Episodes

(S3, EP 8) In continuation of the Season 3 theme, "Where Do We Stand?", Indiana State Representative Chris Chyung joined me as my guest for this episode. In 2018, he became the youngest (at 25 years old) & first Korean-American elected into office in Indiana's history by beating the district's long-time incumbent by only 82 votes in one of the state's traditionally GOP districts. This year, he is running for a very tight reelection race. Rep. Chyung talks about the challenges of running in 2018 ...

(S3, EP 7) Suely Saro Ed.D. joins me as a guest for the Season 3 edition of "Where Do We Stand?" Suely is currently running for Long Beach City Council. Earlier this year, she beat her opponent who has been a long-time incumbent. If elected, she'll be the first Khmer-American elected into Long Beach City Council, home to the largest Khmer-American population in the US. In our conversation, she shares her experience in what led her to run for office for the first time, and what it's like to campa...

(S3, EP 6) Jianan Shi joined in as a guest for this week's episode which was recorded on July 24th. Jianan is the Executive Director with Illinois Raise Your Hand, a parent advocacy organization that organizes parents around systemic issues in education. Prior to that, he was a science teacher at Solorio Academy High School in Chicago, and has been involved in community activism which includes volunteering with Asian American Advancing Justice (AAAJC-Chicago), and actively working with Black and...

(S3, EP 5) In this week's episode, I spoke with my old friend Tereza Lee back in July. Tereza is a mother of 3, professional pianist, and a long-time immigration rights activist. Tereza was one of the pioneers of the DREAM movement in the early 2000's when her then-undocumented status inspired US-IL Senator Dick Durbin to sponsor the first DREAM Act proposal in 2001. In this interview, Tereza shared her experiences growing up undocumented, and how her music teacher inspired her to share her stor...

(S3, EP 4) Michelle Kim joined in for this week's episode as part of Season 3's theme, "Where Do We Stand?". Michelle is a queer social justice activist, and is currently the CEO of Awaken, which provides interactive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) workshops for a number of leading tech companies across the US. She talked about the barriers that BIPOC employees are still facing with their employers, and what companies are failing to do in addressing the systemic racism and micro-aggressio...

(S3, EP 3) Cathy Park Hong joined me for this week's episode of the podcast. Cathy is a Korean-American poet, writer, and professor at Rutgers-Newark University. Cathy recently released her critically acclaimed essay book, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning this past Spring. In discussing her latest book, Cathy shared her process in writing Minor Feelings, and on the complicated layers of the Asian-American identity in her essays. Her book segued into the current anti-Asian racism durin...

(S3, EP 2) Anoop Prasad, Immigration Attorney w/ Asian Law Caucus, joins in for this episode continuing on the Season 3 theme "Where Do We Stand?" as he talks about the current situation that has affected Southeast Asian and other API immigrants who are currently detained by ICE and facing deportation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Anoop shares about the history of the deportation of visa and green-card holding Southeast Asian immigrants, and how it has continued to accelerate under the Trump adm...

(S3, EP 1) Annie Tan, special education teacher, activist, writer and storyteller, kicks things off as my first guest of the 3rd season of the podcast. In this discussion, Annie talked about the challenges she has faced as a teacher in NYC during Covid-19, and the impact that it has on her students, school colleagues, and parents. She shared her reflection on learning about being related to Vincent Chin, who back in 1982, was murdered by a group of white men in Detroit in a hate-crime attack. Sh...

I am excited to be back and share with you a new 3rd season of "The Banh Mi Chronicles" Podcast. For this 3rd season, the podcast will be exploring the theme, "Where Do We Stand?" as I sit down and talk with fellow APIA guests as they share their experiences living through the Covid-19 pandemic, their current work on anti-racism including issues on anti-Blackness and colorism in our communities, and reflections on this upcoming 2020 election. Listen to this preview to learn more about this seaso...

Welcome to the Season 2 Recap of The Banh Mi Chronicles Podcast! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Final closing remarks about this past season 2 reflecting on the year "1975" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

(S2, EP 14) For this Season 2 finale centering on the theme, "1975", NY Times best seller and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen joins in as a guest on the podcast. In this episode, Viet reflects on the growing hostility towards the API (Asian Pacific Islander) communities in the face of the Covid 19 pandemic, and how the API community can build solidarity and strength during this critical time. He also speaks about former presidential candidate Andrew Yang's recent controversial op-ed. Vie...

(S2, EP 13.2) For this week’s part 2 episode, I interviewed guest Sina Sam, a longtime Cambodian-American community leader from Washington State. She became the first Cambodian American woman to serve as the Commissioner for the Asian Pacific American Affairs for Governor Inslee’s office in Washington State. She is the co-founder of the Khmer Anti Deportation Group and is now serving as the Field Director for SEARAC otherwise known as Southeast Asia Resource Center. For part 2, she talked about ...

