One in a Billion

Sheetal Sheth is an Indian American actress, author and activist based in New York City. You may remember her breakout role as “Maya” co-starring with Albert Brooks in “Looking Comedy in the Muslim World”  (2005). Since then, Sheetal's star keeps rising, appearing in dozens of TV shows and films. In 2013, she got married and soon became a mother to two girls. Then, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. As Sheetal struggles to recover, she was determined to raise her children with a deep sense of pride and love for India. Why? Also, what inspired her to write children's books for Indian Americans while she was pregnant in New York City? Click here for more about Sheetal Sheth. Music used: What Is Love (Piano) by Zight Sad Ambient Piano by Lite Saturation Free Hopping Piano by Lobo Loco Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1 - II. Adagio by Daniel Veesey Brand New World by Kai Engel One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Photo Credit: David Goddard

Neil Mody is a media entrepreneur, tech enthusiast and philosopher at heart.   In this open-hearted conversation, Neil shares snippets of his phone conversations with his father that would forever be seared into his mind. What did his father say? Why did Neil tell his mother not to wear a “sari” to his eighth grade graduation?  Why did he feel embarrassed by his “Indianness” growing up in New Jersey,  and how does he feel now?   Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a one-on-one, in-depth podcast interview show with Asian “Roots-Finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational podcast project is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions—as well as forgotten struggles and sacrifices—of our ancestors who paved the way for us today.   We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story. To send us your comments or stories, email us at info@oneinabillionvoices.org or go to our Facebook page or website under “Pitch a Story.”   One in a Billion connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time.   Season 7: Find Your Roots series is produced by One in a Billion Productions, a non-profit educational media company (501c3), with generous funding from PLUS Charitable Trust.   Music used: New Boots Rag by Doctor Turtle Trees In The Wind by Daniel Birch Wherever I Lay My Hat Thats My Wife by Doctor Turtle Sailor's Lament by Jason Shaw Tumult by Kai Engel Spiritual by HoliznaPATREON One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy    

Martial Arts, Kung Fu Master (師傅) , Yoga Instructor, Political Activist Mai Du was just eight years old when she aspired to learn Kung Fu. Then she became a refugee after the Vietnam war fleeing with her family through Thailand and the Philippines before arriving in America. Today, Mai du is a martial arts instructor, kung fu master and political activist.  What formed her fighting spirit? How did her parents' survival skills mold her mindset?  Check out our conversation! Music used: Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions Adventure by The Ghost in Your Piano Trophy Endorphins by Andy G Cohen Mountain Monk C by Lobo Loco Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 2 No. 1 - II. Adagio by Daniel Veesey  Stormy Blues by Arne Bang Huseby A Yankees Southern Blues by HoliznaCC0  Only Our Footsteps in the Sand by Mid-Air Machine  One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Photo Credit:  Dat Nguyen   

More than a decade after she was labeled as “Tiger Mom” for her 2011 memoir “The Battle Hymn of a Tiger Mother,” Amy Chua reflects on her strict parenting style as she traces the roots of her culture to Fuzhou, China. Why did Amy feel right about raising her daughters the same way she was raised by her immigrant parents? What lessons has she learned from her critics in the West? What prompted her to pursue a career in corporate law before teaching law at Yale? And now, what motivated her to write  her first novel “The Golden Gate?” Amy Chua is a Yale law school professor with expertise in international business transactions, ethnicity and conflict, and globalization. She is an author of five non-fiction titles including Political Tribes: Group Instinct and Fate of Nation, and The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America.   Photo Credit: Joel Griffith   Music used: I Will Not Let You Let Me Down by Josh Woodward Your Mothers Daughter by Chris Zabriskie On The Clock by Pictures of the Floating World Tumbling Dishes Like Old-Mans Wishes by Jahzzar One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy

Have you ever felt abandoned by your parents? What would you do to reconcile with them? 24-year-old Angela Li was born in New York City but sent back to Fuzhou, China while an infant to be raised by her grandparents until she turned five. When she entered the U.S, she felt she'd closed the door on her childhood in China. Now, she is just beginning to reconcile with that as an adult.  In this podcast conversation, Angela describes her process of self-healing by starting an oral project of interviewing her parents. “For the first time, I see my mom as a human being.”  Angela says.  What did she mean? What did she find? Music used: Space Full by Andy G. Cohen Rain by Unheard Music Concepts Inside the Moon by Stephan Siebert Mountain Monk C by Lobo Loco  Bells In The Wind by Daniel Birch The Shine by Jahzzar   One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy  

Have you ever lost your sense of purpose after your loved one suddenly died? Whom do you turn to find strength to renew your mind and spirit? Born in Sorsogon, the Philippines, Loida N. Lewis, traces the roots of her undying faith that revives her in her darkest hour after her husband Reginald F. Lewis died of brain cancer. Loida also talks about her new memoir,“Why Should Guys Have All the Fun?” - an Asian American story of love, marriage, faith and running a billion dollar business empire.  Loida Lewis is a business executive, immigration lawyer, philanthropist and activist. Music used: Dream by Chan Wai Fat Spiritual by HoliznaPATREON  Space Full by Andy G Cohen You're Right But I'm Me by Doctor Turtle Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy  

Have you ever felt the need to know your family history as a way to become whole? What can you remember about your parents' immigrant journey or struggle that would help you weave a cohesive narrative for their past sacrifices and your current success? Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, Fran Chin, tells a compelling story about his father and mother's voyage from Guangdong, China to escape penury so he and his eight siblings could enjoy a better life here in America.  Music used: History by Twelvety9 Burn Me Alive by MMFFF Even When We Fall by FPhilipp Weigl Lullaby by The Ghost in Your Piano Inspirational Outlook by Scott Holmes Horses by Pictures of the Floating World Mountain Monk B by Lobo Loco One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a one-on-one in-depth podcast interview show with Asian “Roots-Finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational podcast project is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions—as well as forgotten struggles and sacrifices—of our ancestors who paved the way for us today. We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org or go to our Facebook page or website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Season 7 Find Your Roots Series is produced by One in a Billion Productions, a non-profit educational media company (501c3), with generous funding from PLUS Charitable Trust. (https://plct.org/welcome/)  

Have you stopped and considered what got you here? Who paved the way for you to learn and grow up in America? For first-generation Chinese American Paul Lee who was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, it is time for him and his siblings to remember their cultural roots, and to honor his parents' incredible immigrant journey to America. It is also time for us to thank his father Sen Lee for his service to America. Sen Lee fought for America in WWII in the United States Armed Forces in Pacific Theatre.  Music Used: The Wrong Way by Jahzzar The Family Instrumental by Chad Crouch Prism by Xylo Ziko Four Way by William Ross Chernoff's Nomads Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano Boss 1: The First Challenge by Komiku Singing In The Rain Instrumental by David Mumford Rosedale Daydream Back in the Room by Greg Atkinson Youk Ra Lom Ai Oh by Les Cartes Postales Sonores One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a one-on-one in-depth podcast interview show with Asian “Roots-Finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational podcast project is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions—as well as forgotten struggles and sacrifices—of our ancestors who paved the way for us today. We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org or go to our Facebook page or website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Season 7 Find Your Roots Series is produced by One in a Billion Productions, a non-profit educational media company (501c3), with generous funding from PLUS Charitable Trust.  

