Episodes

Season 6 Finale!!!! .. We reached the conclusion of Season 6, "Unfinished Business", and with that said, I am taking a hiatus from recording new episodes until next summer. After 80+ episodes in two years, it will be great to finally take a step back and give myself some time to pause and reflect on my work. What an amazing run it has been for me thus far, and I couldn't be more grateful for that. For Season 6, I am honored to hear so many incredible stories from my guests, and so thankful to ...

(S6, EP 9) Nisha Mody is my final guest for this Season 6 series. Nisha is a healing & wellness coach, content creator behind @HealingHypeGirl on Instagram, and her podcast MigrAsians, and a former long-time librarian. We talked back in mid-summer when she transitioned from her work as a librarian to being an independent healing coach. In this episode, we discuss how wellness and healing work must prioritize intersectionality and practice a decapitalism approach. Nisha shares her own journey tha...

(S6, EP 8) Vĩ Sơn Trinh joins me for this week's episode as part of Season 6's "Unfinished Business". Vĩ Sơn is a 1.5 generation Vietnamese-American photographer, storyteller, and nurse. We spoke back in June about his experience being a nurse during Covid and the daily realities that he and his colleagues faced during the pandemic. We talked about what led him into nursing after his partner passed away. He shared with us his own upbringing and his connection to his Vietnamese culture through hi...

Trigger & Content Warning: Topics will include mentions of genocidal / sexual violence and child abuse (S6, EP 7) Cambodian human rights advocate leader Dany Pen joined me for this week's episode as we talk about her work to support survivors of violence. Her dad's side of the family were executed at the infamous Tuol Sleng Prison Center during the Khmer Rouge and after learning of her family's tragic fate there, Dany was compelled to go into human rights advocacy work and support survivors fro...

Trigger Warning: Content will include topics on PTSD / intergenerational trauma (S6, EP 6) Ly Ky Tran, Viet-American millennial based out of NYC, and author of her recently released memoir, "House of Sticks" joined me for this week's episode. We talked back in late June as she was promoting her debut memoir. We discussed about her parents' trauma from the Vietnam War and how it affected her relationship with them and her siblings growing up. In the wake of the Atlanta shooting, Ly shared her ow...

Trigger Warning: Discussions of parental death and PTSD trauma (S6, EP 5) Rose Khun is a guest for this week's episode as part of the 6th season theme, "Unfinished Business". Rose is a Cambodian-American Holistic Nutritionist and Lifestyle Coach based out in Northern California. In this episode, we talk about her upbringing during her family's resettlement in the US after the Khmer Rouge genocide. At 7 years old, she experienced the murder of her father during a robbery at their family's store....

(S6, EP 4) Virginia Nguyen and Stacy Yung, two longtime secondary Ed history teachers from Southern California joined me for this episode as we talk about Asian Americans educators in K-12 and pushing for racially equitable and inclusive curriculums, including Asian and Pacific Islander history. Learn more about the work that they are doing in this episode. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

(S6, EP 3) Akemi Kochiyama joined in for this week's episode. Akemi is the granddaughter of late Japanese-American activist icon Yuri Kochiyama. In this interview, we talk about Yuri's activism that began when she and her family were forcibly sent to the Japanese incarceration camps during WWII. In her activism work, Yuri connected with Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, and other Black activists to support the Black liberation movement while also speaking out against the Vietnam War, the US military ind...

(S6, EP 2) Eric Nguyen (He / Him) is a queer Viet-American author based in DC. He recently released his debut fiction novel, Things We Lost To The Water which is a story about a Vietnamese single mother raising her two teenage sons in Louisiana in the late 80s - early 90s. His book was named by former President Obama as his top 2021 summer reading list. We talk about the genesis in creating his novel, and his own vision in writing stories about the Vietnamese diaspora. Please check out this epis...

(S6, EP 1) To kick off Season 6, Andy Marra (she / her / hers) joined me for this episode. Andy is currently the Executive Director with Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF). She has been a visible force in the Asian & trans community. We sat down and talked about the current anti-trans legislation that's been introduced in several states across the US, and what TLDEF and trans activists are doing to resist against this wave. After listening to this episode, check out www.transgend...

We have reached the conclusion of Season 5 "Our Becoming: An Asian LGBTQ Experience" and Season 6 is about to get started! Thank you to the following Season 5 guests: Kevin Stea, Alex Jenny, Helen Zia, Hunny Hach, Rohan Zhou Lee, Ishani Chokshi, Vichet Chum, Alex Torres, Deepankar Tripurana, Danielle Tanimura, Steven Wakabayashi, and Joshua Nguyen The theme for Season 6 will be "Unfinished Business"--Listen in as I explain what this theme means. More new episodes for this season coming each wee...