Shoes Off Inside with MKT

What a year it’s been, AGAIN! 2021 has been another year full of ups and downs, turmoil and triumphs and overall craziness. BUT, we’ve learned a lot about the world, each other and, hopefully, ourselves. So as we get ready to head into 2022, May wanted to share something uplifting that she experienced with a group of dynamic young women who give us all hope about the future. They are part of “Girl...

The world of live theatre is largely still a white dominated industry with Asians being a very small minority. Just look at the numbers...66% of theatrical actors and 81% of directors are white, while Asian American directors stand at just 4.5%. When it comes to playwrights, nearly 72% are white versus 5% AAPI. No one has a better perspective on the ups and downs of AAPI playwrights than the maste...

There's something about baking that warms the heart. From the wonderful aroma of cookies in the oven to the fluffiness of a chiffon cake, baked goods are always a crowd pleaser. But let's be honest, when we think about baking, we often equate it to western flavors and styles. Brownies, cupcakes, croissants etc. It's not too often you hear bakers using pandan or miso or gochujang. En...

Who doesn’t love coffee? It’s a beloved beverage worldwide, but if you ask coffee lovers who are the biggest producers of coffee beans, most would likely answer “Brazil” or “Columbia”. You’d be hard pressed to get anyone to answer “Vietnam” and yet, the southeast Asian country is the second biggest producer of coffee in the world, but because of false narratives and stereotypes, Vietnamese coffee...

As a college student, Lela Lee was an angry young woman, but she wasn't sure why. So one night, she took that anger and created a cartoon, "Angry Little Asian Girl". But, she didn't share it. In fact, she put her away FOR YEARS! A local film festival and a twist of fate, however, helped revive Lela's private, therapeutic project and the foul-mouthed "Angry Little Asia...

Question: Why is it that when the subjects of voting rights or voter suppression or election results are talked about by the media and politicians, AAPIs are almost always left out of the conversation even though AAPIs are the fastest growing ethnic group AND voting bloc in the country? To this day, Asian Americans are too often an after-thought or even invisibilized in the political arena, but th...

School's in session and May launched her brand new course at USC Annenberg, "AAPI History and Journalism". The class is the first to ever focus Asian American issues at the Annenberg school so this is groundbreaking. But May was FULL of anxiety for several reasons, including pressure to succeed because, as the BIPOC community knows, often we only get one shot to get it right by the...

When it comes to “inclusion”, what comes to mind for many of us is race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. But what about people with disabilities? According to the World Bank, 15% of the world’s population experience some form of disability and yet, there are still huge barriers that stand in the way of the disabled to live full and vibrant lives. Marisa Hamamoto, a trained dancer who was...

From Chinese Chicken Feet to Filipino Balut (fertilized egg) to Indian Eri Polu (silk worm) Asian cuisine is as diverse as it is intriguing. Foods from Asia are steeped in tradition and for each culture, dishes represent identity, pride and comfort. But throughout time, Asian food has been stereotyped as “horrific”, “gross” and “disgusting” whereas cuisines of the west are, often times, revered an...

At the stroke of midnight June 15, California lifted most of its COVID restrictions including no more mask mandates for most places including restaurants, gyms, stores, concerts and work places, but there is a catch. Only those who have been fully VACCINATED are permitted to go mask-less. Unvaccinated people are expected to go by the honor system, which leaves skeptics like May more than concerned...

There is no shortage of dating apps that cover a range of wants and needs out there. Some are open to any and all types of people wanting to find connection. Others target more specific groups such as seniors, LGBTQ, Christians and Jews. And apps even for those who just want to hook-up or have extra-marital affairs! But, there has never been a dating app based in North America meant for Asians to...

He's been in some of the biggest blockbuster movies including "Power Rangers", "Aquaman" and now the reboot of "Mortal Kombat", but Chinese-born Canadian Ludi Lin isn't letting the fame get to his head. In this episode, he opens up to May about the challenges of anti-Asian hate, Asian representation in Hollywood, the need for Asians to tell our own stories,...

