Blended & Blurred

In this episode we're diving deep with Teren Jordan. Teren shares with us their experience of being biracial and the many layered nuances that accompany a biracial identity. You can find more about Teren on IG at @youngmoon_childThe songs included in this episode are: The Holy Drug "Couple"Enny "Peng Black Girls (Remix)"Black Lips "Crystal Night" 

In this episode, we're in conversation with Richard Yu-Tang Lee, a second-generation Asian American artist and art director. He was born and raised in Chicago and currently lives in Portland, Maine. Richard and his wife recently founded a frozen Chinese food company called, Little Brother Chinese Food (check it out below).Song clips in this episode include: Teresa Teng - "Tian Mi Mi"Johnny Cash - "Ring of Fire"Social handles:richardlee.artlittlebrotherchinesefood.com@itsmerichardlee@littlebrotherchinesefoodPost show notes: In this conversation, Richard and I discuss labels like "POC" and "White Passing," going along with the thread of this podcast, and relating to contemporary discourse around identity. I strive to hold safe space for others, especially those with mixed identities to feel safe in exploring current language and figuring out what resonates with the self and with regards to the greater protection of a community. The difference between Race and Ethnicity is that Race is based on phenotype and Ethnicity is based on geographic region. However, the language is still fine-tuning itself as the culture adds to, takes away, and refines definitions and standards for use. We deserve to figure it out, learn better, do better, and strive for  accuracy. 

In this episode we're talking to Hannah Nahas, an artist living and working in Providence, Rhode Island. Hannah discusses what it was like growing up as a blend of Russian Jewish and Syrian cultures and how she reconciles her identity today. The songs included in this episode: Nancy Arjam - "Alf Leila Wi Leila"Paul Simon - "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider subscribing, liking, commenting and all that things! Thank you for your support!

In this episode we're in conversation with Joe Bun Keo, a Cambodian-American artist, born in the US in 1987. Joe lives and works in Hartford, CT. Artist statement: english was my second language. i discover its nuances daily. i use materials from dollar, hardware, and thrift stores. the cheaply made kitschy aesthetic of mass-produced novelties and everyday utilitarian items serve as vessels to deliver eventual punchlines. when paired with a carefully crafted title, the work addresses reoccurring issues of debt, manual labor, parenthood, cultural identity and linguistics.You can find more about Joe's art practice at www.joebunkeo.com The songs included in this episode: Depeche Mode "Precious"Rise Against "Swing Life Away"If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider supporting by liking, subscribing, sharing, and leaving a comment on the iTunes page. Find us on Instagram at: @blendedandblurred If you're interested in sharing your story, email us @ blendedandblurredpodcast @ gmail (dot) com

In this episode we are in conversation with Elana Kaufman. Elana uses the pronouns (she/her) and is a yoga teacher, Reiki II healer, space holder, creatrix and musician. Luna Lotus Healing is the ever evolving container that hosts Elana’s practice and offerings, which prioritize accessible, intentional and respectful exploration of healing movement and relaxation modalities for all. “Luna,” the Spanish word meaning Moon, is the representation of her connection and devotion to the Divine Feminine and a bow to Elana’s Puerto Rican roots; “Lotus” encapsulates the energy and experience of rising in honor of one’s darkness, the uncertain, the uncomfortable, and the unseen, to flourish and flower. In acknowledgement of and reverence for our shared human experiences as well as our differences in race, gender, religious or spiritual affiliation, sexuality, age, mobility, and socioeconomic status, Elana maintains a safe container of exploration and relaxation. Her passion for music, sound, and song are deeply interwoven into her offerings and are brought into practice through chanting mantras, creating healing playlists for her classes and singing songs. She believes in the power of restorative revolution- when we nurture ourselves, do our inner work to process and integrate our healing, we can better show up in service of our collective. Together we rise!You can find Elana on IG @lunalotushealing The song clips used in this episode include: "Punisher" by Phoebe Bridgers"Tierra Rica (Bolero)" by La Isla del Encanto "Vrikshavalli Hare Krishna (feat. Gaura Vani) by Jahnavi HarrisonFollow us on IG @blendedandblurredEmails can be sent to blendedandblurred (at) gmail (.) com Please subscribe, leave a review, and share!

