They Call Us Bruce

Jeff and Phil check in with Christine Chen, Executive Director of Asian Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote), and Karthick Ramakrishnan, Executive Director of AAPI Data , to get a pulse on the upcoming midterm elections. They discuss the challenges of voter engagement — including new and ongoing barriers to voting (and how you can take action ); significant data trends across Asian American a...

Jeff and Phil welcome Kevin Jeung , Chef of Research and Production at the legendary restaurant Noma -- named the World's Best Restaurant -- which is finishing up a 16-week residency in Los Angeles. He talks about neglecting to inform his parents when he dropped out of college to pursue cooking full time; the culinary experimentation (both failure and success, but mostly failure) that happens insi...

Jeff and Phil welcome back comedian, writer, podcaster, and sister in rice Jenny Yang to catch up, kick off the summer, and spread the word about her Good Egg Immigrant Grocery Store Standup Comedy Tour, in which she jokes about growing up as a "good" immigrant kid, the importance of food to our cultures, and her own failed fertility journey. Jenny shares about the personal struggles that led her...

Jeff and Phil welcome filmmaker Tadashi Nakamura to talk about Third Act , his deeply personal documentary about his father, pioneering filmmaker Robert A. Nakamura, aka "The Godfather of Asian American Media." Tad talks about growing up in the shadow of his revered artist/activist parents, and the pressure that evolved into pride and partnership; making the movie he always knew that he had to mak...

Jeff and Phil welcome back acclaimed legendary playwright David Henry Hwang , who talks about his new take on the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical  Flower Drum Song , now playing at East West Players in Los Angeles. He talks about rewriting and re-contextualizing the book for this beloved show (still only one of the few Broadway musicals to center Asian Americans); refreshing some of the mo...

Jeff and Phil welcome back friend and filmmaker Bao Nguyen , director of the Netflix documentary  BTS: The Return , which follows global pop supergroup BTS -- Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook -- as they reunite and record their highly anticipated comeback album Arirang . Bao talks about riding shotgun and spending the summer with the biggest band in the world; getting an intimate gli...

Jeff and Phil welcome their old friend, writer and educator Scott Kurashige , author of American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism . He talks about his personal journey into Asian American activism and movement scholarship; the erasure of anti-Asian racism and colonial violence, and why we are constantly learning and re-learning this history; and why legislating and prosecuting hate...

Jeff and Phil welcome rapper/actor/writer Jonnie Park, aka Dumbfoundead , author of the new memoir SPIT: A Life in Battles . He talks about why the time felt right to share his story through this book; coming up in Koreatown and finding his voice as an artist through the Los Angeles battle rap scene; making the leap from music to movies and TV in projects like K-Pops! and Beef ; and why Phil is th...

Jeff and Phil welcome back their best pals in podcasting, cultural critic/journalist/educator Rebecca Sun and Dino-Ray Ramos of DIASPORA, to re-connect, reset, and share what they've been watching/consuming/experiencing lately in pop culture and beyond. They discuss, among other things, Asians in the Regency romance of Bridgerton ; the possibility of a brown James Bond in Riz Ahmed's offbeat comed...

Jeff and Phil welcome writer/director Amy Wang and actress Shirley Chen to talk about their new film Slanted , a horror/comedy described as " Mean Girls meets The Substance ." They discuss blending body horror and black comedy to tell an Asian American story about race, shame, and belonging; why the American high school prom is a useful and universal -- they love this movie in Germany! -- cinemati...

Jeff and Phil welcome back Daniel Chong, director of the Disney/Pixar animated feature Hoppers . They discuss the silly, unlikely pitch for "Penguin Avatar" that actually got the green light; centering an angry Asian young woman at the heart of this adventure (and why this movie arrives amidst an incredible moment for animated Asian movie heroines); and all the fun world-building that goes into cr...

Jeff and Phil ring in the Lunar New Year and welcome journalist Kimmy Yam to talk about trial runs, fresh starts, and the Year of the Horse. They discuss the unfortunate and untimely shutdown of NBC Asian America -- and the loss of representation, trust, and cultural power; the incredible depth of reporting and coverage of the Asian American community that Kimmy was able accomplish during her tenu...