On February 3, 2021 Filipino American Noel Quintana was on the subway in New York. He was minding his own business when suddenly he was attacked by a total stranger wielding a box cutter. Noel suffered a horrific slash across his face that required more than 100 stitches. But strangely, unlike other victims of anti-Asian hate crimes, Noel hasn’t received as much support even though he will need fu...

There are a number of reports and data on the state of the AAPI community when it comes to income, education, politics and, of course, racism, but there are hardly any surveys about how Asians are perceived by others. In fact, the last time a study that measured the attitudes and perceptions of AAPIs was more than 20 years ago, until now. A new non-profit group, Leading Asian Americans Unite for C...

Being brave together — it’s one of the three calls to action from @asiansarestrong founders Hudson Liao and Jeremy Jong. In light of the growing number of anti-asian hate crimes and assaults, these two friends decided to take action and produce self-defense videos online. But recently, their skills were put to the test when they stopped a robbery of an Asian family's car in San Francisco. Par...

Traditionally, punishment for crimes committed is often imprisonment, but it's rare when incarceration changes the convicted criminal for the better. In this time of such division, anger and violence especially related to communities of color, the concept of Restorative Justice is being talked about more often. For perpetrators, restorative justice involves education and rehabilitation rather...

This is a recording of an Instagram Live that May had recently on the subject of Self-Hate and Internalized Racism. These issues, in the past, were rarely spoken about especially within the Asian community because of shame, embarrassment and lack of awareness. But when Republican congressional candidate in Texas, Sery Kim, a Korean immigrant, openly said she doesn't want Chinese immigrants he...

The mass shooting in Georgia that left 8 people dead, 6 of them Asian women, has ripped open painful wounds for the AAPI community. For more than a year, anti-Asian hate has been sweeping across the US like wildfire and the massacre on March 16 was what Asians feared would happen. Three Asian spas were targeted by a 21-year old, white, male shooter who claimed to authorities that he had a "se...

Anti-Asian assaults are sky rocketing across the country so why aren't more hate crime charges being filed? Antoine Watson, the suspect in the murder of 84-year old Vichar Ratanapakdee, the elderly Thai man who died after being pushed to the ground, has only been charged with murder and elder abuse, but not a hate crime. Salman Muflihi, the man who stabbed a 36-year old man in the back in New...

The recent slew of attacks against Asians across the U.S. has raised the level of shock and disgust, but this time it's not just amongst the AAPI community. The general public is paying attention as well. The video of 84 year old Vichar Ratanapakdee being pushed and killed or the 91 year old Asian man being shoved on the sidewalk in Oakland or an Asian woman being knocked down by a stranger i...

It's been one year since the launch of "The May Lee Show" and what a year it's been! What started off as a modest attempt at focusing on and elevating the voices of the Asian and Asian American community quickly became something relevant, relatable and reliable to viewers and listeners of the show. From the highest of highs...Parasite's sweep of the Oscars, to the lowest o...

The inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as U.S. President and Vice President was history in the making. Biden is now the oldest person to become President and Harris is the first woman and first Black-Asian person to be VP. After four tumultuous years of the Trump presidency, the Biden-Harris team has an Everest sized mountain to climb...COVID-19, economic recession, a nation divided and c...

The start of 2021 hasn't brought much relief when it comes to COVID-19. Cases are exploding, hospitalizations are rising and deaths are climbing. The light at the end of this dark tunnel, however, is the rollout of vaccines. So far Pfizer and Moderna have received emergency approval and distributed vaccines in the U.S., but it's been slow going. There is, however, another major player th...

2020 has been a year like no other! From the global pandemic that turned the world upside down to the xenophobia it triggered against Asians to the social, economic and political fallout, 2020 has pushed us all to the edge. But it also gave some of us a chance to find more purpose including May. This was the year that she and NextShark decided to launch "The May Lee Show", a program mean...

It’s the holiday season and there’s no better way to celebrate than to bake delicious treats! Believe it or not, May, the woman who usually uses her oven as a shoe rack, has a tradition of baking Christmas cookies every year and in this highly unusual time of such anxiety and uncertainty, she wanted to share her love of holiday baking AND talk to someone who has made it her life’s mission to use t...