Do you have a hard time identifying with this kind of Chinese, or that kind of American, and wanting to create a third category of cultural identity? Do you feel so foreign while visiting China as a Chinese American?  Irene Li is a James Beard Award Winning Chef,  Co-founder/Co-owner at Mei Mei Dumplings in Boston,  Massachusetts. She is also a tech founder,  and  WBUR (Boston NPR) CitySpace Moderator/ Host. A Cornell University graduate, Irene Li was part of the college scholar program and majored in cultural studies.   Music used: Malachite by Andy G Cohen New Day by Alan Spiljak Even When We Fall by FPhilipp Weigl Above the Clouds by Bio Unit Bathed in Fine Dust by Andy G Cohen Highride by Blue Dot Sessions Flux by The Ghost in Your Piano Oxygen Mask by Andy G Cohen I Recall by Blue Dot Sessions One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy   Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives, and experiences. It is a one-on-one in-depth podcast interview show with Asian “Roots-Finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational podcast project is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions—as well as forgotten struggles and sacrifices—of our ancestors who paved the way for us today. We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org or go to our Facebook page or website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Season 7 Find Your Roots Series is produced by One in a Billion Productions, a non-profit educational media company (501c3), with generous funding from PLUS Charitable Trust.

Are you denying your roots if you ignore them? Why should one's culture be a forethought and not an afterthought? Who defines your cultural identity? Dr. Elaine Shiang is a retired Chinese American medical doctor at MIT with over 35 years of experience. Episode 1 Don't' Deny It  is her account of her family history in China, their journey to America, her parents' influence on her and her advice for the next generation.  Elaine is a mother of three adult children - Andrew, Margaret, Irene. All of them were born in the greater Boston area, including Elaine herself. However, Elaine was introduced to the Chinese language early in her childhood and even lived in Taiwan for three years. That experience, she says, exposed her to the wider world and a greater appreciation of the value of embracing your roots.   Elaine also talks about her late husband Dr. Frederick Pei Li  who came to America as a refugee.  Dr. Li, a Chinese-American physician, was a pioneer of population cancer genetics.  For more about Dr. Elaine Shiang, click here. Music used:Acoustic Fingerpicking 3 by Independent Music Licensing Collective Acoustic Fingerpicking 8 by Independent Music Licensing Collective Brand New World by Kai Engel Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie Youk Ra Lom Ai Oh by Les Cartes Postales Sonores Asianna by Jean Toba The Lullaby of the Free Hell by Koi-discovery One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy  Find Your Roots is a history and culture project centering on Asian American voices, perspectives and experiences. It is a one-on-one in-depth interview show with Asian “Root-finders” seeking to remember the diverse and profound influences of their parents and grandparents. This educational series is designed to promote and preserve the legacy of the countless contributions - as well as unforgettable struggles and sacrifices - of our ancestors who paved the way for us today. For more info: Email Info@OneinaBillionVoices.org

How can you make a difference when you are still climbing the career ladder and have little money to spare? How much can you give when you already focus so much of your time and effort to gain acceptance, appreciation, and accolades at work and in life? Listen to my podcast conversation with Kyung B. Yoon - president and co-founder of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF). A television journalist, public speaker, Taekwondo instructor. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy You're the Dummy by Derek Clegg Arena 17 Back From the Death Row by Koi-Discovery Adventure by The Ghost in Your Piano Convergence by Pictures of the Floating World Highway Fever by HoliznaCC0 Kyung first came to America after the Korean war and discovered a land of luxuries. But she never forgets how South Korea, her homeland, has grown and developed from a poor country to become an economic miracle when men and women are given equal opportunities for education. Throughout her life and career, Kyung keeps in mind the poor and the needy of the world at the core and center of her mission - as a TV journalist, a World Bank Institute documentary filmmaker, and a Taekwondo self-defense instructor.

Why would a Harvard-educated college graduate and medical school student get thrown out of a UCLA medical residency? What did he do wrong? What did he do right to get back in?  And why would he later quit his medical residency to pursue creative projects including documentary-filmmaking in China?  Most intriguingly, how did any of these paths pave the way for his eventual success as a cosmetic surgeon in Beverly Hills? And now, why does he choose to devote his philanthropic passion to promoting a positive image of Chinese people in America? Tune into my conversation with Dr. Robin Yuan - a plastic surgeon, philanthropist, and author of four books, including the latest “Red Bishop” - a historical fiction novel about his grandfather as the last presiding bishop of the Anglican church in China. Music used:One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthyI Will Not Let You Let Me Down by Josh WoodwardBurn Me Alive by MMFFFA Perceptible Shift by Andy G CohenGolden Sunrise by Josh WoodwardPicture It All by Lorenzos MusicMarty Ladies and Gentlemen by Doctor TurtleHlice by MonplaisirMountain Island Dreams by Lobo Loco Highride by Blue Dot Sessions Canada by Pictures of the Floating World Steppin' In by Podington Bear

