Missouri and has spent years supporting adoptees through heritage camps and volunteer tours...

Proudly Asian Food Month 2023: Johnny Chhom, the Cambodian-American founder of Long Beach juice bar Sweet Grass Sugarcane Juice joins us to talk about the representation of Cambodian cuisine and what we can learn about the Cambodian culture through its food. Find Johnny on Instagram: https://instagram.com/johnnyb0nes ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proud...

Proudly Asian Food Month 2023: Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan Head Chef Wayan Sutariawan joins us to talk about the essence of Balinese cuisine. Born and raised in Bali’s smallest regency Klungkung, Chef Suta began practising the craft of Balinese cooking at the age of 12 which later evolved into a culinary career that enables him to keep alive the foods of his childhood. Check out the cookbook...

Proudly Asian Food Month 2023: Hong Kong food upcycling startup Breer Co-Founders Anushka Purohit and Naman Tekriwal join us to talk about their mission of reducing food waste by turning surplus bread and pizza crust into beer. The newly minted 2023 Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 honourees also talk about the cuisines they grew up eating that represent their Indian heritage and Hong Kong connections. ---...

Proudly Asian Food Month 2023: Mia P. Manasala, the Filipino-American author of the award-winning “Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery” series (including “Arsenic and Adobo”, “Homicide and Halo-Halo” and more), joins us to talk about exploring aspects of the Filipino diaspora through her books and the essence of Filipino cuisine. Follow Mia P. Manasala: https://www.miapmanansala.com/ --------------------...

We are taking a break this week and will be back next week with something very special. Stay tuned and to our US friends, happy July 4th! Buy us a coffee on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/proudlyasian⁠⁠ ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proudly Asian: Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://proudly-asian.com⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://instagram.com/proudly.asian⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Yout...

Puja Kapai, a Hong Kong-Indian multi-award winning researcher, academic and community justice advocate, joins us to talk about challenges facing ethnic minorities and refugees in Hong Kong as well as the work she does to put unconscious bias in Asia on the map. Currently an associate professor at the Faculty of Law and convenor of the Women’s Studies Research Centre at the University of Hong Kong,...

(Content Warning: This episode contains verbal description of violence) Si Hyeong Kang, a Korean-Ghanaian F&B professional born in Busan, South Korea, joins us this week to talk about his experience growing up Korean in Ghana and misconceptions about Africa. Growing up as a racial minority in Africa, Si Hyeong grew up in a small community of Koreans and moved around schools, experiencing the m...

Pride 2023: Rachael SE, Singaporean LGBTQ+ advocate and founder of queer community LesBeHeard, joins us to talk about her experience growing up lesbian in a Chindian family; and how to encourage and normalise conversations about taboo subjects in Asia such as women’s sexual health and divorce in LGBTQ+ relationships. Find out more about LesBeHeard: https://instagram.com/lesbeheard_ ---------------...

Continuing our Pride Month 2023 special with queer entrepreneur and LGBTQ advocate Kayla Wong. Born and raised in Hong Kong, many would have come across Kayla as the daughter of actor Michael Wong and supermodel Janet Ma. But after living the majority of her formative years in the limelight, Kayla made a name for herself as an outspoken LGBTQ advocate in Hong Kong. She joins us to talk about how p...

As Pride Month approaches, Pakistani LGBTQ+ activist Burhan (they/them) join us to talk about their experience growing up queer and Muslim. As an outspoken queer person, Burhan’s daily life involves receiving death threats and hate comments online. They tell us about how they turn all the hate into motivation to fight for visibility and representation for the South Asian LGBTQ+ community through t...

Known for its natural wonders, sacred sites, iconic rice paddies, wondrous beaches, and a food scene that's far from boring, there is no further explanation needed as for why tourists love Bali. But beneath the surface of this idyllic paradise lies a growing concern among the local Balinese population. As tourism returns after the pandemic, the island has witnessed an influx of visitors from a...

Isabel's cultured-serial-cat-dad friend Isaac Cheung Jr. stays for another episode to talk about underrated Asian cinema classics directed by Asian filmmakers including Bong Joon-ho, Zhang Yimou, Akira Kurosawa, and Johnnie To. Isaac also tells us about that time someone called him "oriental". ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected with Proudly Asian:...

(Minor spoiler warning) Isabel invites one of her most cultured friends, Isaac who also happens to be a serial cat dad, to talk about Netflix’s hit series Beef and why it hits first-born children particularly hard. Isabel also grills Isaac about his legendary obsession with the Wachowskis’ sci-fi blockbuster Jupiter Ascending.  ------------------------------------------------------- Stay Connected...

Kicking off the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month with CapRadio journalist Sarah Mizes-Tan who recently launched a brand new podcast Mid-Pacific, a podcast that explores what it means to be Asian American and the feeling of being caught between two worlds. We talk to Sarah and CapRadio Director of On-Demand Sally Schilling who is also the executive producer of Mid-Pacific about...

We have officially entered the 52nd week of Proudly Asian which also means we have produced one year's worth of content! Ahead of the Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we caught up with our podcaster friends Curtis from the InfatuAsian Podcast and Lingjie from the Worst Asian Podcast to talk about all things podcasting. Is it worth it? Have we thought about quitting? Any advice f...

Ryan Alexander Holmes, Afro-Asian American actor and content creator, was born and raised in Los Angeles by a Taiwanese mother and African American father and identifies as 100% Chinese and 100% African. An outspoken activist about racism in America himself, Ryan joins Proudly Asian to talk about growing up Blasian, dealing with rejection as an actor, and how to break out of a victim mindset in a...

Crisel Consunji, award-winning Filipino actress and entrepreneur based in Hong Kong, made her movie debut with the internationally-acclaimed Hong Kong film “Still Human”. Born and raised in the Philippines, Crisel first moved to Hong Kong in 2008 to work as a lead vocalist for Hong Kong Disneyland. She then went on to become the first Filipino to be nominated and to receive an Acting award in the...

International Women’s Day Special: Dr. Brenda Alegre, transgender registered psychologist and gender studies lecturer born and raised in the Philippines, is one of the few trans identifying academics in Hong Kong, if not the only one. She joins us to talk about the perceptions and stereotypes of transgender people in Asia, and what she teaches her students about navigating gender identities and in...

International Women’s Day Special: Mizuki Nishiyama, a London-based mixed-Japanese artist coming from a family of artists, joins Proudly Asian to talk about how she draws inspiration from her Hong Kong, Japanese and Italian cultural heritage. With her paintings featured in over 30 exhibitions across the world, Mizuki also tells us about her ongoing journey exploring human fragility and reconstruct...