Welcome to Season 4, Episode 18! Free Comic Book Day is coming soon… not to mention Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so as a lead-up to this confluence, we had a conversation with the Ringo Award-winning illustrator and comic artist, Christie Shinn of HoraTora Studios. If you’re in Southern California on May 4th and 5th, you can meet Christie, other API creators, and some non-API comic book creators at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach (May4th) and Culver City (May 5th).  Christie won the 2018 Ringo Award for Best Anthology for her work on Mine! a comics ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 17! This is the next installment in our series on ethnic enclaves that have disappeared. Today we’re here to talk about The History of the Hawaiian Settlement of Iosepa, Utah. It was predominantly Hawaiian, but there were others from the Pacific Islands as well. Established in 1889 in Skull Valley, Utah, it was a place where Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders were able to gather in a safer, more supportive place that still kept them relatively close to Salt Lake City, Utah and the center of the Church of Latter Day Saints. It’s hard to imagine going from the wea ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 16! This episode is about The History of the Buddhist Churches of America. Buddhism is one of the religions often associated with Asian countries and the people who come from Asian Pacific nations. And it’s for good reason, because it’s a religion that originates from those countries. When it comes to understanding Buddhism in America, it would be difficult to talk about the history without mentioning the Buddhist Churches of America, an organization that has its roots in Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism that originated in the 13th century with the monk Shinran Shonin. I ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 15! Today’s guest is Kelisha Menon, the Public Relations and Partnerships Lead at Send Chinatown Love, the incredible organization that formed during the height of the pandemic when New York’s Chinatown businesses and the people who lived there were suffering the most. Already busy with a career in public relations, Kelisha is just one of many volunteers who have grown Send Chinatown Love to help more and more businesses in New York Chinatown.  This passionate group of engineers, designers, creators, and storytellers came together with a common goal to sa ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 14! Today’s special guest is the talented and engaging actor Chen Tang. Born in Japan and raised in Guangxi, China as well as Memphis, Tennessee, Chen is best known for playing Hong in Warrior and Yao in the live action Mulan. Much like the character of Hong, Chen is an upbeat individual who is generous and multi-talented, and that comes through clearly in our conversation.  Chen has been in several short films including Tumbler, The Wind Outside, The Company Man, When Mom Visits, and Finding Tomorrow. He has also had roles in Fresh Off the Boat, Grey’s Anatom ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 12! It’s Another Conversation with Award-Winning Author and Illustrator Grace Lin. It’s not hyperbole to say that Grace Lin is one of our favorite authors of all time… maybe that’s why we love any opportunity to talk with her, and it’s a great time for her return. We’re still enjoying Chinese Menu: The History, Myths, and Legends Behind Your Favorite Foods, and her first picture book in four years, Once Upon a Book! (co-written with Kate Messner), was just released on February 7th of this year. In our conversation, Grace shares a little about both books and also ta ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 11. Today’s guest is Dr. Michael Soon Lee, a fifth-generation Chinese American. He overcame prejudice, systemic discrimination, and depression to become a TV and film producer, an actor, a top-producing real estate broker, and the Dean of a university business school. HeI was the first Asian to earn the "Certified Speaking Professional" (CSP) designation in the history of the National Speakers Association and has spoken over 1,000 times around the world to major companies that include Coca-Cola, Chevron, Boeing, General Motors, just to name a few. Michael is t ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 10! Today we’re talking about Bangladeshi Americans, a separate group of the South Asian diaspora (Desi community) that’s a growing presence in the U.S. We go back to Bangladesh and talk about the importance of the area to the rest of India and the British Empire. Knowing the history of Bangladesh is essential to understand some of the struggles the Bangladeshi community has had in America. We also discuss the trauma of the Partition of India in 1947 as well as the Bangladesh War of Independence in 1971… but both events contributed to the formation of the Peop ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 9. We had a lot of fun talking to Dr. Xenia Deviatkina-Loh about her life, her career, and her work with the Asian Classical Music Initiative. Dr. Deviatkina-Loh performs on violin and viola, and she is also a pedagogue, sharing her knowledge in various settings across the world. She’s the president of the 2024 ACMI @ MSMU conference at Mount Saint Mary’s University on April 13-14, 2024. It’s open to the public and will feature performers, composers, and scholars. Originally from Australia, Dr. Deviatkina-Loh received her Bachelor of Music in Performance at th ..read more

Welcome to Season 4, Episode 8! Today’s conversation is with Amy Chu, a co-founder and former editor of A. Magazine, screenwriter, co-founder of Alpha Girl Comics, and well-known comic book author. Her latest title is Fighting to Belong! Volume 1 (out now, so go get it), which is a graphic novel focused on the history and contributions of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders in America. Published by Third State Books, Fighting to Belong! is co-written with Amy’s son, Alexander Chang, and illustrated by Louie Chin. It’s a collaborative project with The Asian American Foundatio ..read more