The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen

If you joined us last time for the episode "What Is Chữ Nôm? Premodern Vietnamese Hip Hop? " we are here to answer your questions on this AMA based on the questions we got from the last podcast with Professor John Phan from Columbia University. We’ve gathered some of the most thoughtful questions from our last episode from the listeners, and I’m excited to dive deeper into the topics we to...

In this episode, we sit down with Quang X. Pham — a Vietnamese American leader whose life story reveals stories of resilience, service, and reinvention. Born in Saigon and arriving in the United States as a refugee at just ten years old, Quang’s early years were shaped by language barriers, new cultures, and the emotional burden of a father left behind in post-war Vietnam. From there, he charted a...

In this episode, we sit down with Cathy Linh Che—a poet and filmmaker who grew up in Los Angeles, and the producer of the short documentary We Were The Scenery. Through an intimate conversation, Cathy shares her upbringing and how growing up between cultures shaped the way she sees the world. We dive into the making of We Were The Scenery, unpacking its emotional core and why telling stories like...

Mai Whelan is a Vietnamese American woman who became the Season 1 winner of Squid Game: The Challenge. Mai shares her life story, beginning as a young refugee who fled Vietnam at eight years old after the fall of Saigon, to becoming a U.S. Navy service member at just eighteen. She went on to serve two decades in the Navy before continuing her public service career as a visa interview adjudicator f...

Director Bao Nguyen sits with Kenneth to discuss his latest documentary, The Stringer , which premiered on Netflix on November 28, 2025 . The film undertakes a meticulous investigation into the true authorship of the iconic “Napalm Girl” photograph, long attributed to Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Nick Ut. Through exhaustive research, rare archival materials, and gripping interviews, The Str...

Dr. Jay Veith, a longtime researcher of the Vietnam War and POW/MIA history take a deep look at the more than $85 million the U.S. government has spent over the past decade to work with the Vietnamese government in searching for remaining American POW/MIA personnel. We explore a central question: Is the return on investment (ROI) worth it? Does continued U.S. spending on this effort truly deliver...

In this episode, we sit down once again with branding expert Chris Do for a powerful and honest conversation about creativity, culture, and the future of Vietnam. We explore why Vietnam has yet to produce globally recognized brands, exploring the structural, cultural, and economic challenges that hold creators back—along with the incredible potential waiting to be unlocked. Chris reflects on the u...

As we honor Veterans Day in the United States today, join Kenneth for a conversation with Tino Dinh and Thomas Nguyen — two Vietnamese American veterans who have proudly served on the board of the Vietnamese American Uniformed Services Association (VAUSA). The Vietnamese American Uniformed Services Association is a truly unique organization, distinguished by its rich heritage and vibrant culture....

In this episode of the Vietnamese, Kenneth welcomes Tony Lam (Lâm Quang Thống) a trailblazer, community leader, and the first Vietnamese American ever elected to public office in the United States. Tony recounts his journey from his early life in Vietnam, through the turbulence of war, to the heartbreaking days following the fall of Saigon in 1975. Like thousands of others, he fled as a refugee an...

In this episode, archaeologist Nam C. Kim and language historian John D. Phan join host Kenneth Nguyen for an exploration of how Vietnam’s ancient past continues to shape its modern identity. The conversation takes us into the space where myth, politics, linguistics and archaeology meet. Together, they unravel how iconic women, The Trung Sisters, once dismissed as rebels and “savages” in early Han...

Dam Van Huynh graduated from the renown Boston Conservatory at Berklee (USA) and has worked as a performer with various internationally recognized premiere dance companies and choreographers including The Nevada Ballet (USA), Merce Cunningham (USA), Portugal’s Companhia de Dança Contemporânea – CeDeCe (Portugal), Richard Alston (UK) and Phoenix Dance Theatre (UK). He regularly creates works for ot...

In this episode, Kenneth sits down with Czech-Vietnamese filmmaker Duzan Duong to explore the creative and personal journey behind his debut feature film, Summer School 2001 — a project that took 8 years to make and 6 years to write. We discuss what it takes to navigate European film financing structures, how he approached casting and directing actors, and where the emotional core of the film came...

