Ten Thousand Things with Shin Yu Pai

As a Filipina American woman, Maritess Zurbano didn’t have it easy making her way through the Las Vegas magic circuit. For decades, as she honed her skills, she endured the racism and sexism that were often treated as normal facets of the magic scene. At first, she stomached it. But now, she’s breaking free. She may be a master at sleight of hand, but mastering assimilation? That’s a magic trick s...

Poet and translator Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma first picked up Juan Rulfo’s book, Pedro Páramo , while learning Spanish in Oaxaca, Mexico. The novel–which tells the story of the living and the dead speaking across time–became something he turned to again and again. But when he searched for an English translation, he discovered that while the plot remained, the spirit of the language felt lost. Throug...

Putsata Reang was 11 months old when her family escaped Cambodia on a boat in 1975. When they arrived in San Diego after 23 days at sea, each member of her family was given a meal card at Camp Pendleton. More than a ticket to three free meals a day, it was a ticket to prosperity in America. But the American dream has a downside, where accepting help can be seen as an accrual of debt. Now as an adu...

As a child growing up on Cape Cod, Amy Wong Hope learned to assimilate, stay useful, and avoid being seen. Years later after grief, burnout, and a major career shift, a single chocolate mushroom becomes the catalyst for an unexpected journey into ancestry, identity, and psychedelic education. But in a moment where Asian culture has become trendy and consumable online, Amy confronts what assim...

After years of experimenting with all kinds of mediums and materials, Korean-American artist Rob Rhee found his calling in bricolage—a practice of artmaking that uses whatever's at hand. And what proved to be at hand… were gourds. In working with gourds, Rob trains his living plants with new routines, giving birth to fantastic new forms never before imagined—just as so many children of immigrants,...

Ten Thousand Things is back for its fifth and final season. Shin Yu talks to artists, authors, a magician, and a psychedelic educator about the objects that help them reclaim and redefine identity, in all its complexities. New episodes start May 6.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The season one finale of Field Notes explores the life and legacy of Seattle music producer Gary Mula and the musical castle he built at The Dutchman Studios. The podcast features archival interview recordings with Mula where he recalls how The Dutchman became a diverse, welcoming mecca for various genres, from grunge to early hip-hop. Ultimately, this episode celebrates Mula's unwavering, communi...

Hosts of They Call Us Bruce, Jeff and Phil, welcome back Shin Yu Pai to talk about the latest season of Ten Thousand Things, along with fellow podcaster Yowei Shaw (Proxy, NPR's Invisibilia). They talk about the objects that help us move forward -- like a gold star trophy; how layoffs can be like breakups that unravel your sense of identity, purpose, and self-worth; finding healing and reinvention...

Earlier this year, author Amy Tan sold her personal archives — 62 boxes worth — to the University of California, Berkeley. When Shin Yu heard the news, she knew she wanted to hear Amy’s thoughts on literary legacy and the stuff she was stashing in her garage. What were the most important things to her to preserve? How did she deal with the discomfort of excavating decades of emotional memory to fi...

When award-winning journalist Stephanie Foo was diagnosed with Complex PTSD, the information she found felt cold and clinical. What she needed was something warmer–more human. So she took her diagnosis into her own hands…literally. In this episode, Stephanie and Shin Yu trace a path to healing; from childhood trauma to the power of first-person storytelling. Along the way, they explore what it tru...

The Ganges is a sacred river in India that supports one of the most fertile and densely populated regions on the planet and serves as a site of daily ablutions and funerary rites. When Serena Chopra travelled to India on a Fulbright fellowship, she collected a jar of water from the Ganges to help her stay connected to her ancestral homeland — while learning about her family history, intergeneratio...

We all have that one item of clothing hanging in our closet, the one that we keep around for the moment when we’ve shed that extra 15 pounds. For Susan Lieu’s mom, that garment was a traditional Vietnamese dress called an ao dai. And when it became too snug, she set out on a path that rewrote her family’s story, all in search of the perfect body. Now, decades later, Susan takes host Shin Yu Pai al...

