Episodes

(S2, EP 2) Meet Phanit Duong aka Hella Chluy for this week's episode. In his first-ever interview, Phanit chatted about his early upbringing in Washington state after his parents arrived there after surviving the Khmer Rouge. He reflected on his family's struggle in adapting to their new community, and learning to channel his own struggles through comedy, music, and martial arts. Phanit and I discussed about how comedy plays an important part in Khmer traditions, and like music and dance, how it...

(S2, EP 1) For the 1st episode for Season 2's "1975" theme, Viet-American bestselling author Thanhha Lai joined me as a guest for this episode. Thanhha recently released her critically-acclaimed fiction book, Butterfly Yellow. In our discussion, she shares her experience writing her latest book, as well as her upbringing growing up in Vietnam during the time of war before resettling with her 9 siblings and her mother in the American South. -------------------------------------------------------...

Welcome back everyone! To kick things off in the 2020 year, I decided to devote this second season revolving around the theme, "1975". It marks the 45 year anniversary of the end of the Vietnam and Laos Civil War, and the end of the US intervention in both countries. For Cambodia, it marked the beginning of the Khmer Rouge's ascension into power which led to the brutal terror in which over 2 million Cambodians were killed. 1975 represented a seismic shift in Southeast Asia where the first mass w...

Season 1 of The Banh Mi Chronicles podcast has finally concluded! Thank you to everyone who has followed and listened to the podcast. In the past 3 months (October '19), I am thankful to have the opportunity to interview my incredible guests for these 12 episodes. Back in early summer when I was planning for the podcast, I wanted to focus on uplifting API (Asian Pacific-Islander) locally in Chicago and beyond to hear their work they are doing for their community, .their family, and themselves. O...

For the season 1 finale of the podcast, Dr. Ada Cheng joins me as a guest on the podcast. I met Ada back in June 2016 at a queer storytelling show, a week after the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando. At the time, she had resigned from her position as a tenured professor at DePaul University to pursue theatre and storytelling, and became a naturalized US citizen. In this interview, she reflects back during that period, and goes into the creative and critical challenges that she experienced as ...

For this week's season 1, episode 11, singer / musician SuperKnova chats with me and shares her journey as a Korean-American transgender musician. She recently released her 2nd EP called "American Queers" which can be found on all streaming services (Spotify, Apple Music, Google). We talk about her process in making her latest album, her visibility as a trans artist in the Chicago music scene, and her recent live performances in the city with a future US tour in the works. Bio: SuperKnova is a C...

For this week's Season 1, Episode 10, Brandon Lee, Japanese-American and community activist from the Chicago Uptown neighborhood, joined me for "The Banh Mi Chronicles" podcast back in late October to discuss his experience over the years with Asians American Advancing Justice (AAAJC) in Chicago. Brandon recently left AAAJC for a brief hiatus at that time. He looks back on the challenges of mobilzing the Asian-Pacific Islander (API) community here locally when factoring the difficult history tha...

For this week's Season 1, Episode 9, Huy Nguyen and Mickael Van Pham sit down and chat about their different paths going into comedy and theater. They perform together as a comedy improv duo called "Fish Sauce." As 2nd generation Viet-Americans, they navigated through the assimilation process growing up in communities unfamiliar to their family. They share their family's reaction when they decided to pursue their own career in the arts after spending time as corporate professionals. Through thei...

For this week's Season 1, Episode 8, Joy Messinger sits down "The Banh Mi Chronicles" podcast and takes us on a journey as a queer Korean adoptee in Western NY. She talks about her experiences in the racial, social, gender, LGBTQ, disability and reproductive justice movements, and the importance of understanding self-care and boundaries in this work. Joy has been living in CHicago for the past decade continuing this important work, and she also shares her own passion for basketball and her hatre...

For this week's S1, Ep 7, Jenn Ho, the creator of Lawrence & Argyle sits down with The Banh Mi Chronicles podcast as she reflects on her experience growing up as an American-born Viet-American and witnesses the challenges that her parents as refugees from the Vietnam War faced during the US refugee resettlement. Originally born in Chicago, and spent her childhood to adulthood in San Diego, she moved to Chicago. It was by living in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood that she created the "Lawrence & Ar...

For S1 Episode 6, Loreen Targos shares her experience in the political activism / advocacy sphere. She talks about mixed Asian identity experience and the environment she grew up in that helped to shape her political views, and her desire to get involved in civic engagement through theatre, grassroots organizing, and more recently, her husband Byron Sigcho Lopez's successful election as an alderman (city council member) in the Chicago 25th ward. She shares her word of wisdom for those who are in...

Welcome to S1 Ep5 of "The Banh Mi Chronicles" podcast. I bring to you Hac Tran, a 2nd generation Viet-American who speaks about his experience being involved in the Chicago Uptown community, specifically in the "Asia on Argyle" street neighborhood (also nicknamed as "Little VIetnam" or "New Chinatown"). In our conversation, he speaks about the Vietnamese diaspora, the gentrification issues in the Chicago Uptown neighborhood, and the Haibayo event (a Southeast Asian-American themed late night par...

For this Season 1, Episode 4, I spoke with both Sok Theary Nak and Leakhena (Lyk) Yoeun. We serve together as board members with The National Cambodian Heritage Museum (NCHM), currently the only museum outside of Cambodia that centers on the history of the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields era, and serves as a memorial space for survivors and the 2+ million lives that were lost during that 4 year period (1975-79). In our discussion together, we spoke about our upbringing with our parents who came into ...

For this season 1, episode 3, I welcome Anu Bhatt as our guest for this episode. Anu is an actor, dancer, and playwright. She was originally raised in San Diego, CA before moving to Chicago to pursue theater. She recently moved back to San Diego, and is currently promoting her solo show, "Hollow / Wave" in other cities. While speaking with her, she was in the midst of preparing for that show in New York on 10/29 . Anu shares her experience on what it was like creating "Hollow / Wave" which takes...

Trigger warning: Topic of suicide and mental health For Season 1, Episode 2, I chatted with Joanna Leynes who shares her personal experience with mental health as a suicide survivor, and has since been on a mission to advocate for suicide awareness and prevention. We connected through the loss of our mutual friend Allen Lau who passed away on 8/16/2019. We shared fond memories of him, and the importance of honoring his memory. This episode is dedicated in his honor. Here's Joanna Leyne's bio: "...

For our 1st episode, Etzkorn Lewis Wong shares his upbringing as a mixed Asian-American in Chicago-Rogers Park, his new journey as a singer-songwriter-musician, and his experiences being a caregiver at the age of 17 after his mom's near-fatal aneurysm. For more information on Etzkorn Wong, please check out his Instagram profile @etzkwng --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/banhmichronicles/s...

Welcome to The Bánh Mì Chronicles podcast. In this preview, I'll share with you what prompted me to start this podcast, and how I came up with the title. I am eager to share with you on what to expect for this 1st season as I'll be breaking "banh mi" ("bread" in Vietnamese) with fellow Asian Pacific American community folks in Chicago and beyond to learn and celebrate their experiences in uplifting their community and themselves. Stay tuned for the 1st season! Randy Kim--Host and Producer ---...