Karen Alladin is a first generation Filipina-American originally from Arlington, Virginia. She is an acupuncturist and herbalist who owns Meridian Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic in Louisville, Kentucky. She owns and operates Meridian Acupuncture with her husband, Robert Patrick Gittli, a Louisville native with Scottish and Irish ancestry. Together they have two children, Aurora and Ridley. She is passionate about food, a proponent of food as medicine, and educating her patients to take their health into their own hands. She is also a yogi and an aerialist who has performed on aerial silks with Turners Circus in Louisville, Kentucky. As someone with her own varied interests and passions, she believes a person can have many facets. Karen believes a person's ethnic background and upbringing helps shape them as complex humans beyond definition.Check out Meridian Acupuncture here. Follow on IG here. Song Clips in this episode include: "Oo" by Up Dharma Down"Bayan Ko/ The Impossible Dream" by Ryan Cayabyab Singers featuring Denise Parungao &Ejay ArisolaIf you enjoyed this episode please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment, subscribe, and SHARE!

This episode features Jeannette Ralyea Watson whose multicultural background includes a mother from Burkina Faso, a father from the US, and a French Chicago upbringing.Born in Burkina Faso, in West Africa, Jeannette Ralyea Watson immigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago at a young age. Growing up within the French speaking community of Chicago, she has been able to maintain her cultural integrity as a Burkinabé but sees her American lifestyle overpowering her identity.The song clips included in this episode are below: Thundercat - "Them Changes"Ram Passomayé - "Coulibaly Tidiane & Dafra Star"La Femme - "Ou va le monde?"You can find Jeannette on IG @jnettealouette Ps.  If you enjoy this podcast, please consider liking, commenting, subscribing and sharing! 

In this episode we chat with Kara DeLost, based in Louisville, KY on her experience as a Korean American Adoptee. Kara is an associate brand manager at KFC US and a Korean American adoptee who grew up in a transracial household. She uses her platforms to unpack the complexities of being separated from her culture and unique dynamic of growing up with parents who do not look like her.You can read more about her story below: https://www.goal.or.kr/AOK_kdelost Follow Kara on IG @kdelostSongs included in this episode: BTS "Dynamite"Rhianna "We Found Love"If you enjoy this podcast please subscribe, leave a review & share. Thank you!

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Ariana Bina has a unique blend ofMexican and Iranian heritage. She currently resides in Austin, whereyou can find her teaching private music lessons and performing on herviolin, piano, or accordion.Song clips played in this episode include: Nina Simone "My Baby Just Cares for Me"Steve Jordan "Soy de Tejas"Googoosh "Gol bi Goldoun (Rangarang)The book recommended at the end of this episode is Bordlerlands/La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldúa, an American scholar of Chicana cultural theory, feminist theory, and queer theory.

Preface: Identities are deeply personal. It can be difficult to identify oneself on the basis of race, gender and/or religion alone. The topic of non-identity explored in this share come from an influence of Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist studies of non-attachment and self liberation. Join host Shadia Heenan Nilforoush as she introduces the podcast and shares her background as an Iranian-American with an Islamic Pakistani upbringing. She expresses her challenges around navigating mixed and multicultural identities, how it is impossible to check only one identity box, and considers non-attachment to identity. Shadia indirectly poses the question: How does one proudly claim an identity when their identity is multifaceted? Song clips include: 1. Velvet Underground - "Venus in Furs" 2. Nazia Hasan - "Disco Deewane" 3. Liraz - "Mahtab"Text read at the end of the episode included below: Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed PeopleBy Maria P.P. RootI HAVE THE RIGHT...-Not to justify my existence in this world.-Not to keep the races separate within me.-Not to be responsible for people's discomfort with my physical ambiguity. -Not to justify my ethnic legitimacy.I HAVE THE RIGHT...-To identify myself differently than strangers expect me to identify. -To identify myself differently from how my parents identify me. -To identify myself differently from my brothers and sisters.-To identify myself differently in different situations.I HAVE THE RIGHT...-To create a vocabulary to communicate about being multiracial.-To change my identity over my lifetime -- and more than once.-To have loyalties and identification with more than one group of people. -To freely choose whom I befriend and loveMaria P. P. Root, PhD, is author of "The Multiracial Experience: Racial Borders as the New Frontier"IG: @blendedandblurredwww.shadiajoon.com/podcast