This Filipino American Life

We all have them in our lives. Friends and family who are not Filipino but sometimes we call “Honorary Filipinos.” But does anyone really deserve such a title? Does it become an invitation for more privileged folks to begin Filipino-splaining us and/or become culture vultures? Is this title that we should even dole out? In...

Sometimes, you just have to chase your dream, damnit. For Bernard Badion, telling stories was always an integral part of him and has been a life-long pursuit. Growing up in Sunnyvale, California, the acclaimed Filipino American creator longed to tell stories that people can relate to. And in so many ways, he has already written,...

Is hopia a dessert? What started out as a random argument Elaine and Producer Mike had snowballed into a whole TFAL mini-episode about random Filipino food questions. Listen as the TFAL crew discuss and debate questions like: What is the most overrated Filipino dish? The most underrated? Do you f-ck with Filipino fruit salad? Why...

If you are into comic books, then you must absolutely know Hot Tropiks, the leading distributor of Filipino comics and children’s literature in the United States. The owner and co-founder, Angelo Mendez, together with his wife, Nadine, began Hot Tropiks to bring the bold, imaginative stories of comics to a global audience. In this TFAL...

Today’s the day! “Eraserheads: Combo on the Run” is releasing throughout North America across over 60 screens, one of the biggest and widest releases of a Filipino documentary ever.  And while the exploits of the band are well detailed in the film itself, we thought it would be worthwhile to sit down with Director Diane Ventura...

In the 3rd edition of our Eraserheads-themed mini-series, Les the DJ and Producer Mike reminisce about road trips to the tune of “Overdrive”, and can’t get enough of silly love songs like “Ligaya”.  But what songs are Les and Mike listening to now?  Listen and find out! As a reminder, on April 24th, Combo On...

In part 2 of our mini-series “Original Pilipino Musings” with Les the DJ, we dive into two seminal Eraserheads classics, “Toyang” from their 1993 debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop!, as well as “Alapaap” from their 1994 follow-up, Circus.  Listen as we talk about what the songs mean to us, and debate whether or not it matters if...

In a few weeks, Combo On The Run, a documentary chronicling the rise of the band Eraserheads, is set to hit movie screens across North America.  It’s not often that a film from the Philippines gets a release and a reception as high profile as this film has been getting, let alone a documentary about...

Here Lies Love, the play about the rise and fall of Imelda Marcos as the Philippine dictator’s wife during Martial Law is now playing in Los Angeles. The TFAL crew had the opportunity to watch Here Lies Love when it first opened at the Mark Taper Forum a couple of weeks ago. Love it or...

For 10 years, TFAL has been trying to amplify voices from our community, but particular voices from sectors of our community that have been historically overlooked. We are especially attuned to the voices without glitz and glamor, without state-sanctioned narratives, and without algorithmic egos. For our 250th episode, and on the heels of the 40th...

Have you ever dreamed about a TV show with an all-Filipino American cast? What kind of show it would be? Who would star in it? In this TFAL episode, Elaine, Joe, and Producer Mike dream up their ideal TV show by playing The Fil Am Celebrity Draft! Adapted from a game that Joe used to...

In this episode of the podcast, Kalaya’an Mendoza returns to talk with the crew about community care.  This episode is dedicated to the folks in Minnesota and beyond who are grieving, protesting, and resisting ICE kidnappings and intimidation. The crew reached out to Kalaya’an again to check in on how we can support each other...

Over the last few months, the hottest night out can be had at a Filipino supermarket. If you’re lucky enough to live near a Seafood City, you might have seen or experienced the multi-generational viral dance party conceptualized by JP Breganza back in August 2025. What is this phenomenon all about? Why does it attract...

Dom Magwili is a prolific actor, writer, and educator who has graced his presence on stage and screen for years. Most importantly Dom has played a role in our lives when he guided Kat as  she was PCN coordinator at UCLA and gave Elaine a boost of confidence when she was an emcee for the...

What is the Filipino American anthem? Is it Bebot by the Black Eyed Peas? P.T.I. by Carl Angelo? Lemonade by Jeremy Passion? Us by Ruby Ibarra? Do You Miss Me? by Jocelyn Enriquez? Todo Todo by Daniela Romo (you know who chose that one!)?? In this TFAL episode, we look at so-called Filipino American anthems...

In this episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with Arthur Yu. Arthur Yu was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in 2023. Arthur did all the things you needed to do like rounds of chemo and looking for bone marrow matches. Arthur explored the National Marrow Donor Program (formerly Be The Match) for possible matches. ...

“You’re not Filipino if you don’t speak Tagalog.” “You sound white.” “The national language of the Philippines is Filipino, not Tagalog.” “Filipino is already gender neutral.” Much of our online discourse in the Filipino community is about or related to language. The debates are out there. We here at TFAL want to tackle some of...

Have you ever thought about doing a pilgrimage? Would you want to contemplate your life choices on a hiking journey through the mountainous regions of Europe? Do you just want to hear about someone else doing that and not deal with the physical and spiritual Olympics of it all? Then this episode is for you!...

In this episode we have tfal fan favorite Faith Santilla aka  “Tita Faith” in her fourth appearance on the pod! Joining Faith is the amazing and inspiring Martha Gonzalez of Quetzal. On this episode Elaine, Kat, and Producer Mike talk story about the exciting and upcoming show at The Ford Los Angeles, Labor of Love....

  In this episode Elaine and Producer Mike have a conversation with singer-songwriter Stephen Ordonez also known as LABIT (@labitlabit). Stephen shares his experience growing up with Filipino American parents born in the States and how their love of music influenced his style. Fans of artists like Laufey and Jason LaPierre will vibe with Stephen’s...

In this episode of TFAL, Elaine and Producer Mike have a conversation with Los Angeles native (yes, they exist!) Chrissa Sparkles.  You may have seen Chrissa Sparkles go viral with her Barbie inspired content on @chrissasparkles. In this conversation we go through Chrissa’s journey as a local kid with no connections figuring out how to maneuver...

Dear young people, How do we stay cool? Sincerely, Middle-aged TFALers There are many generations of Filipinos who live in the United States in this day and age. Immigrant generations, 2nd generations, 3rd generations, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and now Gen Z. Many have different experiences as Filipino Americans, and in many ways, some...

Joe wrote a book! Well…kinda. After a few years of gathering photos and writing, Joe has published FILIPINOS IN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, a pictorial history that traces the historical and cultural shifts of this quintessential suburb through the lens of generations of Filipinos who made the San Fernando Valley their home. This book is...

  In this episode the TFAL crew has a conversation with author Randy Ribay. The crew has discussed Patron Saints of Nothing multiple times, so this conversation was long coming. In fact, we thought we had already spoken to Randy Ribay! So glad we got to have this conversation with Randy about his journey as...

In this episode Producer Mike and Elaine have a conversation with TFAL graphic designer Vincent Collyer and his brother Charles Collyer about Charles’ experience with a surprise diagnosis of lung cancer. Charles explains how a post Tough Mudder run lead to a rib injury which the X-rays lead to his lung cancer diagnosis. Post lung...