Why does an American-born Chinese philanthropist want to help young Chinese in America reconnect with their roots? Why is that important? What seeded that passion?  Tune into my conversation with Carolyn Hsu-Balcer in Episode #3 “Reconnecting with Your Roots.” Carolyn Hsu-Balcer is a designer, philanthropist, and art collector based in Los Angeles and New York.   Having lived in Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines, she returned to America (her birthplace) obligingly for college. Her mother told her America is her future because they didn't have a home in China anymore.  How did Carolyn's Chinese parents shape her love for country, history, art and culture? Why was Carolyn so inspired by her great-granduncle Dr. Kuo Ping-Wen - the first Chinese to have earned a PhD in America?? Why does Carolyn believe young Chinese in America should become global-minded?  Music used: One In a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Youk Ra Lom Ai Oh by Les Cartes Postales Sonores Lullaby by the Ghost in Your Piano A Yankees Southern Blues by HoliznaCC0 Mountain Monk C by Lobo Loco Driving Through Tunnels by Daniel Birch The Armys March by MMFFF The Things That Connect Us by Independent Music Licensing Collective Carolyn graduated from Wheaton College (Mass.) with a BA in  Economics and a minor in Chinese Language. After working as a  financial analyst on Wall Street and as a Retail Product Developer, Carolyn launched SnoPea Inc. in 1997, a baby clothes company based in  New York. SnoPea manufactures and markets infantwear for sale online  and in specialty stores across the US, Canada and Japan.  Carolyn has worked to foster Sino-American understanding through  education and culture. She has organized seminars on Education in  China at major universities in the US and China.  She supports  educational scholarships at universities in Shanghai, Nanjing and  Taiwan, and at rural schools in Yunnan Province in China. In 2008, she  received the Blue Cloud Award for outstanding achievement from the  China Institute in New York. Carolyn has co-edited and co-published the historical biographies Kuo  Ping Wen Scholar, Reformer, Statesman (2016) and C.T. Wang: Looking  Back and Looking Forward (2008); the artbook A Token of Elegance (2015), a historical and photo survey of cigarette holders as objets de  vertu; and Chow! Secrets of Chinese Cooking (2020), an updated edition  of a timeless classic about Chinese cuisine and culture and winner of a  2021 Gourmand World Cookbook Award.  Carolyn has organized ground-breaking exhibits of Chinese art including  Xu Bing Tobacco Project Virginia (2011 VMFA), Light Before Dawn (2013  Asia Society Hong Kong), Blooming in the Shadows (2011 China Institute NY), Ming Cho Lee: A Retrospective (2011 Ningbo Museum), and Oil and  Water: Re-Interpreting Ink (2014 MOCA NY).   She has sponsored the publication of a 13-volume catalogue of the  works of the Wuming group of Chinese artists, and the publication of “Ai  Wei Wei: New York Photographs 1983-1993”.   Carolyn has produced award-winning documentaries on China and  Chinese art, including “Above the Drowning Sea”, “The No Name Painting  Association” and “Xu Bing Tobacco Project Virginia”.   Carolyn is currently a member of the Board of Overseers at the MFA  Boston, the Guggenheim Museum Asian Art Circle, the Board of  Directors of the Wolfsonian-FIU, the Arts Council of the Asia Society, the  Board of Friends of Channel 13, and honorary trustee of the Ningbo  Museum (China) where she has forged ties with American art & cultural  institutions to bring curatorial training to the Ningbo Museum.  Carolyn and her husband have assembled important collections of  Chinese Contemporary art, Japanese Shin-Hanga, Inuit art and objets de  vertu, which have been the subjects of numerous publications and  exhibitions worldwide, including at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston,  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Louvre (Paris), Virginia  Museum of Fine Arts, Aldrich Museum, Wellin Museum, Cooper Hewitt,  Asia Society Hong Kong, Lenbachhaus Museum Munich, and the Taipei  Fine Arts Museum. 

LifeChangers is about Asian philanthropists sharing stories about life-changing turning points that have shaped their mindset and inspired their philanthropic passion. Now, they feel compelled to change the lives of others. How old were you when you first started making money? 16? 17? 18? Meet Mei-Lee Ney - an investment advisor, philanthropist, and art collector.  At age 75, Mei-Lee has been working non-stop since she was 10. Why? Who gave her critical advice about how she could get anything she wanted? And what is that advice?  How did Mei-Lee build and create wealth for herself and others without a college degree? And what motivated Mei-Lee to begin giving away her fortune, and for what causes?  Tune into my conversation with Mei-Lee Ney in Episode #2 “Money Matters” Music used: Working For the County by Derek CleggPlaytime by Jahzzar Banish by Slinte Dear Old Dad by HoliznaCCO Acoustic Fingerpicking 5 by Independent Music Licensing Collective Gray Drops by Sergey CheremisinovAcoustic Fingerpicking 1 by Independent Music Licensing Collective Love Wins by Lee Rosevere Sour Grapes by Pictures of the Floating World Go Tell It On The Molehill by Doctor Turtle Climb by The Ghost in Your Piano Florid by Mid-Air MachineThe Dance of the Sky by MMFFF One in A Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Mei-Lee Ney is the president of Richard Ney & Associates, Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm that she joined in 1973. She was the business partner and wife of Richard Ney, author of three books on the stock market: The Wall Street Jungle, The Wall Street Gang, and Making It in the Market, the last two of which she edited. She was co-writer and editor of “The Ney Report,” an investment newsletter, from 1976 to 1999. She also serves on the USC Pacific Asia Museum Board of Councilors, and the Otis College of Art and Design Board of Trustees and is active in several other communities, arts, and education organizations. Learn more about Mei-Lee here.

We kick off Season 6 “LifeChangers” today (August 26th)  with a limited special series. LifeChangers is about Asian philanthropists sharing stories about life-changing turning points that have shaped their mindset and inspired their philanthropic passion. Now, they feel compelled to change the lives of others.  You don't need to give away a lot of money like Bill Gates to be a philanthropist. You only need to ask the right question at the right time. Episode #1 “Am I the Only One?” What more do you want when you reach the VP level of a top tech company in America?  For Buck Gee - a Chinese-American retired tech entrepreneur and philanthropist, when he became a senior executive at Cisco in the early 2000s, he asked his supervisor, “Am I the only one?”  He noticed that he was the only Asian American at that level, and he was unhappy. Why? What did he do about it? That question would become the seed of his philanthropic passion.  Tune into my conversation with Buck Gee in Episode 1 “Am I the Only One?” (Note: Buck Gee was Vice President and General Manager of the Data Center Business Unit at Cisco before retiring in 2008. In 2010, he co-founded the Advanced Leadership Program for Asian American Executives, an executive education program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He has published several Ascend Foundation research papers on the Asian glass ceiling and has written opinion pieces on that issue for the Harvard Business Review and The New York Times.) Buck Gee holds BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Learn more about Buck here.  (source: Committee-100 ) Music used:Xi by Andy G. Cohen Vienna Beat by Blue Dot Sessions The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan by Chris Zabriskie Which That is This by Doctor Turtle Thingamajig by Json Shaw Day Trips by Ketsa One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy We want to include you in this conversation. Share your thoughts. Pitch us a story. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Season 6 LifeChangers Series is produced by One in a Billion Productions, a non-profit educational media company (501c3) with generous funding from Claudia Lin, Founder/President of Legacy Maker LLC.