In this episode, Kenneth sits down with Eric Nong, the Artistic Director of the Viet Film Fest, to explore this year’s film selections and the evolving landscape of Vietnamese cinema. From the exciting rise of animated Vietnamese films to the behind-the-scenes process of how films are chosen, the conversation also touches on how AI might shape the future of curation and storytelling in film. Eric...

In this episode of the Vietnamese podcast, we’re joined by Karen Tran Wood, a seasoned entertainment marketing and publicity executive with over a decade of experience leading award-winning campaigns across film, television, and lifestyle brands. As Head of Entertainment Marketing & Publicity at IW Group, Karen oversees a division dedicated to crafting integrated, culturally resonant campaigns...

In this episode of Viet Origins, Kenneth Nguyen joins Professor John Phan of Columbia University to examine the creation and evolution of chữ Nôm, Vietnam’s early vernacular writing system. Born out of a need to express Vietnamese thought in written form, chữ Nôm emerged as a linguistic innovation that pushed against classical norms. Just as hip hop gave voice to the unheard, chữ Nôm became a medi...

If you joined us last time for the episode "Did Chinese Writing "Civilize" Vietnam?" we are here to answer your questions on this AMA based on the questions we got from the podcast sub series so far. We had quite a conversation with Professor John Phan from Columbia University about the evolution of the Vietnamese language. We dove deep into its fascinating history, from its roots...

In this episode of Viet History Makers, we sit with Professor Kevin Pham to explore the remarkable life and legacy of Trần Đức Thảo, who we can describe as Vietnam’s earliest intellectual export. A philosopher trained in France, Thảo studied alongside some of the 20th century’s most influential European thinkers, including Jean-Paul Sartre and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Yet his journey was not one of...

We sit down with siblings Han and Holden Nguyen , finalists from The Amazing Race Season 37. They open up about their journey to the show, including the audition process that first brought them into the spotlight. We dive into their unique sibling dynamic—how competing side by side strengthened their relationship, but also tested it under the pressures of racing around the world. Han and Holden al...

Kenneth Nguyen sits down with Hanh Nguyen , Executive Editor of Salon.com , to talk about Vietnam’s cultural rivalry with Korea, the power of K-pop and Korean dramas, and what defines meaningful culture. They also get into F1 the Movie , Brad Pitt as the ultimate leading man, and why Vietnam still lacks a star of that stature. -----------------------------------------------------------------------...

In this episode of The Origins of Vietnam , Kenneth sits down with Professor John Phan of Columbia University to explore the complex story of how the Vietnamese language took shape. While Vietnamese did not emerge genealogically from Chinese, its history is deeply entangled with centuries of Chinese influence. So where did it truly come from? Together, we trace the twists, turns, and unexpected de...

In this episode, Kenneth Nguyen sits down with Chris Tran from Little Saigon Official to unpack a challenging but necessary topic: toxic masculinity in the Vietnamese community and culture. Together, they explore how toxic masculinity shows up, how it shows up in our family lives, and the ways it impacts not only men but also families and the broader community. This is a conversation meant to spar...

Kaila Yu is an author based in Los Angeles. Her debut memoir, ‘Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,’ will be published on August 19th, 2025, with Penguin Random House’s Crown Publishing. She is also a luxury travel, food, and culture writer and on-camera correspondent based in Los Angeles, who has written for The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Con...

In this second episode of Ancient Vietnam, we return to the world of early Vietnamese history—this time loosely based on an AMA (Ask Me Anything) version shaped by the voices and comments of our audience. Building on the foundational themes of the first episode of the series Ancient Vietnam, co-host John Phan joins us to dive deeper into the linguistic and cultural mysteries that sparked so much j...

In this episode of Viet History Makers, Kenneth Nguyen and co-host Kevin Pham discuss the powerful and enduring legacy of the Hai Bà Trưng sisters—Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị—two warrior queens who led a monumental uprising against Chinese Han rule in 40 CE. Revered as national heroines, their story has long stood at the crossroads of legend, resistance, and identity. Together, we unpack the complex...

Twenty years ago, one of my best friends, Khoa Trong Nguyen moved to Vietnam to start a new life in Vietnam and a career in the new Vietnamese film industry. Today, Khoa and many Vietnamese Americans are living out their dreams in modern Vietnam. While box office success has eluded him, Khoa has forged a new path in academia as head of the Digital Film and Video Program at RMIT in Ho Chi Minh City...