Jeff and Phil welcome poet/author/activist Bao Phi and Minnesota Star Tribune columnist Laura Yuen to talk about the ongoing and escalating crackdown by federal immigration operations in Minnesota. They talk about Laura's recent piece about her family and their citizenship ; the temperature on the street, particularly in the wake of recent killings by ICE agents; the widespread fear and uncertaint...

Jeff and Phil welcome chef Hasung Lee , aka "Culinary Monster," one of the breakout contestants from season two of Netflix's hit Korean cooking competition show Culinary Class Wars . He talks about his journey from Korea to the United States to train in some of the world's best kitchens; getting cast on the show as a Black Spoon chef -- including how he got his nickname; his unique focus and confi...

Phil and Jeff welcome animator and filmmaker Alex Woo , co-director of the Netflix animated feature  In Your Dreams . He talks about the foundational education in storytelling he received while working at Pixar, leaving to strike out on his own and chase the brave new world of streaming with Kuku Studios , and telling an emotionally grounded story -- while teaching the kiddos about suffering! -- t...

Jeff and Phil welcome artist, author and advocate Rina Oh , one of the only Asian American women to publicly share her experience as a victim of sex offender and trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. She shares about her journey as an immigrant and striving artist that eventually led her into the orbit of the disgraced financier -- a relationship marked by manipulation, exploitation, and ultimately, regret....

Jeff and Phil welcome Francesca Hong -- chef, community organizer, state assemblymember, and candidate for governor of Wisconsin. She talks about her working class roots and political ascent from the food service industry to being elected the first Asian American member of the Wisconsin Legislature, and now running for governor as a Democratic Socialist to build a Wisconsin in which everyone has a...

Jeff and Phil welcome creator/star Angela Wong Carbone and actors Celia Au and Derek Basco -- voices behind the new comedy fiction podcast Minor Legends (part of the Potluck Podcast Collective), an ambitious narrative project that's "a little cringe, a little crazy" that delves into the funny, weird and wild side of Asian America. Angela talks about being inspired to create a multi-dimensional sho...

Jeff and Phil welcome friend and filmmaker Fawzia Mirza, writer/director of indie comedy/drama feature The Queen of My Dr eams . They talk about the Asian diasporic film subgenre of "Our Parents Are People Too"; Fawzia's own journey of telling this story over multiple iterations and embracing her identity as a director; and the challenges of shooting a narrative that spans several time periods and...

Jeff and Phil celebrate the 300th episode of They Call Us Bruce and welcome writer/scholar Jeff Chang, author of Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America , recorded live at Skylight Books in Los Angeles. He talks about writing a biography of Bruce Lee that authentically centers the man behind the legend, while doubling as a stealth culturally history of Asian America, in a way...

Jeff and Phil welcome pop culture pals and cultural critics Dino-Ray Ramos and Rebecca Sun to discuss two new similarly-flavored TV series, Butterfly and Tempest . They explore the cultural significance of these Korean and Korean-adjacent shows, their unique storytelling approaches, and the evolving landscape of Asian American representation in global content. They discuss the future of authentic...

Jeff and Phil welcome actors Daniel Dae Kim and Reina Hardesty, stars of the Prime Video thriller series Butterfly . Daniel talks about adapting the original graphic novel to create an action/espionage series around Korean American characters; Reina talks about auditioning for "Untitled Daniel Dae Kim Project" and finding her way in the role of estranged daughter (and highly-skilled assassin) Rebe...

Jeff and Phil welcome their old friend Oliver Wang, professor of sociology, curator for the Japanese American National Museum exhibition Cruising J-Town: Behind the Wheel of the Nikkei Community , and author/editor of the exhibition's companion book . They talk about the rich history of Japanese American car culture in Los Angeles, its significance in shaping community identity, the impact of urba...

Jeff and Phil welcome back Ada Tseng, co-author of Breaking Into New Hollywood: A Career Guide to a Changing Industry , and actor/comedian Amy Anderson and her daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons ( Modern Family ). Ada talks about writing a practical guide to getting started in today's entertainment industry; Amy and Aubrey trade stories with Jeff -- who's had some experience as a stage parent -- abou...

Jeff and Phil welcome writer and former pinup model Kaila Yu, author of Fetished: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty , a memoir-in-essays exploring the roles pop culture and colonialism played in shaping pervasive and destructive stereotypes about Asian women and their bodies. She talks about her iconic status as a model on import tuner scene; her own reckoning with being an objec...