What would you do if you've written about becoming a Supreme Court justice, dreamed of a life and career in law, put in a lot of time and work to prepare for that track - then one day you change my mind?    Is it a waste of time, money and education at that point?   These are some of the questions that Daniel Christopher “D.C.” Rogers (Harvard Class of ‘12) had to wrestle with during his college years. And what made him change his mind?   In “Where Are They Now?” Episode #6, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews D.C. Rogers - award-winning writer, producer, and actor.  D.C. is a story editor for the upcoming Netflix legal show Partner Track. Previously, he was a staff writer on the CW drama In the Dark.     I am happy to be co-hosting this podcast as a contributing commentator. You'll hear my views about how to figure out what you want to do with your life – before and after college.    “Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color.  We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

How far will you travel outside of your hometown, your neighborhood, your comfort zone, in order to see the world differently? Why is it important to keep your sense of insecurity as your companion as you embark on your scientific, academic or philosophical enquiry? How does failure keep you hungry for success? Those are some of the questions that have led to surprising discoveries and satisfying rewards for Dr. Neil Shubin (Harvard GSAS Class of 1987). In “Where Are They Now?” Episode #4, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews Dr. Neil Shubin - A paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and popular science writer.  Dr. Shubin made headlines in 2004 when he co-discovered Tiktaalik roseae, a fossil of a creature with traits found in both fish and tetrapods, and has since published three popular science books: Your Inner Fish, The Universe Within, and Some Assembly Required. I am happy to be co-hosting this podcast as a contributing commentator. You'll hear my reflection on how I, like Dr. Neil Shubin, first became drawn to a new world of possibilities that would light up my imagination to pursue a path that's formed who I am today. ———————— “Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color.  We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

Should a Harvard education prepare you for failure?Should failure be normalized in the course of higher education?Or at the very least, would you want to learn how to take or talk about failure? Those are the sort of questions rarely asked if you're a Harvard student who is used to acing your exams, winning accolades or top awards until one day – you suddenly lose what you've been taking for granted. In “Where Are They Now?” Episode #4, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews Sangu Delle (Harvard Class of 2010, Harvard JD & MBA 2016).  An entrepreneur, investor, author and philanthropist, Sangu speaks powerfully about his personal struggle with depression after a major business investor died suddenly before wiring the money. A lot were at stakes. Sangu was at a loss for words and found himself in a dark world for a long time before getting back on his feet. Today, he is a champion for mental health and a vocal teacher about the norm of failure. I am happy to be co-hosting this podcast as a contributing commentator. You'll hear my reflection on how I too had rebounded from despair after first losing my mother, before losing my job and my health. ------------------------ “Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color.  We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

How do I want to engage in the world?Do I want to be an academic teaching philosophy as a professor?Wouldn't that be a very inward-looking, insular kind of life?Is that what I want? Those were some of the questions Janet Hook, (Harvard Class '77) asked herself before deciding not to pursue a Phd in philosophy. For Janet, a Harvard graduate with a degree in philosophy and government, her career choice is also a lifestyle choice. She chose to become a journalist right after college. In “Where Are They Now?” Episode #3, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews Los Angeles Time national correspondent Janet Hook. Janet reflects on her student days at Harvard, and some of the ways in which she has been influenced to choose the path of a journalist. She also talks candidly about her career trajectory and the life of a reporter. I am happy to be co-hosting this podcast as a contributing commentator. You'll hear my thoughts about how Harvard fit into my former career as a TV journalist as well. --------------------- “Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color.  We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

Many Harvard Asian American undergraduates I know with immigrant parents who are physicians receive a lot of pressure from their families to be a doctor. But not Divya Narendra, (Class of 2004) While at Harvard, Divya was given the space and the autonomy he needed to think critically and explore creatively what he wanted as a consumer that was missing in the market. Soon, he became an entrepreneur. In “Where Are They Now?” episode #2, Gemma Schneider (Harvard student journalist/Class of 2023) interviews Divya Narendra, CEO and co-founder of SumZero - an online community for professional investors to share business research.  Divya's business mindset was formed during his Harvard days when he launched the Facebook forerunner HarvardConnection, or ConnectU. You may remember his role with Mark Zuckerberg in the 2010 feature film “The Social Network,”- a portrayal of the great minds which think alike but also fall apart due to fierce business competition. I am happy to be co-hosting as a contributing commentator for this episode. “Where Are They Now?” is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) – an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices and to build bridges between different communities of color.  We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

Remember your college days dreaming big dreams, anxious about your grades, fearful about your future until one day, you find yourself in a different place, at a different stage of life doing very different things than you could ever imagine as a student? “Where Are They Now?” Is a special co-production between One in a Billion and WHRB (Harvard Radio Broadcasting). It is a 6-part series featuring one-on-one interviews with Harvard graduates who draw lessons from their campus experience and personal insight from their current career to give you a taste of their trailblazing journey. In episode #1 - We interview Dr. Angela Duckworth - Harvard Class of 1992, Founder/CEO of the nonprofit Character Lab, author of the New York Times Bestseller “Grit,” and the Rosa Lee and Egbert Chang Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Duckworth talks about goal-setting, risk-taking, and a "rebellious" detour from her father's expectations. I am happy to be co-hosting this Special Series with Harvard student journalist Gemma Schneider (Class '23). “Where Are They Now” is sponsored exclusively by One in a Billion Productions Inc. (501c3) - an educational media company designed to foster Asian voices. We believe in the power of personal storytelling to reach a wider and diverse community of audiences for better intercultural understanding.