When Yowei Shaw was laid off from her job, it felt less like a career shift and more like a breakup — one that unraveled her sense of identity and purpose. In this episode, Yowei and host Shin Yu Pai explore the emotional toll of job loss and the rituals we invent to heal – from fried chicken to gold trophies. Along the way, they chart a path through grief toward reinvention, while exploring the p...

Ten Thousand Things is back for another season, now with Wonder Media Network. This season is about the objects that help us move forward — like a traditional Vietnamese dress, a jar of water from the Ganges River, and a gold trophy. New episodes start May 20th.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot is changing for Ten Thousand Things. After three years with KUOW Public Radio, the podcast is now being produced by Wonder Media Network. New episodes begin in May. In the meantime, you can visit the museum exhibit based on the podcast at The Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. The show opens March 7th and is on display until 2027. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an episode from a podcast called Inheriting from our friends at LAist Studios and the NPR Network. Hosted by NPR's Emily Kwong. Inheriting is a show about Asian American and Pacific Islander families, exploring how a single event can ripple through generations. Bảo Trương’s parents both fled Vietnam in 1975 following the war. His father Thuận was a pilot for the South Vietnamese Air Force...

The E. Kong Yick building houses the only pan-Asian Pacific American community-based museum in the country, The Wing Luke Museum. And it’s an anchor in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. The Wing began in an old mechanic’s garage, exhibiting old folk-art relics from Asia. This episode tells the story of how The Wing transformed from a traditional museum into a BIPOC-owned building, commun...

Some trees are just special. One tree in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District has reached legendary status. The loquat tree is an artifact of the Engs, a pioneer Chinese-American family who planted the fruit seed in their front yard. The tree has thrived for over 60 years, nourishing the family and the community. Now, it stands as a legacy tree in the C-ID, accessible to a new generation and...

This is the sweet story of a viral and photogenic ube cheesecake. To many Filipino-Americans, ube is not a trend. It’s a staple. Yet here in the United States, it was known for decades as an ethnic specialty ingredient. That is, until Chera Amlag got her hands on it and made it the star of her Hood Famous cheesecake. When Chera’s homemade ube cheesecake became a culinary phenomenon, ube was transf...

When Tiffany Ran left for college, her mom gifted her a Tatung cooker. The Tatung is a unique kitchen appliance that would be familiar to anyone with ties to Taiwan. Everyone uses it slightly differently, as its versatility is passed down by word of mouth. Tiffany’s Tatung has accompanied her throughout the chapters of her unfolding adulthood. It has offered nourishment and comfort to her through...

Janet Lee, a freshman at Bryn Mawr, was heading home for Christmas break when she was detained by the police for alleged drug smuggling. Janet wasn’t carrying any drugs. But the treatment she received from the Philadelphia police department and from her own community would change her life forever. In this episode, we’ll explore the pain of being accused of being someone you are not and fighting to...

Jenny Liou is good at many things. She is a poet, an English professor, and former MMA Cage Fighter. It would be easy to see the cage as a place of limitation. But for Jenny, the cage was a place of freedom, where she could showcase her athletic skills. It was a place where her jiu-jitsu training allowed her to stay grounded and see her opponent’s weaknesses. Jenny rose in the sport’s ranks while...

We might wear a mask to fit in, to fulfill someone else’s expectations, or to navigate a white-centric world. For Shin Yu, the mask was real. It was a white plaster mold of her face that hung on her in-laws’ wall, a reminder of all the “saving face” she has done trying to fit in. Last year, she decided to ask for the mask back. This is a personal interview with Shin Yu about learning how to let do...

Leanna Keith knew the flute was her instrument. But she was discouraged from trying it in middle school by a white teacher who said her anatomy (a teardrop lip) would not allow her to master the instrument. Today, she is a professional musician, breaking the mold with her contemporary flute performances. This story looks at the uniqueness of our individual anatomies and what it’s like to be made t...

This season on Ten Thousand Things : We're back with season three! This season features the stories of trailblazing Asian American women and the resilience of Asian American communities, even in the face of endangerment. Three of this season’s stories take place in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District Neighborhood, with help from the Wing Luke Museum. Featured guests include poet and former...