(S2 EP 13.1) Sina Sam, a 1.5 generation Khmer-American chatted with the podcast for our two-part interview. She became the first Cambodian-American woman to serve as the Commissioner for the Asian Pacific American Affairs (CAPAA) for Governor Inslee's office in Washington State. She is a co-founder of the Khmer Anti-Deportation Group (KHAAG) and currently the Field Director for SEARAC (Southeast Asia Resource Action Center). She shared her experience arriving in Seattle with her family during th...

(S2, EP 12) For this week's episode of The Banh Mi Chronicles Podcast centering on the theme "1975", Lao American writer and playwright Saymoukda Vongsay aka "Refugenius" joins in as a guest and shares her family's migration journey from Laos to Minnesota after the Laos Civil War. She shares her experience growing up with the Lao community in Minnesota, the process of finding her voice through spoken word / poetry, and creating plays centered on the Lao experience in the theatre community. She r...

(S2, Ep 11) For this week's episode of the podcast, Cambodian-American author Sambath Meas joins in as my guest. She's 1.5 generation Cambodian-American who grew up in the Chicago Uptown neighborhood. She is the author of two books, "The Governor's Daughter" and "The Immortal Seeds". We chatted about her upbringing in Uptown and delved deep into her complicated relationship with her parents. Sambath shared her experience writing her two books, and what she hoped to inspire for other fellow South...

(S2, EP 10) In continuing the 2nd season “1975" theme, I interviewed Kevin Yang, a 2nd generation Hmong American from the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Kevin is a multi-discipline artist which includes being a spoken word artist and filmmaker. In this interview, Kevin shares his family’s migration journey from Laos to Minnesota. He talks about his upbringing in Minnesota, and his relationship with the Hmong community there. In discovering his family’s refugee journey, Kevin became inspired to write ...

(S2, Ep 9) In this week's episode, Cambodian Artist and Musician, Punisa Pov joins me as my guest for the podcast. Punisa was born and raised in Cambodia. She has been living in the US, first as a college student in Iowa, and currently working as a resident musician and artist for the National Cambodian Heritage Museum the past few years. Punisa has been singing and playing music nearly her entire life, devoting her craft to honor Cambodian traditional music which was nearly destroyed during the...

(S2 Ep 8) In continuing the theme, “1975” for this 2nd season, Khemarey Khoeun joins me as my guest for this week's episode. Khemarey is a 1.5 generation Cambodian American from the Chicagoland area. Back in 2017, she became the first Cambodian American woman elected into public office for the Skokie Park District. Khem also serves as the board president for the National Cambodian Heritage Museum in the Chicago Lincoln Square neighborhood. In this interview, she talks about the difficulties in n...

(S2, EP 7) For this week's episode for the podcast's Season 2 theme, "1975", Tony Ho Tran, 2nd generation mixed Viet American writer / storyteller and genealogist, spoke about his journey to learn who his grandfather was through a DNA test he took through 23nme. Along the journey, he learned more about his mother and grandmother's difficult past during the time of the Vietnam War and their resettlement into the US. He talked about the impact of discovering his family DNA, and reflected back on h...

(S2, EP 6) Simone Cottrell, an independent multi disciplinarian theatre maker, shares her experience growing up as a mixed Khmer American in Bayou La Batre, Alabama and Mississippi before moving to Fayetteville, Arkansas. She reflects deeply on how art & theater can be important agencies that empower marginalized communities, specifically in rural communities, and how this has been put into practice to support anti-ICE raids that have affected undocumented Latinx communities, but also the Southe...

(S2, EP 5) It has been an emotionally difficult ordeal for all of us as we are grappling with the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. It has been a challenge to continue the 2nd season of the podcast, but I also realize how important it is to spend time shifting part of my focus away from the ongoing bad news that's happening now as part of my way of coping, and to also have an outlet for those who are seeking a temporary distraction. I thank you for your support for this podcast as always, an...

(S2, EP 4) Tung Nguyen joined me as a guest for this episode. Tung and I connected on Instagram when we discovered each other's podcast. Tung is a Vietnamese-American podcaster, engineer, and musician. He currently runs a podcast called Worksleeve which can be found on streaming services. In our conversation, Tung talked about the complexities of his own upbringing in rural South Dakota where his family's struggle to survive as refugees and navigating life in a mostly white community collided. H...

I decided to do an impromptu episode, breaking away from my normal podcast routine, and spend some time talking about my own feelings in regards to the Coronavirus scare that has affected many folks across the globe, but more specifically, the dangers that Asian folks in non Asian countries face with racism and xenophobia. Episode aired live from Chicago O'Hare airport as I'm preparing to leave for Los Angeles tonight. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcas...

(S2, EP 3) I chatted with Vân Huynh , a queer Viet-American immigration attorney who splits her time between Atlanta and Chicago. In this conversation, Vân shared her struggles with assimilation and expectations that are set for 2nd generation Asian-Americans. She talked about her experience in the immigration movements, and her work with her clients who are facing deportation. She shared insight about what the deportation process looks like, and the current climate for immigrants today. Be sure...