With less than ten days before Thanksgiving, my podcast team and I find ourselves counting the innumerable ways that we have been challenged, and the unpredictable opportunities that have come our way in 2020.  So in today’s Season 5 True Colors Episode #10 Reflections on 2020, we each will share our voices expressing our thoughts and feelings about some of these life-changing experiences. But we will kick off with Kira Oman’s story. Before the pandemic, Kira moved to Hollywood to build her acting and modeling career. But as the coronavirus spread and some of her family members were infected, how did she think differently about her move away from home? How did 2020 impact her career and life priorities? What surprises her about herself that the pandemic has uncovered for her, for the better? Here’s our conversation.  Music Used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Dance of the Sky by MMFFF Flux by The Ghost in Your Piano Bumbling by Pictures of the Floating World Convergence by Pictures of the Floating World Bells in the Wind by Daniel Birch Estampe Galactus_Barbere_Epaul_Giraffe_Ennui by Monplaisir True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud | RadioPublic 

Today, tens of thousands of Americans head to the polls. Our choice of the next president - Donald Trump or Joe Biden - may be hard for some, but it will have immediate and long-term consequences for America in the years to come. Many of our listeners like you may not be able to choose your country’s leaders for a variety of reasons. But in your own lives, you often make hard choices about where to live and work, or where to raise your children. These choices could be far more consequential with unpredictable and immediate effects on your quality of life and your future than a vote for a president. And that is the story of Chinese American David Wang and his Shenzhen-born wife Candy Yang.   In 2019, they got married in Boston and had a baby girl. Shortly after, they moved to Shanghai to build their entrepreneurial careers.  Just as they thought they would move back to Boston earlier this Spring, they couldn’t. The pandemic paralyzed their move. They decided to pivot. In Season 5 True Colors Episode 9: Hard Choices - For Better and For Worse - Candy and David talked about their decisions under fast-changing conditions. What did they decide to do? How did that affect their quality of life and career trajectory? What about their young children?  Here’s our conversation.  Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Family by Chad Crouch The Lean by Derek CleggDead From The Beginning Alive Till The End by Doctor Turtle Rosedale Daydream Back in the Room by Greg Atkinson Need by Les Hayden The Beauty of Maths by Meydn Flux by The Ghost in Your Piano True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud | RadioPublic 

Three in ten Americans blame China or Chinese people for the Coronavirus pandemic, according to the Ipsos Poll.  Anti-Asian harassment, assault and hate crimes have also been on the rise since the outbreak began. However, the racial bias against Asians in America has long existed in everyday life way before the virus. In Season 5 True Colors: Episode 8: The Bias Before the Virus, Janet Wu, a former  Boston-based television journalist at WHDH-TV and media personality, talks about a racially-hostile incident on the subway five years ago that made her confront her identity as a Chinese American.  That subway encounter took Janet on a soul-searching inner journey reflecting on the roots of her culture - China - and her upbringing in her birthplace - America. Listen to our conversation here.  Janet Wu is currently a reporter for Bloomberg Business News. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Trees in the Wind by Daniel Birch Tumult by Kai Engel Perennial by Pictures of the Floating World Inside the Moon by Stephan Siebert True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud | RadioPublic 

When was the last time you felt your life was turned upside down? How did you find a way out?  Last Spring when Covid-19 outbreak led to a series of campus closures, forcing tens of thousands of students to move out of their dorms in a matter of days, Kimberly Jung, a graduate student at MIT Engineering School, got the news on her mobile phone.  Stunned, she kicked into crisis-ready mode.  As a U.S. army veteran with three years of combat experience in Afghanistan and emergency response training dealing with natural disasters relief, Kimberly quickly followed orders to move out, and found a critical mission to help save lives. Ventilators were badly needed in hospitals emergency rooms filled with Covid patients.  Kimberly decided to join the MIT E-Vent Team as the chief executive to help guide the engineers to design an FDA approved low-cost ventilator prototype that would soon be picked up by manufacturers not only in America, but around the world.  In Season 5 True Colors: Episode 7 Mission After Mission, Kimberly talks about her mission-driven mindset and calling, which is instantly motivational and simultaneously inspirational.  Listen to our conversation here. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Gloaming by Josh Woodward Return of the Indigo Sparrow by Tropo That's Exciting by Pictures of the Floating World Stage 1 Level 24 by Monplaisir   Kimberly Jung is currently the COO of PickleRobots in Somerville, MA.  True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud | RadioPublic 

As the Black Lives Matter movement spread across America earlier this summer, many Asian Americans began to reflect on their personal history of struggling for racial equality.  In particular, one civil rights group has pushed for attitude change among Asians to reach across the racial divide and join African Americans and other communities of color in the fight for social justice. In Season 5 True Colors: Episode 6, Jenny Chiang and Dr. Mabel Lam of the Asian American Commission (AAC) in the state of Massachusetts share their personal story of growing up with and without Black friends, and their own reckoning with the urgent need to come together for the greater good. Listen to our conversation here. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Way I Feel by Derek Clegg Break Through by Pictures of the Floating World Rain by Unheard Music Concepts Chill Out Theme by Komiku Above the Clouds by Bio Unit The Army’s March by MMFFF Silver on the Outside by Heather Christie and Vir McCoy That’s Exciting by Pictures of the Floating World Dr. Mabel Lam is a psychologist in Cambridge, MA and a commissioner of the AAC.  Jenny Chiang is the Executive Director of the AAC.  True Colors – a Season 5 Special Series – is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1, Episode #3 and Episode #5. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud | RadioPublic 

To whom do you feel indebted for your civil rights and citizenship status in America?  Your parents or your parents’ parents? Or yourself? Frankly, I had never considered this question until I came across Eileen Huang’s critical letter  urging the Chinese American community to confront their anti-Black racist statements and stereotypes.  In her words, “We owe them (referring to Africans Americans) everything.” In Season 5 True Colors: Episode 5 “We Owe Them”, Eileen makes a case for Asians to acknowledge what she perceives as our racist attitude against Black people in America, and to begin difficult conversations with our parents' generation. Eileen Huang is a creative writer, and a junior at Yale University. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Break Through by Pictures of the Floating World Inside the Moon by Stephan Seibart The Place I Called Home by Julie Maxwell As the Crow Flies by Axeltree Dreaming Days by Ketsa True Colors - a Season 5 Special Series - is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1 and Episode #3. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes |SoundCloud I RadioPublic   Support Us? One in a Billion podcast is produced by One in a Billion Productions Inc - a non-profit media productions. (501c3).  Support us! Donate.

Imagine this.  You have Covid-19.  You’re running out of breath.  You’re inside a hospital emergency room getting a blood transfusion. Suddenly this happens. There’s a leak somewhere. Your bodily fluids spew and splash all over the bed sheets, some of the droplets land on the exposed skin of the emergency physicians and nurses risking their lives to save you.  Is this an impossible scenario? No. The lack of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for healthcare workers dominated headline news earlier this year, and continues to be a challenge for some hospitals around America. In Part 4 of Season 5 True Colors: “Protecting Frontline Doctors & Nurses”, I talked with Dr. Alicia Lu about the risks she faced as an Emergency physician in New York hospitals. Not only did she feel helpless and frustrated, so did her partner Dan Wu.  Together, they came up with an idea. It’s called the “1000 frontline suits” campaign.  Dr. Alicia Lu is a New York City based Emergency Physician. Dan Wu is a Privacy Counsel & Legal Engineer at Immuta, an automated data governance platform for analytics. He holds a Harvard J.D. & Ph.D. Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthyOn the Clock by Pictures of the Floating World Gemini by Josh Woodward Driving Through Tunnels by Daniel Birch Malachite by Andy G. Cohen First Day of Spring by David Hilowitz Marimba on the Loose by Daniel Birch Dreaming Days by Ketsa True Colors - a Season 5 Special Series - is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. In this 10-part podcast series, we have expanded our focus beyond Asians to include the African American experiences in Episode #1 and Episode #3. We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Support Us? One in a Billion podcast is produced by One in a Billion Productions Inc - a non-profit media productions. (501c3).  Support us! Donate.

It’s been four months since the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old emergency room technician of Louisville, Kentucky. Her tragic death in her own apartment has triggered ongoing protests demanding police accountability. As the sound of fury and cries of justice rage on across the country, there is one young African American woman who wants to voice her sorrow in a poem, dedicated to Breonna Taylor. Why a poem?  “I don’t know Breonna, but she could have been me.” Serina Gousby told me in our podcast interview. 26-year-old Serina Gousby is a Boston-based poet, blogger of her website “The Rina Collective”, and a Development Associate/Boston Writers of Color Group Coordinator at Grub Street. When I saw her reading her poem “In Honor of Breonna Taylor’s Birthday” on Facebook, I was instantly captivated.  In Part 3 of Season 5 True Colors: "Stand With Us”, Serina reads portions of her moving poem and shares her thoughts about racial inequity, her faith, and her fight for social justice.  True Colors - a Season 5 Special Series - is about the color of one’s character in a time of crisis. *Photo of Serina Gousby. Courtesy of Serina Gousby Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Horses by Pictures of the Floating World The Ramble by Chad Crouch Hip Hop Instrumental 2 by Ketsa Funky Banane Nightclub ID by Checkie Brown   We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Support Us? One in a Billion podcast is produced by One in a Billion Productions Inc - a non-profit media productions. (501c3).  Support us! Donate.  

 Who can assure you when you can’t breathe? What do you need to hear from ER Doctors when you are in ICU? In the age of Covid-19, these questions are more pressing and personal than ever. In Part 2 of our Season 5 True Colors: “Finding Humanity in Emergency” Dr. Anita Chary and Dr. Paul Chen, both are ER doctors in Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  They vividly describe their experience trying to save lives and to assure Covid patients in those life or death moments. Who can make it? Who can’t? It’s never obvious and often defies logic and reason. Through it all, how are ER doctors themselves changed, when their job is over? True Colors - a Season 5 Special Series - is about the color of one’s character in time of crisis. Episode #2 - “Finding Humanity in Emergency.” Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Horses by Pictures of the Floating World Driving Through Tunnels by Daniel Birch We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Support Us? One in a Billion podcast is produced by One in a Billion Productions Inc - a non-profit media productions. (501c3).  Support us! Donate.

We kick off Season 5 today (July 14th) with a 10-part series True Colors. True Colors is about the color of one’s character in times of crisis. How do you respond after you’ve seen the video of George Floyd dying under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis?  What can you do to confront anti-black racism in America? Veteran ABC News correspondent/anchor Ron Claiborne and I (Host, Mable Chan) had worked for years at ABC News Good Morning America. For the first time, we discuss the issue of race, racial profiling, white supremacy, and police violence as he’s seen and experienced in Episode #1 - “Being Black in America.” Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Fifth Journey by Ars Sonor and M. Nomized Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie Snow Day by Pictures of the Floating World New Day by Alan Spiljak Gemini By Josh Woodward We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, email us @ info@oneinabillionvoices.org Or go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch us a story? “One in a Billion” connects Asians and Americans through storytelling, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

She never ceases to amaze me. Sanyee Yuan - a 20 something writer, actor, host, and Harvard graduate - is always chasing the next big opportunity by connecting with people who inspire her creative thought that would turn into a story or a script! I first interviewed Sanyee in 2012 when she spoke movingly about being raised by a single mom with two jobs, two kids - her and her older sister. Both girls love television and movies. Since moving to L.A., Sanyee has written numerous blogs about her adventure in Hollywood by focusing on how she overcomes fear and setbacks. In this episode - the last of Season 4 - Sanyee let us in her latest projects and what keeps her thriving. Check this out - “This Asian American Life: Cutting My Own Path in Hollywood.” Music Used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Golden Sunrise by Josh Woodward Landras Dream by Jason Shaw We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

What drives you crazy?  How about being called just that - crazy. If you are struggling with a mental disorder, you might lash out or turn inward. And when you do, that word “crazy” could feel like a weapon that cuts through your skin.  In this episode “This Asian American Life: Don’t Call Me Crazy” - New York based writer/editor/illustrator Hannah Bae reads a chapter she’s contributed to a new book “Don’t Call Me Crazy”  that depicts her personal struggle dealing with her mother.  Her experience is one of thirty three dynamic and intimate voices in this fascinating book about mental health and a guide with helpful resources.  Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Bathed in Fine Dust by Andy G. Cohen Highride by Blue Dot Sessions The Gloaming by Josh Woodward Which That is This by Doctor Turtle Undercover Vampire Policeman by Chris Zabriskie We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

What’s wrong with bribing your 3-year-old with a gold star? Or, if you’re in China, it’s a red star. Chinese American journalist Lenora Chu was a new mother when she first moved to Shanghai with her husband, she quickly discovered the authoritarian style of Chinese schooling clashed with her American upbringing in Texas.  How? What did she do? Well, she wrote a book called “Little Soldiers” describing how children are educated and what the education system is designed to accomplish. Check out my interview with Lenora Chu in this episode - “This Chinese American Life- What’s an education for?” Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Interplanetary Forest by Meydn The Place I Called Home by Julie Maxwell You're Right But I'm Me by Doctor Turtle Meeting the Demon by MMFFF Little Idea by Scott Holmes Stage 1 Level 24 by Monplaisir Estampe Galactus Barbere Epaul Giraffe Ennui by Monplaisir We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud      

Have you ever been tempted to trace your roots? What might pique your curiosity if your mother refused to talk about her parents?  For Scott Tong, he decided to find his home village precisely because no one seemed to remember his grandparents. What happened to them?  Why did they stay in China when his mother fled to America?  Check out my conversation with American Public Media’s “Marketplace” correspondent - Scott Tong - in this episode “This Chinese American Life: Tracing My Roots”  Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Upbeat Party by Scott Holmes Storybook by Scott Holmes Banish by Slinte Trophy Endorphins by Andy G. Cohen Vienna Beat by Blue Dot SessionsRecall by Blue Dot Sessions Love Wins by Lee Rosevere We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud  

What if your father called you after you two hadn’t talked for a year? What if you were looking for a better relationship with him, and you were finding you were running out of time?  In Part 2 of my interview with Mimi Wong, a New York-based writer and multimedia producer, she shared her reflections on those last few conversations with her father,  and her inner journey of reconciliation. Music used:One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthyWhen I Dream by Joseph Blanchard Redwood Majesty by Joseph BlanchardEternal Embrace by Joseph Blanchard We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time.Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

When was the last time you had a talk, or a fight with your father?  What might trigger your urge to call him, or to reflect on what’s been missing in your relationship? In Part 1 of my interview with Mimi Wong, a New York based writer and multimedia producer shared her story, first published in  “How Watching Asian Father on Screen Helped me Face My Own.”  The movie “Searching.” prompted her to dive into deep personal thoughts about her father, Asian fatherhood and media portrayal of Asian masculinity.  Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Hlice by Monplasir Inspirational Outlook by Scott Holmes Little Tomcat by Josh Woodward We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time.Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud    

Why would you give up all that you’ve studied or worked so hard for once you hit a certain life stage and decided to pursue what really makes you happy? In Part 2 of my interview with Chinese American documentary filmmaker Hao Wu, he talked about giving up the traditional notion of success. Making money. Making parents proud. Instead, he chose to listen to his heart.  This is a story about pursuing what’s deeply fulfilling for you.  Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Which That Is This by Doctor Turtle Xi by Andy G. Cohen Descent of the Goober Monster by Jesse Spillane We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

What will you find if you bank on the Internet to fulfill your desire? How much money will you spend to make your dream come true in this digital universe? In this 2-part interview with Chinese American documentary filmmaker Hao Wu, he talked about “The People’s Republic of Desire” - a film about live-streaming in China.  It’s a story about the human longing for fame and fortune, as well as love and connection. Music Used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy I Will Not Let You Let Me Down by Josh Woodward You Um Ill Ah by Doctor Turtle Space Full by Andy G Cohen We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

If you’re a 20 something Asian woman trying to establish yourself as a writer in Tech, listen up. You can speak up, share your thoughts and yet, nobody hears you. You’re ignored. That’s Eda Yu’s story. In “Don’t Talk Over Me” Eda talks with Lauren Dai, another Asian woman working in Silicon Valley about tough challenges in a room full of white men. Who helped her? How did she get over barriers? Also, how did she first discover her passion for writing? Who persuaded her to pursue it through college? And what is holding Lauren back from writing? What are her fears? Music Used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy The Wrong Way by Jahzzar Tumbling Dishes Like Old Man's Wishes by Jahzzar Crazy Glue by Josh Woodward Gemini by Josh Woodward Sands of Windhoek by Mid-Air Machine Need by Les Hayden Death by a Thousand Questions by Springtide So Far So Close by Jahzzar We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below:  PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

If you have spent a good chunk of your life studying and working like a robot, how would you know to wake up one day, and say “I am not a robot!” That’s Kou Aizhe’s story. A former librarian and TV journalist, he was inspired by "This American Life" podcast to create his own show “Gushi FM.” The idea is to give voice to real people with real-life experiences and struggles. It’s now one of the most popular podcasts in China since it was launched in 2017, reaching 600,000 listeners and counting. “Leaving a robotic life to create my own show” is about his thinking at various turning points and crossroads. This interview will be in Mandarin Chinese. View Chinese (中文) and English Transcript Click here: Music credits (sourced from freemusicarchive.org): Tech Toys by Lee Rosevere What’s Behind the Door by Lee Rosevere Sad Marimba Planet by Lee Rosevere Wilsons Snipe by Chad Crouch You’re Enough by Lee Rosevere Wonder Under by Glad Rags We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below:  PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

Part 3 of a Special Summer Series from Shanghai: In Context with Anita Xu: “How can this be...the rest of my life!?” If you’d invested almost your entire adult life training to be a professional landscape designer, you’d landed at your dream job. But a few years later, you looked around your workplace and you discovered something that would forever change your idea of what is a good life or what is a good career. What would you do? That’s what happened to Lu Xiaoya (卢小雅) 3 years ago, when she was 27 years old. In this Episode 3 “How can this be... the rest of my life !?” Anita talks with Lu about that life-changing moment, and what she did next. Lu will tell her story in Mandarin Chinese. View Chinese (中文) and English Transcript Click here. Music credits (sourced from freemusicarchive.org): Whats Behind the Door by Lee Rosevere Curiousity by Lee Rosevere Sad Marimba Planet by Lee Rosevere As I Was Saying by Lee Rosevere I Was Waiting for Him by Lee Rosevere Curiousity by Lee Rosevere Wonder Under by Glad Rags We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud

Part 2 of A Special Summer Series from Shanghai: In Context with Anita Xu. Can you imagine your life’s mission is to meet the expectations of your parents? Ever since she was a little girl, Carol pushed herself, moving to a big city from a small town, working her way up and up to satisfy her parents. Now, at age 33, Carol’s lost. Her parents have changed their minds. They ask her to slow down, but it’s too late! Why? Take a listen. In this Episode 2 “Why Work So Hard?,” our contributing podcaster Anita Xu talks with a close friend Carol Luo about her dilemma. This interview will be in Mandarin Chinese. View Chinese (中文) and English Transcript Click here. Music credits (sourced from freemusicarchive.org & purple-planet.com): Snipe by Chad Crouch’s Wilson Fearless by Purple Planet Music Yorgan by Circus Marcus Easy Life by Lee Rosevere Quizitive by Lee Rosevere Wonder Under by Glad Rags We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud  

Season 4 kicks off with a Summer Special Series from Shanghai: In Context with Anita Xu- "Why Risk It?” It’s an intimate conversation between digital marketing professional Anita Xu and her college buddy Xu He. Xu He chose to become an entrepreneur after feeling unfulfilled in his first few jobs after graduating from a top journalism university in Shanghai. Anita, our contributing podcaster, is puzzled. She saw him as a rising star in the journalism world, and she wonders -why risk it? This interview will be in Mandarin Chinese. You can read an English transcript or check out our website at www.oneinabillionvoices.org.   Music used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy Quizitive by Lee Rosevere Tech Toys by Lee Rosevere Whats Behind the Door by Lee Rosevere Theme from Penguins on Parade by Lee Rosevere And So Then by Lee Rosevere  Wonder Under by Glad Rags

What makes people in China laugh? Why would they spend time and money to go to a stand-up act by an American comedian in Beijing? And, who is he? This is story about an American scholar turned comedian who dedicates his life to bringing Chinese and Americans together through humor and laughter.  Music Used: Brad McCarthy's One in a Billion Theme Song

What is love about? Can you show gratitude without spending or giving money? Can you show care without sacrificing your passion? To truly show gratitude, must you also sacrifice?  With these questions in mind, I interviewed Jinzhao (JZ) Wang, a 28 year old Chinese American a few months ago.  JZ told me she can’t fully enjoy what gives her pleasure without also feeling guilty. Why? What is her guilty pleasure?  What makes it wrong?   Music Used: One in a Billion Theme Song by Brad McCarthy  Mountain Monk C By Lobo Loco Space (Full) by Andy G. Cohen  You Um, I'll Ah by Doctor Turtle I'll Be Seeing You by Sammy Fain (Sung by JZ Wang)    

Are you the person you or your parents want to be? Is your personal dream inseparable from your parents? Can it be? Should it be? That is Angela’s agony.   How does she navigate around a set of cultural expectations to create her own path? Check out my interview with Angela Tang, a rising senior at Williams College, in Episode #3 “This Chinese Life: Whose Life is This Anyway.” We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Music used: Brad McCarthy's One in a Billion Theme Song  Andy G. Cohen's A Perceptible Shift Jesse Spillane's Number 0 Josh Woodward's Under the Stairs Instrumental Jahzzar's No-End Ave  

What does it mean to be Chinese? 415 million Chinese millennials in China wrestle with crushing pressure to live up to a cultural identity and societal ideal. What are they? How do they cope? What are their biggest fears? Check out Part 2 of my interview with author/public speaker Zak Dychtwald  “This Chinese Life: What does it mean to be Chinese?” Music used: Brad McCarthy's "One in a Billion Theme" Jason Shaw's "Acoustic Meditation" Doctor Turtle's "Wherever I Lay My Hat, That's My Wife" Andy G. Cohen's "Space (Full)"

He grew up in a predominantly white suburban town in California. His parents would take him travelling around the world for work since he was a child. Then one day, he stumbled upon a movie - “Enter the Dragon” (starring Bruce Lee) that would strike his fancy about another world - China. That’s where Zak Dychtwald decided to go right after he graduated from Columbia University six years ago. Without a word of Chinese or a drop of Chinese blood, he went in search of himself. Why China? Check out my interview with Zak in a 2-part series “This Chinese Life: As a 28 year old white American in China” (Part 2 will be released 9/18). Currently, Zak Dychtwald is author of “Young China - how the restless generation will change their country and the world.” He is CEO/Founder of “Young China Group” - a think tank offering educational and cultural insight about millennials in China and America. He splits his time between New York and Chengdu. Music and Audio Credits: Brad McCarthy's "One in a Billion Theme" Andy G. Cohen's Oxygen Mask Philipp Weigl's "Even When We Fall" Jahzzar's "Playtime" Chris Zabriskie's "Your Mother's Daughter" Bruce Lee's "Enter the Dragon" John Boswell's "Bruce Lee Remix- Be Water My Friend"

An unexamined life is not worth living. What leads one to examine one’s life? A surprise setback? An unforgettable encounter? An ongoing desire? All of these experiences tend to re-emerge or surge in our memory as we look back on 2017. In this last episode of Season 2 “Reflections on 2017: What’s Weighing on My Mind,” we listen to three compelling stories from Maggie Shi, Joel Tsui and Justine Yan. Each embodies a personal awakening during one’s reckoning with the past, present and future. I hope you’ll find them helpful to your own thinking about this year as we count down to 2018. Listen to our latest podcast episode “Reflections on 2017.” We want to include you in this conversation. To send us your comments or stories, just go to our Facebook page or our website at OneinABillionVoices.org under “Pitch a Story.” Share your thoughts? Pitch me a story? “One in a Billion” is listening to #China, one person at a time. Subscribe to “One in a Billion” below: PRx | iTunes | SoundCloud Music used: Dave O'Brien's Busy Bees Doctor Turtle's Which That is This Arne Bang Huseby's Stormy Blues Lobo Loco's Mountain Monk Chan Wai Fat's Dream Instrumental Dengue Fever's One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula Live Jason Shaw's Landra's Dream Live music in Kasghar, Courtesy of Justine Yan

She carries the good genes of music and science from the family. Her grandmothers are physics professors in China, one of them plays the piano as a child. Her father is a computer scientist, her mother is a medical scholar. Yet, she struggled to learn the piano as a child. Her head was bored from slavishly following the sheet music. And her heart was burdened with a bitter childhood memory. But all that changed when she discovered her fascination with computer programming as the pathway to animate her approach to understanding music. How did Xiao Xiao eventually reach a breakthrough? How did she combine her head and her heart to break the barrier between the technical and the emotional, the physical and the digital? How did she confront gender bias and societal pressure as a woman in STEM? Listen to Episode 6: “She Has Overcome: Cracking the Code of Learning Music” - my interview with Xiao Xiao - an artist, an autodidact, and a technologist with a Phd in Media Arts and Sciences from MIT Media Lab. Music Used: Johann Sebastian Bach's Partita No. 1 in B flat major BWV 825 Donal Fox's Partita for Three Characters Beethoven's Opus 126 Bagatelles Erik Satie's The Gnossiennes Maurice Ravel's Sonatine 2nd Movement Frédéric Chopin's Études David O'Brien's Busy Bees